Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-11-05
ALEX WEINFELD INVENTS.

When Wm g. McAddo took over the
railroads he asked that all complaints
of a constructive nature be addressed
to him. This action was suggested by
the known fact that the carriers were
not only public conveyances but that
their ownership was so widely dis
tributed they became if so facto, public
properties. Alex Weinheld of New Or
leans, formerly of Wausau, availing
himself of the suggestions
tending to remedy evils ex-
listing in the transportation service of
railroads taken over by the govern
ment wrote an open letter to Mr. Nc
Adoo, Director General of Railroads,
calling attention to certain startling
leaks in the railroad passenger earn
ings of the country and to certain de-
fects in the long prevailing system of
ticket and fare collections to the end
that a thorough and sweeping inves-
tigation and refom might be made.
The letter is a very able one and is
published in the Financial American
and requires considerable space. The
Pilot would like to publish it entire
but cannot do more than to give it a
limited notice. On the item of ticket
refund Mr. Weinfield names few of
the principal roads which run up into
millions of dollars and he has been
officially advised by the Interstate
Commerce Commission that it has no
information or figures whatever on
railroad ticket-refunds.
Mr.. Weinfield says:
81 was officially informed recently
that the New York, New Haven &
Hartford Railroad carries per annum
sc, 100000 passengers. From my OBJ
servation and experience, in constant
study of this question, l feel justified
in stating that not less than 16,04O,-
600 passengers carried on this road
are not shown in this aggregate and
that these omitted passengers present
cases where conductors failed to take
up tickets, or where passenger went
beyond paid destination, or used
tickets in irregular ways. The above
named railroad is perhaps proper
tionately as free from great leaks in
it's passenger earnings as any large
railroad in the United States, con-
sidering the volume of its passenger
traffic.
/ make a fair statement in further
asserting that nine-tenths of the re-
funds on passenger tickets are cases
where conductors fail to take up tick
cts. This great item of leakage is
very largely due to faulty systems OF
tickets and ticket collection and train
checking which have not been chang
ed in forty years.
Many other forms of leaks in pas
senger earnings quite as startling as
the foregoing, all due to the almost
universal employment of the same
vicious and inefficient forms of card
tickets, and inefficient systems of tick
ct collection and train checking,
could be mentioned, but want of space
forbids."
He further points out that 'the
mere mention of economy in passenger
earnings other considerations such as
the saving of valuable time to the
conductor. economy of man-power and
even safety to human life are involved
in the question" He cites cases show
ing the loss to companies of millions
of dollars, stating that these matters
have been brought to the attention OF
railroad officials without results.
Mr.. Weinfield in closing says:
at seems that 'Ephaim is Joined to
his ideals If you leave these matters,
Mr.. Secretary, wholly to the inquiry,
and hence at the mercy of the long
existing, red-tape methods of the rail-
road officials, under whom these
abuses referred to have grown up, /
can see no possible hope of reform or
, betterment The thing to do is to
call for extact data and have first
hand inquiry, where you can feel as
sured that the result to be reached
will, if nothing more, yield saving
of upwards of $100,000,000 per annum
for the stockholders of the railroads.
| Mr.. Weinfeld has patented rail-
road ticket, which he has worked on
for fifteen years, which he claims will
be a great time saver for the conduct
or as he can collect 800 tickets during
the time he can collect SO under the
old system. This ticket does away
with the hat check to check passen-
gers, prevents conductors overlooking
passengers. This ticket is now in the
hands of the government, and may be
kadopted. Mr.. Weinfield claims that
| his ticket system will save the rail-
! roads 100 million dollars year.