The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-07-04
AS THE SANTA FEE MOVES ON.


challenged so much by the announce
ment of a new and forward policy
that the company has undertaken as
it is in contemplating what the COM
pany may do next.
1t was one of the first of the big
corporations, or at least one of the
first of the big railroad companies, of
the country to establish an old age
pension system for its employees, and
of which several hundred of its for
mer active workers are already en-
joying the fruit.
1t pioneered in the Safety First"
movement, which is beginning to de-
liver most valuable goods in the re-
duction of the number of train acct
dents and the injury not only of pas
sengers but also of employees.
1t was one of the pioneers in what
may perhaps be classified as the rail-
road publicity movement, and has
gone much further in this direction
than any of the other railroads in the
n1ingling of its officials with the bust
ness men, the shippers and the trav-
cling public along its lines and talk
ing over with them in a straightfor-
ward manner all of the many rail-
| road problems that are almost of as
much essential concern to the general
public as they are to the railroads.
This has resulted in the development
of a much better feeling not only on
the part of the people along the Santa
Fe lines toward the company and the
railroads in general, but also better
feeling on the part of the company,
or its officials, towards the company's
clientele, which also happens to be
the railroads court of last resort in
these days of the government and state
regulation of the railways. This was
one of those wisely-conceived moves
that was certain to work both ways,
| If it worked at all. And it has been
of large advantage to both sides.
The Santa Fe literally astonished
the whole country a little while back
| in what may be called the Ardmore
case. This Oklahoma town was al
most torn apart by the explosion of a
gasoline tank car on a track in the
Santa Fe yards there. Even before
the responsibility for this accident
had been determined-and, by the
way, it has since been established that
the Santa Fe was scarcely to blame
for 1t and probably would not have
been held culpab1e by the courts-the
company announced that it would
make adequate settlement of all
claims incident to the disaster with
out contesting any of them in the
courts. And every such claim, and
there were hundreds of them, with
one single exception, has already so
been settled, and at an expense to the
Santa Fe of approximately $1,O0O,0OO.
Only short time ago, the Santa Fe
announced material Increases in pay to
many classes of its employees who are
in positions that are not associated
with organized labor. This action can
only be construed that the Santa Fe is
disposed to be as fair with the unor-
ganized labor in rs employ as it usu-
ally has been in meeting the demands
of its organized labor.
| And now comes the announcement
that the Santa Fe has decided to pro-
vide death insurance for the bene-
ficiaries of all of its employees who
have been in its service for a period
of two years and longer. The mini
mum amount of insurance that will be
paid Under this plan will be $3.50 and
the maximum $4,000. All of the ex-
penses incident to the operation of this
Insurance system will be paid for by
the company itself. There is nothing
of the cooperative about it. The en-
ployes do not have to contribute a sin
gle penny to it in any way whatsoever.
In other words, it is a bonus from the
Santa F'e company to its employees, or
rather their dependents. And it must,
of course, considerably strengthen the
already friendly relations that exist be-
tween the company and the great bulk
of its workers, and which means so
much in the maintenance and further
development of the efficiency of a
business organization of the size and
completely of the Santa Fe.
But, of course, this insurance en-
deavor on the part of the Santa Fe
means much more than the benefits
that will accrue from it to the COM
pany's employees. and to the company
itself in the better service that it will
encourage the employees to give 1t is
a most important step of progress in
the railroad and corporate world. If
the Santa Fe can provide life insur-
ance for all of its employees, and con-
siders it of advantage to itself to do
so, there is no reason why other large
and prosperous railroads and big cor
porations in other lines of endeavor
can not do likewise, and no doubt
many of them will.
So this Santa Fe move is truly
big one; one that reaches far and be.