The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1907-02-27
A FINE ADDRESS.
RELATIONS OF EMPLOYEES TWO
FOLD: TO THE ROAD, TO
THE PUBLIC.
How to PHASE, How the Roads
May Grow in the Hearts of
the People.

The Representatives OF the freight
and passenger department of the
Southern Railway Company were
brought together in Atlanta on
February 18th, at the request of
President Finley, who addressed
them in part as follows;
Your duties bring you into per
sonal and daily contact with the
lines of the Southern Railway, and
/, as one who has filled positions
which some of you are now filling,
proposal to speak to you briefly of
the relations of freight and passen-
ger agents to public. Your duties
are of twO-fold nature. You owe
duties to the railway company by
which you are employed, and you
owe duties to the public. These
double duties do not in any way re
suit in conflict or divided allegiance,
THE general officers of rail
way have, unfortunately, too few
opportunities for meeting and talk
ing with the people who are de-
pendent upon the road for trans
DortatiOn services. The man hay
inc business relations with the road.
as rule, comes into personal con
tlct with the local representatives
of the traffic and operating depart
meats. The policies of the railway
are formulated and mapped out by
the general officers. but the appli.
cation of these policies to specific
transactions must he entrusted in
the main to men in the field. 1t fol
lows, then. that you have i'll sub
stantial sense, the reputation of the
Southern Railway Company for fail
and just dealing in your hands.
Whether the company shall be
popular or unpopular depends il
very large measure upon youratti-
tude toward the public and upon
your treatment of those doing bust.
ness with the road. 1t is of SUI
preme importance, therefore, that
you, who daily come into intimate
personal contact with the public.
should bear in mind constantly tina,
it is the unvarying policy of the
company to be just and fair to all
alikc-to the small shipper and the
occasional traveller: as well as t.
the large shipper and the regular
traveller; that you should always
he considerate and patient, and tina.
you should do all in your power ia
make the services of the road salts
factory to those for whom they are
performed.
"All classes of the public should
be treated with consideration and
be given every possible and
reasonable accommodation. Even
the man who makes impossible, OF
unreasonable demands, should not
be dismissed with a curt refusal.
He may not know that what he asks
is either impossible or unreasonable
and IA few words of frank cxplana-
ton pointing out to him why his
wishes cannot be complied with
may send him away a friend of the
road instead of a fault-fnder.
While everything possible should
be done for the accommodation of
those doing business with the road
care should be exercised not to
promise the impossible in the way
of facilities or services. When
failure to fulfill such a promise fol-
lows, the man who made it may be
able to shift responsibility To the
operating, or some other depart
ment or officer, but the damage
done to the reputation of the road
cannot be easily remedied. Cues
tiOns that seem to you to be trivial
may be considered of much impor-
lance by the persons asking them,
and they should be answered in
patience and courtesy.
The efficiency of the service as