New Britain herald., 1917-04-12
BOARD OF FIVE TO
 CONDUCT RAILROADS
Chairman Elliott Of "NeW Haven"
 to Figure in Military Plans

Washington, April 12.-Represen- tatives of the American Railway asso- citation, including the presidents of the leading roads of the country met here yesterday at tine call of t:.e ccun- Gil of National Defense and named board of five men to direct the opera ton of American railways throughout the war.
 Members of the board are Fairfax Harrison of the Southern, chairman; Howard Elliott of the New York, New Haven and Hartford; Samuel Req or the Pennsylvania, Hale Holden of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and Julius Kruttschnitt of the Southern Pacific. Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore and Ohio, and Chair man of the Defense Councils Advisory commission, will be an ex-officio mem Der of the board, and the Interstate Commerce commission will be asked to name another.
 The committee on resolutions, com posed of MT. Elliott, J. M. Dickinson of Rock Island, Robert M. Lovett of the Union Pacific, MT. Harrison and B. F. Bush of the Missouri Pacific, drew up the following resolution, which was adopted and referred to the special committee on National De- fense of the American Railway As sociation of which MT. Harrison is chairman. Resolved.-That the railroads of the United States, acting through their chief executive off, cers, here and now assembled, and stirred Q hirI, af A1oSv opportunity to be of the greatest service to their country in the present national crisis, do hereby | pledge themselves, with the gov- ernment of the United States, with
 the governments of the several l states, and with one another, that
 during the present war they will
 coordinate their operations in a
 continental railway system, merg-
 ing during such period all their
 merely individual and competitive
 activities in the effort to produce a maximum of national transpor-
 tation efficiency.
 To this end they hereby agree
 to create an organization which
 shall have general authority to
 formulate in detail and from time to time policy of operation of
 all or any of the railways, which
 policy, when and as announced by
 such temporary organization,
 shall be accepted and earnestly
 made effective by the several
 homogeneous of the individual railroad companies here repre- 1 sented.
 Parallel Military Departments. MT. Harrison announced that his general committee would be divided into six departments each to corre- spond with one of the military de. partments of the army. These siz committees will include twenty-eieh, railroad executives, their work to be supervised by the Central Executive 1 Committee of Five.
 l The special national defense com mittee of the Southern Railway asso citation, appointed at the suggestion o the council of national defense ant acting in cooperation with it. ha. been working for weeks on a schem, to place the roads in shape to mee the emergency. MT. Harrison, chair man of this committee on nationa defense, issued a statement describ ing the instructions which the com mittee had already issued to the rail ! roads of the country. The statemen read:
 l ''The American Railway association | representatives, stationed at depart ment headquarters, and those at othel points from the camp quartermasters advise regarding the movement o, | troops: These will show the tim, troops will be ready to move: tht amounts of railroad equipment fol each train, showing number of eacf class of cars required, other thar tourist cars, number of persons te l travel, amount of baggage. vehicles guns, animals, and all details neces. 1 sary to enable railroad officials to act intelligently in assembling and plac' l ing equipment for prompt loading and entraining. . l "The American Railway associa. ton representative will take such ac. 1 tion as may be necessary relative tc 1 prompt furnishing of the desired rail. | way equipment. To communicate to l the quartermaster any information that he may receive regarding the status of equipment for moving troops 1 and supplies still in the camp. His duties will include expeditions assemb. i ling of necessary equipment and ar.