New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-09
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: Service to the customer is the key
note of modern enterprise. The days are
rapidly declining when he who has something
to sell may whipsaw him who wants to buy
irto taking il whether he Wills or not. Yet
nowhere in the published statements of the
factors in this controversy between railways
and their employees do I find any recognition
OF this broad principle of modern economies.
/ Where is the difference between a railway
with something to sell, or between an en-
ploye or group of employees with something
20 sell, and any other business enterprise
soliciting the customer over the counter or
through the mails? If manufacturers, mer-
chants. telephone and express companies,
and even in certain instances the dear, old
fashioned United States PostofHce, are all
discovering that ultimately absolute salts
faction to the buyer of the goods pays, and
paws well. why not the railways, which sell
TRANSPORTATION to the public, and the en-
rloyes, who sell labor to the railways?
For nearly every commodity except that
dealt in by the railways the public pays and
NAYS willingly for increasingly better ser
vice. We live in an age Of improvements, an
age of tiled bathrooms, ready-cooked break
fast foods. shock absorbers, electric cook
stoves. Would the public If it understood
thoroughly the greatly improved transporta-
ton facilities of modern times, be glad to
ray increasingly for them on their merits
as il does for other commodities and COM
forts? think so-if it understood.
L. Il
crosses, moreover, have stepped in again and
again to blind their eyes and say to the rail-
ways. "No matter what service you render
YOU shall charge so much per mile. This Is
TIE law, final and conclusive, standing Tor all
time, and irrevocable," as if the mile were
the unit of measure and the value OF the
service counted for naught.
In certain big store recently | saw signs
everywhere, at is not what you pay, but
what YOU get for it that counts"
That is the story in nutshell. The ran
WAYS have given US more dependable and
more frequent train serylse, improved safety
devices, improved heating apparatus, sani-
tary drinking cups, steel and vestlbuled cars,
better terminal facilities All of these
things. if they had never been, would be
willingly conceded by the public to be worth
an increased price. But government, the
government of the people, insists that these
improvements, no matter how costly, should
have been provided anyway, and have moth
ing to do with the matter.
If you were to put up this barrier in front
OF any other industry-that is, the refusal
of legislation to allow it to charge for. i'm
proved service-you would lessen by just so
much it's incentive to do more than compelled
to do for it's customers. Why. therefore,
should it not lessen the incentive and the
usefulness Of the railways Is not that one
sure way to put them out of business alto
gether? Who would invest money in an
enterprise compelled to give high standard
of service. yet denied the right to charge
price for il that the customer might be per-
fectly willing to pay?
Let US now consider labor's standing in the
matter While the railways have been stead
liz improving their service TO the public by
providing better traffic conditions better as
surance of safety, better sanitation and bet
ter terminal facilities, what has labor con
tributed to the undertaking? Or to put it
another way, have railway executives, when
considering those immense budgets involving
mechanical Improvements, ever considered
the possible purchase Of better service from
the men?
After all. it is through its men that any
business organization demonstrates its abil-
ity 10 render service A suburban station
agent, on Sunday duty, receives a locally
consigned parcel marked "Perishable," on
which. Of course. he cannot make delivery