The Connecticut labor news., 1924-10-18
HARD-BOILED' RAIL
 EXECUTIVES LOOK
 INTO PLAN OFB. SO,
They Have Quit Kidding" Daniel Willard and Now Want to
 Stabilize"

railroad industry may be brought about
 as result of successful operation of the
 cooperative plan III the Baltimore & Ohio shops during the past year-an
 idea originally advanced by President
 William H. Johnston of the Interna-
 tional Association of Machinists
 l When President Daniel Willard of
 the B, & O. system agreed to experi-
 ment with Johnston's cooperative plan
 in the Glenwood shops neaf Pittsburgh,
 and later extended 1t to the A construc-
 ton and repair shops on the system, he
 was pooh-poohed by hard boiled" ex-
 ecutives of other railroad system and
 charged with turning over his property
 "for the employees to run' Neverthless, under the cooperative plan the Baltimore & Ohio railroad has
 maintained better operating equipment,
 moved its trains with greater safety, handled larger traffic and made more
 profits for the company than ever be-
 fore in its history. The employees have
 enjoyed steadier/ work and large an
 nual wage than those of the hard
 boiled" roads. Naturally they displayed
 increased efficiency and there has been a decrease III the costly labor turnover and other forms of waste.
 Now the "hard-boiled" railroad exec
 utives have ceased to kid" MT. Willard and are willing to admit that there IS
 something in the plan that is worthy of emulation They have reached a point
 where they are at least anxious to con fer and talk stabilization-steadier work all the year round and the maintenance of a permanent force of employees. In fact, the roads have invited the Interstate Commerce Commission to as sist III working out plan similar to l that in operation on the Baltimore & Ohio, though they have not as yet ad- rnitted this much At any rate, they want the benefits that have been dem onstrated under the method worked out By Mr. Johnston and Mr. Willard.
 A committee of railroad executives came to Washington last week for an informal conference with the Interstate Commerce Commission on this subject
 As a first step, the roads are asking the commission for permission to make some necessary changes in methods of accounting and the arrangement of a budget for maintenance expenditures over peak and low periods of business.
 It was suggested by some of the ex- ecutives in the informal conference with the commissioners that the recapture clause of the Cummins-Esch law, where by the roads are expected to pay into nual profits above 6 per cent. of net earnings, should be abolished or amend ed to cover a spread of years. Just why this request is made in view of the fact that practically none of the roads 1 comply with this section of the law, may be considered as pretty much of joke,
 The committee appointed by the As sociation of Railway Executives to con slider the stabiEzing project and confer with the Interstate Commerce Cornmis sion consist of Samuel Req, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore & 1 Ohio; P. E. Crowley, president of the New York Central Lines; C. R. Gray, | president of the Union Pacific; E. J. Pearson, president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford; J. Kruttsch-I nit, chairman of the executive commit tee of the Southern Pacific; w. K. Cole, president of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis; H. E. Byram, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul; L. w Baldwin, president of the Missouri Pacific; and L. F. Lorse, president of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Hudson.
 It will be noticed that the committee is headed by Samuel Req of the Penn sylvania, the most unstabilzed railroad in the country and chief sufferer from the company union' plan inaugurated by General Attorney, operating vice president There are other "hard-boiled" executives on the committee, and some who are dealing fairly with their en1 f ployes and getting satisfactory results.
 Thus the composition of the commit tee IS of itself significant including as it does Daniel Willard, who is no doubt pleased to tell the executives all about the cooperative plan on his road,
 It IS understood that the I. C C., at the conference last week, advised the 1 executives to get together on stabih- ration plan and cut out the unnecessary waste.
 It is no secret that the I. C. C. has made its own investigation of the Bal timore & Ohio cooperative plan and most of the members are favorably inn pressed with the good results achieved,