Norwich bulletin., 1922-11-24
PEARSON SAYS PARTIAL
 EMBARGO WAS NECESSARY

|
 President E. J. Pearson of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad has issued from New Haven the fol- lowing statement for the Information of the public served by the New Haven system:
 < '4on June 50, immediately prior to shopmen's strike, the general condition of locomotives, as indicated by the larger number of engines in good con- dition which were stored in white lead l for service, the smaller number in and | awaiting shops, and the character of the service by those in use, was more | favorable than for the preceding period ]! of several years.
 'On July 1 the withdrawal of forces l from the locomotive shops and engine terminals was complete. The gradual filling of the ranks occupied about three months. The period of recruiting was one of exceeding operating difficulty. The load was carried largely by the su- pervisory staff. There was not only an undue burden of work devolving upon the limited forces. but the situation was still further aggravated and seriously, by intimidation and sabotage. During the time, however, normal service was rendered, that is, it did not become nee 1 essary to withdraw trains or restrict the handling of freight and all trains | were run At that time, however, and also at present, the service was not normal as to the character of perform ance, delays, etc. The patience and as. i sistance of the public during this trying period was invaluable to those who were l doing their utmost under these difficult
 ties.
 With the completion of this period the condition of power was worn down much below standard, both as to the
 number of engines out of service for
 heavy repairs and the increasigly worn cindition of those in service. With the change in conditions about this time 1t I became possible to increase the amount l of work that could be arranged for in
 outside shops, which was immediately 1 arranged.
 '"The qualifications now being display ed by the new forces are excellent They are well handling not only the
 present current requirements but in ad- dition are assisting in overcoming the very large amount of mainteance that
 necessarily fell behind during the first few months. In addition, and for the
 purpose of recovering not only the for
 mer condition of power but of reaching
 a still better standard essential for the
 high character of service it is the pur- pose of the management to afford, con-
 tracts are in effect with twelve outside shops which are now working on the
 entire re-conditioning of 56 locomotives, and on boilers of A additional locomo-
 tives. Through this program for all
 outside assistance that is practicable
 the best possible rate of progress will be brought about in fully recovering , from the aftermath of the strike, and , the overcoming of continuing causes for , unsatisfactory service, which are o
 keen regret to the officers of the read
 and of irritation to its patrons, whose further good will and patience must b.
 asked.
 Occasional statements on the part 0.
 former employees relating to failures i: , service undertake to reflect on. the com
 potency of the present forces. Such re fections, however, are far from tn,
 fact. The present forces and supervis i, ory staff have demonstrated their com : potency during the active months of tn,
 strike in keeping the service moving ant s avoiding the necessity of Withdrawin; trains. The requirements of safety ar,
 carefully observed. Engine failures in
 crease when their general condition f
 worn down and they are without tha
 higher degree of maintenance which af lfords the factor of safety agains 2 ? breakdowns and delays. Those wh, U went on strike brought this condition 1 about. It can only be remedied by tn , performance and as quickly as practic 'l able of the unduly large amount of re . pair work that has accrued. In the in ', terest of the pubic which is entitle A to the best service that can be operated
 the expense is being undertaken with
 out delay, and full outside ait utilized 'For the handling of the very heaY
 football travel of Saturday, the 25tI l. the heavy passenger travel aroun F Thanksgiving, and, against the possibi
 ity of early and severe winter advel n sity, some .75 locomotives are now r. er cetving special shop attention. Aft, er Thanksgiving they will drop into re; + ular passenger and freight service 3C
 added passenger carrying cars will l re used for football and Thanksgivir r travel. The partial embargo Of Oetob F. 31 does not affect coal and other in D. portant commodities which are noviI g. in large volume. The management h;
 undertaken heretofore to bring the c or pacity of the property to a point whe " 1t would carry peak requirements in e r ce8s of previous periods of heavy tra ty fc, and to fully meet the needs of pa of rons at all times. The fact that th CT has been practically accomplished en evidenced by the cars that have be to promptly taken from connections, t m avoidance of undue congestion at mt
 Of the unloading destinations, and t o- ability of classification yards to opt ng ate more rapidly than road nSoYemeI >ir Delays commenced to occur and cars i ng creased because of the amount of pow