The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-11-27

The year just closed mas peen the
most remarkable in the history of
American railroading in illustrating
the difference In transportation meth
DDS in the various parts of the country.
There was one disastrous experiment.
the transplsnting OF Pennsylvania
methods TO a western railroad. There
have been half dozen designations of
prominent railroad officers on account
of differences of opinion over methods.
Two great systems have been running
millions of dollars behind their earning
capacity on account of mixed meth
DDS
\ railroad administration must not
be disturbed BY sudden changes To
introduce the free-and-easy western
methods on an eastern trunk line is as
disastrous to the administration and
to the avenues as it would be TO intro
duce into d department store in New
York the free-and-easy credit system
of the country store. Conversely, Ii has
been proved by the Rock Island expert
ment with Mr.. L. +. Loree that to in
troduce the methods of the Pennsyl-
Vania on a free-and-easy western road
means the throwing away of millions
in revenue and the thorough disoTgani-
cation of the line.
There are ten or twelve vitality diff
ferent methods Of running a great rail-
road. The Pennsylvania stands first,
because il is the most highly developed
on the continent. The Pennsylvania is
an old railroad. Mr.. A. ]. Cassatt, the
president, has always been a Pennsyl
Vania man. He has grown with the
road. He belongs TO it, and it is his.
Hea adj
ming.
The method. from his point Of view,
is simple. II follows the old adage:
a place for everything and everything
| in its place" The system of admins
tration is perfect. Pennsylvania rail-
road officers came as close TO being
perfect machines as 1t is possible for
men to become There are more than
IS Of them Every one has his specific
duyt. If he fails in that he is reDri-
manded or discharged. If he does more
than he is listed for he is again repri-
manded. There must be neither dere-
I LECTION nor interference. The work Of
every officer, every senior clerk, even
of every minor clerk, is specifically laid
down, limited and outlined. Every man
on the system has his place, knows il
10 the last letter, and dare not go
either behind or beyond it.
The Pennsylvania school is the strict
| est railroad school on the continent. It
produces automatic railroad men. They
may be successfully transplanted from
one division to another, but history
( has failed TO record that they can be
moved to any other system. The train
/ ing of Ralph Peters may have quail
4 fed him TO become the president of a
! Long Island railroad, for the Long
Island is to be a division Of the Penn
! sylvania system: but even q change so
slight as that has yet to be proved
/ beneficial or successful. Mr.. Peters is
! a typical Pennsylvania man, trained.
/ exact and exacting, full of discipline, a
newer to the line laid down.
The results, when applied on a GER
feet railroad come the closest possible
/ to perfection-which takes the form oi
a fine machine, correct in every detail
Operated and administered by one man
who handles all the levers, is response
bic for all things, and relies on no other
even for the carrying out of orders
/ The routine of the Pennsylvania ma
chine is the most perfect in America
Every Pennsylvania railroad officer
knows that some day he may rise
but only by becoming the most perfect
automatic railroad man of his rank or
the road. Because Sne Pennsylvania
method has a glorious railroad to worn
with, and a traffic that comes because
ii must. even as the sun rises, the
/ Pennsylvania method is successful. Ap-
piled on the Reading. il made the New
York Philadelphia passenger schedule
as regular as the ticking of the clock
Applied in the Jersey City freight
yards and in the Pittsburg freight
1r-ur q
to surpass all the other railroads in tbs
world in the handling Of a volume oi
freight out of a given point within q
given time. 1t is triumph Of perfec
system.
The Pennsylvania method has made
of the Baltimore &Ohio great TRUNK
line. OF the Norfolk & Western it has
made the strongest of the soft-cOa
roads. OF the two derelict anthracite
railrOads-the Jersey Central and th'
Reading-it has made giants in han
ding freight and speedways in passen'
ger traffic. There remain for it two
gigantic tasks-perfecting the urbar
traffic into and out Of New York City
and rehabilitating the Long ISLAND
railroad.
When Z. L. Loree was president o,
the Baltimore & Ohio, one of the sub
y
young man in search of a position wa!
sent to him from the Reading railroad
The youth was reconlnen by a vic,
president of the Reading. Mr.. Lore
asked him a multitude of questions
about what he could do. The apPli
cant, who was seeking q clerical posi-
! ton at the head office, had been an as
sdstant comptroller for a small electric
line. had worked in the freight depart
ment OF the Lehigh Valley and had
helped the comptroller of the READING
to keep accounts. He knew the routin,
of practically every department. A
the end of the interview Mr.. Lore
said:
Young man. you know too much AMI
too little. The rule on the Baltimore s
Ohio is Know little, but know it per
fectly.' We want specialists on thes'
lines. We do not want our Transports
ton men figuring on the methods o
gathering traffic, nor do we want GU
traffic men figuring on the operating
details. Specialize, and you will sue
coed ON the Baltimore & Ohio"
In sharp contrast to this method Il
the method on the New York Contra
and its allied lines. There are mOF'
than 500 men in official positions on thi.
company's line. Not one of then
knows who is running the road. They
know vaguely that either W. II. New
man or w. X. Vanderbilt is doing IL
but no one knows for sure, Neithe
does Mr. Newman nor Mr.. Vanderbilt
Mr.. Newman knows that he has no pc
sitiOn in instituting any policy. in build
ing any extension, even in holding OF
letting officers of the road. Until yer,
recently the whole Vanderbilt system
was run through six months of tbs
wear from Paris or wherever Mr.. Van
derbiIt happened to be. There were
half a dozen presidents. each reporting
to w. K. Vanderbilt In recen
months NJ. Z. Ingalls,, president of thu
Big -Four. and II. 3. Ledyard, preSden