New-York tribune., 1922-06-20

roads Rad planned 20 increase their
maintenance Of way forces on July !,
the day set for the impending walk
out. in order 70 take up the slack that
hsd been aceumulating In the last
eighteen months and thus offer an op'
portunity 10 improve working eondi'
,ions.
Rolling stock Well Prepared
White II vas true that the shop
crafts would be affected by strike
say the railroad men. their ROLLINS
stock is In good condition. reports on
May IS indicating that only lsI per
cent Of their cars were In need Of re-
pairs These could be fixed az outsia'
shops. II was pointed out.
A meeting of the member roads oi
the Association Of Railway Executive
has been called az the Biaekstohe
Hotel. Chicago. on June p, or JUST
two days prior 70 the threatened STRIKE
The nearness Of the two dates iod 70
tho belief In the financial district tha'
A possiblc walk-out would be the ohie'
topic OF discussion. but a representa-
tive Of tho association denied yesterday
that this was the case. saying the chi
cago meeting rad been called solely "a
hear the report of the special commit
tee which has been preparing a uniiofm
express contract.
The express business. according g
this Official Of the association, consti
tuies one transportation problem whief
preser,s even more than the usual an
ficulties in getting bsck % normal con
ditions Apparently the keenest com
netition Is among the alternative meth
ods Of express. parcel post and les'
.Aan carload freight shipments. Nom
Of these makes money.
Parcel Post Costly Experiment
The government is losing a. tho rst'
~ between $4,000. 900 ard sl00OO0.9D.
annually on the parcel post business
since the war the American RalNal
Express Company has managed 10 carr
a little more than per cent, but th'
railroads figure that IN 1921 they re
eoived about 60000.000 less than M
value Of the transportation tney iur
nished Cor express service
The contract which virtually az m
carriers have with the American Ran
way EXPRESS Company can be ter
minated by the railroads on Naren, ]
1923. provided they give six months
notice b. September l. 1922. Las
January the railroads appointed a com
mittee 10 make 4 study ~ the pron'emI
This committee consists OF W. Is
Storey, president Of the Atchison' 10
ncka & Santa Fc, chaIrman; howar'
Elliott. chairman of The Northern "a
cisc. Carl r. Gray, president OF th'
Union Pacific; J. II. Hgstis. presiden
al The Boston & Maine; {. II. Mar.
ham. president Of tho Illinois Contra,
Samuel Rea. president of tho Pennsy
vania: Bird u. Robinson, president o
the American Short Line Railroad As
soc.ation. and A. II. Smith. president o
the New York Central.
While the committees report has no
yet been made public, u IS understoo'
that II recommends a continuation o
contractual relations with the Amer
can Railway Express Company. II
assumed that SOME changes nave Dee
made in the express contract when ar
more favorable 20 the railroads but !
il understood that the committee find
that tho main losses suffered by IN
railroads m the express business az
rot due % the express contract, but 2
non-compensatory rates In some sec
tons. and % a lack Of harm mon,ous co
ordination among the three method
/ for trans5orting mail articles.