Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-31

man system into American railroading
they brought distinct middleman--de-
manding and receiving profit of his
own--into our passenger transportation.
If they had from-the beginning handled
the sleeping car and parlor car situation
as 1t should have been handled-either
by direct ownership. as the Milwaukee
and Great Northern systems still do.
or else by great equipment pools--there
would have been no need whatsoever to. ..
day for a Pullman surcharge to go, not
to the Pullman Co.. which will stake
good care of its own needs, but direct
into the railroad treasures.
The best function of the Pullman
Co. is its ability to furnish at all times,
and sometimes under remarkably short
notice, extra as well as the regular par
lor car and sleeping car equipment. BY
moving its 5000 cars north and south
and east and west it can take good care
Of the winter tourist traffic in the South
and the summer traffic in the North. OF
conventions here and conventions there
and of special movements of almost
every conceivable size and variety. No
one railroad is easily able TO supply
spare equipment of this sort.
But there was no reason. and still
is none. why the Pullman Co. should
not be organized as the Associated Press
is organized by the ncwspapcrs--a no
profit making service organization to
provide the railroads with certain types
of cars in quantities and seasons such
as best suit their needs. There is no
reason whatsoever why the pullman
Co., having made fair profit for itself
upon each passenger within its cars,
should not divide that fair profit with
the railroad over which they operate
absolutely no reason whatsoever why
the railroad. regarding the Pullman Co.
almost as a foreign or extraneous or
ganization. should attempt to place n
new surcharge of it's own upon the un =
lucky wight who finds in country of
great distances such as this a sleeping
car a necessity rather than a luxury.
To Make Public Smart
No. ! think that the railroads have
marched up the wrong street and that
the sooner they acknowledge their err
ror and back out again the better that
will be for themselVcs-and their pa =
irons. The unannounced and unexpect
ed move-which. by the way, is made
against the best judgment of some pretty
well seasoned traffic experts in their
! employ-was undoubtedly brought
about by hot headed desire 70 make
the average man smart personally at
the recent wage award to the rank and
| file of railroad labor-an award, Incl
dentally IL seems to me, to have been
brilliantly fair. Eventually the aver
age man would have felt this last ad ..
vance, even though camouhagcd and
probably to just as great an extent upon
his poCketbook. But it would not have
come direct. And he would not have
been made to smart Which may or
may not be good policy. l myself should
call it suicidal.
/ do not myself believe in govern =
ment ownership of our railroads. nor
in government operation. particularly
the latter; chiefly because I do moi
believe we can operate them efficiently
or successfully this way. Our brief war.
time experience along these lines was
unconvincing. And the remarkable per
formance OF the railroad executives In
the few months following the return
OF their dlsorganizcd and demoralizct
properties to them has been more thar
ordinarily convincing to me. They fomnt
their cars badly located-coal cars i,
the West and grain cars in the East
short IN number and in bad repair
some la, 900 of them out of use. or til,
astonishingly high total of ~ per cent
Against these handicaps and the evrr
greater one of the vicious and continu
ing outlaw strike the executives hav,
accomplished wonders. They are gettin,
the grain cars back into the West, an,
the Goa cars down into the easter
mines by the thousands and tens O.
thousands. Moreover, they have SET q
higher standard for their operation thai
American railroading in the flower O
efficiency ever before set for itself
thirty miles per day, thirty tons ne,
car for every freight car in this Who'll,
land. Not more than 4 per cent TO b,
In bad order at any one time. And wha