The Wilmington morning star., 1947-03-10
As Pegler Sees 1t
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1947, by King Features Syndicate,

A man named Robert R. Young. an ex-
boxer, we are told, is presented to the pub.
lie these days as a serio-mischievous genius
Of the railroad business, who challenges the
monstrous Morgan interests for control OF
the New York Central. He lives alternately in
a 40-room house in Newport, r. l., and a
tasty CONNECTION called The Towers in Palm
Beach, and is fighting to put America COM
fortably on wheels.
As prospective customers who are being
importuned to accept this person as a phenom-
enon, and then, as an Institution, we may
keep the door on the chain-lock and analyze
the sales-talk.
The first indeed, the sole - interest OF
most citizens in railroading is safety, what.
ever the statisticians OF the industry may say
about casualties per million passenger miles
to allay our anxieties, the fact remains that
the accident rate is SO frightening that the pas
senger nowadays consciously asks himself
not whether he will get there on time but
whether he will get there alive.
Dramatic wrecks are reported and pictured
in the papers when they happen, but seldom
is there a %folloW-up story, when the inter-
deliberate investigations and reports, re-
newing interest in this havoc and explaining
what caused the smashups. Many Of them
have been caused by the inattention of old
men running past signals, by violation
of speed limits on curves, by bad tracks and
WORKOUT equipment. There is strong contro-
versy between the advocates of light cars and
those who still stand by the old, heavy con-
st-uctlon. The layman, thinking of his own
neck, may be pardoneo for prefeSring the
heavy cars and waving such eye-catching
novelties as colorful prettification and pear.
| CHI onoI nVtnrnoi nffon{r -,-I% ~1l -a
wireless telephones and movies en- route.
The provisional dreamy promise. of trans.
parent domes, similar to the tower of the
freight caboose, offers its own objections, If
a car rolls over, as the automobile makers
have shown, steel holds together, although
even to come through a wreck without serious
outward damage is a pleasure that most Of
us would gladly trade for the greater mega
tive satisfaction on an uneventful journey,
Now Mr.. Young is depicted as a fellow who
comes from Texas and says "dambanker''
the way other Texans say ''damyankee." The
only other Texans who say "damyankee''
these days az DRINKS in New York night
clubs who resort to this expression to be
picturesque and quaint. So many Texans are
Yankees themselves, Or the children Of Yam
KEGS. that this roguish little cliche is as
archaic as "skiodoo' and "oh, you kid and
as little used. II Young does say ''dambank-
e. that may be an affectation of a special
type OF Texan who is not at all distin guished
On his own home grounds but knows how to
attract attention for his vanity when he goes
east. In any case, it is no recommendation
to the person who travels the railroads and
IS shopping for reasonable speed and the ut
most safety. A broken rail or a droWsy old
geezer on the head end, who should have
been retired years ago, can still smash up
a de luxe train even though the financier
who has taken over the road by some clever
2 csc IN . hnarI rnOy, cows 1'S,,,Lorly-.f IN
day long.
most equally c~ontemptuous of railroad operat-
ing men. Still no sale. After all. railroad
operating men spend their lives running
trains and, though not all of them may be as
good as the best of them, still theirs is a
specialized occupation, full of mysteries,
put his trust in a broker, even a prankish,
expatrlate Texan who says 'dambanker," in
preference to a profe sional railroad man has
only himself to blame if some night he
finds himself boxed in a steel cell upside
down, with "a hours TO wait until the wreck
ers can cut him out with thei rtorches. Operat-
ing men have lived years m motion actually
On the railroads. Their eyes and ears can
detect dangers that a broker couldn't we'll
understand If they were pointed out and ex-
planned. They are experts.
M. Young is said to have forced the
react1onary professional railroad men to &C
cede to his demand for through cars on the
tsahs-contlnenta runs. That is only a techni-
cal victory, if any. To most passengers It'll
IS still an illusion. The through cars are
lew, one to a train usually, and on some
lines they run only on alternate days. This
means that it is only a nominal service and
that even though applications are made weeks
IN advance for space on the through cars.
few passengers get space. On the other hand
The problems of the traffic and or,n n + o,. - |
Tor whom Mr.. Young has such contempt are
lnsuperable, as examination OF their side OF
the story will show. 1t is dramatic to saw that
a hog can ride from coast to coast without
getting OFF or changing cars, but it is neither
literally true nor a fair comparison of prob.
lens.
Mr.. Young is said 10 receive only ST. 500 a
year as chairman of the board of the c, and
u, but that modesty suffers some damage in
view OF his way of life in the castles at New.
port and Palm Beach. A 4O-room house would
call Tor a minimum of 10 servants indoors and
probably at least 20 hands, all told. AT an
average of $50 a week, which would be LITTLE.
mat would come to about $50, 900 for personal
service at Newport alone. and possibly halt
mat much again for service at the Palm
Deach place unless he asks sucn guests as the
Duke and Duchess of Windsor. who are. on
te 1astldlous side, to SMACK up their own
sleeping bags and dunk their own dishes "a
seems unlikely.
anyway, the social affinity between a rough
aho-reaoy west Texan who says 'tdambanker."
"hetnef lnpulslvely or fo- show. and the Duke
ana Duchess is not at once apparent. Just
what are we to gather from this associa.
ton as to Mr.. Young's ability to run railroad
cars safely and fast? For a few dollars invest
ed IN fares and expense money he could
get Carol OF Rumania and the authentic Haps-
ourg, too, but would that keep a rocket or a
flyer on the tracks?
1here are other gaps in M. Young's quail