The Lambertville record., 1905-07-12
TIE AGE LIMIT ABANDONED

THE AGE LIMIT ABANDONED
The Chicago and Altn Railload
Company, one of the FIRST Ia adopt the
age limit OF thirty-hve years in the
employment OF men, has abandoned ii
after three years trial and Will employ
At least fifty per cent OF its men with
out regard 10 age and will con.
slider only their experience and their
adaptbility to the work required OF
them. The Boston and Maine announ-
ces that Ii will hire men of any age in
any capacity The Chicago, Mllwau-
kec and St Paul and also the Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy have practic-
ally abandoned the arbitrary rule, and
1t would not be in the least surprising
II several OF the leading Eastern lines
announced in the near future their
adoption of this common sense plan of
hHlns men in consideration of what
they can do irrespective Of their years.
This change of sentiment can be at
tHbated 70 but one cause, as the Rail
road Employee clearly puts II, namely,
that It has not proven successful and
has failed to produce the results ex-
pected in corporation management and
operation" 1t was unphilosohical
unwse and unnatural to begin with,
as IS almost every arbitrary rule that
was ever invented, and it was uugrate-
ful cruel and inhumane in addition.
There was never any valid reason OF
necessity for it, and It's failure was in
evitabIt Many hcartachcs and priv
ations have resulted from the adoption
and enforcement of this rule several
years ago, and many more will un-
doubtedly follow, without shadow of
excuse, as long rs it is enforced on the
railroads or IN the management Of any
great industrial corporations 1t is
gratifying, not only to railroadcrs, but
to all wage earncrs IN all occupations,
to know that this severe anl unwar-
ranted regulation has been found so
detrimental that it has ben formally
and finally abandoned by some cor
poratons, at least, for a mote sensible
and trustworthy policy.
Some men are at their best after
they have reached forty, aud not a
few are IN the very prime of their use
lulncss at fifty. The railroad officials
knew this, many Of them from their
own personal experiences, and they
showed their own lack Of Euth in the
aye limit decree by continuing them
selves on the pay rolls long after they
had passed thirty five, and by retain
ing men in subordinate positions who
had reached nemiy twice that age.
They did SO, Of course, simply and
only because they and their subordi-
mates we're doing good work and no
better men could be found to take
thcrplaces.
But they broke their own drastic
regulation in even more conspicuous
instances. They might have been ex-
cused on selfish or sentimental grounds
for retaining themselves and their old
and faithful employees, but whenever
vacancy occurred in the Office of the
president, vicc-president, general man
agcr or other highly important position,
they invariably choose man over
thirty FIVE to hll 1t. Their actions thus
spoke louder than their words.
"My company says General Man
agcr Miller, Of the {. b. x O., "has
found by long experience that it is
quite impossible To operate success
fully with too many young men; that
no age limit should prevent companies
from securing the services of men
whose valuable experience would make
them valuable. And he adds, ire
liable men over thirty-fiyc are too val
liable an asset for any corporation to
overlook" This is common sense, so
manifest that it is a marvel any indus
trial corporation ever trlversed it.
Why man Of tbirty-six OF forty, in
good health, experienced, careful and
trustworthy, should be barred from
his chosen vocation, if by accident he
IS thrown out of employment, is
something that no reasonable employer
can explain. "1hcre's no room, no
work, no chance to make living for
old men," was the sad sentiment that
went abroad when the age limit rule
was first promulgated. 1t VIII be fol
lowed, after three years experiment
and failure, by the sensible, intelligent,
humane announcement that a good,
useful man can find employment re-
gardless of his age, as long as he is able
to do well and satisfactorily the work
required of him. Newark News.