The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-20

am glad to make 1t aga1n-that. It IS the intention and the desire of the 1 New Haven company and of it's as- Isociated companies to have their of heers attend and their employees at l tend strictly to their own business.
 They are American citizens-citizens 1 of Connecticut, citizens of Bridgeport, and they have the right to vote, and 1 they should exercise that right as
 good citizens, but we shall not aim to sway them class to do this or to do that or to elect this or to de-
 feat that man. In other words in
 the vernacu1ar, we do not want them l to be in politics; and we have said
 to our employees, We want you to be . alert, courteous and attentive We I know they have hard task, because l it is very difficult to give to the public
 what the public wants, Rnd what
 we want to give ,and it requires great
 patience on the part of the officers
 and employees ts always meet the criti-
 cisms-sometimes just, sometimes 1 just.
 .'No one who is not in the Business
 perhaps realizes, although think you
 manufacturers are beginning to real 1 ize it, what the burden is of the almost constant investigation excessive su-
 pervfsions petty interference, unneces- sst work created by excessive legis-
 1ation. do not complain about it. I It is one of the conditions Of the busi-
 ness; but it is difficult thing to
 meet, and it takes away from the eff1-
 ciency Of this manufacturing plant, N--4ch is manufacturing som mething
 that. you gentlemen need and must
 have in increasing quantity and in better quality.
 .T saw a clipping in the paper day or two ago, and it caught my eye, and I saved it, and will read a. l little of it because it touches that is. sHe said:
 One of the troubles that con 1 front the railroad situation today is that those supposed to be mas l ters in the art of running a trans portation machine are kept jump ing from one part of the country to the other, dancing attendance,
 upon the Federal Commissioners, State Utilities Commission, boards of trade, etc. T think the statement can
 safely be made that during the- past twelve months, 90 per cent of the time which the operating officers of the New Haven road should have devoted to the rail- road has been spent in attending 1 the courts, state and federal hear ings of all sorts.
 Until these men are given an opportunity to perform the work for which they are paid, how can the public expect any more than they are getting?
 The governor has spoken a little about the tarin and the. currency question, two very great and dnpor- tant questions affecting the daily life of every one, and this Transportation question also affects the daily life of every one, and it must be solved and x solved right, or every one will suffer I It seenss to me that New England paTtic1larly at this time is vita1ly in l terested in using such influence as it has. in a proper and manly fashion to
 point out in the work that Is now go- i ing on to make it's New Haven sys- 1 tenn conform to those who think the I law has sveen violated that. the steps
 necessary to bring the system in con formity with certain views of the law 1 to be taken in such a way that the
 separation and the dislocation be made with a minimum amount of dis 1 turbance to this de1fcately adjusted transportation machine, not in the in- terest of the owner of the railroad and not in the interest of the employe Of the railroad, but in the interest of l those who use the railroad and live IeaIong it's line, and whose homes, and health, and happiness are dependent upon safe and adequate and comfort l able transportation.
 Ut is your problem fully as much as mine the problem of the owners of the property. How can we do any better than we are doing, is the con
 stant study of the officers One thing we are trying to do-and don't take i 1 think all railroad officers I know are trying to do the same thing-is to es-
 IaDl1sh confidence and loyalty and a l spirit Of cooperation between every l man on the railroad from the water
 boy on the track right up to the high est officer in the service That is one | thing we must have for the success of l this complicated transportation ma 1 chine, and another thing we want is confidence and frankness and reason 1 able discussion between the railroad
 and those who use that railroad. 1 4~Ope reason why meeting Of this 1 kind and the discussion before the meeting, when all stand about to- 1 gether. one reason why they are good l is that various officers of the company come here, and they get the point of view more or less of you gentlemen, and you get the point of view Of these officers, and you reason together be- l to satisfactory adjustment of this i very complicated, perpIexing eommer- .c1al problem of the railroad and the railroad service; and the three things we must have. is to develop a spirit Of more open-mfnded and frank dis
 cusslon Of the different questions that 1 come up before the town council or
 the Public Service Commission or the i State Legislature and approach these
 questions frankly and without any improper methods, but if the railroad 1 does that you gentlemen must select
 public servants who are inspired with 1 the same viewpoint, | eff we can bring about those three i things-confdence and loyalty with
 the employe, confidence and spirit 1 of. frank and free discussion between l the managers Of the railroad and the I public they are trying to serve, and confidence and reasonatbleness and 1 fr-9T h1fV