Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1921-11-04
FORD'S WAY.

-ru, number of the offic ial Du1lica-
tion Of The Chamber Of Commerce
nf the United States, tells now nC
wcn!d run big railroad. MIR.
Eord'S operation OF his own road.
the Detroit. Toledo & Ir0nton. has
been the subject Of much discus
sion.
Firs! OF all, Mr.. Ford says. he
would get rid of the individual
sluckhoIdcr. whom he considers Il
parasite; then he would turn to
jgil.cr rolling stock, and. finally.
"irc The useless employees, especial
" hc lawyers.
Finance, rs it applies to rail
roads," Mr.. Ford writes, SIS to serve
hr public. There is no reason
why it should be diverted TO an en-
trrIy different ihjna-puiting money
iE:o the pockets OF stockholders
wAo max" no contribution to TIC
roads actual operation. In the end.
The public pays these dividends.
"l&src is a possible and pracli-
cable SYSTEM OF financing railroads
b> which those contributing the
p!uncy Will be in positions 10 aid
directly 10 the success of the under
taking. IL Ii,c brakeman owns stock
III il E.c has an additional induce
men. 10 competent service.
inairoadS should ot have TO 60
10 banks for money. They can be
financed otherwise. The first thing
j. to make Il railroad work. Make
j! possible for The people to use ii as
much aS they want TO. Then there
vii! be no trouble about finances.
THE trouble is that we Start with
inanCc and expect finance to make
Ethc road so. Finance can't do that.
Proper financing would, OF course.
be easier on new roads. On the old
ones, however, it should be possible
J 10 rciirC The parasite, Inc non-con-
tributinS stakeholder, and gel the
ownership into the proper hands.
After removing this dividend
drain. the second step would be to
remove the great physical burden
@! the railrOads--needlcsS weight Of
lis rolling stock. A freight train is
several times the weight of the load
ii carries, and passenger train is
twenty times as heavy. The cost OF
pulling empty trains is needlcSsly
large. Contrast this with the cllici-
ency Of the bicycle, which weighs
twenty pounds and will carry Il man
who weighs 200 pounds.
The third step, an immediate
STEP. which should be taken in the
opci Jticn Of any great railroad
SYST III, would be that Of eNpcditing
the journey of the freight carrier.
"MoSt railroads have enough law
yers working for them TO operate
lhrm II they were engaged in useful
work. One Of the first things is to
dispense with the legal staff. a we'll
managed road needs less of that sort
Of service. The lawyers are mostly
in the claims department, which is
one Of the most waStcful branches
OF railroad operation. Any small
claim against railroad is likely TO
knock around the claims depart
mrnt Tor weeks or months. to COS!
many times as much as it would to
pay il.
The bookkeeping Of railroads is
,,'"mplicatrd far beyond all necessity
We have simplilicd This department
on The Detroit. Toledo and Ironton,
Frduccd ITS cost, and have transfers.
cH II lnlo an actual help to The rail
."au instead Of q vcXaiion and
'urdon. How did We do il? BY
viewing The whole proposition as a
service to the users of railroads and
HI"Nin@ everything fiji into thai in
,'au oi having The fear Of stock
ho'"crS ad dividends before Our
sAeN. Our faith is that service Will
Eai., Finance does not come first.
WORK comes first"