The Railroad Problem

by Edward Hungerford

The sick man is not without his ambitions—you may be sure of that. He sees his opportunities, perhaps more clearly than ever before in the course of his long life. He is anxious to be up and at them. But before this can be done, some of these things, which we have outlined so briefly here, will have to come to pass. There are reckonings to be made, huge doctors’ bills to be met—and the American public will have to help meet them.

The alternative?

There are many panaceas suggested; but I fear that most of these are but nostrums. Ingenious, many of them are, nevertheless. And some of them come from men who speak with both authority and experience. One man proposes to have the entire Federal taxes paid through the railroad, which, in turn, would recoup itself through its freight and passenger rates. He makes an interesting case for himself. Another suggests a Federal holding company for all the railroads of the United States and makes his suggestion read so cleverly and so ingeniously that you all but forget that he is drawing only a thin veil over government ownership. Of government ownership I am not going to treat at this time; not more than to say that to almost all American railroaders—big and little, employers and employed, stockholders and bondholders—it represents little less than death itself to the sick man of American business. In my own opinion it is, at the least, a major operation—an operation whose success is extremely dubious.

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INDEX

Adamson Bill, object and effect of, [235-239].
Aliens, value of, in railroad work, [74] ff.
American Railway Association, cooperation of, with government, [211].
Arbitration, compulsory, [240], [258];
in wage disputes, [57] ff.
Architectural problems in relation to increase of passenger traffic, [107] ff.
Atlantic coast, service of railroads in defense of, [192].
Automobile: effect of the, on railroad traffic, [134] ff.;
as a freight feeder of the railroad, [158];
operated on railroad tracks, [151].
Betterments and additions, amount needed for, [18] ff., [22], [26].
See also [Railroads].
Branch-lines and their relation to automobile competition, [142];
opportunities neglected by railroads, [152], [156].
Brotherhoods, [90] ff.;
influence of, on wages, [95], n.;
strength of, [238].
See also [Labor].
Canals, advantages of, to railroads, [176].
Capital, [4];
relation of, to earnings, [17];
Conductor, efficiency of the present-day, [45].
Cooperation of public vital to railroads, [179].
Cost of living, how influenced by railroads, [6].
De Luxe trains, economic wisdom of, [228].
Deficits, how met, [18].
See also [Railroads].
Droege, John A., [211], [214].
Efficiency, [12], [15];
relation of, to economy, [13].
Eight-hour day legislation, [220], [236], [257].
Electricity as motive power, [105], [125], [129];
advantages of, [113] ff.;
in Boston, [114];
in Chicago, [117];
in Philadelphia, [119];
to freight traffic, [131];
to railroad systems as a whole, [129], [132];
to suburban systems, [121];
transformation of gravity pull into motive energy, [131].
Elliott, Howard, [179].
Embargoes: cause of, [9];
effect of, [15], [159];
motor truck, value of, in case of, [160].
Emerson, Harrington, [99].
Employees, number of, in interests allied to railroads, [5];
number of, on steam railroads, [5].
Engineer, efficiency of the present-day, [33] ff.
Engineering problems in relation to increase of passenger traffic, [109].
Excess-fare trains, [222], [226];
pending inauguration of, on western railroads, [227].
Extensions, difficulty of raising funds for, [26], n.
Freight and passenger traffic, economic difference between, [232].
Freight cars, number and condition of, in use, [24];
number needed per year, [22], n.
See also [Railroads].

Freight feeder for railroad, automobile and motor truck recommended as, [158], [162].
Freight gateways as housing places of affiliated industries, [166].
Freight terminals, development of, [169].
Full-Crew Bill, the, [219];
legislation regarding, [247].
German railroads, efficiency of, [188].
Government ownership, [259].
Grade crossings, extent of removal of, [20-21].
Grain, cost of transportation of, [8].
Grand Central Station, the, [107], [110].
Gray, Carl R., [179], [211].
Harriman, E. H., [179].
Harrison, Fairfax, [211].
Hill, James J., [19], [21], [179].
Hine, Major Charles, [212].
Holden, Hale, [179].
Hustis, James H., [179].
Interstate Commerce Commission, effectiveness of, [253];
enlargement of powers of, [258].
Labor, bonus payments, [97] ff.;
brotherhoods, affiliation of labor with, [90];
improvement in quality of, [31];
relations of organized, with the railroads, [30], [56];
unorganized labor, interests and responsibilities of, [62] ff.;
wage adjustments between railroads and employees, [56] ff.;
wages of, [92] ff.
Labor question, the, [3], [4].
Legislation, conflict of state, [245] ff.
Liquor, opposition of railroads to its use by employees, [31].
Locomotives, number ordered per year, [24], n.
Markham, Charles H., [179], [211].
Mellen, Charles S., [196].
Military Reserve Corps among railroad men, [212].
Negro, value of the, in railroad work, [73].
Nonunion labor, employment of, [238].
Noonan, William T., [179].
Operation, what it involves, [18].
See also [Railroads].
Pacific coast, service of railroads in defense of, [200].
Panic of 1907, effect of, [26].
Passenger and freight traffic, economic difference between, [232].
Passenger-mile, statistics of, [17];
unit of traffic, [17].
Passenger rates, increases in, [220];
prospects for future increase in, [229], [233].
See also [Railroads].
Passenger service, state of, [25], n.
See also [Passenger-mile].
Pullman cars, comparison of, with European cars, [224].
Pullman Company, control by, of sleeping and parlor cars, [224].
Railroad fares, effect of automobile on rate of, [139] ff.
Railroads, and national defense, [181];
army operation of, in case of war, [207];
as military lines of communication, [191] ff.;
banker control of, [254];
betterments and additions, expenditures for, [18];
capitalization of, [14];
car famine now existing, [22], n., [23];
condition of, in case of present-day war, [185];
in Middle West and South, [19];
congestion, effect of, on, [15];
cooperation of public vital to, [179];
cost of living, how affected by, [6];
credit of, affected, [16];
debt of American farmer to, [8];
deficits, how met, [18];
depreciation fund, an asset, when, [28];
development extent of, yet needed, [21];
difficulties under which they labor, [2];
double-track, military value of, [202];
needed, [21];
earnings of, in relation to capital, [17];
efficiency, as applied to, [12];
emergencies, ability of, to meet, [214];
employees, number of, on, [5];
equipment, [25];
federal incorporation of, [256];
flexibility of equipment of, [210];
freight and passenger traffic, economic difference between, [232];
German military use of, [188];
governmental operation of, in case of war, [206];
inadequacy of, to meet needs of nation, [15], n.;
labor and tax, [31] ff.;
locomotives, condition of, in operation by, [25], and note;
losses, extent of, [29];
necessity and value of, to the country, [217];
operating, cost of, in relation to capital and earnings, [17];
opportunity of, [105];
passenger rates, part played by, in cost of operation, [232];
part played by, in Civil War, [182];
possibilities of development for, [151] ff., [158], [163], [166], [171], [176];
receiverships of, [10-12];
regulation of, [235], [240] ff.;
rehabilitation, extent of, needed, [29];
relations of, with employees, [30];
resources of, need for study of, [177];
service of, in defense of Pacific coast, [200];
service of, in defense of Atlantic coast, [192];
superiority of, in 1898, over those in Civil War, [184];
seizure of, by government, [258];
trained officials necessary for efficient handling of, [208];
upkeep, failure of, to meet, [23];
value of, to the nation, in time of war, [181];
wealth of the nation, how affected by, [6];
See also [Labor].
Rate increases, need of, [219].
Regulation of railroads, [4], [235];
confusion resulting from present methods, [237];
essential and advantageous, [241] ff.;
unified, [240].
Section boss, the, [62] ff.
See also [Labor].
Standard unit container, a factor in freight traffic, [163].
See also [Railroads s. v. “Possibilities of development].”
State railroad commissions, ineffectiveness of, [244].
Station agent, the, [62] ff., [77] ff.
See also [Labor].
Supervisor, the, [66].
See also [Labor].
Telegraph, value of the, in time of war, [181].
Telephone, effectiveness of the, in national crisis, [181].
Terminals, development of, [106].
Ton-mile, statistics of, [17];
unit of traffic, [17].
Tonnage-mile costs, [101].
See also [Labor]; [Wages].
Track foreman, the, [62] ff.
See also [Labor].
Traffic tides and congestion, [217].
Trains, legislation regulating length of, [101], [248].
Union Pacific Railroad, military value of, [200].
Vanderlip, Frank A., [32], n.
“Vital area” of country, how served by railroads, [192], [195].
Wage adjustments and arbitration, [56] ff.
Wages, bonus payments, [97], [102];
hour basis, the, [100];
maximum and minimum rates of, [240];
mile basis, the, [100];
“piece-rate” principle, the, [100] ff.;
rate of, discussed, [92] ff.
See also [Labor].
Waterways: development of inland, [171];
objectionable provisions of navigation law, [172];
vessels, need of, [175].
Wealth of nation, how affected by railroads, [6].
Willard, Daniel, [179], [211].

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