Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-12-27
PASSES MAY Be ABOLISHED
Railroad Men Think They See This
Result of New Ruling.
CLERKS DO NOT LIKE THE MOVE
Officials say They DO Not See why
Railroad Men should he En-
titled to Free TrRnSporta-
tion on other Lines.

In obedience to the mandate Of the In
terstate Commerce commission. the rail-
roads centering at Omaha, through their
officials have decided that after January
] new oIder of things will maintain
with reference to the exchange Of passes.
The new ruling, as previously an
nounced, IS expected to do away with
considerable travelling that railroad en-
poyes might expect 20 do over foreign
lines. This ruling makes IL imperative
that each and every railroad shall desig-
nate some official through whom re-
quests Of employees for transportation
shall be made Already the Northwestern
has designated Vice President Ashton Of
Chicago as the party. The Burlington
has established a pass clearing house"
in Chicago and through this applications
for FREQ transportation must go. The
Union Pacific is formulating it's plans and
IT is understood that the Milwaukee will
designate one of its vice presidents as its
pass censor. The same plan will be fol-
lowed by the Rock Island and Illinois
Central.
Some of the railroad employees feel that
the action of the Interstate Commerce
commission is aimed at them. Company
officials take a view that is Just the
opposite. They say that under the new
rulings of the commission the president
of a railroad cannot secure a pass over
any line other tnan his own without
making an application and having it go
through the regular channels.
No Great Hardship.
Head officials of the railroads say that
they are unable to see where, when, or
why the new ruling will work any great
hardship upon employees. In the future,
IL they are entitled to it under company
rules, they will receive transportation
the same as in the past, the only differ
ence being that they will have to make
their requests, which will go through the
regular channels.
MANY railroad officials, however, con-
tend that there is no good business rea-
son why their employees should be given
free TRANSPORTATION over other roads other
than those for which they are working
To show the logic of their argument, they
point to the fact that transportation is a
marketable commodity, sold at fixed
price and should be paid for by each
person using it. Going into the PROPOSE
tion still farther, they add that because
a man happens to work in grocery,
hardware or dry goods store there is no
valid reason why his employee should, on
his own motion. or upon an order given
NV come associated employee, perhaps a
little farther up the line, go to some
other merchant and get his goods and
supplies for nothing.
May End Passes.
There are some railroad men who see in
the recent order of the Interstate Com
merce commission the beginning OF the
end of free transportation. They go so
lar as to make the prediction that within
the next ten years all classes of free
transportation will be abolished, so far
as courtesies between lines are concerned
They expect that even railroad presidents,
if they desire to travel on lines other
than their own, will have to pay fare.
Al railroad officials agree that the
agents and employees in the smaller cities
are the ones who will be hardest hit by
the commissions newest order. In the
past some of these men have made eX-
tended annual trips. They have come In
contact with the travelling passenger and
freight agents of other lines and by rea-
son of having done some business on tho
side in the way of securing the routing
of passengers and freight, IN payment
these travelling agents have given them
and members of their families passes to
some of the most remote parts OF the
United States. Under the new order there
will be no more of this, as the travelling
passenger and freight agents will be
shorn of their authority, not even being
able to get passes for themselves unless
they make the regulation application and
send it up through the regular channel,
designated by the commission.
clerks stay at Home.
Railroad men say, too, that the new
order will shut out lot of another kind
OF travel. In this city, for instance, there
arc a lot Of railroad clerks and employees
who have been in the habit of making
little excursions into the country each
saturday afternoon, returning the follow
ing Monday morning. They have had
friends in other railroad passenger offices.
To these men week after week these
clerks and employees have been going and
securing transportation. Now all OF this
is likely 10 stop, unless 1t can be shown
that the trips are necessary, for II is not
considered likely that these travellers will
desire to go to the man who requests
passes and file their applications for free
transportation on other lines.