Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-27
':F I RAN THE RAILROADS."
WHAT FORD WOULD DO

argument. We have a pretty clear
| idea Of what we are going to do.
Once it is done it won't need any
explanation. However you have
got hold of the main principles. We
are hauling around too much dead
weight. It costs money to do that.
The public has got to the point
where it cannot pay for dead weight
and live freight too so one or the
other must go.
The Third Step
1.-THE third step, an immediate
step which should be taken in the
operation of any great railroad sys-
tem," Mr.. Ford continued would be
that of .expediting the journey Of
the freight carrier. On the Detroit,
Toledo & Ironton we tolerate no
idle men, idle cars or idle engines.
Loaded cars or trains on side tracks
are proof of inefficient operation.
They can be made to keep moving.
IF q car takes more time than
it should to deliver its load at it's
destination it is not, Of course, earn
ing as muoh as it should for the
road. It Is just as much waste as
it would be for q man to take two
days on a one-day job. It is more
so, because that car is likely to hold
another car back. But here is an
other point. 1t is frightening the
time Of the turnover Of the shipper
and that, too, is waste of money
and everything else.
Our experience illustrates this
excellently. The road we have &C
crosses rsssSt Of the transcontinental
pJ, cnnndinC fYQfoht
on this preliminary part Of it's jour.
the time of It's delivery by periods
ranging from seven to fourteen days.
This means that our product gets
to the people to whom we sell it
from seven to fourteen days quick
err than it used to. 1t means that
we carry on our books 100000 less
undelivered product than we other
wise would. This is considerable
item. It would be still further re-
1uced if our connecting lines had
the slack taken out Of them. If all
the roads were brought. up to SEIZED
ule, the benefit that we would de-
rive would be shared by every other
shipper in the country. When freight
is tied up in these unnecessary de-
lays, the rolling stock of-railroads
is tied up also. If it takes a road
twice as lCpg 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. All of
which is aside from the interference
with other traffic. The tax of de-
layed freight is a heavy one on both
industry and the railroads, and an
unnecessary one. Freight can be
kept moving. I would keep it NOV
ing.
Get Rid Of Lawyers
"This brings us to the fourth
point, that of the surplus and inef-
ficient employees. Most railroads
have enough lawyers working for
them If they were engaged in useful
work. One of the first things is
to dispense with the legal staff. A
well.managed road needs less of that
sort Of service. We did just this
on the Detroit, Toledo and IrontOn.
The lawyers are mostly in the claims
department, which is one Of the
most wasteful branches Of railroad
operation. Any small claim against
the railroad is likely to knock about
the claims department for weeks or
months. to require endless clerical
attention. to clog the machine. to
cost many times as much as it would
to pay it. Proper organization would
lead, at the. time it is first present
ed, to establishing the facts about
it and settling it on the basis of JUS
tice. 1t would keep all this detail
off the books. Few claimants would