New-York tribune., 1920-10-23
Rail Control
Viewed Only
AS w ar Relic
McAdoo's Blunders Listed
as Among Serious Debit
Items Charged 10 the
Federal Governing Board
Made Few Real Reforms
Deterioration of Properties
Offset Any Good Accom-
plished by the Operation

phsilcd 10y the Operation
The art of forgetting is helping the
reputation Of the United States Rail-
road Administration that was. Time is
robbing the travelling public of the
vividness OF its impression of the in
oonvcniences caused during the twenty
xix months Of unified control Of the
common carriers. The emotions of re-
sentiment caused by the excessive
crowding, by the relative scarcity Of
Pullman accommodations, the freight
embargoes. by the hundreds of irritat-
ing accomplishments of railroad mobii-
zation are fast becoming DINNER
Psychologists call this old mental
habit by new name, the oblivlscence
Of the unpleasant, and, no matter under
what terms described. this human trait
is helping tic former railroad admins
tration by weakening the wrath Of its
critics.
Now that The railroads have been
discharged from war service and are
just beginning to march up the hill
again toward efficiency, the tendency
IS to look back to the two years and
two months Of governmental direction
of the railroads as a period far away
in the pest that is closed and, good
Iaturcd, the public is now inclined to
consider the evils attending control
as due largely 10 the inevitable re
suits Of the conflict
\ Real Test Period
Those months in which the manage
ment Of the carriers was ccntered in
Washington arc too important chapter
N the history of the nation to permit
OF fabby Judgments. it was a real
test period although the conditions Of
the nation life were by no means
normal CT typical during most Of the
time o. government control Railroad
men, citing away from the event. arc
beginning to stGdy it with wider per
speetive, and Trey now recognize the
need o. d'scr.m mating estimates Of the
Wor} o' NlN.a,' =. NcAd0o and Walker
D. limos and their statrs
EVEN ire severe critic are now dis
posed to admit that the railroad I'd
mln'stratioN ccomrlishod some con-
structVe reforms
And on the other hand, even those
students Of tns railroad problem. who
were ir- ndlY toWard the adminisjla-
ton are frankly callin- attention to
bloNGers that were made Railroad OK
ecutives see 'he need Of distineuishiae
between those unfavorable aspccts oil
the railroad administration which were
simply concomitants of the war which
could not be avoided and avoidablo
errors
Among the most serious items on
tie debit side IF thc railroad adminis-
tfation WAS the deterioration of the
physical property Of the roads Dur
ing lSio the sdmlni s,ration was faced
by the need OF concentrating ON tho
war needs tine moment. instead OF
on the la. G reqi rcmonts Of the
future it is true. But this defense. re
garGicss Of Wha. mcrit it may have as
an apology fer acts Of omission in
ISIS, becomes weak, indeed, when ap-
piled 10 the post armist.ce months in
1919 and tre first two months Of 1920.
Railroad executives place the quota
OF new freight cars absolutely required
at 100000 year for replacement and
normal additions.
Moreover the usual necessary ox-
pan ON Of locomotives is placed at
200. of passenger cars 1000 and Of
Pullman cars goo. La the twenty-six
month of federal operation the all
roads only 100 600 new freight cars.
$50 LOG Ives, no passenger cars
and no Triimans. Moreover, the item
OF maintenance was neglected
Cunninpham's Observations
On this point the observations of
William J. Cunnin ham, professor Of
trans sp0rtation at Harvard, who was i'm
charge Of the statistical division of the
Railroad Administration anl who
therefore might be expected to be at
least fair to the administration
wrote early this year:
1T is the universal opinion of rail
road officers that the condition Of the
roadbed and track superstructure Of
the typical railroad is not now as good
as IL WAS when the government as
sumed control.
THE roadbcd and track superstruc~
ture IRE ID relatively poor CONDITION.
b luse ihe normal number of TICS.
tons Of new rall and cubic yards Of
ballast have not been applied on the
same scale as during the three years
preceding government control.'
Professor Cunningham. who, in ref
erence to the foregoing, explained that
he was stating facts and not seeking
to criticize, thought that the locomotive
power was improved instead of inn
paired He also observed. "WVh
freight cars, the situation is reversed.
At the beginning of Federal control
the general standard of freight car
maintenance was low. but the sarne ef-
tort that was applied to locomotives
was met applied TO freight cars until
the middle OF 1919. The general
condition of freight cars as a whole
shows serious dcterloration
\.
large expenditures to restore The
freight oa@ equipment to normal CON
diton, and II VIII be necessary to re
tire many Of the older cars which nor
the last three years"
Next among the debit items-and
perhaps the most serious we're the
amazing financial miscalcula,ions Of
the FIRST Director General, McAdoo. His
A. e~>-~ru ~