The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-04-30
SAVING A BILLION DOLLARS a
YEAR.

The Railway Age analyses at length,
in its current issue, the charges made
before the railroad labor board by w.
Jet Lauck, on behalf of the railroad
labor unions, that the railways are
wasting over 81 900 100000 year by
mismanagement. The labor leaders
contend that no economies whatever
should be effected by reductions in the
railroad payroll until all these alleged
wastes have been eliminated.
1.-THE largest item in Mr.. Lauck's
estimated possible savings" says the
Railway Age, "is one of S272,500,000,
which he claims could be made by
modernizing locomotives. The esti
mate, like others he makes, is merely
wild guess based upon no tangible evil
dence. He says there are available
locomotive devices which have demon
strated beyond their ability to effect
large savings. There are about $1,000
locomotives in the United States. Even
the oldest of the. DEVICES to which he
refers have been available in practi
cal form for only about ten years, and
others for shorter periods. In this
comparatively brief time $4,000 loco
motives have been equipped with sup
erheaters, 1000 with brick arches. 81
900 with automatic fire doors, and 15,
600 with power reverse gears. Many
other improvements have been made
Never before We're steam locomotives
and the service rendered by them i'm
proved as much in the same length as
in the United States in the last ten
years And yet, because all locomo-
tives have not been made perfect, Mr.
Lauck rouadly abuses the railways for
alleged 'mlsmanagement.'
'.As TO needed improvements in loco
motives and in engine terminals, the
installation of machine tools in shops,
the Improvement of power plants, and
many other things mentioned by Mr..
Lauck, they can be made only by the
investment of large amounts of new
capital. New capital can be raised
only If net operating income is earned
to pay a return upon 1t. The only
way the net return of the railways
can be made adequate is by reduction
OF the present operating expenses. of
which two-thirds are wages. But Mr.
Lauck opposes all reductions in the
payroll. He denounces the railroads
for alleged wastes due to misman-
agement.~ and opposes the only means
larger part of the alleged wastes,
many of which unfortunately do
exist
The kind of intelligence and fair
ness shown by Mr.. Lauck is illus
trated by what he says about train
operation. High powered locomo-
tives have been developed with ZEAL
he remarked. but the corresponding
efficiency of train loading has been
overlooked Now, the fact is, that the
average freight train load increased
from ATS tons in 1915 to 72S tons in
1920, or over So per cent in five years;
and Mr.. Lauck's own clients, the labor
unions, did all they could TO defeat this
increase in efficiency by trying to
secure the passage of legislation
requiring the employment of extra
men in train crews, or legi3lation
reducing and absolutely limiting the
length of freight trains and thereby
reducing and limiting their loads.
Among the la gest items in Mr..
Lauck's list Of estimated savings is
one for loss and damage. Being a
defender of united government control.
he makes no reference to the fact that
the increase IN freight claim payments
from s35,O0e.O 900 in 1917, to s1o6,s04,
600 in 1919, or 2o5 per cent. occurred
under government control. He quotes
the Railway Age as authority for the
statement that a SO per cent reduc-
ton can be made in loss and dam
age. He makes no mention what
ever, however, of the fact that immed-
lately after the return Of the railways
TO private operation the American
Railway association organized, and
has since been conducting, a special
bureau for the express purpose of car
rying on a campaign TO reduce by so
per cent the enormous item of loss
and damage which developed under
government control.
Even though all the new capital to
make the improvements in railway
plants required to effect the economies
which Mr.. Lauck denounces the rail-
ways for not making were available.
it would take years TO make the i'm