The New York herald., 1921-12-29
RAILS TO Be UNIFIED,
W.D. HINES Is SURE
Former Federal Director Says
Public Will Compel End of
Competition.

Special Dispatch to THE NEW York HERALD.
PITTSBURGH. Dec. 2S.-Walker d. Hines,
formerly Dlrector-General of Railroads,
in speaking before the annual meeting OF
the American Economic Association here
tonight declared that the public will
not continue to be willing TO pay the
price in maintaining so many different
railroad companies. By degrees, he said.
the public will come to realize the eco
nornic necessity OF greater unihcation
and will compel such unihcauon. 1t
could be achieved, Mr.. Hines ind icated
without sacrifice OF anything OF real
value from loss of competition
Railroad prosperity cannot return un-
I'll there has been substantial increase
IN the volume OF traffic and ways found
for reducing operating expenses. par
'ticularly the expenses of terminal and
maintenance work, he declared.
A summary of Mr.. Illness address
follows:
TN 1918 there were the extraordinary
congestion at the outset, the severest
winter known, the general increase In
wages In May of $360,000,000 per year.
the rate increases In June. the wage
increase In July to the shopcrafts
amounting to s20s 100000 FER year. the
wage readjustment in September Tor
clerks and maintenance of way en-
rloyees OF about $190.000.000 per year,
the armistce in November and the re-
sulting acute slump in business, and the
wage readjustment in December In
wages OF telegraphers and station agents
of about s25. 100000 per year.
I'm 1919 there were the continued
! business slump In the first six months,
| the wage readjustment In March for
| train and enginemen amounting to about
! $50. .0OO,0 600 per year, the strike in Au-
gust of shopmen and enginehouse men,
the wage rea adjustment In September for
tho shopcrafts amounting to about $780,
600. 900 per year, the first nationwide
bituminous coal strike In November and
December and the wage allowance In
December of time and a half to train
and enginemen in road freight service at
a net cast of about S3S, 100000 per year,
and of time and half after eight hours
! for clerks and maintenance of way em-
ployees at cost of about s25, 600, 600 per
year.
"In 1920 there were the severe winter
weather the switchmen's strike creating
acute transportation crisis and necessi-
tat'r- unification under Interstate Com
merce Commissions direction OF tIans-
/
essary TO handle traffic. the Labor
Boards increase in wages variously esti-
mated at from S61s 1000 600 to sS0O,o0o,-
900 per year, the rate increases In Sep
| tember and the extraordinary slump In
! business in the late fall
TN 1921 there were the continuance
| OF the slump in business, the wage re-
duction July ] cutting off about one
half of the Labor Boards increase In
1920, and probably the most unprece-
dented curtailment of maintenance which
the railroads have ever seen.
There cannot be return of railroad
prosperity until there shall be a sub
stantial Increase in the volume of traf-
fic. But even with return to normal
traffic there will be the gravest neces-
sity for finding new ways 10 reduce the
cost of operation. Particularly there
should be concentrated upon terminal
work and upon maintenance work an
! amount of attention corresponding to
! that which has been concentrated In the
past on increasing the train load. Per-
/ haps 65 per cent. OF the total operating
expenses relates to terminal and main
! tenance cost and II is supremely impor-
! tant to devise new methods Of perform
/ ing the necessary terminal and mainte-
nance work more economically.
but in addition I believe that the
! public will not continue to be willing to
pay the price involved in maintaining so
many different railroad companies. so
many different terminal organizations
and so many different ownerships OF
railroad equipment. BY degrees the
public will realize that it can secure Inn
| portant economies by enforcing unifica-
ton and that In doing so il will not
] sacrifice anything of real value In COM
: f.-ar ,,,fn t,.x
1 TO be a compulsory consolidation into n
! few large systems, and meanwhile the
! terminals ought to be more fully con-
| solidated and there ought to be speedily
| developed plan for the common owner
ship of freight cars. and methods can
and should be found for overcoming the
admitted difficulties in the way"