The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-06-27
LEADING EXPRESS COM
PANIES CONSOLIDATE T.
George c. Taylor OF the American,
Now President of the New Organ
ization known as American Rail
ad EXpress Company"

press organizations under the guild
ance of Director General McAdoo. The
new company, says Mr.. Childs, will be
capitalized at $30,0OO,OO0, the actual
value Of the physical properties and
cash put into the business. Instead
of having numerous contracts with in
dividual railroads for various amounts,
there will be but one blanket contract
with the entire government controlled
railroads BY this contract, the Amer
lean Railroad Express Company will
collect, insure, guard and deliver ex-
press shipments, as in the past, and
the government railroads will haul
chem The rates charged for express
transportation will continue to be un-
der government control.
How the general reorganization will
work out for the benefit of the ship
ping public, is tentatively outlined in
an interview given out by George c.
Taylor former President of the Amer
lean Express, and now President of
the new consolidation:
Hereafter the Express Companies
will eliminate the individual identity
which has separated them for the last
three-quarters Of century and offer
to the Government and to their joint
patrons a unified, single express ser
vice.
"In the future, merchants, manu-
facturers, and individuals need merely
specify BY Express and the entire
man power and vehicle power Of the
express world will respond to their
call.
"At no time in the history Of the
railroads 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 $20O,0OO,O0O.
ALREADY the vast terminals now
maintained by the various companies
are being unified for practical saving
of time and transfer.
"The street equipment of between
twenty and thirty thousand motor and
horse vehicles are undergoing redis-
tribution to avoid duplication of
routes.
"Branch agencies and multiple Of
fees in many cities will be subject to
an economical readjustment
"The claim departments will be uni
fed and closer cooperation estab-
lished with the shippers to eliminate
losses resulting from faulty packing
and Incorrect marking of shipments.
"The new move will bring into one
organization over one hundred thous-
and men now trained in express ser
vice. 1t will be the policy of the Com
pany to maintain a broad gauge atti-
tude toward it's employees, many OF
whom have spent their lives in the
service and thousands Of whom have
made great personal sacrifices in car
| rying the immense burden of the last
three and half years.
"In 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-
er 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
it with confidence that their interests
will be carefully and intelligently
served
"The non-transportation activities
of the separate companies; such as,
Money Orders, Travellers Cheques;
Travel Department; Foreign Ex-
change; and Banking; and their re-
spective foreign organizations which
are of international magnitude, will
not come under the consolidation, but
will be conducted by the individual
companies as in the past, the Offices OF
the new company acting as agents Tor
the old companies in the handling OF
the above mentioned features"
Mr.. Taylor, who will be the guiding
hand in the new alignment, has had a
most spectacular rise in the transpor-
tation field. He began not many years
ago at the humble position Of wagon
helper and driver in a small Wiscon-
sin country town, his first position
after leaving Ripton College. Since
that time he has held practically
every position in the American Ex-
press Company from the lowest TO the
highest. While Vice President and
. General Manager Of the Western De-
nartment, with headquarters at Chica-
90. he was brought to New York and
made President during the critical per-
: iod through which the express com
panies passed four years ago; and
, after an uphill fight developed an or
/ ganization which handles today sew
eral times the volume Of express ship