The San Francisco call., 1908-11-01
CARD ROOM, AND OFflcL
ROSEWLLE
By Fred R. Bechdolt
lie efticieaey of the man behind

The efficiency Of the man behind
whom you ride
Trained sociologists, hired by a
great railroad system, are busy
going over the systems human equip
ment, justsas machinists go over roll
ing stock, to make the brain and mus
Gle mechanism work more truly. They
are susing a unique and in some re-
spects a picturesque method "A Human
Block System" is what it has been
christened.
railroads constantly improve their
rolling stock. They hire men to perfect
the mechanism OF. the monster locomo-
tives. to the end that the engines may.
plunge down grades and speed along
tangents with no danger of break
down. Every bolt is inspected to this
end. But the men-the most complex
OF mechanisms-no one looked to them
There have been no experts planning
the Improvement which might make
muscle more promptly answer brain.
AS a consequence these human ma
chimes sometimes went wrong An en-
giReer forgot an order. his brain
clouded by a bad nights rest. and the
train piled up. Now aside from the
sentimental side OF this sort Of thing
the horror we all feel. railroadmen as
well as ordinary: .persons-it meant
thousands Of dollars every time it hap
pened. Thousands Of dollars appeal to
q corporation. The great thing which
ally awakened 10 the fact that its men
machines needed more care That was
it-more care. The engines were
housed and wiped and groomed like
race horses after their runs then over
hauled carefully. The freight cars got
a need Of attention. But the men were
dismissed from the train at the cutting
out points and were actually shut out
OF all the comfortable places around
the stations. AS a rule these cutting
out points We're little towns. clusters
OF saloons around a network of tracks,
and the trainmen and engineers seek
ing what their bodies demanded
warmth and comfort-found it in the
saloons. There they made their brains
and bodies less efficient.
All OF this T. c. Athearn told the
management Of the Southern Pacific.
And the management, skepticaI as Of
lcials Of railroads always are. but will
ing to be convinced. as corporation
arrangements always are, inclined an
unwilling ear TO him and asked thou
sand questions. He answered them.
lie told them what their men were do
ing. He coined the metaphor-"a hu-
man block system He told OF the i'm
portance OF man machinery. And then
he told his plan.
The plan was a series of railroad
mems clubs. These were to be estab-
lished at the. cutting out points-the
places where the crews leave their
trains. These clubs were to be a part
Of the system. They were 20 be bust
ness right through. no religion. no
sentiment. no eIeemosynary purposes.
There was reason for this. Religious
Institutions had done good work at
times. but they did not reach all the
men. Eleemosynary institutions died
as a rule after the original benefactor
went or after the first trustees gave
way to others, or after the original be-
quest was exhausted. But a part of
the system would live with the system.
and the men would feel more esprit de
corps with arguments like this. he
talked, and the management took up
the plan.
They took IT UP slowly at first. There
ras lot Of quiet feeling along for
lat. Finally the clubs began to
ing up. The first was at Tucson.
they have them at Tucson, Duns-a.
r, Yuma and Rossville. And there