The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1913-01-03
FREIGHT DELAY
|NExCUSABLE
Commissioners Prouty Criticises
B. & M. and New Haven.
LOSE 4 OUT OF 100 PARCELS
Send Five Engines to Scrap Heap Ev
cry Month.-Nlnety q. & M.
Engines Found Useless Dur
ing Past Year.

bostoh-h. y. horn, operating vice
president OF the New Haven and the
Boston & Maine railroads, testifying
before Chairman Charles A. Prouty OF
the Interstate Commerce Commission
at the Federal building, said that
there was no question among the su-
pervisory officers OF the two railroads
as TO the desirability OF improving
the freight service on these two
roads.
Chairman Prouty told Mr.. Horn that
he saw no excuse for the admitted
fact that four out of every 100 pack
ages Of freight handled on the sys-
tenn go astray TO the extent OF being
missed for several days.
Mr.. Horn was testiying as to his
efforts to improve the locomotive ser
vice on the Boston & Maine. Chair
man Prouty had asked him how many
Boston e. Maine engines were being
"scrapped" or discarded. Mr.. Horn. In
facetious spirit had replied that he
would scrap Boston & Maine engines
as fast as the Interstate Commerce
Committee would finance the acquisi
tlOn OF substitutes.
Were not financing anything, Mr..
Horn" replied the chairman. What
I want to know Is how many engines
you are sending to the scrap heap?"
Mr.. Horn said that he had sent 80
Boston & Maine locomotives TO the
scrap heap in the last Is months. He
was sending them there now at the
rate of five every month.
Chairman Prouty made other criti-
scisms of the management. After hear
ing testimony that NJ. |. T. students
had made Investigations of freight
terminal congestion in Boston, the
chairman told Mr.. Horn that the man.
agement itself should make such in
yestigations.
at doesn't do any harm to have
these boys do such work, and probably
they enjoy it." observed the chairman,
%'but you ought to follow these
things down yourself. Then, when
you find out what the troubles are,
and, IL they arise from incompetent
help, you can stop them, even IL you
have to pay your employees more mon
ey"
Prof. Harold Pender OF Tech told OF
the investigation by students at his
institution. After reports by these
students, the institute chose man to
continue these investigations. This
man Is being paid by the railroad
companies and his work Is not yet in-
fshed.
Mr.. Pender said that the investiga-
ton showed that the greater part OF
the freight delivered by shippers
wagons and the greater number OF
wagons calling for freight arrived at
the terminals between 4 and o'clock
in the afternoon, or during the last
hour of the working day. This, OF
course, was a handicap to the rail-
road companies.
Mr.. Penders' testimony included
the statement that teamsters calling
for freight spent II percent OF their
time searching for their goods He
said that he was now at work on the
problem Of solving this slow delivery
and that it had been suggested that
schema Of employing motor trucks to
get freight to and from terminals be
employed. This motor truck scheme
might include operation by a private
company or by the railroad compan-
ie.. Such a plan, IL Is believed, would
bring about a reduction in the cost
of handling the freight at terminals
and would speed UP the service.
Vice president Buckland, who Is act
ing as counsel for the railroad COM
panies at this point, asserted tnat the
companies were "up against 1t" in
their efforts to extend terminals and
to get shippers and receivers to han
die their freight more promptly.
Mr.. Horn gave the average sched-
rled speed OF freight trains on the
Boston & Maine and the New Haven
as ten miles an hour for through
freight trains and six miles an hour
Cor way or local trains.