Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-01-25
COMPARISON OF
AMERICAN AND
BRITISH PLANS
Summaries of Methods of
Railway Management by
Two Countries.
American System.

BY virtue of a proclamation Of the
president under al act of congress
passed in August, 1916, Secretary Nc
Adoo as director general of h rail-
roads, took possession n assumed
control of the railways of the country
at midnight, December 81. It is pro-
posed that the government pay the
stockholders dividends based on the
average net operative income for the
last three years.
The director generals first act was
to direct that all officers and en-
ployes of the transportation system
taken over continue their duties as
usual, and that the railways should
be operated as a national system Of
transportation, the national needs be-
ing held in all instances paramount
to supposed corporate advantages. All
the railway property and facilities are
to be fully utilized without regard to
ownership, and the designation of
routes by shippers and traffic agree
nlents between carriers are to be dis
regarded when interfering with the
are established. Existing rate sched-
ules and outstanding orders Of the
interstate commission are
to be observed until annulled.
The director general called upon
all railroad officials to take up Wig
orously and Immediately the matter of
the comnon use of terminals n par
allel lines. wiping out all competitive
prohibitions and waving competitive
control or solicitation of traffic. The
terminal facilities in the large cities
are to be treated as a unit when neces-
sary. An immediate study and inves-
tigation Of railway and especially
terminal conditions were directed.
In some sections of the country an
embargo was placed on n consignee
not releasing freight promptly upon
arrival; certain passenger trains were
annulled; and all over the country the
denlurrage charges on unloaded cars
were increased.
The director general appealed. to
the people of the United States to OBJ
serve the week beginning January IA
as Freight Moving Week." urging
the people at large as we'll as h rail-
road forces to make a supreme effort
to unload all freight cars and remove
freight from railroad stations and
clear the deck for a more expeditions
moving of freight.
The director general says that
every railroad officer and employee is
now, in effect, in the services Of the
United States. and each as important
a factor in winning the war as a man
in the trenches.
Secretary McAdoo asked for the CO.
VI tA'S SAAS ; oy
officials and employees, n the people
at large. The response was immedi-
ate and strong, INC government con-
troll in the United States has become
a public, national effort participated
in by he whole people.
English System.
The experience of the English gov
eminent in railway control is Of
prime interest to Americans 1t his
juncture. The following summary of
the railway control by the English
government is taken from a speech
delivered in the senate January 4 by
Senator Henry F. Hollis of New
Jersey:
The English government took en-
tire control of all railways in Great
Britain on August IA, 1914, agreeing
to pay the stockholders the same
earnings as they received in the year
1913.
LAS traffic demands increased while
facilities decreased, due to wear and
tear and the enlistment of thousands
of railway workers, was had
to reduction of service and the en-
ployment Of women and men not
capable Of bearing arms. the number
of women employed increasing in
three years from $4,000 to 100, 600.
Freight cars were pooled without re-
gard to ownership, and the loading
and unloading OF cars were expedited
under heavy penalties, fines and i'm
prisonment: it was made a criminal
%otfense to fail to load or unload in ac-
cordance with the rules. Passenger
trains were annulled, reservation of
seats abolished, traffic diverted, and
passenger rates advanced SO per cent,
not so much to increase revenue as
to discourage travel.
1.-THE government control in Eng
land was exercised through a railway
executive committee of 10 appointed
by the government from the general
managers Of certain important roads,
this board having as its official chair
man u member of the cabinet, the
president of the board of trade. The
staff OF each railway remained undis-
turbed.
wages, hours of work, and other
labor questions have been settled by
cancellation and arbitration, and it is
stated that both the management and
the workers nave worked in harmony,
realizing that whatever concessions or
sacrifices were made accrued to the
benefit of the nation and not to priv
ate interests"
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