Norwich bulletin., 1921-10-25
FORD TELLS HOW HE WOULD
 RUN A BIG RAILROAD

Washington. Oct 24.-Henry Ford, writing in the current number of the official publication of the Chamber Of Commerce Of the United States. tells how he would run a big railroad. Mr. Ford's operation of his own road. the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton, has been the sub- ject of much discussion among railroad men and the public.
 First of all. says AIr. Ford. he would get rid of the individual stockholder. whom he considers a parasite. then he would turn to lighter rolling stock and finally fire the useless employees, espe- cially the lawyers
 Finance as it applies to railroads, Mir. Ford says, is a failure; and the roads spend money uselessly in red tape of all sorts. particularly in accounting.
 The real purpose of a railroad" MT. Ford writes, '-is to serve the public. There is no reason why it should be ! diverted from that service and set to | doing an entirely different thing-put- ting money into the pockets of stockhold- CTS who make no contribution 10 the roads actual operation.
 There is a possible and practicable | system of financing railroads by which 1 those contributing the money will be in position to aid ricertly to the success of the undertaking. If the brakeman on a railroad owns stock in it, he has an ad- ditional inducement to competent service. 1 If the railroad is a success. it is due to i him and his fellow workInen, and they are entitled to the profit.
 Railroads should not have to bo to | banks for money. They can be otherwise | financed The first thing is 10 make a railroad work. Make it possible for peo- pie to use it as much as they want to. | Then there Till be no trouble about finances.
 "Of course, if such course were at- tempted. we could expect berat outcry for the protection of invested capital It would be said that people had bought these stocks for the financial protection of their families. their children. Protec- tion from the necessity of earning their living. Their children would be better off if they had to finance themselves Proper financing would be easeir on new
 roads On the old ones. however. 1t should be possible to retire the parasite, the non-contributing stockholder. and get the ownership into the proper hands.
 After removing this dividend drain.
 the second step would be to remove the
 great physical burden Of the railroads
 needles weight of it's rolling stock A
 freight train is several times the weight
 of the load it carries. and a passenger
 train is twenty times as heavy. The cost
 of pulling empty trains Is needlessly large. Contrast this with the efficiency of the bicycle which weighs twenty
 pounds and will carry man who weighs 200 pounds.
 "On the Detroit. Toledo and Ironton
 the old types of engine and car will be displaced by better types. Our patents will guarantee the free use of ideas. We . will never proceed against anybody for ! infringement of our patents. They will belong to the world.
 "The third step. an immediate step 1 which should be taken in the operation 2 of any great railroad system. would Dc
 that of expediting the journey of tht . freight carrier. By speeding up oui f freight over the preliminary part of it. , journey on the D.. T. and l.. we have beer s able to shorten the time of it's deliver, n by periods ranging from seven to fourteer n days"