The Washington herald., 1914-03-17
THE OPEN FORUM.
Herald Reader Upholds Commissioner
Harlans Report on St. Paul R. R.

Harlan S Report on St. Paul K. K.
To the Editor: Apropos the editorial
i'm your paper entitled ''HarIan's EpistIe
to st. Paul." take the liberty of re-
spectfuily calling your attention to the
report of Commissioner Harlan in docket,
No. go. of the Interstate Commerce Conn
missions current report which Is the SUBJ
Itect OF your criticism. In the interest of
a correct understanding OF this case,
trust you will be good enough to publish
this letter.
From careful reading OF this report
| 1t will be apparent to any one having
Iany knowledge whatever Of railway ac-
lcountsncy that upon the statement of
facts therein Mr.. Harlan's criticism or
| stump speech. as you have chosen TO
term IL. was anything but severe. 1 as
sumo that you do not undertake to oues
ton the accuracy of the findings of the
Interstate Commerce Commission. This
commission Is not a small organization.
The accountants. employed in investiga-
tions OF this character are men who
are recruited through difficult competitive
1 civil service examinations As for the
Qualifications of Mr.. Harlan, I would re
spectfully refer you to any railway oficiaI
with whom he may ever have come in
contact
From the moral and ethical viewpo!nt
there can be but one logical conclusion
| concerning certain accounting methods
Of the St Paul road" Any corporation
! railway or Industrial, which wantonIy
violates the law should be prosecuted
not only by the sovereign but should h.,
subjected TO civil proceedings by its cred
/ itors whose security is impaired In this
case the officials who juggIed the ac-
| counts were. OF course, primarily respon-
sible. They were immoral. IL not dishon-
est. The st. PauTs very lame attempt
TO wriggle out this affair by blaming
its conduct on its deceased comptroller
is really amusing. The men higher up
should have been more ingenious than
to try to shift their responsibility on one
whose lips are forever closed.
May / ask. Mr.. Editor. If you would
! knowingly strike blow at the entire ac-
counting profession? In the interest Of
honest accounting. such conditions as
this should be made public. What dif-
ference does il make whether the -
Paul falsifed its records in 1910 or l9l49
To any one familiar with the organiza-
ton Of the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion. the apparent delay can be readily
accounted for. All the interstate rail
ways in the United States are required
to file their lannual reports with this
commission Often these reports are de-
Iayed in transit. when they are received.
Il detailed check and audit is made Of
each report Much correspondence with
| railway accounting O~'-ars Is necessary
1 to correct errors and secure uniformity.
and railway officials are invited in visit
! ing and inspecting the thousands Of rail
way record offices in all parts Of th..
country. Practical experience in account
| ing in the service OF railways j. a pre-
n "a MI pF
aminers Of accounts. As every annual
report must he carefully diEested. il is
not surprising that bad practices and
even discrepancies do not crop out for
three or four years I happen to know
! that the reports OF the commission are
very carefully prepared and edited. ami
before being given out To the press are
passed upon by the commissioners in
conference.
The system Of accounts is largely N.
work Of Prof Henry Z. Adams Of
! University Of Michigan. who was form
erIv in charge of statistics and account
under the commission. Prof Adams Is
eminent in the field Of statistics and
railway economies. or all the divisions
Of the commission. 10 any one with aH
open mind I think il will he appar-r'
that the statistics and accounts division
are least open to criticism either as t.
organization or personnel.
Your valuable publication is either mis-
Informed or has misconstrued this r..
port. 1t is indeed a serious matter l'
attack a large railway corporation with
multitude of stockholders scattered in
all parts Of the world. and mUCkrakiHS
attacks on business inspired hy i-n0r-
ance and jealousy are deplOTahl- indeed
Business is not inherently had as NAM
misguided people are trying 10 make IL"
American people believe. There j. a di-
viding line. however. between right AMI
wrong and such reports a. Commission
Harlans are honest reminders "f that
fact ROBERT r. LITTLE.