signals, equipment and other respects, all securing increased service
and safety in railroad operation, the human element is a vital
factor. With a view of raising the standard of individual service,
a system of physical and educational examinations has been adopted.
In the early days of railroads the individual service was possibly
less definitely classified and qualified than must prevail under
the exactions of modern conditions. In keeping with the progress
in mechanical and safety devices and the necessity of a better
system, we have today a preliminary examination, both physical and
as to fitness. Employes must pass examinations as to vision, color
sense and hearing, and their knowledge of the fundamental rules and
regulations, as well as the fundamental knowledge of road, appliances
and equipment. These examinations are repeated from time to time as
the class of service and further advancement of the employes may
require. Many of the large railroads have established schools, with
capable instructors, where employes may receive instruction upon the
performance of their duties, as well as affording them an opportunity
to fit themselves for promotion.
Beginning with the General Time Convention some thirty years ago, the
need to standardize railroad practices and systematically qualify
employes began to be realized.
The Convention, largely through the efforts of Mr. W. F. Allen, saw
that, as time is the term in which railroad schedules are expressed,
it was a fundamental necessity that there should be standard time,
and that the timepieces of employes which should govern their
observance of instructions and schedules must conform to the
standard. This led to the present system of standard time; to the
system whereby employes must compare watches with standard clocks;
must have watches inspected regularly and record taken of same; must
compare watches and register before trips.
The General Time Convention led to the formation of the American
Railway Association, consisting of the executive and operating
officers of the railroads of the United States and Canada. The
Association considers problems of railroad operation, construction
and equipment, and recommends practices for their solution. Their
investigations, conclusions and recommended practices embrace train
operation, dispatching, block-signal operation, air-brake operation,
physical and educational qualifications of employes, regulations
for the transportation of dangerous articles, clearances, rail
manufacture, safety appliances, inspection, car construction, track
gauge, train heating and lighting, methods of loading, etc. Marked
progress has been made in co-ordinating the work of the various
organizations of railroad officers with the work of the Association,
to secure the benefit of the broadest and most careful consideration
of the subjects.
Assurance, therefore, exists that the experience and knowledge of
railway management and officers will be brought from time to time
into the text and fact of standard practices, promoting convenience
by close interline relationships and uniformity of regulation, and
causing a uniform, systematic and careful regard for safety.
BY WAY OF RECAPITULATION.
So, to recapitulate:
From a few miles of crude tramways the world has in a century built
500,000 miles of steam operated and 100,000 miles of electrically
operated roads; instead of spragging the wheels we rely on the
automatic high-speed brake; the coupling of cars has become an
imitation of the action of human hands instead of risking their
destruction; each train finds the condition of road ahead and
protects itself by the agency of electric circuits and semaphores,
the sequence of whose operation discloses on behalf of safety any
obstruction of the route; four-wheel barrows are replaced by steel
cars, larger than the miner's cabin, and carrying more than his
month's output; instead of traveling on a tramway stage coach,
the passenger finds available for his comfort a modern hotel on
wheels, with every luxury known to-day--electrically lighted, steam
heated, weather-proof; the old strap iron, which became detached and
penetrated the car floor, frequently impinging passengers to the
roof, is replaced by the bar of steel weighing 100 pounds to the
yard, whose manufacture, installation and maintenance is prescribed
with every degree of refinement known to the chemist and engineer;
we have learned to treat sub-grade, drainage and ballast as an
architectural science, and our bridges, from the single-log span,
now make continuous roadbed for high-speed operation, even over the
continental rivers.
Some one has said that the builders' art consisted in making the
structure proclaim the purpose for which designed, and to my mind
there is nothing which quite so dramatically fulfils this as the
modern steam locomotive. How many of you have seen a huge Pacific
locomotive, drawing a train of 600 tons at a speed of 70 miles an
hour, yet under control of one man, just the same as Stephenson's
"Rocket," which could have been lifted off its track and set on the
ground by four strong men, and which was a world-wonder when for a
short distance it attained a speed of twenty miles an hour? We know
that our engineman with a Pacific locomotive and the high-speed train
can stop his train with the air brake in a definite distance.
These comparisons, briefly as might be, between, we will say, the
beginnings of the nineteenth and of the twentieth centuries, show
how the commercial growth and increase of trade have produced a
demand for transportation to be performed, and with the performance
an economic revolution. We have, in a general way, though with far
less than the thoroughness of which the subject is worthy, outlined
what might be called the "state of the art," of railroad plant and
operation, in a relative sense.
Progress of a pronounced character has occurred. That this progress
has been accomplished by increased safety is demonstrated by common
knowledge and confirmed by the records, both of the railroads and
the public authorities. As an illustration, take the statistics of
the Interstate Commerce Commission. The increased safety of railroad
operation is indicated in part by the following figures:
For the decade following the beginning of the records, namely,
1888 to 1897, the fatalities were 1 in 45,300,000; for the next
decade, bringing it down to the present time, the fatalities
were 1 in 54,900,000; the gain in ratio being, for the nation
at large, fully 20 per cent.
Looking at the conditions in the State of New York, where the
density of travel is considerably in excess of that of the
country as a whole, we find a report of the State Engineer in
the year 1862 showing ratio of fatalities of 1 in 28,200,000;
the average for six years, 1902 to 1907, inclusive, shows 1 in
200,000,000; an increase in relative safety of 800 per cent.
We may assume that never before in the history of railroad
transportation was there presented a bigger problem than to-day.
The weights are greater; the distances are greater; the speed is
greater; the population is more dense; prices and wages are higher,
and the public service more exacting. A gathering of the official
representatives of the nation and of every State, possibly with
a desire for uniform and concerted action, even though it may be
unofficial, points with emphasis to the attitude from which the
public contemplates the employment of the railways in their behalf.
It is, I believe, an accepted fact of our political constitution
at the present time that the public, through its authorized
representatives and through lawful channels, has a right to be
reasonably assured in this respect. I believe that the co-operation
manifested, as well as the inquiries by the various railway boards,
has in a great sense aided in reaching our present standard of
excellence, to which we can point with pride in comparison with any
other national railway system of the globe. We are becoming more
familiar--the railroad management and employes--with the standpoint
of the public, and the public is becoming more familiar with the
problems of the railroads. The mutual aim is: First, safety and
service; and, second, economy. The public concern for the safety and
service is for its own protection, and the railroad management must
give both with economy.
So far we have been dealing largely with the progressive safety
of railroad operation as furthered by the action of the railways,
either initiatively or responsively, as the case might be. We have
described the improvement in roadway, equipment and appliances;
the standardizing of regulations for operation; the selection of
employees and their government.
With the better understanding of the problem of the railroad by the
public through and in connection with the special boards represented
here today, it might not be amiss to express the hope that such
needs as cannot be met without the active support of public opinion
and perhaps legislation will be clearly brought out. One of the
thoughts that occurs to me was suggested by a recent exhibit, from
the records, of the loss of life, damage to railroad property, as
well as injury to persons and property conveyed, due to the presence
of unauthorized persons upon railroad property, whether wilfully
or carelessly trespassing. As an illustration of its seriousness:
during last year over 5,000 trespassers lost their lives on railroads
besides a large number injured. Numerous mishaps have been traced
to acts of trespassers, which may be the secret of many unexplained
casualties. The railroads are a highway for the migration of tramps
and unemployed persons, who commit petty depredations, jeopardize
the safety of trains and the lives of employees and passengers. It
seems of no avail that thousands of the worst class are arrested by
railroad police forces and convictions secured, as the sentences in
the majority of cases serve rather to aggravate, than to mitigate,
the evil. One line arrested over 9,000 trespassers during the past
year, and secured convictions in 75 per cent of the cases; but in
half of them sentence was suspended, which usually meant that the
offender used the railroad to escape from the scene. I do not wish
to be understood to asperse the administration of justice, nor to
insist that offences of a serious character are always committed by
railroad trespassers, but the hazard involved is one that should not
be permitted to exist, the railroad property destroyed or damaged
bearing no relation to the risk of persons and property transported,
and to the enormous loss of life involved.
I feel that the attention of those accustomed to broadly viewing
problems of public concern should be brought to bear upon these
facts, with the hope that measures may be taken to insure greater
safety in this respect, as well as to save the waste of life and
property now resulting from or incident to the practice. I might
venture to suggest that the loss of life is far greater than entailed
through decades by boiler explosions or rear-end collisions, the
seriousness of which I do not wish to deprecate; and the situation
might warrant special record of the facts being obtained in behalf of
the public through the regular channels.
Wherein lies the increased safety of the future may perhaps be the
query in many minds. It is universally sought.
It would be mere conjecture on my part, and, with your indulgence,
I am not inclined to prophesy. As I see it, the great problem is to
make our progress sure, taking no doubtful measures, adopting no
specious devices which may appeal to us at first blush until we have
satisfied ourselves that no greater risk is involved by the change.
The multiplication of rules enjoining obedience, together with
devices for additional protection, may yield a false sense of
security if fundamental obedience to existing rules and efficiency
of existing appliances is one bit impaired by the addition. We must
not embrace paper reforms, even though clamor and pressure be great.
An "ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure," we grant,
but reverse the proverb, and the pound of prevention may over-whelm
us. The public official would seem to be in a judicial position,
mindful of public justice and safety, basing his judgment and acts
upon facts alone. Improvement in general safety and character of
railroad operation must be the product not only of an enlightened
public opinion and the conservative wisdom of public representatives,
but progressive and careful management, coupled with a sense of
discipline and responsibility and industry of railroad employees, who
must jointly share the obligations of the problem.
Speaking of the compliance we have cheerfully made to the suggestions
of the public representatives--the Commissions--in regard to
improvements of service, facilities and conditions of operation,
etc., we believe in the long run that these things mean a better
standard and greater security for railroad property, as well as the
enormous benefit that accrues to the public by reason of proper and
efficient railway service, and we have only thoughts of admiration
for the attitudes of the Commissions as we have found them. They have
a large problem. We are glad to avail ourselves of their wisdom, and
believe it to be the means whereby the responsibility of the carriers
to the public is secured, and through whom the responsibility of the
public to the railroads must be voiced.
Gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention, and the favor, which
I acknowledge, of being permitted to address you as best I may upon
a subject to which we are all devoted. In the absence of a distinct
literature on the subject that your worthy President assigned to me,
my efforts are perhaps a bit crudely devised, having no pattern.
In another generation we may perhaps evolve a distinct species of
railroad statesman and an encyclopedia from which we will be able to
point back to the beginnings and the efforts at mutual advice, and to
the growth and knowledge that have ensued, just as we have seen the
day of small things in railroads to be the beginning of a constant
growth to the wonders of today. I am sure that the American people
can congratulate themselves upon an institution of the character
of your Convention and of your several honorable bodies, and trust
that this meeting will be such that you will feel that you have made
definite progress in your concurrent aims.
RAILWAY MAIL PAY
BY
JULIUS KRUTTSCHNITT,
DIRECTOR OF MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF THE UNION PACIFIC SYSTEM
AND SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY.
The question of compensation to the railroads of the United States
for carrying the mails has been under review before Congress
at different times during the past ten years. The subject was
exhaustively investigated by a Joint Commission of the Senate
and House of Representatives in 1898 and 1899, which reached the
following conclusion after full consideration and taking of a mass of
testimony on all sides of the question:
"Upon a careful consideration of all the evidence and the
statements and arguments submitted, and in view of all the
services rendered by the railroads, we are of the opinion
that the prices now paid to the railroad companies for the
transportation of the mails are not excessive, and recommend
that no reduction thereof be made at this time."
(See Report 2284, House of Representatives, 56th Congress, 2d
Session.)
This Commission also concluded as to the pay for railway postoffice
cars:
"Taking in view all these facts as disclosed by the testimony
filed herewith, we are of the opinion that the prices paid as
compensation for the postal car service are not excessive, and
recommend that no reduction be made therein so long as the
methods, conditions and requirements of the postal service
continue the same as at present."
Since the above recommendations were made, the operating costs
on railroads, and, consequently, the cost of handling the mail,
as hereafter shown, have been largely increased, through higher
prices for both material and labor, so that if the railways were
not over-paid ten years ago, the present rates, being lower than
those paid at that time, would be too low and should really be
increased to give the railroads a reasonable return. Far from doing
this, legislation enacted in the past few years has had the effect
of cutting down the mail pay of the railroads, whilst the special
requirements as to service and equipment have been made more severe
and exacting.
Recent acts of Congress or orders of the Postoffice Department,
which have the force of law, that have caused reduction of railroad
revenues, are the following:
1. Act of Congress of March 2, 1907, reduced pay on all routes moving
in excess of 5,000 pounds per day. This reduced the pay for handling
mails $1,740,494.63, or 3½ per cent. of the total earnings. The same
act reduced the rental rates for railway postal cars $935,974.09 per
annum, or 16 per cent. The total reduction in pay to the railroads
under this act was $2,676,468.72, or 6 per cent. of the total
compensation for both classes of service.
2. Act of Congress of June 26, 1906, effective July 1, 1906, withdrew
from the mails empty mail bags and certain supplies, to be thereafter
shipped as freight or express. It may be conservatively estimated
that the annual loss in mail revenue to the railroads by withdrawing
these shipments from the mails is at least $1,000,000, with
practically no reduction in space furnished because of this change.
3. Order of Postmaster-General of June 7, 1907, changing with each
mail weighing thereafter the method of computing average weights on
which pay is based from that always previously used and theretofore
regarded as the proper interpretation of the law. The effect of this
on the mail weighings of 1907 and 1908 was to reduce railway mail pay
in two sections of the country, $2,222,108.92, or 9½ per cent., or at
the rate of $4,500,000 per annum for all roads of the country.
4. Orders of Postmaster-General reducing railway postal car pay
by allowing "shorter-car" pay on certain lines than heretofore
authorized and changing certain full lines to half lines; that is,
reducing pay for return movement, thus causing an annual loss to the
railroads of $345,287.06. (Second Assistant Postmaster-General's
Annual Report 1908, page 13.)
The effect of all of these reductions on the mail revenue of the
railroads aggregate $8,500,000 per annum, or 17 per cent. of the
total pay received by them in the year ending June 30, 1908, for
handling the mail and furnishing railway postal cars.
These reductions were made without justification and for the purpose
of reducing railroad revenues--and, incidentally, the expenses
of the Postoffice Department, at a time when the net earnings of
the carriers seemed large to the public mind, although under these
favorable conditions the returns to the shareholders approximated
but 4 per cent., whilst farmers were receiving 10 per cent.,
manufacturers 15 per cent. and National banks 18 to 20 per cent.
It is true that there has been a large increase in the gross revenue
of the railroads in the last ten years, but this has accrued from
traffic other than carriage of the mails and has been accompanied
by great increase in operating expenses. In fact, were it not for
the economies of the carriers, effected by the use of more powerful
locomotives and larger freight cars, the increase in operating
expenses would, without doubt, have fully neutralized the growth in
revenue. In the months preceding the panic of October, 1907, the
railroads were quite generally showing decreases in net earnings in
face of the largest gross earnings in their history. It was costing
them much more than a dollar to handle every dollar increase in gross
earnings.
Since the hasty enactment of ill-considered legislation reducing
mail pay, the revenues of the roads have been seriously affected by
a change in business conditions which has reduced traffic without
reducing prices of materials and labor. At the same time, legislation
has increased labor costs by reducing hours of service.
In 1898 rates for transporting the mails were too low to cover the
cost of service, they are much too low now, and the losses on the
mail service as a whole--there are some routes that pay--are borne by
freight traffic entirely.
RECEIPTS FROM MAIL AND OTHER RAILROAD TRAFFIC.
The latest statistics of operations of all railroads of the United
States are for the year ending June 30, 1907, issued by the
Interstate Commerce Commission, July 9, 1908. From them we compile
the following exhibit comparing results of 1907 with 1898--when a
Commission of Congress, after complete investigation of the subject,
recommended that mail rates be not reduced.
Pct. Pct.
Year ending June 30th-- 1907. 1898. Inc. Dec.
Earnings from passengers $ 564,606,343 $266,970,490 111 --
Earnings from express $ 57,332,931 $ 25,908,075 121 --
Earnings from mails $ 50,378,964 $ 34,608,352 46 --
Earnings from freight $1,823,651,998 $876,727,719 108 --
Operating expenses $1,748,515,814 $817,973,276 114 --
Passenger train mileage 541,439,176(a) 341,526,769 58 --
Freight train mileage 662,106,857(a) 503,766,258 31 --
(a) Including mixed trains.
Earnings per passenger train mile (cents):
Pct. Pct.
1907. 1898 Inc. Dec.
From passengers 105.7 79.4 31 --
From express 10.7 7.7 38 --
From mails 9.4 10.3 10
----- ---- -- --
Total 125.8 97.4 29 --
Number passengers carried per train 51 39 31 --
Tons of mail carried per train .86 .80 7 --
Earnings per freight train mile (cents):
Earned from freight 274.0 173.1 58 --
Tons of freight carried per train 357.35 226.45 58 --
Operating expenses per total train mile
(cents) 147.0 95.6 54 --
Net earnings per train mile (cents):
Passenger trains 21.2 (Loss) 1.8
Freight 127.0 77.5 64 --
Passenger earnings per passenger mile
(cents) 2.014 1.973 2 --
Mail earnings per mail ton mile (cents) 10.66 12.57 -- 15
Freight earnings per freight ton mile 0.759 0.753 1 --
(cents)
Note.--Bear in mind these figures do not, of course, show
effect of cut of $8,500,000 in mail pay effective July 1,
1907, or losses in net revenue through depression in business
conditions commencing in latter part of 1907. As an index of
the latter, the Commercial and Financial Chronicle of September
5, 1908, showed that 141 roads, aggregating 168,839 miles or 70
per cent. of all roads in the country, had suffered a loss of
$63,484,902, or 24.97 per cent., in net earnings in the first
half of the calendar year 1908, as compared with same period of
previous year.
The foregoing statement clearly shows the difference between the
revenue obtained from passenger trains as compared with freight
trains. The control of the former is largely out of the hands of
railroad operating officers, as to meet competitive and traffic
conditions, heavier and more luxurious passenger cars must constantly
be furnished, which, of course, means largely increased expense
with very little increase in the paying train load. In fact, as
to the mails, notwithstanding an increase in tonnage carried on
the average train, the mail earnings per passenger train mile were
actually less in 1907 than in 1898, due largely to the automatic
reduction of railway mail pay per ton mile. Considering the freight
train mile, the composition of which is almost entirely within the
control of the railroads, which institute methods for reducing cost
of transportation, it will be observed that by such methods the
railroads have been enabled to place 58 per cent. more tonnage in a
train, bring them 58 per cent. more earnings, which can be applied as
an offset to the increase of 54 per cent. in the cost of running a
train one mile.
This increase in operating expenses per train mile last referred to
has been brought about largely because of the increased cost of labor
and materials, which, as is well known, has been general throughout
the country.