The Washington herald., 1914-09-13

misunderstanding. replied the president
ARE a latent inherited class prejudice
and the remoteness Of management. The
last NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of management
is the one which. in my judgment. best
| justifes much of the criticism OF the
railways.
There are few American men," he
went on, who would lend themselves to
the despoiling of their immediate neigh
bors. We all know how public opinion
regards those who do that thing. l know,
too, that where communities are &C
quainted with the men who manage the
railways and respect them in their per
sonal lives and bearing, the pressure Of
hatred of what they represent is less
The psychology of this is not, however.
as simple as it seems to be. Most rail-
way managers have experienced a curious
differentiation in the public mind between
the individual reputation of the officer
and opinion Of his official acts.
Hatred of the Company.
That which is hated is not the man
who exercises the power and who makes
the determination which the public con-
siders unreasonable, but the impalpabIe
thing known as the COMPANY which
somehow Is distinguished from the Of
fcers and even from the stockholders.
who choose the officers. This seems TO
be the explanation of the reluctance of
juries TO impose criminal responsibility
upon officers for their corporate proceed
inEs. We must here recognize a preju-
dice, for the character of a corporate
Is neither better nor worse than that OF
its responsible manager. and il must
follow that. as the character Of the
manager is understood, opinion Of him
will more and more displaCe precon-
ceived opinion of the corporation.
Il deem 1t an obvious duty upon those
who have the responsibility of the man
aGement of railways to spend as much of
their time as they can in Cutivating
friendly and human relations with the
communities they serve. They can do,
and for several years the best American
railway managers have done, much to
plant the seeds of understanding and mu-
tual forbeArance by studying at first hand
the point OF view of the shipper and by
revealing themselves as human men
seeking to do their duty under diff
culties.
so far as railway managers are con-
it is not necessary to look into
the past. II they were once arrogant
and arbitrary and aloof as a class. all
the world knows that they were chasten-
ed by an outraged public opinion and the |
heavy hand OF the law. Those who typi- |
fed the sins OF the past have mostly |
passed away. They have been succeeded |
by another Eeneration-men who have
been from boyhood in the railway serv- !
ice. as distinguished from the control of
the railways, who have been all. their
ives in contact with the people. who are
lctuated by principles of service rather
han oppressive exploitation of oppOrtu-
lity; but they find themselves in an en-
Tironment of prejudice which was en-
rendered not by themselves but by their
They are under the awful
,urse of Yahweh, The sins of the father
hall be visited upon the children
TT Is conceivable that the American
people will not apply this lash OF SER
,ents forever and without relenting. l
believe 1t is only necessary for them to
become convinced that the present gen
ration of railway managers is seeking
imply to do their duty and to serve
.hiciently. to reinstate them in the high
place in public esteem TO which the
nature and Importance Of their service
antilles such OF them as do well