The express companies of the United States

by Bertram Benedict

ADVANTAGES

The advantages of this arrangement over its predecessor are undeniable. The consolidation of effort, the reduction in the number of separate express agencies, the minimizing of accounting, the simplification of management, the pooling of equipment and facilities,—these administrative reforms should result in a marked decrease in relative operating expenses. The transfer of control from a moneyed group—or rather from three moneyed groups—interested primarily in private profits to a public official seeking only service to the public, this similarly is a definite achievement. The limitation of the capital stock to the actual cash value of the property and the fixing of the dividends on that stock at a nominal rate, these again are as notable gains in the realm of the express service as the profit-sharing arrangement between the Government and the private companies.