The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-08
Southern Express Office Is Headquarters for New
 Company Here
NO CHANGE NOW IN
 LOCAL MANAGEMENT
One Company, Known as the Ameri- can Railroad Express Company to Serve the Shipping
 Public

&OhCOlIOSALlOll Ol bilN AStfNC express companies will prac- tically go into effect this morn ing under the name of the "American Railroad Express company with the present of fees of the Southern Express company as the headquarters. The office of the American Elk press will remain open until the first of July. but the business will be generally handled at the Southern office. No change in the management of the local offices Is announced at this time. The consolidation will include the American, South ern, Adams, and Wells Fargo express companies.
 Further information was received yesterday by J. G. Scott, local mana ger of the American Express com pany, in regard to the consolidation of the express organizations under the guidance of Director General McAdoo. The new company, says MT. Scott, will be capitalized at $50, 0,00O,0 ,000, the ac- tual value of the physical properties and cash put into the business.
 Instead of having numerous contracts with individual railroads for various amounts there will be but one blanket contract with the entire government con trolled railroads. By this contract the American Railroad Express company will collect, insure, guard and deliver ex- press shipments. as in the past, and the government railroads will haul them. The rates charged for express transpor- tation will continue to be under govern ment control.
 GENERAL ORGANIZATION
 How the general reorganization will work out for the benefit of the shipping public is tentatively outlined in an inter view given out by George c. Taylor, former president of the American Ex- press and now president of the new con- solida ton.
 Thereafter the express companies will eliminate the individual identity which has separated them for the last three quarters Of a century and offer to the government and to their joint patrons unified. single express service.
 "In the future merchants, manufac- turers and individuals need merely specify By Express and the entire man power and vehicle power Of the eX- press world will respond to their call,
 At no time in the history of the rail- roads has the volume of express traffic been so great as it is today. the business reaching a total during the past fiscal year of over s2o0,ooo,o00.
 "Already the vast terminals now maintained by the various companies are being unified for a practical saving of time and transfer.
 "The street equipment of between 20 900 and 30, 900 motor and horse ve- hicles is und dergoing redistribution to avoid duplication of routes
 Branch agencies and multiple of fjces in many cities will be subject to an economical readjustment.
 "The claim departments will be uni fled and a closer cooperation estab- lished with the shippers to eliminate losses resulting from faulty packing and incorrect marking of shipments
 TRAINED IN SERVICE
 "The new move will bring into one Iorganization over 100000 men now trained in express service. It will be the policy of the company to maintain a broad-ga attitude toward its em- ployes, many of whom have spent their lives in the service and thousands Of whom have made great personal sae- rifices in carrying the immense bur- den of the last three and half years.
 Tn the past the express companies have been vital factors in the convey ance of merchandise and foodstuffs. They have eliminated distance and the time element between the manufactur- CT and his market. The new move is designed to improve the distribution of commerce and agriculture and the business of the country may look upon lit with confidence that their interests will be carefully and intelligently served.
 The nontransportation activities or the separate companies; such as money orders, travellers checks, travel de- partment, foreign exchange, and bank ing, and their respective foreign or ganizations which are of international magnitude, will not come under the UuL VIII Do tOiiuHNtSN by the individual companies as in the past, the offices of the new company acting as agents for the old companies in the handling of the above mentioned features"
 OFFICIALS IN CHARGE
 Associated with President Taylor In the management of the new American Railroad Express company will be:
 B. D. Caldwell. now president or Wells. Fargo & Co.,, who has been se- lected as chairman of the board to supplement MT. Taylors work. MT Caldwell is a former railroad man, coming to the Wells-Fargo company from the Iackawanna railroad, of which he was vice president
 William M. Barrett. now president of the Adams Express company, Will be director and member of the eXecu- tive committee of the new company, and will continue as president of me Adams Express company to handle It's investment and financial business. c. D. Sunny. general manager or American Express company at Chicago in charge of southwestern depart ments.
 SPECTACULAR RISE MT Tav1or who will be the gIid-