The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-17
OF THE CAR SHORTAGE.
OPINIONS OF TWO EXPERTS on
THE SUBJECT.
senator MARLBOROUGH and Chairman Knapp
say Il Is Due 20 the Nervous Exhaus-
ton Of ~OVerwOrked Oficers and Men
M Not EnOugh.Men TO Handle the TT annc

AGn0t0r HAN sDruURu Atu Nhha Nt@ EAh@PP
Saw II IL Due TO the Nervous Exhaus-
lion Of O~Ver7wOrked Oficers and Men
y Not EnOuxhLMen to Handle the rafnc
Dec. le-Nervous ex-
hanstion due TO overwoTk on the part OF
officers and men Is one OF the causes Tor the
serious congestion along the highways OF
according to students OF the
problem. Railway wrecks in many in
stances are also declared to be the direct
result of placing too much responsibility
ar assigning too much work to a single
act of officers OF men or to individuals.
As far as the railroads are concerned the
ASSERTION il made in an official quarter that
their failure to air1ish ample facilities
for the carriage of m erchandise is caused
by a lack Of labor. As they are I'M bic
20 get an adequate supply of labor those
already employed, il is alleged, are pushed
TO the utmost.
sWe are working too hard, too rapidly
and too long each day, y ssVd Senator Henry
G. Hansorough of North dakota. who was
instrumental in inducing the Interstate
Commerce Commission to institute an
inouiry into the causes Of the car shortage.
.This evil il not peculiar to the railroad
world alone. II extends into nearly every
line Of American business life. The pace
IN swift. We must let up or nervous prostra-
ton will become distinctly an American
malady."
Martin w. Knapp. chairman OF the Inter-
state Commerce Coz nmission, asserted that
the whole country, in the individual case
as in the corporate case. was IN a state OF
congestion.
When the observations OF Senator Hans
brough and Chairman Knapp were shown
to him. Charles p. Neill, United States Com
missioner of Labor, said:
these suggestions open up a very in
teresting field for investigation, in which
/ think il would hi well worth while to
make a careful study"
II was Senator HansbrouRh who first
brought to the attention Of the Interstate
Commerce Commist ion in a formal way the
conditions in the Northwest caused by the
shortage of freight cars.
-When the car shortage il over he said,
sit will be found that one of the chief causes
of the trouble is that the people responsible
for the operations Of the railroads of the
country. from presidents to switchmen,
are simply overworked. This il evidenced
nv the fact that in the Northwest all the
available side trackage is blocked with
rolling stock, where trainmen have been
Obliged to shunt it of in order that the
main lines might be kept open for such
traffic as the railroads are able to handle.
Railway managers find it extremely dif-
6cult to secure the additional help that
in necessary for their increased business
Those already employed on the roads have
reached the condition through overwork
where there no longer exist the amoiIron
and incentive that should exist. The
nervous tension has almost reached the
limit. This condition Of affairs is not alone
peculiar TO the operation OF railroads; IL
exists in almost every avenue OF labor,
We find it in Washington, in the executive
departments, in and about the Senate, ana
marked degree at the White House.
Senator Hansbrough declared that tbs
Government employees were o~verworked
owing to the need of larger forces OF EN-
ployees; Communication - sa,ire
to supply the necessary number OF people
TO keep the wheels Of Government moving,
he said. "Only last winter we we're obliged
in passing a law creating a new bureau u
waive the requirements OF the owl service
laws in making appointments 10 tina
bureau. y will be necessary, l naVe 10
bureaus. As far as the Government ser
vice is concerned the difficulty can be over
come, hut with respect to the railway, ser
vice the task will not be as easy. RAILWAY
mAn1RGTS IHCiUHClNFN dLlu thpFN
who are drawing large salaries will b'
obliged in the future to give closer persona
attention to their business. 1t Is no longe
a question of dividends with the railroads
IL in a question of sat sfactory service, am
it is a matter in which the whole BODY o
the people at large il interested"
The whole country is in a state OF NOR
or less congestion, in the individual case al
in the organized or corporate case; sal ~
ineficiency, resulting from demands which
exceed present. capacity. A railroad per
forms excellent service up to about tht
limit of its capacity, but II required TO tur
nish rs per cent more service tnan u II
prepared for, its whole work is carried
on at a disadvantage, with Increased ex
penses per unit and with more or less con
fusion and decentralization. similarly! the
individual who is trained and htted Tor a
riven output of work will perform his &C
customed task with entire satisfaction
But IL continuously pressed with a con
siderable excess beyond what he is habitu
ally required to meet, he, ike the railroad
gets into a state of diminished energy ant
announcement and so does his work pc
unit at greater friction and with less salts
faction than under normal circumstance
tine average employee who sees little
y nroepect Of advancement finds no sufficient
Incentive to determined effort but yield,
TO the temptation 20 do no more than enough
70 hold his place. That temptation is very
powerful when in times like the preeenl
tOeEt - a tdGh VI CAphblC 49, -"
activity. so that the risk OF being thrown
out because he does not accomplish more
"a reduced to the minimum"
= Il, can readily understand said Com
missioner Neil. 'ahow the demands on tn
t. railroads should become so great that they
would be unable TO supply enough cars 4
handle the business. | cannot see tina
overwork on the part OF the men who woui
rise is lessening the activities OF the rail
road. Conditions are the same as in a ma
chine shop. The men have TO keep up will
the machine. On the whole / think it MAJ
& be said that the scarcity in the labor marke
and the inability of the railroads TO handi
the business offered to them are responsible
for the present conditions in the West. Tn
Y labor bureau has not taken up the lnvesti
< u cation of railroad labor. The suggestion
Of Senator HansRrough and Chairman
Knapp oper up a field Of Inquiry thai shout
W he fiven attention.