Evening star., 1942-08-23


pords and the Offices that serve as control
centers, keen-eyed men are directing the
intricate train movements that speed
the thousands on their tDay
Organizing Genius
1t requires an organizing genius with
capacity fc infinite detail to mesh these
activities nd get the 100 per cent per-
formance all along the line that Is
absolutely essential for any railroad
operation. In Bernard r. Tolson, who
would be glad to toss anybody out OF his
office for talking about genius" the
terminal has a manager equipped by
more than four decades OF training for
the task.
In theory, terminal manager occu-
pies an administrative post not unlike
that Of a general manager of rail-
road. Actually. he deals with many mat
ters far removed from the general man.
agerial sphere. His job in many re-
spects resembles that of a city head,
for the incumbent Is primarily re-
sponsible for the health safeguards fire
and police protection, utilities and other
services required by the travelling public.
Equally as important are the outside
contacts terminal head must attend
to because he is in fact the personal
representative of all the railroads using
the terminal, and while travellers may
at times be convinced that the principal
mission in life of the railroads is to
make them miss train connections, the
truth is that the men at the top go out
of their way to please, whether they
are dealing with a day-coach passenger
or the occupant of luxurious suite.
Serving with Mr.. Tolson is a veteran
staff-Harry Babcock, the superintend-
ent; r. P. Bartlett, trainmaster; Harry
"A. Marks, station master; C. w. Owings,
ticket agent; G. W. Spangler, super
visor of telegraph and signals; NJ G.
Stewart, road foreman of engines; Dr.
J. A. White, medical examiner. and M. j.
Hanley, chief clerk. They all know what
to do when the big push comes, and Pearl
Harbor did not catch the terminal force
mapping.
On a War Basis
I'VE were on q war basis at O'Clock
that night" Mr.. Tolson recalls with
satisfaction.
Travel had been on the upgrade prior
to the formal declaration Of war, and
officials who based their calculations on
what had happened back in 1917 knew
that veritable avalanche would follow
the formal entry of this country into
the conflict, and began to plan accord
tngly.
BY the end of June, when ticket reve-
nues were running at the rate of about
100000 a day, more than doubling last
years figures, the machinery at Union
Station was geared to the new tempo.
The Is ticket windows had been mush-
roomed to So, and in the process,
huge counter had been set up in the
western end of the station where a
battery OF clerks make ticket sales and
dispense information, for travel boom
means questions in corresponding
volume.
In a step to speed up this flow, the
handling of tickets was departmental
lied" For example, some windows sell
both coach and Pullman accommoda-
tions; Others coach transportation only,
and even others, coach tickets to few
points where travel is exceptionally
heavy-New York, Philadelphia and
Baltimore. Then there are windows
solely for the convenience Of patrons
with Government travel orders. And
pointing out the respective locations are
electric signs in profusion.
Along about the time that traffic was
hitting new highs, the terminal, In
common with private industry, began to
feel the growing shortage OF manpower