The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-12-30

ditor and his force which numbers 1872
persons. Mr.. MitchelIs office is located
on the fifth floor and in the front end
of the building. Reports are received
! in this office from every ticket Office on
the system. These offices include those
at the passenger stations, Offices that
are located in the business districts,
which are known as city Offices, and
the offices which are located in cities
which are not on the lines of the COM
pany. number of these offices are
located far from the lines of the com
pany. As an example of this, the
eastern terminal of the Santa Fe syS-
tenn is in Chicago, but a ticket Office is
located in St Louis, New York, and
other principal cities where the pas
senger department believes an office
can be operated and secure enough
business to warrant such.
A number of large ticket Offices send
reports OF ticket business to this office
every day while a larger number send
in reports one each week. All offices
make a general report at the end of
each month.
The persons employed in Mr. Mitch
ellis Office must examine these reports
to see that the proper amount has
! been collected through the sale of the
tickets, that the proper distribution
has been made on tickets to persons
for passage over more than one rail-
road system Many other things of
I
duties of this office.
The seventh floor is occupied by w.
w Strickland the freight auditor and
his force and the eighth floor is &C.
cupied by the Office of the assistant
freight auditor, from which Mr..
Strickland has been promoted and the
force of both offices is under the juris-
diction of Mr.. Strickland and mum bers
315 persons. More than double the
number of persons are employed in
this department than in any other de-
partment in the general offices.
When one considers that the way
bill covering every shipment of freight
that is made, together with weekly and
monthly reports of every freight office
on the system, and some daily, is for
warded to this Office for audit-one
does not wonder that such a large
force is employed in this department
In addition to that, the agent makes
weekly report of all shipments received
and forwarded and also a monthly re-
port of all freight business. With these
reports are others which cover short
ages, damages in shipment, loss in
transit, distribution of money collected
where shipments are made over more
than one line and many other reports
of this character.
The Freight Department.
The freight department and the au-
diting department connected with it is
probably one of the most important
on an entire railroad system. Deliver
ing freight from one point to another
is the principal object of the common
carrier. This was one Of the reasons
for introducing new system of
transportation. which was formerly
practiced with the use of beasts of
burden The horse, the mule or OK
proved insufficient to supply the de-
mands of a progressive country. 1t
was impossible to transport the freight
without an enormous expense and
many other disagreeable features.
Hence the invention of the locomotive
and the gigantic railroad systems OF
the country.
Through the advancement of rail-
roads and steamship lines as a method
of transportation and for hauling