Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-07-17
FREIGHT MEN
IN CONVENTION
Lshlsh Valley Agents Discuss
The Public They Serve.

H
The freight agents convention, de-
signed to improve the railroads ser
vice to the public, is an innovation
which is now shaping itself into a
permanent institution on the Lehigh
Valley railroad. The management of
the company has given its official APP
prevail to the meetings, at which
the agents suggest and discuss all
sorts OF methods to expedite the
collection. shipment and delivery of
freight.
The men in charge at all the I'M
pOrtant stations on the road are
members of the agents organization;
and the periodical meetings enable
each to get the benefit of the OBJ
servation and experience of all the
others.
1t is the freight agent and his as
sistants who come into direct contact
with the shipping public. They have
wide opportunities to see Just what
r the faults of a railroad that pro-
duce irritation, and often they form
definite ideas as to how these faults
may be corrected. Thus the agents
cannot only help n another but
they a give great aid to the higher
officials who are not in close daily
contact with shippers.
Agents Consider All Details.
An illustration of the apparently
trivial details that receive attention
afforded at a recent meeting
when n of the agents gave this
piece of advice:
See that your delivery clerks treat
draymen c~ourteously and be ready at
all times to listen to complaints from
them. A dissatisfied drayman may
mean the diversion of business from
several firms. Keeping in mind the
drayman is a big factor these days"
One paper presented at the same
meeting dealt with the use and
abuse Of box cars" The straining of
car floors was n of the abuses
specifically noted. Oil, acids, tar,
ink and paints, glucose and molasses
should be loaded into cars used
only for coarse freight, are often put
into good, new cars; and the almost
inevitable soiling renders this equip
ment unfit for foodstuffs and delicate
commodities.
The author of the paper suggested
means of prevention and remedy. The
real solution of the difficulty Is to
employ only the proper kind of car
each article, but that is an ideal
impossible of complete realization.
Thorough cleaning has to reinforce
the efforts toward car selection, and
a compound of soft soap and I've has
put many soiled cars on the Lehigh
Valley into Dprfapt shane
Good money is paid out every
day to settle claims for freight dam
aged in cars that have at some time
should never be loaded into a good
car said the agent.
The driving OF nails into doors,
walls and floors was another abuse
considered. And one of the agents,
in the discussion that followed the
reading of the paper, said that "the
railroads paid out annually n and a
half million dollars on account of
damages due to nails in cars"
.These serve merely as illustrations of
Isort of subjects that are discussed
&C The meetings. There are no trouble
some problems faced by the agents
which, if they have not already been
considered, will not come before the or
ganiaztiOn in the future. Relations
with the public, accounting methods,
5he management of the force of clerks
assistants, the relations between
5he agents and the operating employees,
The supply and condition of rolling
3toek-these topics and subdivisions of
will be carefully studied; and
upon each and every one, in time, win
be conferred the attention of the whole
body of agents.
Official Encouragement. q
A letter from a vice president of the
company, read at the Rochester meet
ing of the agents, indicates the import
that the high officials of the Lee
high Valley attach to the organization.
"You are the main channel" said
Yice-President Middleton in the course
of his letter, ''through which the com
pany reaches it's patrons or the public.
The company is judged by your actions
and 1 do not have to tell you the in
jury that can be done to the com
pany's interests by a careless, unac-
cOmmodating representative.
The vice president emphasized the
point that the company might bene-
flied to an equal extent by capable and
courteous representatives. Then he
suggested several topics for discussion
at future meetings, among them the
following:
"Treatment of the public-how to
secure the friendly cooperation Of ship
pers and the public generally"
Economy in the use Of supplies"
"Small leaks and how to avoid
Economy and Judgment in order
ing cars during times of car string
"Loss and damage clams-ways and
means of effecting a reduction"