The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1917-19??, 1918-05-25
FEDERAL DIRECTORS WILL BE
APPOINTED FOR ALL RAILROADS
Presidents OF Lines May Be Appointed
To Maintain Efficient Organiza-
tiOn


was relieved from active duty as ex-
ecutive manager of his road today by
Director General McAdoo, who will
appoint a Federal director for each
road, responsible only to the railroad
administration. In many cases the
president of the road may be named
Federal director.
To safeguard the interests of stock
holders and maintain the individuality
of each railway. Federal directories
whenever possible will be appointed
from among the operating officers OF
the property, the director general an
nounced. This will avoid disrupting
any roads working Organization
unnecessarily.
AS another step in the reOrganlZa-
ton of railroad managemeIs. the dir
ector general ordered the creation or
two new operating districts-the Allie
gheny region. consisting of the prln-
cipal trunk lines east of Pittsburgh
excluding the New York Central, man
aged by C. H. Markham, now regional
director for the South, and the Poca-
hontas district, consisting OF the East
and West trunk lines terminating at
Hampton Roads.
Region, directors for the Pochaon-
tas district and for the Southern dis
trict to succeed Mr.. Barkham will be
appointed soon.
( A, II. Smith at New York will con-
tinue TO act as regional director for
that part OF the East not included in
the New Allegheny district and dis
trict directors will be named to serve
under him as supervisors of roads in
New England and for the section be-
tween Pittsburgh and the Mississippi
river and north of the Ohio river.
Other smaller operating districts
will be created from time to time, in
the Southern and Western regions
now operated as units by regional di-
rectors of the railroads administra-
ton.
The first act of the director-general
today in executing this new policy was
the removal of C. w. Huntington,
president of the Virginia railway. as
chief operating officer, on the charge
that he failed to carry out promptly
the railroad administrations instruc-
tions regarding the repair and mainte
nance of his line. This was thought
to be the forerunner of similar depo-
Sitions of a number of other railroad
presidents, but announcement of the
plan for wholesale replacement of
railway presidents by Federal direct
ors came as a general surprise at this
time.
1t was explained tonight that a
large proportion of present railway
presidents will be named to manage
their own properties, particularly
whenever the president actually is
the most active operating officer but
in all these cases the presidents will
be required to resign their official
positions with the companies, "and to
become exclusive representatives of
the United States Railroad Admins
tration."
Consequently their salaries will be
paid by the government and they can
receive no pay from the railway cor
poration. AS an indication of what
salaries they may expect, it became
known tonight that most of Mr.. Nc
Adoo's principal assistants in the
railroad administration will receive
more than $4,000 year. For most
of them this is much less than they
received under private management.
In this connection, it was noted that
Mr.. McAdoo as secretary of the treas
ury receives the usual cabinet mem-
ber's salary of $4,000 a year, and is
paid nothing as director-general of
railroads.
The elimination of presidents and
operating officers will have the effect
of cutting off allowances of their sal
aries from operating revenues and
compel companies to pay the salaries
from the funds they get from the gov
ernment as compensation for lease of
their roads, or from other sources of
railway income. Presidents salaries
now run as high as 100000 it is un-
derstood, and many receive between
$4,000 and $4,000. The railroads
administration is not expected to pay
more than $4,000 to anyone, This