New-York tribune., 1918-02-16

IA AoI''i'O oN, rep. ID. - Trans,.
w ton is one thing in nsps ,s!s
parlance and traffic is quit
other. Iraf'lc moves by means Of
portation. The transportation den.rM M
provides the agencies of traffic. You e.'s 'as
transportation without traffic, but vo,' ~" "a
nave tra'hc without transportation
tramc department deals with passena.. u
goods and the thousand problems ~
them from where they are to wbo.s
are to be. The transportation don. 'asj
deals with the physical means of pa.sms'3
the requirements of the traffic dsna-.' a.s'''
1t deals with engines and cars sna
all that pertains to their operation wy
Ine national railway administratio.
transportation department. It is fearI "ss !
way cautiously, but it is beginni,g ing - 4
! some interesting discoveries. VIII - =. nag
reserve, it is possible to say that a n ass
tie surprise of the big railway sxas''a a.ea q
who arc at the head Of II, its nvcst;ssai S.all''
are beginning to raise the oues.;s saA'E
whether private management of Al Az Z
railways has been SO efficient as nnns, s,'a'
supposed.
am not speaking row Of the defe...,
resulted from independene systen,s ~ ss.a ~
with national and single problcn, -.
defects within individual systems @ II
ago wrote an article that tended :. Nls
that If there was one thing on a we'll 49, sa's
railway that could not break down .'s''s :.
It's motive power. There might he ~ Sss
engines, but it was demonstrated n tA ~. v
that there. could not be any cera,., ,''e'!'
efficiency Of engines, due to lack ~ -. ~
care, except in particular cases raa',.p
from exceptional causes, such as urre'1a
cold weather or lack of repair noa
course, as layman, l was merely rsso..;'
the profess ional view.
Now The national railway admin;s.~..
has discovered that, contrary TO III. .lF.'' .s4.
Of the impossibility of general insa;o;'V'
in motive power. there is msrkod a;s
ence between different railway svs+or.. !.
respect to motive power efficiency !. :
also discovered that the roads that a.. 80
ing the most trouble IN moving tr.s. Aa''
those that have the most engine trans ~
with these discoveries mas come ano,,a, w.
very curious one, which is that il i h. =.
means the strongest ard generally best NJ. =.
aged systems that have the least n,s-
power trouble. What is the answer
One explanation is such sinister ono -.
hardly dare mention It. because il -,
stitutes an impeachment of the RAILWAY -
ecutives and directors of America that /.
an insult to their intelligence, their eb,,
acter and their patriotism. Messrs. Lee a..
Garretson voiced it with stinging rouybn,S
IN their testimony before the RAILWAYS ~.
adjustment board the other dav. It is :
the effect that the impairment Of the uo,i,
power is or was deliberate | NAV s.,
though, that 1t is amazing 10 find how ps.
era. is the credence placed in this char,
by railway operatives
Another explanation is that Of fetch wa
ship, the fetiches being long establisb.
routines and the assumed attainmen. Of n,
lection. The Grand Atlantic" Railway +
instance, may have evolved routine Of !,
sine adjustment and rerair that il i,
unanimously decided is the last word IN =,
, ing Tor engines. The superintendent
motive power of this system will show r
a chart of the routine that is perfect. Hon
there can be nothing the matter with !
motive power that is humanity remediaM
It's like the case of the oldtime nrss,
VINO was set in the stocks. lie sent rts
lawyer. who came with several yoluux a;
legal lore that proved his client coul ,s
be IN the stocks. But here am min
tanned the client. And there is that dius,
engines out OF commission on our best rosa
So the national railway adm, nistration 4,
cards the railway lore and concentrates
attention on the fact shat the locomotly
are in bad shape. as is proved by ipco
trovertlble daily reports from inspectors
over the United States With monotony III
would be wearying if it We're rot irritatS
these reports tell of hundreds Of trains wa
ing hours for locomotives, of slow reps
work, OF trains crawling along behind whes
engines so tediously that they can't make
division IN sixteen hours.
AS direct result Of the conclusion tb
the prisoner is in the stocks, no matter VII
the books say, he is il process of being n
leased. A telegram with A sting in it gsr
to certain railway system about two vesi
ago This system had attained perfecto,
according 20 the charts Since il receive
the telegram its locomotive repair work hs
speeded up 20 per cent, which is some ss
on attained perfection. f. NJ K