The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-12-06
THE BRANDEIs OFFER.

The offer of Mr.. Brandes TO show
the railroads how to save million
dollars a day in their aggregated husl-
ness is certainly gorgeous one. III
that can he done there would seem not
only TO be no need Of raising rates, but
on the Contrary Il considerable rcdnc
ton ought TO be effected, Mr.. Bran
deis, responding 10 the invitation OF
thc Western railroad officials 10 pay
him great salary if be can show them
how TO do this. or to save any consid-
erablc proportion of the sum named,
declines to accept any pay, but insists
| that he can make good. and asks that
the Eastern railroad presidents be pres,
ent at the conference which he prom
ises 10 attend.
We trust that Mr. Brandes may
make good; for if he can, and will do
so as q gratuitous service in the In.
terest of the public, he will deserve 3
monument Of gold, particularly If the
showing shall bring the railroads 10
he point Of reducing rates, or even
wean them from their persistently an
nounced purpose Of increasing rates.
But Mr.. Brandels should understand
from The beginning that If he means
to suggest that the saving is 10 be
made by consolidating the roads all
under ono management, the people will
have none Of 1T.
But ii appears from evidence pre-
sen,od BIZ the Springfield Mass ne
publican that Mr.. Braudeis is not the
real author of the proposed saving OF
u million dollars a day by the rnll-
roads, but Harrington Emerson. "a
man who has made a special study OF
efficiency in business operations. MI
Emerson was recently before the In
;erstate Commerce Commission, VII
ness in support Of the shippers con
tention that railroad rates should not
be increased, and the point under con
sIdcratlon was brought out as follows;
Commissioner Prouty-You have been
quoted Ir Emerson. as stating mat IN
Vour oplpion. by The Introduction OF proper
efficiency system or Scionllf@ manage
mont, ihc railroads Of The United states
could effect an economy OF perhaps SSpO,-
600 200 a wear, or not less than 81 900. 900
a day.
Mr. Emerson least that.
Mr. BrandeiS-And In which OF the de-
rartments Of railroad operation Is II that
iarce economies can be effected. in your
opinion?
Mr. Emerson-In az Of the departments
except traffic The efficiency Of the traf
ic by my standards is very high that
is, the efficiency of expense In the traihc
departments,
Mr.. Brandcis appears TO have been
the attorney for the shippers, aud also
in thorough accord with Mr. Emerson
in the hearing before the Interstate
Commerce Commission, and he favored
the examination by asking how the re
duction could he made. the question
and answer being:
NJ Brandeis-W Would YOU state to the
commission on what YOU have based your
estimate that 80 large an economy in op-
Grafton is possible
Mr.. Fmcrson-There wcro -four different
ways OF attacking the problem The final
conclusion is . composite from the results
obtained by the four different methods
First. the long experience | have had In
intimately American shops
all over the country. had led me TO realize
that certain inef6clency existed In differ
ent classes OF labor. incfhcicncics due TO
the absence Of proper standard methods.
These incfficiencies averaged fairly we'll
over the whole country. They averaged
fairly well in all businesses. Taking
those inefncencics AS my judgment de-
termined item and applying them 10 the
bills for labor and for material i'll the
railroads. ] arrived at certain result
which aggregated in excess of $500, 900, 600.
That was one way Of getting at it,
The ineaiciencies which Mr. Elmer
son referred TO were also in other bust
nesses than railroads. But as the IN
quIrv was on railroad management, Mr..
Emerson made his answers specific as
to that.
it is most interesting problem and
the people will await the hearing at
which Mr.. Brandes is TO propose his
plan of cconoml1ing, with the greatest
interest and hope.