The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-05-09
Mr.. BARR HERE
Commercial Club Committee
Will Discuss Shop Situation.
Says He Has No Prejudice
Against Topeka.

Mr.. ]. M. Barr, third vice president
of the Santa Fe, is in Topeka today.
He will remain until tomorrow after
noon at least. and may be here until
Friday.
The executive committee of the Com
mercial club, which has the matter of
securing the additional Santa Fe shop
improvements for this city in hand,
did not call on Mr.. Barr today, but a
conference will be arranged for to-
morrow.
Il will be glad to meet the CONNER
ciaI club committee" said Mr.. Barr
this afternoon, but as far as the addi-
tional shops are concerned, a confer
ence is not necessary. The matter is
now in the hands of Topeka If the re-
quired land is secured the shop i'm
Drovements will be located here. If
the land is not secured it may be diff
ferent. Personally, I sincerely hope
that the Commercial club will be able
to raise the money for the purchase of
the land. The idea that I am in any
way antagoniStic to Topeka is all rot
Mr.. Barr made the important an
nouncement that a second overland
train between Chicago and the Pacific
coast had been definitely decided upon.
THE additional train will be put on
ABOUT july !, SAID ne, as yet the
exact time of leaving Chicago and ar
irving at San Francisco has not been
determined upon. The limited trains
will not be continued during the sum-
mer, and the additional train will be
similar to Nos 1 and 2"
In reference to the piece work system
Mr.. Barr said:
1.-The piece-work system will not be
extended to cover all shop work at once.
However, it will be eventually extended
I thoroughly believe in this system,
because it is the business way of hand
ling railroad shop work. Experience
has demonstrated that in every big
shop plant there are workmen who
soldier to use a. common phrase. The
piece-Work system is obnoxious to such
men, but to the energetic workmen it
is not. Mr.. Player told me today that
frst-clas Workmen in the departments
at the Topeka shops affected by the
| system were making much better wages
| than formerly. The trouble here was
caused by the weak sisters who were
| compelled to drop out. The system is
an incentive to work because it pays
man increased wages for an increased
output. I know of no instance where
the piece-work system has been aban-
doned after having been given a fair
| trial"
On the subject Of double headers
| Mr.. Barr said:
ut is a fact that the Santa Fe hauls
| less tonnage per mile than any other
| big railroad IN the country. Ignorance
| of this fact has been principally re-
sponsible for the objections made to the
running Of double headers on the Santa
| Fe. The active railroad competition Of
the present day makes it necessary that
| every big railroad haul as many cars
in a train as reasonably possible. It is
human nature to object to doing more
| than is required of others under similar
| conditions, and the Santa F'e employees
| who object to double headers are prob
| ably not aware that employees of other
roads are subjected to greater hard
ship, if hardship it can be called, in
this way
Mr. Barr said there was nothing in
| the report that the Santa F'e would
| arrange to run trains into Portland in
competition with the Shasta route.