The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-01-08
CONGESTION To Be
RELIEVED IN EAST
DIRECTOR GENERAL McADOO OR
pERS CONGESTION IN EAST
REMOVED.
MUST E'0T e HIAi.Ii'PERED

ToCd aFC SOa! E!USc fTOVe 1cSdTOiSSs
Of Priority Regulations, Passenger
Schedules or Any Other Hamperne
Practices.
Washington.-Orders went to east
ern railroads from Director General
McAdoo to clear up freight conges-
tion regardless of previous govern
ment priority regulations, passenger
schedules and any hampering prac'
tices under the old competitive sys'
TEN and to pay special attention to
movement Of coal and food
Lines of the west and south were
called on for locomotives and other
equipment to help tighten the traffic
burden in the east, and committee
of government officials was created to
work out a plan for diverting export
freights to ports south of New York.
Quantities Of coal were started to
New England to relieve the serious
shortage there, and priority orders
were suspended for roads east Of the
Mississippi and north Of the Ohio
rivers to the extent necessary to clear
up congestion.
At the same time the director gen
eral dissolved the railroad war board
at it's own request and named tenn
porary advisory cabinet Of five mem
bers. One Of these, Hale Holden,
president of the Burlington and a
member of the war board. will be re.
tanned to supervise the machinery
which the war board has created with.
the roads of the country.
Members Of Cabinet.
Other members of the new advisory
cabinet are John Shelton Williams,
comptroller Of the currency, who Will
have charge of financial questions
arising out of government operation;
Henry Walters, chairman of the board
of the Atlantic Coast Line, who will
assist on operation problems; Edward
Chambers, traffic, director Of the food
administration, who will have gen,
eral charge of traffic, and Walker
! D. Hines assistant to the director
general.
Other railway heads who made up
the war board, Fairfax Harrison Of
the Southern. who was chairman: Rea
of the Pennsylvania; Kruttschnitt, OF
the Southern Pacific, and Elliott, OF
New Haven, will return to the active
supar vision OF their roads, but all
the sub-ccmmittees and organizations
of the board will be turned over to
Mr.. Holden
The question of increased pay for
railroad employees will be taken up
soon by Mr.. McAdoo, but he said he
had given little thought to wages and
did not know what his attitude
would be. Heads Of the four brother
hoods will confer with the director
general Thursday at his invitation,
and probably will urge that with the
scarcity Of railroad labor it will be
necessary to pay higher wages to re-
tain men. Many advisers OF the di-
rector general advocate. increasing
wages, particularly for many morgan
lied classes
Wage Disputes.
The federal board Of mediation
and cancellation will continue to pass
on wage disputes now pending, but
eventually the director probably will
handle wage questions directly. The
governments attitude toward wage
changes will not be determined for
several weeks at least, or until the
pressing problems of speeding up
TRANSPORTATION are threshed out.
Mr. McAdoo limited his comments
on the labor situation to saying that
he would ''treat the men with justice
and equity" and would give "a just and
square hearing" to the brotherhood
heads