The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-04-10


TWO years All railroads have i'm
proVement programs. the differences
being in degree. No spending de-
bauch is expected not by any means
spending perhaps will be done more
| carefully than ever before; but with
every railroad spending a little more
than 1t did in 1913 and 1919, the pub
lie generally will be encouraged in the
belief that the transition of the lines
from government to private operation
Will not be followed by hurtful COM
<phcations, and that the transportation
needs OF the country, altho growing
steadily, will be met.
There is a disposition on the part of
the public to give the corporations an
opportunity to make good; to Justify
the dominant sentiment in favor of
private ownership as against govern
ment ownership; and the corporation
officers in their visits are inviting CO.
operation and urging patience on the
part of shippers and travellers during
the reconstruction period. Even the
brotherhood mem bers-that is. those
who actually work for the railroads
are entering into the new relationship
with spirit of loyalty in an effort to
do their part towards putting the rail-
road industry ON a sound footing. It
has been noticed that the brotherhood
leaders In Washington who make the
speeches and give out the interview
do not hold railroad Jobs; they are
representatives of organizations of men
and women who hold railroad jobs
An engineer stated it in this manner:
Unions Have Plan.
I'VE contribute few cents apiece
monthly to pay the salaries and ex-
penseS of the men who undertake to
bring about an increase in our pay.
They are experts in politics, capable
organizers and hard fighters What
ever IheX
increase, it makes US very happy; if
small increase, we are correspond
lingly happy; if no increase, well, we
are not happy, but the effort has not
cost US much real money and likely
we Will change leaders. But most of
US have enough sense and patriotism
to prevent a tieup of the country's
transportation, regardless of the re-
suits of our demands, or of what our
representatives in Washington tell the
newspapers. There is no general
strike in the railroad cards as I read
them
The railroad unions are reorganiz-
ing their grievance machinery in or
der that demands may be taken up
direct with corporation officers in the
manner followed before the war. The
new railroad law provides that there
shall be no reduction in wages. How
ever, the changes in operation have
made changes in working conditions
about which the unions already have
made representations to a number of
giving the grievance committees a
patient hearing. The unions having
fought the return of the railroads to
private operation, and lost, expected
the corporation officials to be rough
with them, and perhaps try to inflict
punishment; but they missed their.
guess. Their new bosses seem to have
forgotten the incident, for they show
no resentment. On the contrary, they
appear to be willing to meet the
unions halfway. in an attempt to
establish a basis for getting along with
the minimum of friction.
Shippers Are Helped.
Shippers have made it plain that
they are figuring on improved service,
and no doubt the railroad officers are
going to- conduct a strenuous cam
paign to prevent disappointment in
this respect. Private operation has
not been in progress long enough for
any change to be noticed in the ham
ding of freight and passenger traffic,
but the resumption of calls by freight
and passenger representatives appar-
emily is appreciated by shippers and
travellers, for it gives them assurance
of cooperation. Now the shipper can
call up the freight office and state his
troubles, and the thing that pleases
him most is that his troubles are
looked INTO by someone VINO gives the
service a personal touch.
The railroad men who have most to
do with the public belong to the
freight and passenger departments as
a rule, and these representatives have
been on special work of various kinds,
usually taking the places of men
called into military service. They re-
turn to their jobs as old hands at the
business, and show signs of going to
the limit of ability and endurance to
make every patron feel that he is hav
ing the attention his patronage war
rants.
Executives are heels overhead in
the work of unscrambling their ter
minal properties, or leaving them
scrambled. as they may decide.
Whether the consolidated ticket Of
fees, for instance, shall be main
tanned in the larger cities is a ques-
ton for consideration by the inter-
ested railroads. In Chicago the North
western and 500 Lines have estab-
1ished their own offices, but the other
roads will maintain consolidated Of
flee for the present, by agreement,
business. So it is with other prob
lens. The individual lines will thrash
out their differences and agree on
something whenever possible.
The burning question with most
roads is how and where to buy new
equipment, OF winch tHere 10 q gem
eral shortage. With prices steadily
advancing it takes courage to order
equipment running into the billions.
Even when railroad executives have
the courage, they are going to exercise
it with the greatest caution.
Few New Lines.
No railroad has yet announced any
plans for building new lines, altho it
is expected that there will be some ex-
tensions, especially in the west In
Kansas, for instance there Is renewal
of the agitation for an extension of the
Santa Fe from Satanic, Haskell
county, to the Colorado line. When
Edward Chambers, vice president of
the Santa Fe. was in Dodge City last
week, a delegation of citizens called on