The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-16
ONE IN EIGHT IS A DEADHEAD.
COST OF FREE PASSES TO THE
RAILROADS AT PRESENT.
p~esdhesds Travel W Billion Miles q
Year-Their Fares Would Amount
70 4 900. 900 -Attempts to Abolish
P.ucs-Uses OF tho system 20 Roads.


-hs railroad passenger with the an
.usI term or trip pass who travels two
HILTON miles a year. using transporta-
s,or which, II bought at regular rates,
Sn,Id cost $40. 900 900 annually, will In time
h.oome A memory. The time Is coming
hen the only persons travelling free will
IA officials and employees travelling on
their own company's lines.
Indsed. some railroad Presidents sert-
.,slv propose to discontinue all passes.
s,.n snnuals TO themselves. As Presi-
dsnt stuyvesant Fish Of the Illinois Central
has said.
-.,,,. out OF the treasury Of a railroad
oomnapy without leaving a voucher.
Csrt.in Il Is that the deadhead has be-
: .uch n burden hat the roads are
anxious TO be nd OF MIN
Reoinnine with the present year the
,.ilroads east OF St. Louis and Chicago
undertook the experiment OF cutting OF
oertaip classes OF former pass holders.
Rome Of the companies weakened and II Is
uncertain how far the agreement reaches,
hut II all passes were abolished except TO
the employees In that territory. 1t would
c,t of 10, 700, 900 free rides, representing
transportation worth %, 100000.
The lines In the South and West are
waiting TO see how the experiment works
IN the North. Should It prove a success
there. the roads in other parts Of the country
will follow suit.
This pass question interests not only
the one million employees OF American
railyau, but possibly 90 per cent. OF all
the congressman. Judges, legislators. In
abort most oficeholders, national. State,
municipal and county, most OF the wi
psper editors, politicians, promoters OF
fairs and expositions. theatrical and
circus advance agents. shippers and the
mart OF kin Of all these and thousands more
besides.
1t Is a fact that every eighth passenger
on a railroad train is a deadhead. The
average Is Ave deadheads on every passen-
ger train In the United States.
II this vast amount Of free transportation
could be evenly distributed. there would be
a FREQ nde Of twenty-five miles once a year
for ever man, woman and child In the
try. The average fare Is two cents a mile
and a ffty-cent trip for every inhabitant
would be practically 100000 worth OF
transportation.
The 0lsCOntlnuhnCe OF pdrooo' uoWcNei'
would not add anything like that sum TO
the net earnings Of the roads. Indeed, it
Is doubtful II the net earnings would be
increased more than 5000, 900 annually,
but even In an aggregate OF s52o 100000
which the common carriers had left AFTER
paving operating expenses In 1900, the sum
Of 5000, 900 il well worth considering. 1t
would pay one-sixth Of the railway taxes
Every pass issued by a railroad must be
charged to some account employee. ex-
change, advertising, political. personal.
complimentary or something. One per
sistent young man when asked to state the
account on which a pass could be issued TO
him. replied, Cheek. That was an e1-
ceptional confession.
Generally speaking. the deadheads, like
ancient Gaul, are divided In three depart
ments and the volume OF travelling Is ap-
~proximAtely:
Poliuca and advertising ".............so. 600 oo
These figures are not mere random
Rueeses, but are based on the data of a
typical I,2Oo-mils system. and they are
rather under than over the absolutely
correct statistics, II such could be OBJ
tanned.
Employees will not be cut OF for a long
UIu6, III tlcy cNcf Az lhc COMPANIES
will have TO reimburse them for money
spent In travelling on company business
And should an employee want to visit
some point on his own road, he would dis
cover company business calling him there.
The most feasible plan yet proposed
II TO issue mileage books In lieu Of passes.
and keep a strict account OF the quantity
used by each employee. Vice-Presiden
Paul Morton Of the Atchison. Topeka a
Santa Fe says:
There should be no passes printed
not a single one for anybody
President Samuel Spencer Of the South
ern Railway, says that employees ought
70 pay fare just as they pay hotel bills
and put the cost OF the tickets In their eH-
pense accounts. when travelling for the
Former President S. r. Galloway Of
the New York Central old the Industrial
Commission that he was opposed 70 passes.
Il would cut the whole thing of tomorrow
n ! had my way he said.
President NJ. Z. Ingalls, Of the Big -Four
thinks that every railroad should pass
It's own employees, but II they want to
travel over other lines, let them pay their
way, and II II is on railway business they
will be repaid upon vouchers for their ex-
or the five deadheads for every pas
senger train, one is travelling on an ex-
change pass. That is, he Is either en-
ployed by another road or got his pass
through a request made by another road
Heretofore, every general officer OF a
road with any standing at all had from
twenty to one hundred ANNALS good over
roads from one end of the country 20 the
other. In addition to the general officers
the travelling representatives and Insny
division officers have ANNALS good on
ali the roads In the territory.
Soliciting agents excepted, railway OFF,
cials seldom nave occasion In the course OF
a year to use more than ten sr a dozen
exchange passes. The burden is hea West
on the large systems, and particularly on
those lines which lead 10 New York and
Chicago.
This is the era Of railway conferences.
Formerly business between the roads was
conducted chic A. by letter n telegraph.
Now the officials confer once or twice a
month.
Hardly a week passes that railway officials
90 not hold some meeting, These confer
ences may be called anywhere between
Boston and San Francisco. Western Off
Gals meet in Chicago. 81. Louis, Milwaukee,.
II, Paul, Omaha, Kansas City, Denver
and nther cities.
Officials 81 Southern roads hold az least
SIX meetings a year In New York, one or
two in Chicago and others AZ different
cities or resorts between the Potomac and