Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1921-12-23

considerable item. 1t would be still
further reduced if our connecting
lines had the slack taken out of them.
"When freight is tied up in these
unnecessary delays, the rolling stock
of railroads is tied up also. If it takes
a. road twice as long as necessary to
deliver its freight, it will require
twice the number of cars. There will
be twice as much freight in the yards.
so they will have to be bigger.
"This brings US to the fourth point,
that of the surplus and inefficient en-
ployes. Most railroads have enough
lawyers working for them to operate
them if they were engaged in useful
work. One of the first things is to
dispense with the legal staff. The
lawyers are mostly in the claims de-
partment, which is one of the most
wasteful branches of railroad opera
ton. Any small claim against road
is very likely to knock about the
claims department for weeks or
months, to require endless clerical at
tention, to clog the machine, to cost
many times as much as it would to
nay it. Proper organization would
lead, at the time it is first presented,
to establishing the facts about it and
settling it on the basis of justice. 1t
would keep all this detail off the
books. Few claimants would refuse
to settle on the basis of facts.
When we acquired the Detroit,
Toledo and Ironton there swere 1900
people on it's payroll. We found al
most Immediately that by cutting out
the lost motion, we could reduce that
number to 1,500. This we did. In
the interest of better service we raised
the wages of all those who remained
on the payroll. Our men earn more
and do more, because the way has
been cleared for them to do more
And they like it. No man really likes
Job that is half ineffciency and
half loafng.
"There are too many road bosses
of varying rank on all these railroad
jobs and their elimination would save
good deal Of money.
"At four o'clock one morning l
came in from trip that | had made
to our iron mines up on the northern
peninsula of Michigan. At the sta
ton / noticed a wrecking train stand
ing on a side track with steam up
and went over to inquire what was
the matter. 1 was told that there had
been wreck some twenty miles down
the track and that the train was
going out TO clear it up.
81 asked why they did not go and
they replied that they were waiting
word from certain man in authority.
They could not start out on the job
until he gave the word. In the mean
time the track was blocked and a pas
senger train was being held up. l
said: "Come on and let's CO." We
took the train out and got to work.
"The primary argument of your
critics." | suggested, "is that your
success is due to the fact that you
are in position to divert Ford freight
to that line, to thus insure it's profit
able operation. What is your answer
to this charge.
"How can that be true" asked Mr..
Ford, "Wfen the road hauled more
tonnage the year before | took it over
than it has hauled since we had it?
The great majority of the freight
which goes over our road goes over
other roads too. We have no mon
opoly and no great terminals. There
isn't any business on our lines that
some other line doesn't get gen
erous share of. Railroad men knew
this; if they don't they can soon find
out"
II don't like to appear as criticising