New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-12
Fifty Executives at Wash
ington Conference Agree
to Coordinate Operations
National Defence Plan
Committees To Be Formed to
Correspond with Military
Departments of Army
Tram rha rhhunA Bureaul

iFrom me ITlDune purs"i
Washington, April 11.-More than MY
railway executives, representing Zoo'-
900 mile, of American railroads, met IN
Washington to-day at the call OF Dan
iel Willard, president of the Baltimore
& Ohio and chairman Of the Advisory
Commission Of the Council Of National
Defence. to perfect plans to place the
railroads of the country at the com
pletc DISPOSAL of the government in the
p. csent emergency.
The conference was addressed by Sec
.etary of the Interior Franklin NJ Lane
Az il. close various railroad executives
pledeed their unqualified support anu
cooperation to the Council OF Deiehce
in advancing the government war priv
gramme. YrI
committee, composed Of Howard
Elliott, president Of the New IorK' We"
Haven g. Hartford; b. +. BUSH; re-
ceiyer of the Missouri Paclhc' JaGoo
NJ. Dickinson, receiver OF the ROCK Isl
and System; Fairfax Harrison presi,
dent of the Southern Railway. ana
Judge R. S. Lovett. chairman OF tne
board Of the Union Pacific, offered tne
following resolution. which was unsnl-
mously adopted:
"Resolved That the railroads Of the
United States, acting through their
chief executive officers here ana no"
assembled, and stirred by high sense
of their opportunity TO be OF tne sleaI-
est service to their country IN the pres
ent national crisis, do hereby pledge
themselves, with the government OF the
United States, with the governments OF
the several states and with one an
other, that during the present war they
will coordinate their operations IN
continental railway system, merging
during such period all their merely IN
dividual and competitive activities IN
the effort to produce q maximum OF ma
tional transportation efficiency.
"To this end they hereby agree to
create an organization which shall nave
general authority to formulate IN de-
tail 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, snail
be accepted and earnestly made e1 i.
fective by the several Arrangements OF
the individual railroad companies here
represented" -,
A planning committee. made up OF
julius Kruttschnitt. chairman OF the
executive committee of the Board OF
the Southern Pacific: A. II. Smith. pres
ident of the New York Central lines;
L. T. Loree, president Of the Delaware
g. Hudson: Samuel Res. president OF
the Pennsylvania. and George NJ: Slade'
vice-president of the Northern Pacific.
recommended a reference Of the whole
matter to the Special Defence Commit
tee of the American Railway Associa-
ton, headed by Fairfax Harrison.
{ Mr.. Harrison announced that his gen
eral committee would be divided into
six departments. each to correspond
with one of the military departments
of the army. These six committees will
include twenty-eight railroads execu-
tives. their work to be supervised by
a central executive committee. com
prised Of Mr.. Harrison, Samuel Rea.
Howard Elliott, julius Kruttschnitt and
Hale Holden, president of the Chicago.
Burlington & Quincy Railroad. MI.
Willard will be a member ex-ofticio OF
this central committee.