Background
Charles Sanger Mellen was the son of George K. and Hannah M. (Sanger) Mellen. He was born on August 16, 1852 at Lowell, Massachusetts.
Charles Sanger Mellen was the son of George K. and Hannah M. (Sanger) Mellen. He was born on August 16, 1852 at Lowell, Massachusetts.
Mellen was educated in the public schools of Concord, New Hampshire, graduating from the high school in 1867.
Mellen began his career in the cashier's office of the Northern New Hampshire Railroad (1869), and then rose in his profession through successive positions on Central Vermont (1872 - 73), Northern New Hampshire (1873 - 80), and the Boston & Lowell (1880 - 88). He became a general purchasing agent for the Union Pacific in 1888, and was later advanced to general traffic manager. In 1892 he was made general manager of the New York & New England Railroad and then he was second vice-president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford. Mellen's advance from 1892 on, was due largely to the influence of J. P. Morgan, who was instrumental in obtaining for him in 1897 the presidency of the Northern Pacific. Mellen's term of office was during a significant period in the history of the Northern Pacific, but he had little to do with the financial affairs of the company. He acquired feeders, improved the road, and produced a favorable operating ratio. His competition with the Great Northern was objectionable to James J. Hill, and as Hill's power increased, a change became inevitable. In 1903 Mellen returned to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad as president. By this time he had a national reputation. During 1904, President Roosevelt consulted him about railroad affairs and quoted him extensively in the annual message to Congress. Leaving the financial affairs largely in the hands of the road's directors and bankers, he improved the rolling stock, added a new track, built stations, beautified the yards, installed safety devices, electrified the entrance to New York City, and joined the Pennsylvania Railroad in constructing the Hell Gate route. He nearly succeeded in monopolizing the transportational system of New England by buying trolley lines, steamships, and railroads, he was president of both the Boston & Maine and the Maine Central from 1910, and by preventing the Grand Trunk from entering Providence.
A series of very serious train accidents in these same years brought to a climax the growing resentment against a virtual monopoly of New England transportation. The Interstate Commerce Commission, after an investigation, called the Mellen management "one of the most glaring instances of maladministration revealed in all the history of American railroading". The bad financial practices were probably only slightly his fault, but as president, he had to assume the responsibility. The failure to maintain proper equipment and service must be laid at his door, although he had made some improvements and was handicapped by a conservative board of directors. No matter where the fault lay, the popular outcry plus a long series of governmental investigations finally caused his resignation in 1913. After rumors of other possible positions, he retired from practically all his business interests to live at his home at Stockbridge, Massachusetts Later he returned to Concord, New Hampshire, where he died.
In 1904 Charles was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Mellen's policy with the New Haven was similar to that which he had followed with the Northern Pacific.
Mellen was a hard worker and had a driving personality, but he tended to be glacial in his human contacts, dictatorial to his subordinates, and subservient to his superiors. Furthermore, he had marital troubles during the years 1912-13.
Charles Sanger Mellen was married twice: first, to Marion Beardsley Foster of St. Albans, Vermont, on September 23, 1875; and second, to Katharine Lloyd Livingston of Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1893.