New Britain herald., 1918-05-22
M 'ADO0 REMOVES
 RAILROAD CHIEFS
Lack of Cooperation Believed at
 Bottom Of Drastic Step

IIt'iih A' ANAN~AdoO, ulICCIOT general OI railroads, providing for the removal of all railroad presidents from active participation in the conduct of the various systems and the selection, as operating heads of the lines, of ex- perts to be named by the railroad administratio
 It is understood here that the step was taken because of the lack of cooperation on the part of some of the railroad executives who are in VolVed in the wholesale shake-up. At the same time it was intimated that the majority of the deposed railroad presidents would be named by Mr. McAdoo as federal managers.
 The new regime will have the ef- feet of placing in charge of each in- dividual system a government agent who must sever all relations with the companies with which they are at present connected, and make them selves, as government employees, an- swerable only to the railroad admin isitration, through the various region a! directors.
 Salaries Will Be Fixed.
 These men. it is said. will be ex- pected to accept salaries to be fixed by the administration, and it is re- ported that no salary of this kind will be in excess of $2O.000 a. year No official confirmation of this could be obtained. however.
 The railroad presidents who are stripped of their powers and not named later as the federal managers of their roads, it is understood are not to receive remuneration out of ~f T for whatever service they may here after perform, but must look to the owners of the roads to pay them out of the moneys received from the gov- ernment.
 There have been rumors for some time of an impending shake-up, based largely on reports that MT. McAdoo believed the executive heads of some of the railroad systems were not CO., operating fully with the railroad ad- ministration. Tn fact, it has been stated that in some quarters a spirit of antagonism has existed ever since the Railroads War Board was de- posed by MT. McAdoo.
 This condition, it was said was not widespread, but presented a condition which some of the officials of the railroad administration believed re. quired drastic action. It also was argued that placing a federal mana ger in charge of each of the systems would be a step toward complete gov ernment control, which would prove most effective in obtaining the highest efficiency in carrying out government policies.
 Routing Schedule Hampered.
 ', Y, the lack of complete cooperation in all directions had hindered the gov ernment program of routing all freight by the shortest way, de- spite the best efforts of the gov ernment officials in charge here. It is believed that the greatest effi- ciency in this connection could be ob tained by placing the government in full control of the lines as individual systems as we'll as whole, and se- lecting, as the head of each system a man who would be answerable to MT. McAdoo and who could be dealt with as a government agent and not as an employe of a corporation.
 It was said that where the railroad presid ents were not renamed as fed eral managers, it was probable that one of the vice presidents in charge of operations, who met with the ap- proval of the railroad administration would be chosen. A careful study of the situation, and of the men who have been directing the operation of individual lines under governme ent control, has been in progress for some time, and carefully prepared reports have been obtained.
 The first direct intimat1on that there was trouble in store for some of the high salaried railroad executives and that the railroad administra ton was preparing to enter upon new system of operation came with the of Charles w. Huntington, president and general manager of the Virginian railway, by order Of MT. McAdoo. It was stated that the pow CT of MT. Huntington had been cur tailed because of disobedience of or ders concerning the improvement of the road and maintenance of roadbed and equipment.
 J. H. Young, director of the Vir- ginian railway, was designated as federal manager of the road. MT. it was said, would re- main as president of the corporation, and it is probable that similar action will be followed in regard to the presidents of other railroads who are stripped of their powers in connec- ton with the operating end of the systems They must not, however, look to the government for their sal aries. or expect to have powers over the physical properties involved.
 Tn the case of MT. Huntington, it was said that he would, so far as the railroad administration was con- cerned, continue to draw his salary which is to be paid, if the directors see fit, out of the funds supplied to the corporation by the United States government, in compensation for the use of it's property.