Evening star., 1902-02-15
MILLIONS RIDE FREE
Railroads Will Try to Abolish
the Custom.
DEA D-HEAD BURDEN
ENORMOUS SAVINGS EXPECTED
TO FOLLOW.
Increase of Income May Insure Bet
ter Service and Comfort
to Others.
DEAD-HEAD BURDEN
0'opyrisht, 1909.

| to others.
| Copyright, 1902
| Written for The Evening Star by Frank Weldon.
! Our fellow passenger with the annual,
| term or trip pass who travels two billion
| miles year. using transportation which,
If bought at regular rates. would cost $40
| 100000 annually. will shortly become a
| memory. The time Is coming when the
| only persons holding free transportation
will be officials and employees travelling on
| their own company's lines. Indeed some
presidents seriously propose to discontinue
| all passes. even ANIMALS To themselves.
! AS President Stuyvesant Fish Of the Iii
| nois Central has said THE pass is the
only way of getting value out of the treas
| ury of railroad company without leaving
a voucher" Certain it is that the dead
| head has become such a burden that the
roads are anxious to be rid of him.
Beginning with the first OF the present
year the railroads east OF St Louis and
Chicago undertook the experiment of cut
| ting off certain classes of former pass
| holders. Some of the companies weakened
and 1t Is uncertain how far the agreement
reaches. but If all passes were abolished
| except to the employees in that territory,
| it would cut off 10 100000 free rides. repre-
| senting transportation worth $6O0O,00O.
! The lines in the south and west are walt
! ing TO see how the experiment works in
| the north. Should it prove a success there.
| as it unquestionaby will In time. the roads
| in other sections of the country will fol-
| low suit. Railway managers have been
| slow to make a record for keeping faith
| with each other. but since their agreement
| two years ago to abolish commissions to
| ticket agents there is no doubt that they
| can live up to any pledge they may make
among themselves, II they really wish to
| keep 1t.
This pass question interests not only the
| one million employees of American rail
| ways. but possibly 30 per cent of all the
| congressman, Judges, legislators. in short,
| most office holders, national. state mu-
| nicipal and county, practically all the
| newspaper editors and other politicians,
| press attaches. publishers of every kind,
! from programs to the great dailies. pro-
| moters of fairs and eNpositions theatrical
| and circus advance agents, shippers and
the next of kin of all these and thousands
| more besides. 1t Is fact that every
| eighth passenger railroad is a dead
| head. The average is five deadheads
| every passenger train in the United States.
If this vast amount of free transportation
| could be evenly distributed. there would
! be free ride OF twenty-five miles once 4
| year for every man. woman and child in
| the country The average fare Is two cents
| per mile. and 5O-cent trip for every in
| habitant would be practically S4O,OO0OO
| worth of transportation.
I IL would stop Leak.
| The discontinuance of passes. however.
would not add anything like that sum to
| the net earnings OF the roads. Indeed. it
| Is doubtful If the net would be increased
more than 600 annually. but even in
an aggregate OF 500, coo 900 which the COM
| mon carriers had left after paying operat
ing expenses In 1900 the sum Of IS 600 900
Is we'll worth considering. 1t would pay
| one sixth of the railway taxes.
Every pass issued by a railroad must be
charged TO some "account"-employe, ex-
| change. advertising, political. personal.
complimentary or something. One persist
ent young man when asked to state the ac-
count on which pass could be issued to
him. replied, CHECK" That was an excep-
tional confession.
Generally speaking the deadheads. like
ancient Gaul. are divided in three depart
! ments and the volume OF travelling is ap-
proximately:
Miles per year
| Employees. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. SnoO0oCr
Political and advertising ... 500 900 900
These figures are not mere random
| guesses. but are based on the data OF a
typical 1,2OO-mile system. and they are
rather under than over the absolutely cor
| rect statistics. il such could be obtained.
! Employees will not be cut off for a long
time. If they ever are, the companies will
have to reimburse them for money spent In
| travelling on company business. And should
an employe want to visit some point on his
own road. he would discover company busi-
ness calling him there. The most feasible
plan yet proposed is to issue mileage books
In lieu of passes. and keep a strict account
| Of the quantity used by each employe.
Vice President Paul Morton of Atchison
Topeka and Santa Fe says: There should
| be no passes printed-not single one for
anybody"
President Samuel Spencer Of the Southern
| railway says that employees ought to pay
| fare just as they pay hotel bills and put the
| NJ
counts when travelling for the company.
| Former President s. r. Galloway OF the
| New York Central told the industrial COM
| mission that he was opposed to passes L
| would cut the whole thing off tomorrow il
had my way" he stated.
President NJ. f. Ingalls, of the big Four
| thinks that every railroad should pass its
own employees, but if they want to travel
| over other lines, 'let them pay their wGy
and if it is on railway business they will be
| repaid upon vouchers for their expenses
| Exchange Pass System.
OF the five deadheads for every passenger
| train one is travelling on an exchange pass
| That is, he Is either employed by another
road or he secures his pass through re
quest made by another road. Heretofore
| every general officer of a road with any
standing at all had from twenty to one hun
dred ANIMALS good over roads from end
| of the country to the other. In addition to
| the general officers, the travelling repre-
| SentatlyeS and many division officers nave
! ANIMALS good on all the roads in their ter
| ritory. Soliciting agents excepted railway
officials seldom have occasion in the course
| of q year to use more than ten dozen
| exchange passes The burden Is heaviest
| on the large system. and particularly on
| those lines which lead to New York and
| Chicago.
This Is the of railway conferences.
| Formerly business between tha roads was
conducted chiefly by letter and telegraph.
| Now the officials confer once or twice
| month. Hardly week passes tina. railway
| officials do not hold some meeting. These
| conferences may be called anywhere be-