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diff --git a/44853.txt b/44853.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b55648d..0000000 --- a/44853.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3856 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Letters from an Old Railway Official, by -Charles DeLano Hine - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Letters from an Old Railway Official - To his Son, a Division Superintendent - -Author: Charles DeLano Hine - -Release Date: February 9, 2014 [EBook #44853] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS FROM AN OLD RAILWAY OFFICIAL *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected -without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have -been retained as printed. Words printed in italics are noted with -underscores: _italics_. - -The cover of this ebook was created by the transcriber and is -hereby placed in the public domain. - - - - -LETTERS FROM AN OLD RAILWAY OFFICIAL - -TO HIS SON, A DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT - - -BY - -CHARLES DELANO HINE - - -WITH A POSTSCRIPT BY FRANK H. SPEARMAN - - -CHICAGO -THE RAILWAY AGE -1904 - -COPYRIGHT, 1904, -BY CHARLES DELANO HINE - - - - -_To the railway officials and employes of America:_ - -_Their intelligence is an inspiration; their steadfastness, a -psalm._ - - - - -FILE NUMBERS. - - -LETTER I. -A Word of Congratulation 1 - -LETTER II. -Helping the Train Dispatchers 6 - -LETTER III. -Handling a Yard 13 - -LETTER IV. -Distant Signals on Chief Clerks 18 - -LETTER V. -Safety of Trains in Yards 26 - -LETTER VI. -Standardizing Administration 31 - -LETTER VII. -The New Trainmaster and Civil Service 36 - -LETTER VIII. -Education of Several Kinds 43 - -LETTER IX. -Correspondence and Telegrams 49 - -LETTER X. -The Bayonet Precedes the Gospel 56 - -LETTER XI. -Preventing Wrecks Before They Happen 63 - -LETTER XII. -The Self-Made Man Who Worships His Maker 70 - -LETTER XIII. -The Friend-Mile as a Unit of Measure 79 - -LETTER XIV. -The Management that Breeds from Its Own Herd 89 - -LETTER XV. -More on Civil Service 97 - -LETTER XVI. -The Supply Train 104 - -LETTER XVII. -What the Big Engine Has Cost 114 - -LETTER XVIII. -Be a Superintendent--Not a Nurse 121 - -LETTER XIX. -The Rack of the Comparative Statement 130 - -LETTER XX. -Handling the Pay-Roll 137 - -LETTER XXI. -Military Organization 145 - -LETTER XXII. -Wrecks and Block Signals 153 - -LETTER XXIII. -Unionism 161 - -LETTER XXIV. -The Round-Up 169 - -POSTSCRIPT. -By Frank H. Spearman 177 - - - - -Letters From A Railway Official - - - - -LETTER I. - -A WORD OF CONGRATULATION. - - -March 20, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--The circular announcing your appointment as division -superintendent has just been received, and it brings up a flood of -thoughts of former years. I felt that you had made a mistake in -leaving us to go with the new system, but it has turned out all right. -I can appreciate the fact that you would rather work away from me, so -as to make people believe that you can go up the official hill without -having a pusher behind you. - -This should be one of the proudest periods of your life. You are now -in a position to do good to your company, to your fellow man, and -incidentally to yourself. No matter how highly organized a road may -be, the importance of the office of division superintendent is in -direct proportion to the ability and earnestness of the incumbent. The -position is little or big, restricted or untrammeled, just as you make -it. Many a superintendent has had to double the hill of a swelled -knob, and run as a last section into the next promotion terminal. You -have too much of your mother's good sense ever to cause anybody else -to put up signals for you on this account. Therefore do not lose your -democratic manner. Keep your heart warm and regard the wider field as -an opportunity to get more friends on your staff. Try to call every -employe in your territory by name, as Caesar did his soldiers; for all -the traffic of goodwill must run in a direction toward you if you want -maximum results, as they call efficiency nowadays. Good old rule 121 -of the standard code says: "When in doubt take the safe course and run -no risks," which, in the case of acquaintance, means if uncertain -whether you know a man or not, speak to him and give him the glad hand -anyway. You will have to discipline men, but that can be done without -parting company with your good manners. Remember that the much-abused -word "discipline" comes from the same root as the word "disciple," a -pupil, a learner, a follower. It is always easier to lead men than to -drive them. - -When you go over the division do not try to see how many telegrams you -can send, but how few. It is usually a pretty safe rule after writing -a telegram on the hind end of a train to carry it by two or three -stations to see if you would rather not take it back to the office -yourself. The dispatchers used to tell your old dad that they couldn't -have told he was out on the line as far as his messages were an -indication. Another thing, do not try to plug your whistle and muffle -your bell. Let everybody know you are coming. The "Old Sleuth" stunt -is for criminals, not for honest employes. Be on hand so frequently -that your coming is taken as a matter of course. Never hunt quail with -a brass band, but bear in mind that men, unlike quail, rather like to -perch on a band wagon. If you are tempted to wait behind box cars to -see if the men on a night pony have gone in the hay, do not yield, but -get out, see that the switches are lined up, and count the ties in -front of the headlight until somebody gives her steam; just as -Napoleon walked post for the sleeping sentinel. Then, if you -administer a polite jacking up it will be twice as effective, even if -the delay to the work that one time has continued. Remember that -things are not as they should be, and it is probably your own fault -if, under normal conditions, a particular movement depends upon your -personal efforts. Any routine action that you take should be -calculated to help many trains, or one train many times; or to help -many men, not merely the trains or men in question. It is all right, -in emergencies, to jump in and do the work of a conductor, of an -engineman, of a switch tender, or of any other employe. The great -trouble is in discriminating between an emergency and a defect which -can better be remedied in some other way. The smaller the caliber of -the official the more numerous the emergencies to his mind. - -You should try to arrange your work so as to stay up all night at -least once a week, either in the office, or better, on the road or in -the yards. You will keep better in touch with the men and the things -for which you, asleep or awake, are always responsible. You remember -when your sister Lucy was little how we asked her why she said her -prayers at night but usually omitted them in the morning. Her answer -which so tickled you was, "I ask God to take care of me at night, but -I can take care of myself in the daytime." It is much the same way -with a railroad. From your point of view it will take pretty fair care -of itself as a daylight job, but at night that proposition loses its -rights. The youngest dispatcher, by virtue of being the senior -representative awake, is to a certain extent general manager. The -least experienced men are in the yards and roundhouses. The -ever-faithful sectionmen are off the right of way. The car inspector's -light and the engineman's torch are poor substitutes for the sun in -locating defects. The most active brains are dulled by the darkness -just before dawn. Then it is that a brief hour may side-track or -derail the good work of many days. It is this responsibility, this -struggle with nature, this helping God to work out the good in men, -that makes our profession noble and develops qualities of greatness in -its members. - -Next time I shall try to tell you something about helping your train -dispatchers. - -With a father's blessing, ever your own, - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER II. - -HELPING THE TRAIN DISPATCHERS. - - -March 27, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I promised in my last to say something about helping -your train dispatchers. The way to help any man is first to encourage -him and by showing that you appreciate his good qualities give him -confidence in himself. When you come in off the road tell the -dispatcher, if such be the case, "Nice meeting point you made -yesterday for 15 and 16; I was there and they both kept moving almost -like double track." If your division has been badly handled, the -dispatcher, unaccustomed to such appreciation, will at first think -this is a sarcastic prelude to having the harpoon thrown into him; but -your sincerity will soon disabuse his mind of such a notion. Sarcasm -in official intercourse or toward one's subordinates should never be -tolerated. It is an expensive kind of extra that should never be run. -When you praise a man it will add to his good feeling if some one else -happens to be present. If you have to censure anyone, whether directly -or through the channels, do it privately and spare the recipient all -unnecessary humiliation. The official who remembers to mention good -work will find his rebukes and criticisms much more effective in -remedying poor work than the official whose theory and practice are to -take up failures and to let successes be taken for granted. - -Another way to help a man is to lead him away from the pitfalls that -are peculiar to his path of work. The official who is an old -dispatcher has to fight in himself the temptation to be the whole -cheese. He has to learn to trust subordinates with details. Every -position entails some inherent temptations. The absolute, unquestioned -authority given a dispatcher in train movements breeds a temptation to -be autocratic and unreasonable, to put out too many orders, to give -too many instructions. Therefore, try to get your dispatchers in touch -with your crews. If the former are in a skyscraper uptown, get -authority to build an office for them at the terminal where most of -the crews live. Personal contact is much better than long-distance -communication by wire. There is enough of the latter from the very -nature of the business without causing an unnecessary amount by -artificial conditions. - -The temptation of a legislator is to make too many laws; of a doctor -to prescribe too much medicine; of an old man to give too much advice; -and of a train dispatcher, once more, to put out too many orders. It -used to be thought by some that the best dispatcher was the one who -put out the most orders. The later and better idea is that, generally -speaking, the best dispatcher puts out the fewest orders. It is always -easier to give orders of any kind than it is to execute them. It is a -far cry from an O.S. on a train sheet to getting a heavy drag into a -sidetrack and out again. It often takes longer to stop a train and get -an order signed and completed than the additional time given in the -order amounts to. Even a judicious use of the beneficent nineteen -order involves more or less delay. One of the lessons a dispatcher has -to learn is to know when he is up against it; when he has figured -badly; and when not to make a bad matter worse by vainly trying to -retrieve a hopeless delay. A good dispatcher will know without being -told that he has made a poor meeting point. Educate him to consider -that as an error to be avoided under like conditions in the future; -not as a mistake to be made worse by putting out more orders that may -fail to help the stabbed train enough, and may result in having every -fellow on the road delayed. If any train must be delayed, let it be -one that is already late rather than one that is on time. Above all -get the confidence of your dispatchers so that they will not try to -cover up their own mistakes or those of others. Teach them that, in -the doubtful event of its becoming necessary, the superintendent is -able to do the covering up act for the whole division. - -Every superintendent and higher official should remember that if the -same train order is given every day there must be something radically -wrong with the time table. All over this broad land, day after day, -hundreds of unnecessary train orders are being sent because many time -tables are constructed on the models of forty years ago. At that time, -in fact as in name, there were two classes of trains, passenger and -freight. To-day there are in reality at least two distinct classes of -passenger trains and two classes of freights, or at least four in all. -On most of the roads in the country passenger trains of whatever -nature or importance are all shown in one class, the first. As a -result every limited train in the inferior direction on single track -has to be given right by train order over opposing local passenger -trains in the superior direction. In other words, the working time -table, by definition a general law, has no more practical value, as -between such trains, than an advertising folder. A train order by its -very nature is an exception to the general law, the time table. When -the exception becomes the rule it is high time to head in or to put -out a thinking flag. Some years ago your old dad after much persuasion -induced his superiors to let him make four classes of trains on a -pretty warm piece of single track. The result directly and indirectly -was to reduce the number of train orders by twenty or twenty-five per -day. Every train order given increases the possibility of mistake and -disaster; the fewer the orders the safer the operation. The change was -made without even an approach to a mistake or the semblance of -disaster. The dispatchers being less occupied were able to give more -attention to local freights, and the general efficiency of the train -service was greatly increased. The wires could go down and the most -important trains would keep moving. It has stood the test of years and -if the old method were resumed a grievance committee would probably -wait on the management. - -Successful politicians and public speakers have long since learned not -to disgust their hearers by trying to talk in language ridiculously -simple and uncultured. For us to say that the intelligent employes of -to-day cannot keep in mind four or even five classes of trains is to -confuse them with the comparatively illiterate men of a bygone -generation. The public school and the daily newspaper have made a part -of our problem easier. We are paying higher wages than ever before, -but is it not partly our own fault if we fail to get full value -received? - -Therefore, see if your time tables appeal to tradition or to reason; -if they belong to a period when women wore hoopskirts, or to a time -when women ride wheels and play golf. In brief, before you take the -stylus to remove the dirt ballast from the dispatcher's eye, be sure -that there are no brakebeams stuck in your own headlight. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER III. - -HANDLING A YARD. - - -April 3, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--You have asked me to give you some pointers on handling -a yard. You will find that nearly all situations in a yard hark back -to one simple rule, which is: When you get hold of a car move it as -far as possible toward its final destination before you let go of it. - -The training of a switchman is usually such that, if let alone, he -will stick the car in the first convenient track and wait to make a -delivery until he can pull every track in the yard and put with it all -other cars with the same cards or marks. By this time some other -fellow with a similar honesty of purpose but differently applied will -come along and bury the car or block the first man in so that one -engine has to stand idle. A yardmaster has to learn to keep his -engines scattered and to hold each foreman responsible for the work of -an engine. A good yardmaster knows instinctively where to be at a -certain time to minimize the delay incident to engines bunching. The -old switchman who becomes a yardmaster often proves a failure because -he cannot overcome his inclination to follow one engine and take a -hand in the switching himself. By so doing he may perhaps increase the -work accomplished by that one engine, possibly five per cent; but in -the meantime the other engines, for want of comprehensive, intelligent -instructions, are getting in each other's way and the efficiency of -the day's service is decreased maybe twenty per cent. - -Good yardmasters are even harder to discover or develop than good -train dispatchers. The exposure, the irregular hours for the -yardmaster's meals in even the best regulated yards make a good -conductor leery about giving up a comfortable run to assume the -increased responsibility of a yard. The pay of a yardmaster is little -more than that of a conductor and is sometimes less. Right here is a -chance for some deep administrative thought. It is so much easier to -get good conductors than good yardmasters, should we not make the -latter position more attractive? Some roads have done this by making -it one of the positions from which to promote trainmasters, and seldom -have such appointees fallen down. However, there are hardly enough -promotion loaves and fishes to go around. Men get tired of living on -skimmed milk on earth for the sake of promised cream in heaven. Every -switch engine worked costs the company several hundred dollars per -month, and the yardmaster whose good figuring can save working even -one engine is more than earning his salary. - -The closer you can get your yardmasters to your official family the -better your administration. Pick up a yardmaster occasionally and take -him to headquarters with you so that he will keep acquainted with the -dispatchers. This will hold down friction and save the company's good -money. A dispatcher naturally wants to get all the trains he can into -a terminal, while a yardmaster is doing his level best to get trains -out. With such radically different points of professional view there -is a big opportunity for the superintendent and the trainmaster to do -the harmonizing act, to keep pleasantly before employes the fact that -all are working for the same company, that all do business with the -same paymaster. Blessed are the peacemakers doesn't mean necessarily -there must first be trouble. Peace carried in stock is better than -that manufactured on hurry-up shop orders. - -If you are looking for talent to run a yard, consider some ambitious -dispatcher. Too few dispatchers have become yardmasters. The same cool -head, the same quick judgment, the same executive ability are needed -in both positions. The man who has successfully filled both is usually -equipped to go against almost any old official job, without having to -back up and take a run for the hill. The curse of modern civilization -is over-specialization. The world grows better and produces stronger, -better men all the while. Perhaps this is in spite of rather than on -account of highly specialized organization. No industry can afford to -be without the old-fashioned all around man who is good anywhere you -put him. - -The work of the yardmaster is more spectacular than that of the -dispatcher. To come down to a congested yard among a lot of -discouraged men blocked in without room to sidetrack a handcar is like -sitting down to a train sheet with most of the trains tied up for -orders. In either case let the right man take hold and in a few -minutes the men involved will tell you who it is has assumed charge. -Without realizing it and without knowing why, they redouble their -efforts; things begin to move, and the incident goes down in the -legends of the division to be the talk of the caboose and the -roundhouse for years to come. To the man whose cool head and -earnestness are bringing it all about comes the almost unconscious -exhilaration that there is in leading reinforcements to the firing -line. He feels with the Count of Monte Cristo, "The world is mine," I -have the switches set to head it in. - -Get out of your head the young brakeman's idea that yard jobs are for -old women and hasbeens. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER IV. - -DISTANT SIGNALS ON CHIEF CLERKS. - - -April 10, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--You write me that you have been kept very much in your -office of late because the general superintendent has taken your chief -clerk for the same position in his own office. You hope that your -friend, the auditor, may be able to furnish you a good man who has -such a thorough knowledge of accounts that you will be able to give -less attention to such matters and therefore be out on the road that -much more. You will pardon a father's severity, but you are running on -bad track, and my interest prompts me to put out a slow order for you. -You have had the division a short time, it is true, but that is only a -partial excuse for not having better organization than your letter -unwittingly admits. You have been there long enough to have sized up -the men on the division, and you should know where to put your hand on -a man for practically any position. A good organizer does not wait for -a vacancy to occur or even come in sight before thinking of the next -incumbent. He is always into clear on such a proposition. He has -thought it all out beforehand. He has in mind two or three available -men for every possible vacancy that can occur, for every job on the -pike, including his own. Wherever possible by judicious changing of -men he not only has a man in mind, but he has given him some -preliminary training for, perhaps some actual experience in, the -position to be permanently filled. - -The tone of your letter is half complaining because the general -superintendent has taken your good chief clerk. Away with such a -feeling; it is unworthy. You should feel flattered that your division -had a chance to fill the vacancy. You should rejoice in the -advancement of your faithful subordinate. Some divisions, like some -officials, are known the country over as developers of talent. - -Youth is proverbially quick, and I think sometimes that you youngsters -are quicker at getting into a rut than are we old fogies. Why for a -chief clerk must you necessarily have a man with office experience? -Does it not occur to you that your office will be in better touch with -its responsibilities if it is in charge of a man who has worked -outside along the road? Why not look among your trainmen, your -yardmen, your dispatchers, your agents, your operators, or even among -your section foremen? Experience is a great teacher, but it can never -entirely supply the place of native ability, of natural adaptability. -Brains and tact are the essentials and each is comparatively useless -without the other. Both must be developed by training, but such -training does not necessarily have to take the same course for all -men. Railroading as a business is only seventy-five years old, and as -a profession is much younger than that. It is too early in the game to -lay down iron-clad rules as to the best channels for training and -advancement. Common sense demands that such avenues be broad and more -or less definite. The danger is that they will be only paths and so -narrow that they will wear into ruts. - -Do not delude yourself into thinking that by going out on the road you -can get away from the accounts. They are a flagman that is never left -behind to come in on a following section. You can never get beyond -watching the company's dollars and cents any more than a successful -musician can omit practice. Some officials think that the way to -examine a payroll or a voucher is to see that all the extensions are -accurately made, that the columns are correctly added. This mechanical -clerical work is about the last thing an official should have to do. -He should know how, but his examination should be from a different -viewpoint. Primarily he must look to see if the company is getting -value received for money expended. He must know that the rolls and -vouchers are honestly made up, that agreements involved, if any, are -carried out to the letter. The agreements may not be to his personal -liking, may not accord with his ideas of justice, but the -responsibility for that part is his superior's, not his own. There is -a proper channel for him to follow in attempting to protect the -company's interests, but that channel is not the one of a petty ruling -on a minor question involved in a voucher or a payroll. Overtime, for -example, is not a spook but a business proposition. If earned -according to the schedule it should be allowed unhesitatingly. Before -you jack up a yard-master for having so much overtime, see if the -cutting out of that overtime will mean the greater expense of working -another engine. The constant thought of every official is how to -reduce expenses, how to cut down payrolls. This habit of mind, -commendable as it is, has its dangers. In any business we must spend -money to get money. The auditor's statements do not tell us why we -lost certain traffic through relatively poor service. Their silence is -not eloquent upon the subject of the business we failed to get. -Figures must be fought with figures and many a good operating official -has had to lie down in the face of the auditor's fire because, from -lack of intelligent study of statistics on his own part, he had no -ammunition with which to reload. Do not feel that if you happen to -advocate an increase of expense you are necessarily a discredit to the -profession, a dishonor to the cloth. - -There are few roads that would not save money in the long run by -allowing each division say one hundred dollars per month for -developing talent. The expense distributed to oil for administrative -machinery would express the idea. It would then be up to the -superintendent to work out original methods for spending this money to -the best advantage. A bright young fellow with the ear marks of a -coming official could be given training in various positions. While he -is acting in a certain position, the regular incumbent could be sent -to observe methods elsewhere or be given training in some other -department. For example, while your candidate is running a yard, the -yardmaster could be an understudy for a supervisor. A station agent -could take the place of a section foreman, an operator the place of -a chief clerk, and so on indefinitely. Do not understand me as -advocating a wholesale shakeup or the doing away with permanency of -tenure. The limitations of the majority of men are such that they -are better left in one fixed groove. We grow to be narrow in our -methods because men are narrow. What I want is for us to be broad -enough in method to keep from dwarfing the exceptions in the ranks, -and at the same time keep the parts of our administrative machine -interchangeable. The original entry into the service is more or less a -matter of accident as to department entered. Let us not leave a good -man the creature of accident all his days. The company is the loser as -well as the man. We complain because the trades unions advocate a -closed shop, a restricted output, a limited number of apprentices. Is -not their attitude a logical development of the example we have set? -Like master, like man. - -Let your new chief clerk understand that he is never to use your -signature or initials to censure or reprimand any employe, either -directly or by implication. That is a prerogative you cannot afford to -delegate. It is all right if a complaint comes in for the chief clerk -to investigate by writing in your name and saying: "Kindly advise -concerning alleged failure to do so and so;" or, "We have a complaint -that such and such happened and would like to have your statement;" -but he should stop right there. It is all wrong for him or for you to -add, "We are astonished at your ignorance of the rules;" or, "You must -understand that such conduct will not be tolerated." Wait until both -sides of the case are heard. Then you alone must act. The division -will not go to pieces while such matters await your personal -attention. While you are learning that even a brakeman's unpaid board -bill may be satisfactorily explained, the brakemen are learning that -even a superintendent can find the time to be fair and just. A lack of -development of the judicial quality in chief clerks and their -superiors has cost the railroad stockholders of this country many a -dollar. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER V. - -SAFETY OF TRAINS IN YARDS. - - -April 17, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I have yours saying that my letter on yard work omits -mention of the most important feature, the safety of trains in yards; -that the letter is much like a cup of lunch-counter coffee--very good, -what there is of it, and plenty of it, such as it is. - -I admit that you have caught me not only foul of the main, but outside -the switches. I appreciate your consideration in so politely pulling -the whistle cord for me, when you would have been justified in setting -the air. We all like to be with good company and pull the president's -special, and in this case I seem to have with me no less distinguished -companions than the American Railway Association. That able body has -been detoured too long around this important matter of rules governing -trains in yards. Before I leave their varnished cars and climb into -the gangway of a switch engine to run into the yards, I want the -conductor to throw off a register slip setting forth my admiration for -the great work already done by that brainy organization. I take off my -hat to the American Railway Association. When I take off said hat, -especially to a lady, I always keep both eyes open. Adoration should -not be too blind or one may overlook some other meeting points and -land clear off the right of way. - -Long ago some bright minds, whose identity is lost in the rush of the -years, hit upon the happy expedient of dividing trains into two kinds, -regular and extra; just as early theology divided mankind into the two -convenient classes of saints and sinners. This designation of trains, -doubtless like all innovations opposed at first, soon acquired the -sacredness that time brings to all things. At that period when we got -a car over the road and into the terminal we felt that its troubles -were about ended, as did the contemporary novelist whose terminal was -always a betrothal scene. Under modern conditions a car reaching a -terminal, like a couple leaving the altar, finds that its problems -have only fairly begun. Less romance, more progress. - -Did you ever try to explain to an intelligent traveling man just what -a train is? Did he not ask you some questions that kept you guessing -for a week? Did he not remind you that outsiders usually make the -inventions that revolutionize operation? Radical changes in methods of -warfare are seldom necessitated by the inventions of military men. A -druggist invented the automatic coupler. Railroad men did not patent -the air brake or devise the sleeping car. All this is natural, because -in any profession where one attains excellence in a given method his -mental vision may become contracted; he may reason in a circle. - -Every once in a while we are appalled by a terrible collision in a -terminal, the result perhaps of some poor devil of an employe not -appreciating fully the meaning of "all trains." To the innocent -bystander the switch engine and cars are just as much a train as the -Pullman flyer with its two little green markers on the last car. After -such accidents, for a brief period, we hear a great deal about act of -Providence, presumptuousness of man, fallibility of the human mind, -surprise checking, discipline of employes, company spirit, -governmental supervision and a lot of other more or less unrelated -subjects. Are we not to blame for not having met the issue squarely? -Is it not time that we legislated to recognize the scores of engines -chasing through our terminals, from freighthouse to yard, from engine -house to station? Are they outcasts? Do the millions of dollars of -investment they represent come through a different treasury? - -To the human mind an engine or a motor is a train, while a cut of cars -without motive power is only a piece of a train, and goes to the brain -as an idea of something incomplete. All the artificial definitions of -the standard code cannot alter this state of facts. What do you think -of the following proposed designations and tentative definitions? - -Train.--An engine (or motor) in service, with or without cars. Two or -more engines (or motors) may be combined as one train. - -Regular Train.--A train represented on the time table. It may consist -of sections. A section derives its running existence from a train -order requiring a regular train or the proper section thereof, to -display prescribed signals. - -Extra Train.--A train not represented on the time table, but deriving -its running existence from train order. - -Yard Train.--A train neither represented on the time table nor created -by train order, but deriving its running existence from rules -governing movements within prescribed limits. - -You will find if you work these definitions through the standard code -the changes will be slight, but the results comprehensive and -satisfactory. This will do as a starter, but you will live to see -trains handled on single track without train orders as we now -understand the term. - -If this answers your signal, suppose we call in that flag we whistled -out when we stopped to talk it over. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER VI. - -STANDARDIZING ADMINISTRATION. - - -April 24, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--While backing in on a branch idea I bumped into a load -consigned to the American Railway Association which, with your -permission, I wish to bring in behind the caboose to save a switch. -Yes, I have tied a green flag on the rear grabiron for a marker. When -the hind man has dropped off to shut the switch and has given the -eagle eye a high sign, I shall make a note on the wheel report to the -effect that there is not a much better daylight marker than the -caboose itself. Some people doubt the necessity for green flags on -freight trains or work trains unless the caboose does not happen to be -the last car. Night markers are unquestionably necessary, but are not -a source of additional expense, as the same oil answers for both the -rear red signal and the marker. - -The idea in question is that the American Railway Association might -well afford to pay salaries to more of its officials and let certain -ones give their entire time to committee work and the general welfare. -It is too much to expect that men, probably already overworked on -their own roads, can find the broadest solution of problems in the -very limited time allowed. It might be possible to work out a plan -whereby election to certain positions in the association would mean -that the individual elected was to be loaned to the association for -his term of office, say two years, and then return to service with his -own company. A permanent body of officials in such an organization -would be undesirable, save of course the able secretary, for the -reason that too long a separation from active service would beget an -indifference to practical operating conditions. Under such a plan -officials would have to be elected by name to prevent a company from -unloading any old rail on the association. You know that some -statistician has figured out that the average official life of a -railroad man in any one position is only about two years. -Rearrangement of the staff on the return of an official from such -broadening special duty should not be a difficult matter. But, as a -man once said to me, "You will not bring all these reforms about until -the old fogies die off, and by that time you will be an old fogy -yourself and it will not make any difference." - -There is almost no limit to the number of matters in railway -administration that can be made standard and uniform for all roads. A -great deal has been done, but to a coming generation the present stage -of accomplishment will seem to have been only a fair beginning. The -hopeful feature is that roads now meet each other in a much broader -spirit than ever before. The fortress that parleys is half taken, and -when negotiations looking to uniformity are once begun a long stride -forward has been taken. Take the wage agreements of a dozen roads at a -large terminal. All twelve are intended to mean practically the same -thing, yet the wording of no two will be found alike. This probably is -not due so much to a disinclination to get together as to a lack of -time for working out uniform details. - -Some roads are noticeable for the clearness, conciseness and brevity -of their instructions. Others employ a lot of surplus words which are -as expensive and annoying in operation as dead cars in a yard. On -every road there are a few men in the official family who have a -faculty of expression, either inborn or acquired. Some day when we -more fully overcome the prejudice against sending officials to school -we shall utilize the services of such valuable men as instructors in -style. When this is done, especially in the traffic and legal -departments, we shall materially reduce our telegraph expenses. The -mere thought of the thousands of unnecessary words flying over the -railroad wires every day is enough to give one telegrapher's cramp. -Some roads occasionally censor telegrams with a view to reducing their -number and their length. These efforts, like municipal reform, are apt -to be too spasmodic to prove of lasting value. Success in anything -depends upon keeping most everlastingly at it. You notice that I do -not confine this remark to our own profession. Carry a flag for me -against the man who always says: "In railroading you have to do thus -and so, for it's not like other business." All must admit that -conditions in railroading are intense; that, except in an army in time -of war, there is no profession that is more strenuous or calls for -better staying qualities. These facts, however, do not put us in a -class by ourselves, a little lower than the angels, a few car lengths -ahead of perfection. As Oliver Cromwell said, some things are -fundamental. One of them is that good organization and administration -depend upon certain basic principles which hold true for any industry. -Whatever one's religious views, he must find that the Bible is one of -the best books of rules ever written, one of the best standard codes -on organization that has been devised. Men were organizers on a large -scale centuries before railroads were built. - -When, after months of deliberation, the convention had finally agreed -upon the provisions of the Constitution of the United States, the -document was referred for revision to a committee on style and -expression. The result has been the admiration of the English speaking -race. The caller's book does not show that the American Railway -Association has ordered a run for such a committee. Should a claim of -that sort be made it would hardly be advisable to file the last -standard code as an exhibit. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER VII. - -THE NEW TRAINMASTER AND CIVIL SERVICE. - - -May 1, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I have your letter telling about your new trainmaster. -You feel that a man from another division has been forced on you by -the general superintendent; that you have suffered a personal affront -because the promotion you recommended on your own division has not -been approved. I am sorry to rule against you, but from your own story -if anybody deserves six months twice a year, it is you and not the -general superintendent. The latter may have been lacking in tact; he -may have been unduly inconsiderate for your personal feelings, but in -making the appointment, which you admit is a good one, he has -doubtless been actuated by a conscientious sense of duty. Remember -that a fundamental principle of highly organized bodies is that a -superior cannot expect to select his own lieutenants. The next higher -is always consulted and generally the latter's superiors also. The -theory is that they are in a position to have a broader view, to size -up more talent, to draw from the system at large, and to accentuate -principles and policies in promotions and appointments. This theory is -supported by practice, which goes even further. On most roads -circulars signed by the superintendent and approved by the general -superintendent announce the appointment of a trainmaster. Do not let -this delude you into thinking the general manager has not been -consulted. In fact, if you could drop a nickel in the slot and get a -phonographic report of conferences on the appointment, you might -happen to recognize the voice of the president himself before the -machine shut off. All of which should convince you that the -stockholders and directors have strewn other official pebbles besides -yourself along the organization beach. You say that the relation of -superintendent and trainmaster should be that of elder brother and -younger brother. Very true, but do any of us ever select our brothers? - -In a primitive state of civilization, when force is law, the military -chieftain rules. He makes and breaks his lieutenants at pleasure. The -oldest form of organization we have is the military, for armies are -older than governments. Every nation has its birth in the throes of -battle. Time passes and the chieftain finds his lieutenants insisting -on permanency of tenure. Gradually they secure it, and channels of -promotion and appointment are defined. These reach the lower grades -and the general finds that he has not even the authority to discuss a -private soldier from the service until the latter has been convicted -by a court-martial of an offense covered by enactment of the -legislative body of the nation. In every civilized country officers -are commissioned by the executive head of the nation and by no one -else. The general-in-chief may recommend, but he cannot appoint even a -second lieutenant. Consider now a commercial organization. Do you -think the high-salaried captain of an ocean liner can select his first -and second officers without consulting his superiors? Does he select -his own crew? Really, now, do you think the general superintendent -should perfunctorily approve your recommendation for trainmaster? - -Men have been organizing armies and have been going down to the sea in -ships for thousands of years. Let the railroads, which have been in -existence only seventy-five years, draw another leaf from the lesson -of the ages. The time is fast coming when an official cannot discharge -a skilled laborer from the service without the approval of at least -one higher official. We may not like it; we may say that such policies -will put the road in the hands of a receiver. That is just what the -conductors said when we took away from them the privilege of hiring -their own brakemen. It will come just the same. We may as well look -pleasant and see the bright side. Where employment is made a lifetime -business, where admission thereto is restricted to the lower grades -and to younger men, public sentiment will not stand for letting the -question of a man's livelihood be decided by any one official, however -fair and just he may be. Safety and good administration may demand the -man's summary suspension from duty by the immediate official or -employe in charge. If the man has been in the service a prescribed -probationary period his permanent discharge will have to be approved -by higher authority. Men will not care to risk having a recommendation -for discharge disapproved. They will learn that the more carefully a -discharge has been considered the less readily will a reinstatement be -made. - -Some people think you cannot have military methods and organization on -a railroad because it has no guardhouse. This is a mistake. Your old -dad, after trying both, finds that railroads, in some respects, have a -more powerful discipline than the army. A discipline based on bread -and butter, shoes for the baby, love of home, and pride of family, -which is the bulwark of the state, has in itself all necessary -elements for maximum practical effectiveness. - -Reinstatements, unless based on new evidence, are demoralizing to -discipline, for the reason that the unworthy employe bumps back to a -lower grade some deserving man, whose good service is then reckoned at -a discount. Some passenger conductors become so color blind they -cannot tell the company's money from their own. They keep down the -wrong lead until the auditor derails them at the spotter's switch. The -ex-conductor gets hungry, the sympathetic grievance committee, not -knowing what is for its own best interests, intercedes. The -management, dreaming of loyalty in coming strikes, reinstates the -offender. Some young conductor, who, on the strength of his promotion, -has married or bought a home, is set back to braking. This causes some -brakeman to carry the mail to the extra list. He quits in disgust and -another road, less sympathetic, gets the benefit of his training. -Other reinstatements follow and more of the younger men quit. Years go -on, a rush of business comes. The management look in vain for -promotion material and wonder at the seeming ingratitude in quitting -of so many good young men whom it was fully intended to promote--in -the sweet by and by. This is not the experience of one road, but of -many. Let us be just before we are generous. - -Speaking of discharged employes, did you ever happen to be in a -general office with an ex-passenger conductor, discharged for -"unsatisfactory services," but seeking immediate reinstatement; and -have an ex-official, who left the service in first-class standing, -come in and ask for the next official vacancy? The conductor might -succeed, but the official would fall a sacrifice on the shrine of -civil service, a fetich because, in its true meaning, so little -understood. - -I shall string a civil service limited for you on some other time -card. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER VIII. - -EDUCATION OF SEVERAL KINDS. - - -May 8, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I happened to meet your general manager the other day, -and the way he spoke of the good work you are doing warmed the cockles -of my old heart. He said that you couldn't rest easy until you knew -more about the division than any other man. This, of course, is as it -should be, but it is astonishing how many division superintendents are -satisfied to grope along in the dark. Then some fine day the general -officials come along on an inspection trip and unintentionally make -the superintendent look like thirty cents by the sincere questions -they ask about the division which he is unable to answer. If one's -memory has not been trained by education it is a good thing to -condense information and have it in a notebook in the vest pocket. -Some wise man has said that all education after we are twenty-five -years old consists in knowing where to look for things. - -Another help that school education gives to an official is to broaden -him so that he can use different methods on different properties. -There are three main reasons why officials without much early -education have succeeded and will continue to succeed. The first is -native ability, which remains comparatively undeveloped without the -second, which is opportunity. The third is the good luck to work under -organizers and developers of talent. Training under the right sort of -leaders is an education in itself. The danger of relying on such -training alone is that one may copy too blindly the methods of his -master without being broad enough to realize that the same master -under other conditions of territory would adopt radically different -methods. This is the reason why there are so many failures when a new -man takes a crowd of his followers to reorganize a property. If all -succeed, very well, but if one fails the most of the bunch go tumbling -down like a row of blocks. - -Again, the educated man from his knowledge of history is less likely -to forget that what may go in fifteen-year-old Oklahoma will receive -the icy mitt and the marble heart in three-hundred-year-old Virginia. -Triples that are O.K. in cavalier South Carolina may be too quick -acting in puritan Massachusetts. Commercialism, like patriotism, rests -on certain fundamental principles. The application of these principles -may be as uniform as a train of system cars; it may be as diverse as -the cars in a train of a connecting line. Orthodoxy is usually my -doxy. - -The rough and ready efficiency of the West, which has developed a vast -domain, has won the praise of the world. Our rough and ready brethren -are finding that, as society rapidly becomes more highly organized, -this old-time efficiency must be supplemented with technical -education. So you find your self-made magnate giving his sons college -educations. The only regrettable part is that to make it easy the old -man raises the low joints for the boys and they do not always get -bumpings enough to test their equipment thoroughly. Time will correct -this, and more college men, more presidents' sons, will fire, will -switch, will brake, will become men behind cars as well as men behind -desks. It is not only what you know, but what you make people believe -you know, that counts in this little game of life. The American people -never go back on a man who puts aside birth or education and stakes -his all upon his manhood; who is willing to share the dangers and the -hardships of his calling. Our military men have long since learned -this lesson, and the son of the general must do the same guard duty, -make the same marches, dig the same trenches, and face the same -bullets as his fellows. His father knows that for it to be otherwise -would be to handicap the son by the contempt of his comrades. Like the -Spartan mother, he says: "My son, return with your shield or upon it." - -Did you ever consider how uncertain a quantity is opportunity, as -inscrutable as the ways of Providence? In all ages and in all callings -it has been one of the numerous mysteries that make life so -attractive. There is many a veteran conductor, many a gray-haired -station agent, who, if he could have had the chance to start, would -have become a general manager. Some men have to go to another road to -be fully appreciated. When a man is young he is criticized if he -changes roads. When he is older his services are sought because of his -varied experience with different roads. Human nature is prone to limit -the length of everybody's train to the capacity of its own sidetracks. - -In the spring of 1861 there went from his tannery at Galena to the -capital of Illinois an ex-officer, a professional soldier, whose -gallantry and efficiency had stood the tests of the war with Mexico. -Springfield was filled with commission seekers, natives of the State, -and Illinois, like some railroads, did not wish to go off her own -rails for talent. She needed trained clerks to make out muster rolls, -to book wheel reports in the yard office, as it were. This humble -employment the silent soldier accepted with better grace than has -characterized some former railway officials under similar -circumstances. The opportunity came in the shape of a mutinous -regiment, which, like a mountain division, was hard to handle. Three -years later the clerk had run around all the officers, was commanding -all the armies of the Union, and the world rang with the military fame -of Ulysses S. Grant. Strange indeed is opportunity. Some successful -railroad men owe their official start to the seeming bad luck of being -let out as an employe. - -Your general manager said that he had read some of my letters to you; -threw me a warm jolly by remarking that you are a credit to such -teaching. Then he confessed that he had asked the son if the old man -always practices what he preaches. I am pleased to know from his own -lips that you uncovered his headlight on that point. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER IX. - -CORRESPONDENCE AND TELEGRAMS. - - -May 15, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--You have asked me to say something more on the subject -of correspondence and telegrams. In these days of push the button for -the stenographer, letters and telegrams are longer than when the -officials themselves wrote out communications in long-hand. It -therefore usually remains for employes like yardmasters, conductors -and operators to preserve the good old terse style of the past. Some -of them send messages that are models of comprehensiveness and -brevity. When you run across a man who is an artist in that sort of -thing keep an eye on him. The chances are that he uses the same good -judgment in all of his work; that he accomplishes the greatest -possible amount with the least possible effort; that he takes -advantage of the easiest and best way; that he has the prime -requisites of a coming official, namely, a cool head and horse sense. - -Of course, the matter of terseness can be run into the ground. -Clearness should not be sacrificed to brevity. There is a happy medium -between the off agin, on agin, gone agin, Finnegan, of the Irish -section foreman and the regretsky to reportsky of the Russian general. -The point to be gained is to avoid repetition and unnecessary words. -When wiring your office that you will go east on Number Two, the word -east is superfluous for the reason that on your road Number Two can -not possibly run west. For years in our train orders we used the -phrase, right of track. Then somebody was bright enough to think that -as Stonewall Jackson is no longer hauling locomotives from one line to -another over the Valley turnpike in Virginia, the words "of track" -might be cut out. Similar amputations have been made in the morning -delay reports of many roads. - -Human nature is so prone to grasp at the shadow rather than the -substance that men cling to words rather than to ideas. When you have -written a bulletin directing something to be done, do not discount -your faith in its effect by the introduction of our good old friend, -"Be Governed Accordingly." We get in the habit of doing a thing simply -because we have always seen it done and know no other way. We paint on -the sides of our cars such unnecessary words as baggage, chair, -dining, parlor, furniture, stock, etc., etc., just as though these -cars were never used for anything else; just as though the words -really served some useful purpose. The people who do not know the -different kinds of cars are beyond the reach of instruction through -such information. You have heard of the man who entered the dining car -by mistake and asked, "Is this the smoking car?" Whereupon a waiter -grinned and replied, "No, suh, this is the chewin' cah." The Pullman -people years ago discontinued the use of the words "sleeping car" on -their equipment. It is not of record that the voices of the car -inspectors and the switchmen on the outside have awakened any more -passengers than usual on account of such omission. - -We borrowed from the army and the navy the idea of uniforms for -employes, brass buttons, gold lace and all. Lately soldiers and -sailors are wearing plainer, simpler service uniforms. We, however, -have not taken a tumble, perhaps because no one has hit us with a -club, or run into our switch shanty and knocked it off the right of -way. The cap is the essential feature of a trainman's uniform. He -doesn't exactly talk through it, but its badge and ornaments identify -his responsibilities and proclaim his authority. Add to the cap a -plain blue uniform suit with the detachable black buttons the tailor -furnishes, and you have a very satisfactory result. The cap then -becomes the only difference between the costume for the road and that -for the street. Where tried, it has been found that men wore their -best suits on duty and on the street, and kept their worn and shabby -suits to wear around home. At present on nearly all roads, as the -uniform is too conspicuous to be worn off duty, the men are tempted to -defer buying a new uniform until the old becomes very shabby. It has -been found that freight crews are easily induced to take advantage of -the contract price to buy such plain uniforms for street wear. Such -freight crews can be provided with extra caps from the office in -emergencies and be utilized to advantage; sometimes reducing the -amount of deadhead mileage in making special one-way passenger -movements. The street railway of at least one large city has tried -this system of plain uniforms with excellent results. Why should the -most of us be so timid that we must have a precedent before we can -endorse a proposed plan? Like a successful after-dinner speaker, I am -responding to the toast on expression by talking about other things. - -In writing important letters or instructions it often pays to take the -time to sit down and make a rough draft with a lead pencil. If you -have the dictation habit so firmly fixed that this is irksome, revise -the first draft made by the stenographer. Except when writing in the -familiar style, the third person should be used rather than the first -or second. The use of the second person should be carefully avoided in -formulating general instructions; its use in special instructions to a -few individuals is sometimes, but rarely, permissible. In writing or -dictating telegrams figure roughly what the message would cost the -company for transmission at commercial rates, and its probable -reduction if the price per extra word came out of your own pocket. As -far as possible avoid letting your initials become cheap by being used -by too many people. If the management do not disapprove, encourage your -subordinates to do routine business over their own initials or over -symbols, as S. for superintendent (G.S. for general superintendent, -and so on), so that when your initials come over the wire they will -indicate personal attention and final action. This, too, has been -tried successfully in contravention of the fallacy that unquestioning -obedience must be rendered even when it is known that the official's -initials have been signed by the office boy. It may be remarked in -passing, that appreciation and fame await the individual who will be -able to coin some short and expressive words to replace such awkward -and cumbrous designations as superintendent of motive power, engineer -maintenance of way, assistant to the first vice-president, etc., etc. - -Did you ever think how desirable and practicable it would be to adopt -the Government method of addressing the office instead of the -incumbent by name? We do this with train orders, and usually in -addressing station agents. We should also address "The Superintendent, -Getthere Division, Suchtown, Somestate," and not use his name unless -it is intended as personal and to be opened by him alone. - -In all correspondence remember that a reprimand, expressed or implied, -may be taken in a very different sense by the recipient from that -intended by the sender. Your old dad has maintained satisfactory -discipline among quite a bunch of men on more than one trunk line -without ever writing a letter of reprimand or sending a hot message -over the wire. The advice of the famous politician to walk ten miles -to see a man rather than write him a letter is paraphrased for our -business to mean rawhide yourself fifty or a hundred miles over the -road to jack up a man rather than play him a tune on the typewriter. -Another useful injunction is that of a famous soldier and diplomat, -"Never underrate yourself in action; never overrate yourself in a -report." - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER X. - -THE BAYONET PRECEDES THE GOSPEL. - - -May 22, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--The evolution of the relative importance of the several -departments in railroad work is an interesting study. The early -railroads were short and usually had for president the most important -man of affairs in the community, a banker, a lawyer, a publicist, a -what-not. Frequently this man could not give his whole time to the -road and he leaned heavily upon his superintendent, who, perhaps, had -been the engineer in charge of construction. The superintendent of the -early days was general manager on a small scale, and with limited -facilities had to be a man fertile in resources. The superintendent of -to-day is a better man, because the race improves all the time, but he -performs duties of a decidedly different nature. It is idle to -speculate as to just what he would do under primitive conditions. A -return to such circumstances is impossible. We know that in a pinch -our railway officials and employes, as a class, are never found -wanting. They will measure up to standard in the future as they have -in the past. One fact they must never forget is that, like soldiers -and sailors, their faculties must be so alert, their grasp so -comprehensive, that they will not get lost when the fortunes of the -service bring them into strange territory. The pace is too swift to -admit of standing still to get one's bearings. - -There were few officials and the conductors were very important -personages. When the superintendent needed an assistant it was natural -to take a conductor who helped around the office, ran the pay car and -specials, and made himself generally useful. Later on, train -dispatching developed splendid tests of executive ability and the -official staff was recruited by promotions from dispatchers. Still -later, the growing importance of terminal problems gave yardmasters a -chance for recognition and advancement. - -As West Point was the nursery of the early constructing engineers, -many of the early roads were built and operated by military men, whose -impress in railway methods has survived to this day. When the civil -war was over the railroads gained for their service thousands of men -whose ability had stood the stern test of camp and battle, men who -could meet unexpected conditions. These men bore the brunt in the -wonderful railroad development that secured forever the commercial -greatness of our country. The value of military methods was -appreciated by them and almost unconsciously such methods were copied -in organization, in discipline, in correspondence. One reason the -great Pennsylvania organization is so strong and successful is the -training some of its embryo high officials received in the military -railway bureau of the War Department during the great conflict. The -bayonet always precedes the gospel. When the military have cleared the -wilderness of the savage foe the railroad brings a permanent -civilization. Witness the marvelous growth of the great West during -the last forty years. - -A majority of the railroads in the country at some time or other -passed through a receivership. Here came a chance for legal men, and -after reorganizations lawyer presidents have not been uncommon. At the -next stage of development many railroads had been built and systems -were growing larger. The civil engineer, who in earlier years would -have become the president or chief operating official, was now taken -care of in a newly necessitated department, that of maintenance and -construction, sufficiently important to attract his talents. Following -this period competition was keen; it was a struggle for existence. The -man who could get the business was IT. The traffic man had his inning -and, if not president, dictated policies and the amount of his own -salary and perquisites. With the growth of the community of interest -idea the traffic man is just as important; but he is no longer -wreckmaster, and the transportation man is up under the lime light -near the derrick car. Between the different dynasties of departments -the transportation man, like the rock of ages, is always the standby -and always will be. The other departments come and go in relative -importance, but the transportation never shuts off, and is there with -the sand when the others unload from the gangway. - -The revolution in standards of power and equipment incident to recent -years of tractive units and ton-mile costs has brought the mechanical -man prominently in front of the headlight. Fortunately for himself and -for the service in general he has not dodged the rays when anyone -cared to read figures, and the way to higher executive positions has -not been left dark for him. The pendulum is already coming back toward -the transportation man. Whether the next swing will be toward the -signal engineer or toward the electrician it is hard to say. - -The lesson a superintendent should learn from all this is that he has -more and more superiors to please, more and more fads to follow, more -and more improvements to develop, more and more different points of -view to reconcile. He must merge his own importance, his likes and -dislikes in the great corporation with which he has cast his lot. If -his superiors spell traveler with two l's or labor with a u, let him -do likewise. By so yielding he is not losing any manhood. He is -winning a victory over the crotchety part of his individuality and -leaving room for its development along broader lines. He that ruleth -his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city. As no man can take a -city or do any great work unaided he must learn first to rule his own -spirit in order that he may rule others and gain their heartiest -co-operation. The superintendent who is habitually calm and polite, -however great the provocation to speak angrily, will soon find that if -he is firm and just his men are worrying even more than he lest things -go wrong on the division. - -In the matter of discipline there has been a great change in sentiment -and in method. Whether or not it is all advisable is very much of a -question. There are too many collisions in proportion to the -improvement in material and personnel. In the old days the crew at -fault, whether they actually got together or not, were discharged and -forever barred off the road. Nowadays we are apt to give them another -trial on the theory that we are immune from future mistakes on their -part. This may or may not be so, but how about the effect on others in -the service? How about the men who are thereby entitled to promotion? -Is not a failure to make an example of such offenders holding life and -property too cheap? We may pity the unfortunate blunderers, just as we -may pity a drunkard or a thief, but their usefulness to us should be -over. They may start in again, but it must be on some other road. Our -duty to the public and to our stockholders demands that the safety of -a train should be sacred. One of the most absurd conclusions is to -measure the punishment by the amount of damage, according to how -straight the track happened to be, according to how hard they happened -to hit. Some railroad sins can be forgiven, but drunkenness, chronic -or periodic; stealing, money or property; and collisions, actual or -constructive, should be unpardonable on any road, however thoroughly -they may be blotted out elsewhere. Less sentiment and more discharges -will mean fewer collisions. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XI. - -PREVENTING WRECKS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN. - - -May 29, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--An able and successful general manager--not all able men -and not all general managers are successful--recently called attention -to a most important distinction in the training and practice of -superintendents. He says that too much stress is laid upon the -development of ability to locate responsibility after a wreck occurs, -and not enough upon the quality of controlling circumstances, of -cultivating precautionary habits that will prevent disaster. As he -aptly puts it, the superintendent should be a doctor, a health -officer, rather than a coroner; his staff a sanitary commission, a -board of health to prevent disease rather than a jury to determine its -causes and effects. Some superintendents pride themselves on their -legal acumen, their ability to cross-examine, and on the way they can -catch a crew trying to lie out of a mix-up. This is all very well if -it does not obscure the main object, namely, to minimize disaster in -the future. The investigation serves, perhaps, to determine what men -to discipline and discharge as an example to others in the service. It -should also serve as a lesson in official methods. However thorough -and searching, it cannot restore life or return property. The damage -has been done. All the king's horses and all the king's men cannot put -Humpty-Dumpty together again. - -Some of your men every day will give you the old hot air, "As long as -there are railroads there will be wrecks." To which you should hand -back the stereotyped reply, "Very true, but let's figure on letting -the other fellow have them." A discreet remark or suggestion that will -put a man to thinking for himself is one of the secrets of success in -handling men. Never miss an opportunity to make the point that wrecks -seldom occur from the neglect of any one man. It is when two or more -forget at the same time or fall down together that trouble results. -Impress on the brakeman the fact that the very stop he neglects to -flag is the time when the operator is most likely to let two trains in -the same block. Remind your conductor that when he fails to read the -orders to the engineman in person and sends them forward by the porter -or the head brakeman, that is the very trip the orders get torn or -smeared so that a fatal mistake results. When a passenger train breaks -in two the air usually sets on both portions. It fails to do so when -bums or misplaced safety chains have turned the angle cocks; and that -is the time there should be a trainman riding in the rear car. Men -will tell you so and so cannot happen, but next week it does happen -just the same. The whistle hose and the brake hose cannot be coupled -together because the connections are purposely made of a different -pattern. A green apprentice coupling an engine to a tender at a -roundhouse managed to pound together the couplings of the wrong pairs -of hose, which the engine inspector had failed to notice were badly -worn. That was the day the car inspectors neglected to try the signal -and the air before the train left the terminal. By a strange fatality -the conductor trusted the car men for the station test. The engineman -was too busy to make a running test. They all got wise when the air -wouldn't work at the first railroad crossing. Watch the inspectors to -see that they do not form the lazy habit of giving the signal to try -the air from the next to the last car, of walking only half the length -of the train to see the pistons and the brakeshoes. Never wink at an -irregularity of that sort. It will come back to plague you a -hundredfold. Go right after it quietly, but promptly and effectually. -Do not wait for disaster or for investigation by your superiors to -tell you that a loose practice prevails. Get such information with -your own senses or from observations of your staff. - -It is vigilance, eternal vigilance, that is the price of safety. Teach -your men that a hundred successes do not justify an avoidable failure, -that twenty years of faithful service cannot condone criminal -carelessness. A fundamental is that when backing up there should -always be a man on the rear end. Educate your men to feel that neglect -of this wise precaution is just as mortifying as to appear in public -without clothes. In shoving long cuts of cars without using air, get -your brakemen and switchmen to feel a pride in setting a hand brake on -the end car to take the slack and save the jerk on the drawbars. Work -for the old-time feeling of chagrin that came to the calloused-armed -passenger brakeman, in the days of Armstrong brakes, when he did not -go after them soon enough and let his train run by the station. The -men are not to blame for this loss of pride and interest. We, the -officials, are at fault. We have not kept ahead of the game. We have -been coroners, not sanitary inspectors. - -If an engine is waiting at a hand derail or at a crossover for a -train, neither switch should be thrown until the train has passed. -Then, if the throttle happens to fly open at just the wrong moment, -the train will not be sideswiped. If not trained, your switchmen will -throw every switch possible beforehand so as to be ready. They may -think such precautions are old womanish, but the time will come when -your wisdom will be vindicated. If a train is waiting for a -connection, with a siding switch in rear, the facing point switch -should be opened, so that if the incoming man loses his air or -misjudges distances the train will not be hit. Similarly a flagman -going back to protect a train between switches should open the siding -switch as he passes it. The switch is more effectual than a torpedo, -and if a following train happens to get by him and his torpedoes his -own train will not be hit. He should flag just the same, because a -train entering the open switch too fast might turn over. It is better -to take a chance on a derailment than on a collision. It is better -still to have such training, vigilance and discipline that there will -be little chance of either disaster. - -Train your men to do things because they are right, because it is -manly to do good railroading. Then, when you hold an investigation you -will not find at the moment the accident happened that the engineman -was priming his injector, the fireman putting in a fire, the head -brakeman shoveling down coal, the conductor sorting his bills, and the -hind man starting to boil coffee for supper. - -There is hardly a conductor or an engineman of any length of service -who has not at some time overlooked an order or a train. When he has -forgotten, his partner has remembered. The trouble has come, bad luck, -they call it, when they both forgot. Many a $50 operator has saved the -job of a $150 engineman. Keep your men keyed up to the idea that this -is too uncertain; that each must watch his own job, that in so doing -he may keep his comrade out of the hole, that by conscientious -vigilance he becomes a better man and more of a credit to his calling. -No man wilfully courts danger to life and property. His failures are -an accompaniment, a concomitant they call it in logic, of officials -being better coroners than they are doctors. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XII. - -THE SELF-MADE MAN WHO WORSHIPS HIS MAKER. - - -June 5, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I once heard General Sheridan, my old commander, say -that when he was a lieutenant he made up his mind to be the best -lieutenant in his regiment; that in every grade to which promotion -brought him he strove to be the best; that he attributed his high rank -to this consistent effort. Right here is a moral that many a railroad -man should apply to himself. Although Sheridan's comrades at West -Point and in the service knew his efficiency, the powers that were in -1861 found no higher position for him than that of captain and -assistant quartermaster. During the first year of the civil war, while -politicians were called colonels and lawyers tried to be generals, -this trained soldier was inspecting horses and mules in the Southwest, -a veterinary's work. Some men, disheartened by such apparent -inappreciation, would have lost interest, would have let the -contractor palm off inferior animals on the government. Not so with -the future commander of the army. He tried all the harder and his work -was efficient, clean and honest. In the spring of 1862 a Michigan -cavalry regiment needed a colonel and the officer hailing from Ohio, -who had bought horses so well, had a chance to drill both horses and -men. A year and a half later he was commanding a division of infantry, -and six months after that as major general a corps of cavalry. Popular -opinion pictures Sheridan as a dashing fighter, executing the plans of -some one else. Never was there a more incomplete conception. No matter -how hard had been the fighting, how wearing the march, it was Sheridan -who rose in the night to see that the sleeping camp or bivouac did not -suffer from laxity in guard duty, that all was ready for the plans of -the morrow. The general manager did not have to tell him that the -switch lamps on his division were not burning. The general -superintendent did not have to wire him that his water cranes were out -of order. The superintendent of motive power did not have to complain -that his enginemen were not kept in line. The traffic manager did not -lose freight because his night terminals became congested. - -There is many a railroad man who has lost heart and lessened his -usefulness because an honest but inappreciative management has -promoted the wrong man. Then is the time to come out strong, to try -harder than before to be appreciated. The world has little use for -soreheads. The more strenuous the conditions the less sympathy for the -sulker in the tent. Be game and do not kick for rest. The sleeve is no -place to wear a wounded heart. Do not put up a squeal about nepotism. -As long as man loves woman and that woman's children the relatives of -the management will always be the easiest for the promotion call-boy -to find. Remember that though they be marked up first out, there are -other runs to be filled; that sooner or later there are chances for -more crews to get out. If you find flaws in the reasons announced for -certain appointments, forget them in the thought that honesty of -purpose is a distinguishing characteristic of operating management. -Not only look pleasant but head off the efforts of foolish friends to -form a volunteer grievance committee in your behalf. - -Assuming that you are trying to be the best division superintendent, -remember that in the final roundup it is not your own ideas of success -that must prevail. You may know that you are stronger and better than -the official who gets the preferred run. You may know that it would be -best for the company to have you run around him. All the men on the -division may unconsciously feel your superior ability. They may all -swear by you and make your name almost sacred around the lunch counter -and the caboose track. All this will not count for full value if you -do not please your superiors. When the general manager comes on your -division you must be ready for any kind of a statistical run. He has -not time to wait for you to oil around. His every hour is valuable and -like all busy men he forms his opinions in a hurry. Remember that -until we know men intimately we judge them by standards more or less -artificial, but usually pretty accurate in the aggregate. Thus a man -who is careless and untidy in his dress is apt to overlook little -essentials in the management of men and affairs. The dandy is almost -never a coward; for, if physical courage be lacking, his pride -supplies its place. The superintendent whose desk is in confusion -probably has untidy stations and dirty coaches. The man who slouches -coatless into his superior's office and sprawls into a chair before -being invited to sit down is likely to be equally inconsiderate of the -public his company serves. The tobacco lover who cannot refrain from -smoking or chewing the few minutes he is close to the throne will -probably not inherit much of the kingdom of advancement. The man who -clings to the George Washington habit of eating with his knife and the -Thomas Jefferson custom of drinking from his saucer has the burden of -proof on him to show that he is not unobservant of progress in other -things and is not generally behind the times. The self-made man in so -many cases worships his maker that he forgets the divinity that doth -hedge a king. The man above may be no better, perhaps not as good, -morally, mentally, physically and socially, but officially he is the -superior in fact as well as in name. Familiarity breeds contempt and -the more respect you show your superior the more dignity you are -conferring upon yourself, the less likely are your own subordinates to -forget the respect that is due your position. Self-restraint and -mental poise cultivate an unconscious dignity of character that is of -immeasurable value in the handling of men. Abraham Lincoln and Robert -E. Lee, men of radically different types but alike in being idolized -by their people, were popular heroes, although neither was addressed, -even by his intimates, by his first name. The highest compliment you -can pay an associate or a subordinate is to address him in private by -his first name. It shows either that you have known him a long time or -that you think enough of him to separate him from his payroll -designation. - -One of the amiable failings of human nature is to be self-satisfied, a -condition that in our profession is probably intensified. We railroad -men have to think and act in such a hurry that we become very cocksure -of ourselves. We have so little time for introspection that we often -regard the science of railroading as putting it on the other fellow. -When disaster occurs, no matter how defective may have been our -equipment, how parsimonious our policy, how lax our discipline, we cry -out long and loud at the untrustworthiness of employes, at the -decadence of company spirit, at the growing evils of the labor unions. -An intelligent public usually gets on to us, however, and we pay for -such mental and vocal pyrotechnics with compound interest. It will -profit us to do a little more self-examination, to copy the publican -rather than the pharisee. The conductor who burns off journals will -assure us of his distinguished concern and of his constant injunctions -to his brakemen to watch for hot boxes. The superintendent who -rawhides his men will tell you with tears in his voice how necessary -it is to be considerate of the boys on the road. The general -superintendent who sends long and unnecessary telegrams will deplore -with you the tendency of the traffic department to burden the wires. -All these are good men and true, but they have not formed the habit of -healthy, honest self-criticism. Strong, indeed, is the man who can -stand up and say, like Lee at Gettysburg, "I was in command and -responsible. If anyone is to blame I am the man." - -The greatest of executives are those who can make men think for -themselves, who can work men and have them believe they are playing, -who can suggest a new thought to a man and leave him with the idea -that he originated it himself. A great deal of effort is lost, a vast -amount of mental force is wasted in trying to convince people that you -alone originated an idea or a movement. Bury such a thought in the -results produced, for it is results we are after. Get your -satisfaction in said results and your amusement in the honest -self-glorification of some unconscious borrower who has utilized your -idea. It doesn't pay to be too much of an originator. If you have -advanced ideas, keep yourself in the background or you may kill the -ideas. Men find the old alignment so familiar that they are slow to -want curves replaced by tangents. If you are too ubiquitous with -suggestions they will become leery of your good judgment and will -unconsciously set the fish tail when you whistle into town. If you -will run past the distant signal and find your superior at the home, -some of the best stops for the suggestion derail are: "You doubtless -have considered the advisability of thus and so;" or, "I assume you -are not quite ready to decide the question of hit or miss;" or, "As -you were saying the other day, we are losing money by deadheading -crews;" or, "I hope you will be able to carry out your idea of -introducing train staffs;" or, "On further consideration, do you care -to recommend adopting lap sidings for the new extension?" etc. Of -course this kind of a sand valve must not be opened too wide or too -often or some of the soft soap will get on the detector bar and -violate the interlocking rules. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XIII. - -THE FRIEND-MILE AS A UNIT OF MEASURE. - - -June 12, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--Your chief dispatcher blew through here the other day on -his vacation and dropped in to pay his respects. He rather apologized -for so doing, as he seemed to think it might be considered an -intrusion to call on a stranger. I took it as a compliment to myself -and as a mark of his loyalty to you. It is so easy for us old fellows -to forget that we were once junior officials ourselves that I rather -like to keep in touch with those who are to come after and maintain -the time-honored standards of the profession. I never like to say very -much about my desire to acquire information from everyone I meet, for -experience has made me a little leery of the man who whistles too long -for that station. He is apt to toot his own horn so much that he -doesn't hear the other fellow's signals. So I tried not to do all the -talking, and did not tell my guest of the great improvements I had -made since I came to this position. I preferred to let him hear that -from someone else. If one should take too literally the talk of the -officials on whom he calls he would wonder how the road ever ran -before each held down his particular job; how there can possibly be -any improvement made by those who come after. No, I do not advocate -hiding one's light under a bucket in the cab all the time--only when -running. - -The world is getting to place more and more confidence in the man who -thinks out loud. It trusts him because he is not doubtful of himself. -The stunt of looking wise and not expressing an opinion when a -suggestion is made is no longer popular. A non-committal promise to -look into the matter may be construed as a mask for ignorance or -timidity. The more a man knows the more frankly he acknowledges that a -certain idea is new to him. Men to whom talking and writing do not -come easy sometimes say beware of the windy man, but there are some -mighty efficient railroaders who act and perform all the better for -being able to handle words. Hot air is all right if properly -compressed. The idle breeze dries the ground and runs windmills. Sand -bites the rail in more economical quantities when fed down by the -pneumatic attachment. Every division has its Windy Bill, its -Chattering Charlie, its Gasbag George; but some way, when they are on -the road you always feel safe. They may work a con game on some of the -agents and dispatchers, but they get over the road with the local. You -feel good when you meet them. The man you want to run from is Calamity -Jake, who always has a tale of woe as long as a gravel train. His -caboose rides rough; its stove smokes; the caller doesn't give him -time enough for his wife to cook breakfast; the yardmaster saves all -the shop cripples for his train; he can't trust the ignorant -engineers; the brakemen are all farmers, and the signal oil won't -burn. If you tell him that's all right, that you will try and correct -all these things when the car accountant's office stops kicking on his -wheel reports, he will look at you in sympathetic sadness and bewail -the modern tendency to make clerks of conductors. - -Your chief dispatcher is a fine fellow and understands the art of -getting away. He didn't wear out his welcome but broke away while -making a good impression. You have to unlock the switch for some men -before they can couple their crossings and get out of town. The -dispatcher has to send the operator outside with a clearance. -Acquaintance is one of a young man's most valuable assets, and a two -minutes' interview may grade the way for a lifelong run. Before the -world was as good as it is now, men rather prided themselves on the -number of enemies they had made. Nowadays the friend mile is a more -desirable unit of measure. - -Washington Irving puts it very prettily where he says, "for who is -there among us who does not like now and then to play the sage?" So I -felt rather flattered when your chief dispatcher asked me for advice -as to what to study in order to get on in the railway world. I told -him first of all to read every bit of company literature that he could -get hold of; not to skim through a part of the pamphlet on -refrigerator cars and guess at the rest. A table of freight rates may -become interesting if properly approached. Do not try to memorize data -and statistics, but rather plod through them at least once with a view -to trying to master the principles that govern. Life is very full in -this twentieth century, but, broadly speaking, it is still possible to -know something of everything as well as everything of something. The -day is coming when we will not entrust a man with the important duties -and the great responsibilities of a division superintendent until we -have given him a brief course in every department. We examine a man -before we let him run an engine, but how about the man who runs him? A -superintendent should know enough about an engine to handle the -enginemen just as he does the trainmen. When we have men successfully -running engines who can barely read and write, it is a mistake to -claim that a locomotive is such a sacred mystery that only the -mechanical department can judge whether or not it is properly handled. -Enginemen are transportation men, and the time that master mechanics -put in assigning crews, keeping an age book, and otherwise duplicating -the superintendent's work might a great deal better be given to the -back shop. The yardmaster has one caller and the roundhouse foreman -another. The two callers go up the same street, sometimes together, -and call men in adjoining houses, an expensive duplication of work. -The trainmaster rides in the caboose and the traveling engineer--road -foreman is the modern term--in the engine, but neither dares presume -to know the business of the other. Every trainmaster should be a -traveling engineer and every traveling engineer should be a -trainmaster. That will be the case when we train officials along more -definite lines. Honey bees feed their future queen a special food. No, -I would not decrease the number of officials, if anything I would -increase it. I would not, however, let every official created have a -chief clerk and a stenographer. I would make it impossible for him to -yield to the temptation to add a bureau of records to the amount of -useless information already on file. I wouldn't lose my nerve if now -and then a set of ancient papers got lost, for with less red tape -quicker action would result and little would get away. The first time -the trainmaster had to wait an hour or two before he could dictate a -letter in the superintendent's office, or could use a stenographer in -his own office, he would beef for a separate establishment. If more -help should be needed, which would be very doubtful, put it on, but do -not limit its usefulness to any one official. With a proper, -responsible head it is entirely feasible to carry the community of -interest idea into office organization. If the division engineer is -under the superintendent, why, in sending papers into the next room to -him, write a letter and burden your files with the carbon of the -stereotyped, "Kindly note next attached and take necessary action?" Is -not his office a part of the superintendent's? Have you not the same -right to papers there that you have to those in the office of the -chief dispatcher? Why not go even further and have one chief clerk and -one set of records for the whole outfit, just as an assistant -superintendent can handle a part of the work without having a separate -force? If you ever rearrange an office building, fix it so that the -casual visitor waiting to see the boss will not learn state secrets by -hearing the chief clerk dictate letters. - -A number of roads have tried the experiment of putting the enginemen -and the roundhousemen solely under the superintendent, and of -confining the master mechanic to his proper function of running the -shops. It has usually failed; not on account of inherent weakness as a -system, but because the superintendent didn't superintend, and found -it too convenient to try to shift the responsibility to the mechanical -department. Reform has to begin at the top, and if the division is to -be the unit the superintendent must be something more than a -high-class chief dispatcher finding flaws in train sheets. It is not -enough for him to be a star division engineer, a boss yardmaster. He -must remember that his holding of any of these positions is ancient -history, not to be forgotten, because valuable and instructive, but -nevertheless a thing of the past. As the yardmaster and the dispatcher -must scatter their trains, so the superintendent must keep his staff -doing different things. He must avoid having two men doing the same -thing. If it is better to call the roundhouse foreman a master -mechanic and invent a title for the man behind the back shop, let us -do so; but by all means avoid working the master mechanic at present -as foreman, head caller, road timekeeper and roundhouse clerk. The -superintendent can boss all these jobs, and transportation, including -its operating attributes, must focus at his office. It is not the -superintendent who works the most hours who is the most successful. It -is he who puts in the best licks at the right time, night or day, and -with the right man or men. - -I told your chief dispatcher that a knowledge of law is as important -to a real superintendent as a knowledge of telegraphy. I advised him -to give himself the pleasure of reading Cooky's edition of Blackstone, -which, if taken in homeopathic doses, is one of the clearest things in -the language. Every superintendent gets to be more or less of a -lawyer. It should not be necessary to refer every little fire or stock -claim to the legal department for some of its students to render a -profound opinion upon a matter of common sense. It is so easy to -follow the line of least resistance that we too often evade -responsibility by throwing up our hands and saying that such and such -is a legal question, a mechanical matter, or a traffic problem. We -gracefully pass it up to the other fellow, and think we are in to -clear when an investigation happens to come. By and by, oblivious of -the relation between cause and effect, we deplore the curtailment of -our authority and inveigh against centralization. - -I had some other ideas to set out for you, but we have drifted so near -the switch that there is not room enough to make a drop of the -caboose. So I shall either pull the whole train into the yard or get -permission from the yardmaster to cut off on the main, and like an -orthodox conductor, leave them for the night men to switch out. We -conductors feel that, as a switch engine lies around the most of the -time, it can always do at least one more job, besides having time to -shove us out of the yard and over the hill. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XIV. - -THE MANAGEMENT THAT BREEDS FROM ITS OWN HERD. - - -June 19, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--History repeats itself, and railroad history is made so -fast that we repeat ourselves very often. Mankind absorbs a certain -amount from the experience of others. In spite of the much good that -comes, the same old fallacies are followed, the same old blunders are -made. Within the last fifty years every road in the country, at some -time or other, has undergone at least one reorganization and a -corresponding radical change in personnel. Always, after several new -camels get their heads under the tent, comes a newspaper -pronunciamento that thereafter the management will breed from its own -herd. This inbreeding invariably leads ultimately to narrowness if not -to deterioration. The cousins intermarry too often and ere long the -road is breeding its own scrubs. - -Within the last five years every road in the country has gone outside -its own ranks for official talent. The oldest roads have had only a -few Leonard Woods and Fred Funstons, a president here, a -vice-president there. Other roads have changed officials so fast that -one is reminded of the traveler sojourning in Paris during the French -Revolution. He instructed his servant to tell him every morning what -the weather was, that he might know how to dress himself, and what the -government was, that he might know how to conduct himself. What then -of our boasted civil service; of the wonderful administrative machines -we build up and find wanting? Is the principle wrong or is its -application faulty? The earnest efforts of able men, crowned by many -partial successes, are sufficient guarantee of honesty of purpose, of -the necessity for something of the sort that has been attempted. He -who criticises, be he ever so honest, must suggest a practical remedy -or he soon descends from the level of the critic to that of the -demagogue or the common scold. - -Our trouble seems to be, not with civil service as an abstract -proposition, but with the type we have been getting. It is about Z-99 -as compared with the real thing. It has too many flat wheels to run -smoothly. It must be jacked up high enough for new trucks and a -stronger kingbolt. True civil service presupposes maximum care in -original selection. It doesn't mean that we shall wait until the grain -and the coal begin to move before we figure on more crews. It rather -contemplates having available firemen in wipers, and willing brakemen -in clerks. Every superintendent believes that he is the best judge of -men on the pike. On every system are probably men who can give him -cards and spades, picked coal and treated water, and then outclass him -on such a run. If we leave the hiring to the different trainmasters, -master mechanics, or agents, we may have mostly the Irish on one -division, mostly the Dutch on another. If we are going into this civil -service business and are taking men, like Federal judges, for life or -during good behavior, let's have a long list of waiting eligibles -recruited for each division. Let's send around periodically a car with -an examining board from central headquarters to size up the talent -recommended by local officials. Put experienced officials, a surgeon -and an oculist on the committee. Show your trainmaster that men who -make it a business have more time than he to keep dudes and cigarette -smokers off the runboard and the payroll; that the former have broader -opportunities than he to develop a high standard of requirements. Let -the committee encourage men already employed to demonstrate their -fitness for transfer to other departments or to heavier divisions. -Let's change ends with our rail and put it where it will do the most -good. The employment bureau, the recruiting office, or the civil -service commission becomes a necessity to every large organization. -Some roads have made a start in this direction, but it is only a -start. To work out the problem will cost us money. Yes, but less than -we are being forced to pay by some of the labor contracts we have had -to sign. It is not only more graceful, it is less expensive, this -leading instead of being driven. - -The great trouble seems to be in this matter of civil service that we -have tried to accomplish too much in too short a time. An industry -whose existence does not antedate the memory of men still living -cannot hope to have struck the best methods already. Yet it can be too -cautious in building Chinese walls around its organization. What we -have been striving for is to cultivate a company spirit, to improve -the efficiency of the service. We have felt that the way to do this is -to make our men feel secure in their positions, to have them convinced -that the shakeup made by our advent is the last they will ever -experience. Have we not chased this rainbow long enough? Should we not -back up and draw some of the spikes we have put in the connection -switches? It is one thing to sit in an office and figure that the -importation of this one man ought not to make anybody uneasy. It is -quite another to make the thousands of men along the road believe that -we can stick to the original package. Blood is thicker than water and -the new man will have his relatives and his followers or the followers -of his friends. If he is too thin-skinned, fear of criticism may -prevent his bringing in some new talent that would be of real benefit -to his road. He is blamed if he does and blamed if he doesn't. -Whichever course he pursues there remains, in greater or less degree, -that uncertainty which is so demoralizing. Remove this uncertainty, -let men know definitely what to expect, and you are over the hill and -closer to the terminal. - -The old-fashioned rule of promote two and hire one worked mighty well -on some roads for conductors and enginemen. In these days of larger -systems the ratio might be changed to three or four or even five or -six to one. If it were definitely understood that every so often, say -every fifth vacancy in certain grades of officials and employes, a man -would certainly be selected from outside the service, I believe that -we could remove the feeling of uncertainty. We would in a large -measure attain the result we have thus far missed. We would build up -organizations with enough fresh blood to stand the test of time. - -Brains and adaptability are not a natural monopoly. God Almighty -hasn't given any road a New Jersey charter broad enough for -incorporating a trust of the most efficient men. No, I am not a -populist or a socialist. I believe in trusts. They have come to stay -and ultimately to benefit the masses. Legislation will no more succeed -in destroying them than it did in preventing partnerships in England -where centuries ago it was thought for two men to unite as partners in -business was an unsafe combination of power. Education comes by hard -knocks and probably anti-merger decisions are worth the inconvenience -that they have caused. The sober sense of the American people will -tell them after a while that in attempting constitutional and -legislative interference they have not benefited themselves one -dollar. They will learn that forcing a change of methods does not -necessarily bring about a different result. They will learn that in -the long run they, the people, are the losers when good capital is -tied up; that they pay the price for unwise competition. The -railroads, the first great trusts, should be early to realize that -some conditions inherently forbid the elimination of competition. Our -prairies are too broad for an agricultural trust. The range of the -human mind is too great for any railroad to patent the ability of its -men. - -This trust freight seems to make you full tonnage without cleaning out -all the rush stuff in my yard. You may cut off ahead of the rest of -the civil service loads and I will have a pony set on your caboose -when you pull through the ladder. Yes, I will tell the operator at the -yard office to scratch them off your consist. I shall have to run -another section and fill out with some cars of company material which -the construction department is kicking about. Please put up--excuse -me, display--signals until the dispatcher can get hold of you at the -end of the double track. By the way, if instead of "will display -signals, etc.," his order should read, "will signal, etc.," would it -not be shorter and, including flags, lamps, whistle and voice, be more -comprehensive? - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XV. - -MORE ON CIVIL SERVICE. - - -June 26, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--We were speaking of railroad civil service, so called. -As I told you before, our civil service is so far from the genuine -article that I always feel like qualifying the term in some way for -fear of being called in on the carpet for failure to cut the proper -duplex. It is a great big subject, worthy of the most serious -consideration, because it concerns men, not machines. Furthermore, it -is a high type of man with whom we deal or should deal. We are all so -busy that we say we concern ourselves with results. We all butt in too -much on details, usually along the line of our early training. Yet, -withal, we overlook some pretty long shots because we flatter -ourselves we are too busy to place small bets. - -Even after we have wasted so much of the building season that we give -the contractor a bonus to rush the new line to completion in time to -hold the charter, wouldn't it pay us to have a care as to the kind of -men we let him work on our right of way? Next year, when the grievance -committees come up from the new division, we make them feel that it -means something, it gives them a stamp of honor to work for our -system. Why not begin a little farther back? Why not hook up in the -beginning so that our different departments can get busy early in the -game? Let the people who are to settle the new country help build and -maintain the road. Let the immigration agent camp with the -reconnoitering engineer. When the latter comes back to locate or -retrace, let the former be interesting colonies. Let our own -organization follow the surveyor's flag. Let's be our own contractor -and get back more of the money he disburses. Why let a floating gang -of Dagoes take so big a bunch of it back to sunny Italy? Why not spend -it ourselves so that its recipients will use it to develop the country -and hurry the origination of traffic? Let's handle this coin both -going and coming and cut out some of the empty haul. - -The political revolutions in continental Europe and the famine in -Ireland in 1848 brought to this country a high class of immigrants. We -gave them work and schools. They helped build the railroads. Some -continued on the roads after construction; others helped develop the -surrounding country. Our flag made them free, and when civil war came -they were among the bravest of its defenders. To-day their children -and their children's children, all Americans, rank high among railway -officials and employes. Perhaps all this is a happen so; perhaps much -of it is due to big, brainy men whose policies were not narrowed by -specialization in departments. We are now doing little new -construction. We should do it better than ever and in the full sense -of the word. Is it enough to pass it up to the construction -department? - -Did it ever strike you that there may be many good reasons why both -officials and employes may desire to transfer to another road? A young -man, feeling the home nest too full, the local demand for skilled -labor too light, has struck out for a newer country. He makes good. We -find him in after years running an engine, working a trick, or, -perchance, holding down an official job. Death occurs at the old home. -Marriage brings new interests in another country. An invalid member of -his family needs a change of climate. An unexpected development of a -chance investment in a remote locality demands occasional personal -attention. The orphaned children of a relative claim his protection. -Any one of a dozen praiseworthy motives may prompt him to make a -change, provided he can continue to derive his main support from the -calling to which he has found himself adapted. - -Would he be able to transfer without beginning over again at the -bottom? Between the civil service of the companies and the seniority -of the brotherhoods he would find it like making a link and pin -coupling on the inside of a sharp curve. He would be lucky if he could -get a regular job on another division of the same system. Let him -persist in suggestions as to how the matter may be brought about, and -the average official, hidebound by precedent, will consider him nutty, -a candidate for the crazy house instead of for another run. Who is the -loser? Not only the man, but the company, which should have the -benefit of his wider experience, of his peculiar interest in its -territory, of the infusion of fresh blood which his advent would mean. - -Suppose an official has resigned for any good personal reason, or -because he couldn't reduce the size of the engine nozzles fast enough -to suit a new management. When he starts out to hunt a job his -brethren of the profession receive him with sympathy. They promise to -help him out. Each begs him to understand how impossible it is for him -to catch the pay car on that particular line. Perhaps his informant -has been on that company's payroll only six months himself, but he -waxes eloquent on the benefits of civil service, on the desirability -of making their own men, of overcoming previous demoralization. This -would be amusing if it were not a serious business. Each seems to -flatter himself that he got aboard because of peculiar personal -fitness, and inferentially denies such attribute of genius in the man -on the outside. As a matter of fact, the recognition of outside talent -is usually a consequence of acquaintance, of happening to know the -right man at the right time, of having previously worked with the -appointing official. All this contains too much of the element of -chance. When we reserve certain vacancies for men outside of the -breastworks and select them in advance we shall get better results. - -We have made our civil service frogs so stiff that our discipline has -climbed the rail. We know it is so hard for a conductor or an -engineman to get a job that we sometimes hesitate too long before we -make an example for the good of the service by discharging a flagrant -offender. If we knew that by and by he could hit on some road the -vacancy reserved for outsiders we would have the benefit of the -change. The man would learn a lesson, would not be debarred from his -occupation, and would give better service on another road. Talk with -your employes about this and you will be astonished to find how many -will fall in with this idea of leaving open a door of hope by filling -just so many vacancies with outside men. - -Your official or your employe seeking a transfer or hunting a job will -be impressed with the fact that all assistance rendered will be with a -view to favoring him because he is a good, worthy fellow. He will not -hear it put on the ground that any company is fortunate to have his -services, that his future employers are being especially considered. -If he has known from boyhood the territory and civilization where he -desires to work, it will not be urged as a special qualification. -Right here is where the most of us fall down. We too seldom make our -subordinates feel that we are the gainers by having them in our -employ. We are too likely to make them feel they are lucky to have a -job. This may do for the indifferent men, but it puts no premium on -superior ability and loyalty. It renders a discharge, when made, less -effective as an example. You cannot treat all your men alike in all -things. In a few things, collisions, stealing, booze-fighting, for -example, you have to do so. In most things you must avoid destroying -individuality. You must build up personal pride in each. Even sister -engines of the same type do not steam or pull exactly alike. Man, made -in the image of Deity, has pride, brains and courage to make more -complex his disposition. Corporations have no souls. Railroad men have -souls and good red blood. Their intelligence is an inspiration; their -steadfastness, a psalm. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XVI. - -THE SUPPLY TRAIN. - - -July 3, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--Blacksmiths' horses and shoemakers' wives proverbially -go unshod. A railroad puts up its poorest sample of transportation in -the routine handling of its own material and supplies. Company stuff -is moved and handled last of all; and probably at maximum expense. For -example, if we wish to ship a car of wheels to division headquarters -we load them after we are lucky enough to get an available car. Then -after proper billing authority has been furnished we go through some -more red tape, so that the auditor may not confuse figs with thistles, -revenue producers with deadheads. When we happen to have a train with -such light tonnage that all excuses for moving the car have been -exhausted it reaches the yard nearest its destination. The master -mechanic's office in a day or two has pounded sufficiently at the -yardmaster to get the car set, usually several hours after it has been -promised. It is not of record just how much time and money have been -wasted by the mechanical department through not having the car when -expected. - -If our administration is unusually smooth we may be able to load our -scrap wheels on this same car. Usually, however, we wait until the car -has been hauled down the line before some office away off somewhere -gives disposition for the wornout material. Or, having unloaded all -the wheels, we wait until next week before we order in another car, -and go through the same performance to ship a couple of pairs to some -junction point on the same division. I will not bore you with the -expensive details of getting a car of ties loaded and distributed, of -how much time the sectionmen are worked to poor advantage because the -car or material failed to show up when expected. - -We, mounted on wheels, with transportation as our chief asset, let our -own business get it where the chicken felt the axe, where the sharp -flange caught the bum. It used to be more comfortable in the old days. -We could have the sectionmen do so many jobs without its seeming to -cost anything. The fact that we have learned better makes me rash -enough to believe that we may yet progress beyond thinking that some -of our own transportation costs little or nothing because we do it -with the local freight or a switch engine. We haul a car clear over -the division to pick up a few pounds of scrap paper; provided, of -course, the agents have not confused the day with that for loading -dairy line shipments. The weakness in handling company material -naturally leads to a distrust by other departments and a desire by -each to control the distribution of its own supplies. - -Did you ever think in what a haphazard, hit or miss manner we handle -our traveling workers? The scale inspector is a very necessary -individual because freight revenue is a function of weight. He is so -valuable to us that, although the test car is a nuisance in trains and -yards, we haul him hundreds of miles to do a few minutes' or a few -hours' work. If he should try to do any other company business; if he -should repair furniture, solicit traffic, inspect ties or examine -interlocking plants, he would infringe on the prerogatives of other -men who earn salaries by riding much and working little. Yes, I know -we must have departments. Our great task is to work them to the best -advantage; to let them overlap a little when business is dull, or -where local conditions permit. We should switch our departments -together so that we can cut in the air on enough to hold the train -without going after expenses with a club. - -The employe who does not receive supplies regularly, whose -requisitions for stationery are arbitrarily cut, will try to get -enough ahead to keep himself from running out. When you take an -inventory you must figure on removing the temptation for everyone to -hold back full returns for fear of not rendering good service in the -future. With a lot of money tied up in supplies at central or division -storehouses our service often suffers, even accidents occur for want -of a lantern globe, or a few gallons of oil. The average local freight -crew has no more compunctions in replenishing the caboose from a can -of oil consigned to a country agent than did the slave in taking -chickens. It all belongs to the company. Massa's chicken, massa's -niggah. Some roads are now distributing oil to sections and to small -stations from a box car fitted with inside tanks and self-registering -pumps, a very economical arrangement. This car runs on the local -freight at fixed times. The next step has been to put with it supply -cars, handled by the oil man, who issues supplies and tools to agents, -section foremen and pumpers. A stationery car comes next in the -outfit. This progressive development is hampered in most cases by -adherence to the time-honored requisition. It does not promote a good -company spirit in an agent to haul by him a car filled with supplies -and deny him a much-needed broom, a comfort-giving pane of glass, -simply because a requisition has not passed through the prescribed -number of chief clerks' office baskets. Issues are for the good of the -service, not for charity. The best way is to require a division -official to accompany the cars on his division, hold him responsible, -and make his check good on our traveling bank. Let the employe sign on -a line in a book for articles received, just as an agent receipts to -an express messenger, and let the official countersign once for all -the employes on a page. Then you have the economy and benefits of -centralization without the demoralizing interference with local -administration. - -The supply cars are only a beginning. The evolution must be a supply -and inspection train run exclusively for company business, and to do -every practicable kind of company business. It should supply every -department and pick up the surplus and scrap in each. It should run -over as many divisions as feasible, giving it time to return and -restock so as to cover its territory at prescribed intervals, say -every thirty or sixty days. This train should be manned by monthly -company men, preferably of the semi-official class. The position of -fireman should be part of the course of a special apprentice. If no -special apprentice is available for engineman, use the man in mind for -the next vacancy as road foreman. Let the scale inspector be the -flagman. For conductor have a coming trainmaster, not afraid to pull -off his coat to help adjust a scale or to unload a keg of track -spikes. Have an ambitious brakeman for train clerk, whose records -would replace requisitions and waybilling. For pilot use the -superintendent, the trainmaster, the chief dispatcher, the master -mechanic, the road foreman, the division engineer, or the supervisor. -Have as many as possible of those last named accompany the train and -give the division a rigid inspection. Pretty soon you would find the -general superintendent frequently hitching his car to this train. Put -the contents of the train in charge of a high-class traveling -storekeeper. On the ground the employe would indicate his -requirements, the division official would recommend, and the traveling -storekeeper, closely in touch with the management and its policies, -would take final action. Whatever happened to be done, it would be -right up to date, and in accordance with existing needs. Arriving at a -roundhouse, the train itself would spot a car of wheels and a car of -oil, taking care to reload scrap wheels and empty oil barrels. In -general do not issue a new article unless an unserviceable one is -turned in. The recollections of those present will make fresher the -record of expendable articles issued on a previous trip. Long range -requisitions, approved by distant authority, may result in false -economy, in a lack of clearly defined responsibility. The essence of -good administration consists in dealing with men and things, in giving -them greater value than their paper symbols. If love for requisitions -should still linger in the official breast, the proprieties of such -chaste affection could be preserved by going through all the forms -until their absurdity is fully demonstrated. - -The supply train should have a car fitted up as a workshop in which a -handy man could repair station trucks, office chairs, lanterns, switch -lamps, etc., etc., and save shipping many miles for a new part. Many -tools and utensils would last longer if, in some such way, they could -receive the stitch in time that saves nine. Prompt repair and -interchange among various points should diminish investment in reserve -supply. An article should not have to be returned to the place where -previously used. Under present methods the return journey may put it -in worse shape than when first sent in. When repaired it should be -issued wherever it will do the most good. - -Another car in the supply train should be a laboratory in charge of -the superintendent of tests or his representative, whose office would -thus get more closely in touch with division officials and with -service conditions. The scrap car, with its broken side rods, its -worn-out shovels, its twisted drills, might mean a whole lot in -connection with arbitrary theoretical tests. - -With the train, on stated trips, should be the employment bureau. Pick -up candidates, haul them over the division. Talk with them, note their -adaptability in strange surroundings, see of how promising a stretch -is the rubber in their necks. Give them transportation back home and, -if desired, tell them to report again next trip for further -examination. - -When your supply train has to tie up away from a night roundhouse, let -the crew take short turns as watchmen. Incidentally the train might -serve as an object lesson as to the endurance and capacity of men, the -length of runs, and the care of an engine. If your labor contracts do -not permit you to man your own train, do the necessary toward an -amendment of such unwise schedules. - -The more you think of the increased efficiency of the service, of the -ultimate economy, of the smoother administration, the more you will -cuddle up to the notion of a company train. Experience will show the -wisdom or unwisdom of numerous details that will suggest themselves. I -have given you only an outline with a few samples of methods to be -pursued. I want you to think out the rest for yourself. It is theory -to-day, but the theory of to-day is the forerunner of practice a few -years hence. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XVII. - -WHAT THE BIG ENGINE HAS COST. - - -July 10, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--The progressive president of a rustling railroad has -recently gone on record as regretting the too rapid introduction of -big engines. To which from many an ancient office, from many a greasy -roundhouse comes a loud amen. The fad for big engines, the slavery to -the ton mile, the rack of the comparative statement, have cost the -granger roads a pile of good coin. Procrustes, the highwayman of the -ancients, fitted all his victims to stone beds, doubtless charging to -other expenses the stretching of an arm or the cutting off of a foot. -Nowadays we get our brains warped and our legs pulled just the same. -The methods are more subtle, the operations more graceful. Our -equanimity stands for almost any old thing, provided it is done in the -name of progress, or is called a process of analysis. Able men devote -their lives to the solution of problems of practical railroad -operation, to making maximum net earnings for their employers, only to -be discounted by the financial writers. Fools rush in where angels -fear to tread. The same writers who, to hear them tell it, can save -financial panics by sound advice to the country bankers, who can -instruct our Uncle Samuel how to handle his navy, who can hurry -Russian troops to Manchuria, can tell us just how to run our railroad, -just how many tons we should pull per train. Invention is the -handmaiden of progress. Inventors are usually laymen or outsiders. -Inventors and architects have to be held in check to prevent -development from becoming abnormal or one-sided. The man who invented -the air brake was not asked to come in and take charge of all -transportation. The men who design big engines should not be allowed -to forget conditions of track, territory and traffic. - -Railroads are run to make money. A motion to manage them like golf -links is never in order. The track is built for running trains. To the -man with too much ton mile on the brain the running of a train, the -very object of the road's existence, becomes a bugaboo. He will -sacrifice business, incur risks of other losses, rather than run a -train. In some cases this is all right, in others it is all wrong. -There is a happy medium which all of us should be allowed to work out -for ourselves, to suit our own conditions. The trouble is that we are -denied a sliding scale. All roads look alike to the critic, the -reviewer and the broker. - -Roads of dense traffic with much low-class freight, such as coal, -coke, ore, pig iron, etc., to move, found it more economical to have -large engines and heavy trains. The nature of the business demands a -considerable supply always on hand. This permits waiting for full -tonnage for every train. A few cars, more or less, at one end or the -other of the line make no great difference to the shipper. These roads -usually have more than one track and an old solid roadbed. This good -thing of economical transportation was pushed along to us of the -prairies. Here traffic is relatively thin, the track with dirt ballast -is less solid, hauls are many times longer, and single track is the -rule. Moreover, we frequently have merchandise, implements, machinery -and other high-class freight in one direction, and such perishable -stuff as live stock and dressed meats in the other. A dozen years ago -we had developed a combination freight and passenger engine, usually a -ten-wheeler with fairly high drivers, which handled such business -promptly and profitably. We could take out a Raymond excursion or a -theatrical special one way, and coming back make a fly run with -belated stock for a distant market. We may yet do the same with the -compound battleship, but it will first require alterations and a big -expenditure on track. When stock shows up you must get it moving. You -cannot hold it to club trains, as in the case of coal and pig iron. -You miss the market and there is a big claim to pay, to which the -financial gentleman in New York does not give sufficient weight when -he makes his wonderful analysis of our figures. It does not show up in -grate surface, tractive power, or weight on the drivers. It is not -complimentary to our wisdom that stock shippers have been compelled to -invoke State aid to force us to run stock trains regardless of full -tonnage, to do what our own best interests demanded. We should avoid -the necessity for even a just regulation of our affairs. It opens the -door to much that is unjust and undesirable. - -The big engine has made us straighten curves, reduce grades, relay -rail, renew bridges, buy land, increase terminals, extend passing -tracks, abandon light equipment and increase wages. Its presence on -single-track roads has retarded traffic and has increased expenses. It -has torn up our track and increased the number of wrecks. Its long -hours and trying work have been an element of demoralization among our -men. The efficiency of our crews is limited to the endurance of the -fireman. This last condition must be remedied by an automatic -stoker--the most crying need of the present. Supply usually keeps -pretty close to demand and the automatic stoker should not be very -long in coming. - -Yes, directly and indirectly, the big engine has cost us a lot of -dough. It is not an unmixed evil. It has its good points, to be sure. -Some of the new conditions it has forced would have come in time -anyway. Its advantages would be greater, its operation cheaper, if its -coming could have been broken to us more gently. It is now a -condition, not a theory, and we must do our best with it, regardless -of our personal predilections. Whether or not it has come to stay is -an open question. It probably has, but modified for higher speed, when -all conditions permit. We are not yet wise enough to know just what it -is costing us. Not even our own statisticians have had time to digest -fully the figures of increased equipment due to slower movement; of -increased cost of maintenance, both of track and equipment; of -unparalleled increase in freight claims; of higher wages; of -strengthened power of the labor organizations; of altered trade -conditions due to dissatisfaction with transportation; of changed -location of industrial plants; of the effect of reduced speed on water -competition; of the numerous conditions that go to make a railroad so -complex. In the language of the good old funeral hymn, some time we'll -understand. - -We must make up our minds to prompter movement of freight, which may -mean increased speed. The people demand it and public opinion is king. -Here again the shipper steps in to help us out, for promptness -simplifies our terminal problems. The art of war has been defined as -getting the mostest men there the fustest. The art of railroading -comes to mean moving the mostest trains the soonest. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XVIII. - -BE A SUPERINTENDENT--NOT A NURSE. - - -July 17, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I am so sure that you will be a general manager some day -that I have been writing you a good deal of advice as to matters that -are above the control of a division superintendent. As a rule, -however, a man will fill any position better if he has a good -conception of the work that is beyond his own sphere. Some people do -not like to hire an ex-official for work subordinate to positions that -he may previously have held. They fear that the old superintendent who -gets aboard as yardmaster or dispatcher will be a nuisance, that he -will be all the time scheming for promotion, that he may try to -dictate to his superiors, that he will have too much dignity to climb -a side ladder, that he will be only temporary, that they will soon be -put to the trouble of breaking in another man. All of which is narrow -and shows in the aforesaid objectors a lack of confidence in -themselves and in their own organization. It all depends on the man -himself. If he is the right stuff he will take a broader view for -having been an official. He will appreciate the difficulties of his -superiors. His desire to make good should induce him to put forth -maximum effort. He may be able to get his men out of ruts of many -years' standing. It is so seldom that we get fresh blood we should be -thankful that circumstances permit us to get a three-hundred-dollar -man to work for one hundred. He may be only temporary for that -position, but if he makes us money we should be willing to be -incommoded later on. It is a selfish fear, this feeling that by and by -our royal selves may suffer the personal inconvenience of having to -look after a certain part of our machine that we thought was running -itself. Vain hope, this looking for any kind of perpetual motion. We -are paid official salaries to be big enough to tower over such lazy -feelings, over our own personal disinclination to exertion. Let me -repeat, once more, that for every position you should have an -understudy. Then if anybody drops out through promotion or otherwise -your task is a simple one. - -A fact that none of us should overlook is that we all have superiors. -The president reports to the directors, and the latter to the -stockholders. The stockholder, big or little, is his or her majesty, -the citizen. Our superiors must know what we are doing. They will not -butt in and give us so many directions if we just keep them advised of -our progress. Your general superintendent is an able man, but neither -you nor he is a mental telegrapher. After you get the surgeons called, -the wreck train started, the general superintendent should be the next -man to have the wire. Tell him briefly what has happened, what you -have done, are doing and expect to do. If conditions are such that it -is wise for you to go to the wreck or the washout yourself, wire him -that you are on the ground. Don't think this is enough, but every half -hour or so tell him how you are getting along. He will feel better and -the officials above him will feel better. You will feel better -because, if they are wise, they will let you alone and not bother you -with instructions. Above all things do not try to pass responsibility -up higher by asking what to do. Tell the general superintendent what -trains you will detour, what equipment you will need from other -divisions for stub runs, what you have requested your neighbors to do. -War has been declared, the writs of the courts have ceased to run. You -are the general in the field and it is all up to you. From the moment -that you are wideawake enough to answer the telephone at the head of -your bed, your brain should be earning your company many dollars a -minute. As you slip into your clothes, think connectedly where all -available men and material are to be had. As you rush over to the -office, figure what the situation needs to protect the morning -suburban trains. When you see the train sheet, tell the dispatcher -what trains should be kept on time as long as possible, what trains -should be tied up to prevent a blockade. Don't sit down and take the -key, or act as call boy or for one second forget that you are the -superintendent, that the whole push looks to you. The cooler your -manner, the less hesitating your instructions, the greater the -confidence of your men in you and in themselves, the better their -work. - -Arriving at the scene of trouble, size up the situation, reassure the -panic-stricken passengers, organize everybody present, give politely -all the information you have, how many hours passengers will be -delayed, what train will come to take them forward, when their baggage -can be expected. Be cool but sympathetic; alert, but polite. In a few -minutes your presence for good will be felt. Tell the wreckmaster what -to do first, but do not try to handle his men. Resist the temptation -to use an axe or shovel yourself. Do not shrink from the sight of -blood. Lead the relief parties, but do not try to be surgeon or nurse. -Let the others do the lifting of the killed or injured. You do your -work with your brains and with your voice. Be a superintendent. Care -first for the injured and the dead. Then look to the comfort of the -other passengers. Next in importance comes the mails, then the express -and the baggage. Do not give any grand stand orders to burn cars or -roll heavy equipment down the bank. Think twice before you destroy -more property. The line must be opened, but conditions may be such -that an extra hour or two will not complicate the situation, and will -save the company thousands of dollars. Men often earn big salaries by -the things they avoid doing. - -When the work has been organized, circulate among the gangs, give each -foreman a word of praise, tell them all that you have ordered coffee -and sandwiches, that the company also gives its men square meals at -wrecks. Arrange to feed your transferred passengers earlier rather -than later than usual. Do not hesitate to feed badly delayed -passengers at the company's expense. When everything is running -smoothly keep your mouth shut and your ears open. As the country -people come flocking in to see the wreck, as the roadmaster yells his -orders, you will hear some sweetheart ask her swain if that is the -superintendent who has such a big voice. When he shakes his head and -the wreckmaster roars to take a fresh hitch, she guesses again, only -to be told that the quiet man over there with apparently the least to -say is the boss of all. Soon many of the bystanders are pointing -admiringly at you as the master of the situation. When it is all over, -when, hours or days later, you lie down for a well-earned rest, you -will feel that you are a railroad man, that you are holding down a job -for which no old woman need apply. There is some self-satisfaction in -this world which outruns the pay car, which cannot be measured in -dollars and cents. - -What I am telling you holds good for a trainmaster, a yardmaster or -whoever happens to be the senior representative present. Sometimes it -is better to send out the trainmaster and stay in yourself to handle -an already congested situation. Sometimes the trainmaster is at the -wrong end of the line and you must go yourself. Common sense is a -pretty safe guide as to one's course of action. The principle to be -remembered is to avoid interference with the man on the ground. If it -is a minor derailment which the conductor is handling, do not rattle -him with messages, with requests for reports. When you examine your -conductors on rules, include questions and explanations which outline -action expected in emergencies. Forbid your dispatcher sending a -stereotyped message to get written statements of all witnesses every -time a personal injury occurs. Have your conductors, your agents and -your section foremen so drilled that they will keep the office -informed and will depend on themselves, not on the dispatchers, for -such things. Your rules, your organization, the instructions on your -blanks will amount to little if they are continually discounted by -special messages. You had better lose a set of reports than tear your -organization to pieces. When somebody falls down, discipline him in -such a way that the others will keep in line. - -It takes patience and persistence, forbearance and firmness to drill -men to a high state of discipline. Disobedience and indifference can -sometimes be traced to unwise orders. The impossible or the -unreasonable is expected. There are too many bulletins and too many -instructions. Do not think a thing is done, an abuse corrected, a -condition remedied simply because you have given an order to produce -the desired effect. It is up to you to follow the matter to a finish. -You must know by observation, by inspection, by the reports of your -staff, that your order is being obeyed. The way to enforce discipline -is not to keep repeating the order. Except in rare cases an order -should not be repeated or a bulletin reissued. Weak men try to -strengthen their discipline by extravagant language in their -instructions. Do not say that no excuse will be taken for failure to -turn in these reports or to comply with these instructions. You may be -made to appear ridiculous, even mendacious, by a cloudburst, by a -holdup, by an act of God or the public enemy, as the old law phrase -runs. Vitality in expression is a good thing. It is useless without -vigor in enforcement. The latter does not depend upon the kind of -breakfast food you order in the dining car, but upon the ginger in -your administration. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XIX. - -THE RACK OF THE COMPARATIVE STATEMENT. - - -July 24, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--You ask what I mean by the rack of the comparative -statement. I mean that, figuratively speaking, we are all pretty -securely fastened to the corresponding month of last year. What was -originally intended as a tavernkeeper's tab, as a rough check on -operation, has become a balanced ledger, a rigid standard of -efficiency. Time, even a short period, brings a sacredness to all -things. If we make a so-called better showing on paper than a -twelvemonth previous, we shake hands with ourselves and forget how -rotten we were considered just one short year ago. The ball team that -wins the championship and takes the big gate receipts is the one whose -members play for the side rather than for high individual averages. -The tendency is for our owners to expect us to make base hits rather -than send in runs which win games. - -If in April and May we have a lot of ties on hand, we may not be -allowed to put them in the track because they will be charged out -before June 30, and make too heavy a showing of expenditure for the -fiscal year. So, with labor comparatively plentiful and the weather -comfortable, we wait until the new fiscal year comes in, until the sun -shines hottest on the track. Then, with farmers paying harvest wages -we have to offer more money. If we get the extra men the heat lessens -their efficiency. It is true we have probably had to pay the producer -for the ties, but if we fail to charge them to the final account, we -have a childlike confidence that they have not yet cost us anything. -The little matters of failure to utilize the full life of the tie, of -interest on the money invested, we dismiss with the thought that -trifling losses must be expected in the conduct of large affairs. - -Maintenance of equipment as well as maintenance of way suffers from -too much comparative statement. Some new official pulls our power to -pieces to show us how they used to build up train-mile records on the -Far Eastern. The crowded rip tracks reflect the tractive power of the -big engines. Bad orders, the bane of a yardmaster's life, the teasers -of the traffic man's tracers, block our terminals. Our shopmen and our -car repairers, despairing of full time, move away. Yet withal we are -serene, for are not we operating just as cheaply as they did at this -time last year? - -When I am in doubt, when I become mixed with the complexities of our -profession, I go back to my boyhood on the farm. From that gateway as -a basing point I can think out a rate sheet with fewer differentials. -The same common sense housekeeping which my mother practiced will fit -any railroad, however diversified its territory. The same -well-balanced management which enabled my father to pay off the -mortgage and extend his acres is suited to any railroad, however -complicated its financial obligations. The bigger the proposition, the -greater the need for sticking to homely basic principles. We learned -on the farm to expect about so much rainfall every year. Whether the -heaviest would come in one month or in another, the good Lord never -found time to tell us. We did the things that came to hand, sometimes -similarly, sometimes differently, from the corresponding month of the -previous year. If our crops were short we did not starve our work -horses. We sometimes found it paid, even with a poor crop in sight, to -go to the bank and borrow rather than neglect the ditching in a wet -field. If we made some surplus money we did not blow it all in for -tools and improvements. We knew that the inevitable lean years -preclude throwing the fat in the fire. If we ran behind some year, we -did some retrenching, to be sure, but we did not lose our nerve, did -not lose our faith in the future. - -Some kinds of fertilizers on the farm are said to make rich fathers -and poor sons. The way some railroads have been run for a record you -would imagine that race suicide had reached a point where no further -generations were expected. One of the gravest of our mistakes has been -the application of the comparative statement, regardless of its effect -upon our men. The farmer finds it wise and economical to arrange work -for several monthly men in order to minimize the number of day hands -for his rush seasons. In the winter he may lay them off, but this is -for a period sufficiently long and sufficiently definite to enable the -farm hand to become something else, say a wood chopper or a lumberman. -Can we expect our car repairers, our sectionmen, to be loyal and -faithful if we lay them off with necessary work in sight, simply to -make our books look better? They know that later on we shall, at the -last minute, at the scratch of an indefinite somebody's pen, put on a -big force and with a hurrah, boys, rush it through. Is this fair? Is -it not better to keep twenty men steadily employed than to have forty -on half time? The unquestioned deterioration in the quality of our -labor, in the morale of our forces, cannot all be laid on the union's -doorstep. There is a responsibility here which we cannot shirk. - -Cutting down expenses has been done in an unintelligent, cold-blooded -sort of a way. We go home at night feeling good at having cut down our -payrolls. We should be feeling sorry at the necessity for taking from -men the wherewithal to pay the unceasing rent and grocery bills. Our -methods give some room for the populists' plea to put the man above -the dollar. No, I do not expect ever to see an entire correction of -these conditions. In the play of economic forces the weak have to -suffer. I believe, though, that through minimizing such suffering we -can improve the service and earn bigger dividends for our -stockholders. Each of us can do a little; all of us together can do a -great deal toward making the problems easier. As the French say, -noblesse oblige--rank imposes obligation--every time. It is up to us, -the educated, powerful class, to take the lead and to do the most. We -cannot expect the poor, unlettered man to work out his own salvation -unaided. We cannot turn him loose to face an unequal struggle. If he -fails, if he has too much time for brooding, society at large has an -anarchist and we are the losers. Do not understand me as advocating -the employment or retention of unnecessary men. What I am kicking for -is a better balanced system. When we lay off our extra sectionman in -the fall, do we give him a pass and ask him to come to town and work -when we put on more unskilled winter labor in the shops and -roundhouses? No, he is in a different department. An official or a -foreman might be put to the inconvenience of waiting a few days, of -breaking in a new man. Next spring there might have to be a -readjustment when the work trains go on. Some big, strong railroad men -are coming to the front who will improve these conditions by working -from a broader viewpoint. We need more brainy men with nerve enough to -stand up and insist upon a consideration of the welfare of our -properties ten, twenty or fifty years hence. Because we need them they -will be developed. - -Now do not hand me the old song and dance about business being -cold-blooded and devoid of sentiment. We spend money directly and -indirectly for advertising with a view to fostering public sentiment -in favor of our line. Business comes from an increase in population, -from development of resources, from the growing sentiments of the -human race. Life owes its origin to love, which originates in -sentiment. The family, directly traceable to sentiment, is the unit of -civilization. The way to have our heads rule our hearts is not to -forget that we have hearts. - -Business is so attractive because it is chock full of sentiment which -can be made an asset. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XX. - -HANDLING THE PAY ROLL. - - -July 31, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--I have your letter about the supply train. Please do not -fail to consider that it is an inspection and administrative train as -well as a traveling storehouse. The term company train perhaps comes -the nearest to a comprehensive designation. As a tentative -proposition, to be modified by experience, I think I would distribute -one-half of the expense of the train to supply, the other half to -inspection and consider both halves as money well spent. With the -enormous growth of business, with the increasing expansion of systems, -we have had to leave more and more to departments. The result is that -each department becomes more and more forgetful of the others. It -isn't enough to have the heads at the general offices take lunch -together. We must begin farther down in our administration to keep our -departments in touch. Representatives of the traffic department should -accompany the train and distribute their own advertising matter. -Perhaps the best feature of all would be the improved feeling among -the country agents due to more intimate acquaintance with the -operating and traffic officials with whom they are doing business. We -can afford to compete with the organizers of the telegraphers and -clerks for this spirit. It will interest you to know that at least two -large systems are figuring on a company train. When it comes, as come -it will, we shall all wonder, as in the case of the telephone, how we -ever got along without it. - -You ask if the pay car should be included in the outfit. Yes, if local -conditions permit. Before going into this very far, however, let us -consider our system of paying only once a month. Has it sufficient -merit to stand the test of time? It breaks down in some cases when we -wish additional cheap labor. Many of us have turned over to -contractors the unloading of company coal at fuel stations. The avowed -reason for so doing is that the shovelers being often recruited from -the hobo or the squalid class, we cannot hope to handle them as well -as a contractor who pays daily or weekly. Right down the track a -little way our agent is remitting company money which is not earning -any interest. Another reason given is that our officials are too far -away to give the coal wharves proper supervision. As a matter of fact -the official is on hand about as frequently as the contractor. This is -a sad commentary on the versatility and elasticity of our -organization. Before throwing money to the contractors why not give -our section foreman or our agent a bonus for supervising the coal -heavers? Let our men be a little interchangeable. If a man becomes -worn out from too much sun on the track, let the breeze blow through -his whiskers in the coal shed for a few weeks. No, I do not think the -track would suffer if the section foreman had to put the fear of the -Lord in another gang of men. The old-time section foreman had -ingenuity and originality enough to do many things. His prototype of -to-day may be dwarfed by over-specialization. When we treat our men -less like machines we can subdivide gangs and still get results. - -Nearly every winter a bill is introduced in some legislature requiring -corporations to pay their men at least twice a month. Railroads at -once get busy and manage to be exempted from the provisions of these -measures. Such resistance is based on a variety of arguments, the -vastness of territory covered, the large number of men employed, the -necessity for careful auditing, etc. How long we can hold out against -the spirit of the age is a question. Why not keep ahead of the game -and lead public opinion? At such times we become very solicitous of -the thriftiness of our men. We claim that we are their benefactors; -that by paying them so much money at one time we are helping them to -save. As a matter of fact people who have studied such questions tell -us that when payments are frequent less stuff is bought on credit and -fewer bills are run. Savings banks find that, under certain -conditions, men who are paid daily or weekly will put by more money -than those who have a monthly pay day. It is an economic question, -dependent more upon sociological conditions than upon railroad policy. - -It is usually pretty good business sense to take advantage of trade -discounts. Do you not think we could make better bargains with our men -if we did not wait to pay them until we are six weeks in arrears? We -pay them for only one month and are always in their debt. Every once -in a while we lose a good man from the service because he is hard -pressed and can raise money only by taking his time check. - -The monthly payroll was adopted before bonding and surety companies -revolutionized business methods. The theory is that the roll must be -approved and audited before payment in order to insure accuracy and -prevent fraud. Did you ever hear of a payroll being disapproved as -such? No matter how unwise their employment, how injudicious the time -put in, the men must be paid. We are under moral and legal obligations -to pay for service performed. Did you ever hear of a padded payroll -being caught in the auditor's office? The man who stuffs the roll -alters the data against which the auditor checks. The few arithmetical -errors discovered do not justify the time consumed. Again, why should -you send your general superintendent a payroll of names any more than -you should send him copies of your train sheets? What difference -should it make to him just how much each particular man worked? He -should have a summary of results, totals, maxima, minima, averages, -etc., just as the morning report gives him a summary of the train -sheet. If he wants more detailed information, let him come to your -office and examine the time books, just as he should occasionally go -over your train sheets. He is furnished a car to travel for just such -purposes. - -Assuming the desirability for more frequent payments, the day, the -trip, the piece, would seem the best unit. Railroads have -comparatively few credit lists. The ability to force patrons to pay -cash is a business asset, and should give us the benefits of a cash -basis. Our present system of payments is slow and cumbrous. In our -desire to guard every avenue to fraud we have gone too far and -retarded administration. The bonding company gives us a check which -should enable us, under a proper system of inspection, to have the -timekeeper practically the paymaster. I confess that I have not yet -been able to work out all the details to my own satisfaction. I have -gone far enough, however, to be convinced that there are men in our -business bright enough to solve the problem. When given proper -attention it will be found that for the same or less expense we can -pay daily, improve the service and render a better account of our -stewardship to the stockholders. - -An agent remits daily. Why not let him turn in as cash a receipt or a -deduction to cover his own pay? If he can do this, it is an easy step -to accept as cash the time slips of his force, of the operators and -sectionmen at his station. The time slips of shopmen, roundhousemen, -yardmen, trainmen, enginemen, etc., when countersigned by the proper -chief clerk, should become cash at a certain designated agency or -local bank. It might be found practicable to use a form of time slip -similar to a postal note or a street car transfer which could be -punched and then authenticated with a stamp. An advantage of this -would be that these original data would be available for tabulation in -electrical integrating machines in the auditor's office. The plan -followed in compiling statistics would be similar to that in use for -many years in the census office in Washington. - -Such a system of payment presupposes fewer checking clerks but more -traveling auditors and inspectors. It does things first and talks -about them afterward. It is predicated upon the belief that checks and -balances must begin to work nearer the foundation, that true -centralization of results demands a full measure of local autonomy. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XXI. - -MILITARY ORGANIZATION. - - -August 7, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--While in Washington last week I dropped in to see some -old cronies at the War Department. The iconoclasts have been at work -there, too, with gratifying results. The military secretary's office -has superseded the former adjutant-general's department. Under the new -dispensation every letter must receive definite action, not a mere -acknowledgment, the very day of its receipt; every telegram must be -answered within two hours. An emergency request came in for some -equipment for a militia encampment. In three hours the Philadelphia -clothing depot acknowledged the order, reported loading and shipment, -and advised that bill of lading had been mailed. This means better -supply, less suffering, more effective movements when real war comes. -It means a saving in blood and treasure. - -We of the railroads are inclined to scoff at the slowness of -government methods. Are we doing as well as the rejuvenated War -Department? Of course, when there is a wreck, a washout, a fire, we do -some great stunts. Day in and day out we are sadly lacking in -promptness with our telegrams and our letters. The pulse of business -is so quick that these delays cost us money. The remedy is simple. Get -the departments in line. A diplomatic censor with rank enough, say, -that of assistant to the president, should be able to show even the -highest officials where they are falling down, where they are -duplicating work, where their telegrams have no business on the -company's wires, where their letters are too lengthy, where their -offices are lame. The departments on a railroad correspond to the -bureaux of the War Department. - -The Spanish war showed the weakness of the departmental system under -modern conditions. It has been corrected by the creation by Congress -of a general staff, with a chief of staff, usually a general officer -detailed from the line, who, as next in rank to the Secretary of War, -controls all departments, thus insuring unity of action. He has help -enough to enable the general staff to give attention to details. The -president of a railroad is often too busy and seldom has assistance -enough to hold his departments in check. They do not always maintain a -proper proportion to each other. If he appoints a committee to -consider a question, the tendency is for such committee to leave the -transportation part to its transportation man, the mechanical question -to the mechanical member and the traffic problem to the traffic -representative. The results of such work are likely to be narrow or -one-sided. Each member should consider every phase of the matter and -not minimize his own versatility. Remember that the layman may -discover a radical inconsistency in professional practice. Give each -man due weight in his specialty, but do not let him be absolute. A -minority report from a committee should always be welcome as affording -more information for the parent body or the appointing power. A little -careful consideration, a little lively debate on a committee report, -may be a healthy check. - -While speaking of military organization, let me impress upon you that -in the army the line always commands the staff. A staff officer cannot -command troops except by express direction of the President. Enlisted -men and junior officers must show a staff officer the respect due his -rank, just as our conductor is respectful to the division freight -agent, but when it comes to taking orders, that is another question. A -lieutenant of the line, if he happens to be the senior present, may -have under his command a surgeon with the rank of major, a commissary -with the rank of captain, etc. Certain special work, such as the -construction of buildings, of a telegraph line, of a road, may be put -under a staff officer reporting directly to headquarters and exempted -from the orders of the local commander of troops. We do the same when -we put certain construction work under our engineers working -independently of the superintendent. In an emergency all officers, men -and material come under the control of the senior line officer -present. With us the line is the transportation department, to whose -senior representative, in time of trouble, usually the superintendent, -every official and employe of whatever department should yield -unquestioning obedience. - -They have another feature in army administration which we would do -well to emulate. On the theory perhaps that a cat may look at a king, -the lowest may address the highest. The official ear and mouthpiece of -the War Department is the military secretary. He may be addressed by -the lowest man in the service, provided, that under the address is the -important phrase in parenthesis, "through the proper channels." Unless -the communication is grossly irrelevant or disrespectful it must be -forwarded through the channels, each officer indorsing his opinion, -pro or con. If it reaches an officer whose authority and views can -give favorable action, it need not go higher. Otherwise, it must keep -going. The reply comes back to the man through the same channels. All -this is worth the trouble it costs, for, even if unfavorable action is -taken, the man feels that he has been given consideration; that he is -not a mere machine; that there may be good, honest reasons for turning -him down. This strong effort to preserve individuality is the reason -that the American people never have cause to lose confidence in the -man behind the gun. Its short-sighted absence in railroad -administration is the prime cause of our loss of confidence in the -spirit of our men. The inauguration of such a feature might cause our -agitators to be annoying and importunate for a time. The greater the -consideration shown, the sooner would the agitators be laughed at and -discouraged by their comrades. It would break up the fashion of -ignoring the superintendent and running to the general manager with -every petty little grievance. - -If your trainmaster sees fit to make a general recommendation, for -example, about a train rule, provided he does so through your office, -you should forward it, giving your own views. If you happen to -disapprove, do not try to kill the proposition by holding the letter. -Under the narrow practice of most roads the trainmaster would have no -redress and would be considered disloyal if he attempted to reach the -general superintendent. - -In the handling of railroad papers there are a number of short cuts. -There are too many letters written just for the sake of having a -carbon to complete a file. If you must have a carbon, require offices -reporting to yours to make an extra copy on the typewriter of the -original letter. Stamp both copies with the office dater, and just -below use a one-line rubber stamp; for example, "To the General -Superintendent," adding in pen, if necessary, such words as -"recommended," "disapproved," etc. If no special action is taken, no -signature is necessary, the office stamp being sufficient -authentication. Forward one copy, keep the other, and in routine -correspondence your file is complete without the scratch of a pen or -the click of a typewriter in your office. Certain classes of papers -referred to your subordinates, for example, special itineraries, -claims, statistics, etc., can be kept track of by a number system in a -small book, without using any carbon. Master the file system of your -office. If someone happens to drop in for information, do not be put -to the mortification of explaining that your clerks do not come down -Sunday morning, or that they are all playing ball on the company nine. -Filing should be uniform on divisions and in departments, one general -plan for the whole road. Some roads have as many varieties as a pickle -factory. - -It was nice of your friend, the chief dispatcher, to write so strong a -letter indorsing the sacredness of signatures. He is right; most -telegraphic instructions on a division should go out over the initials -of the chief dispatcher. Years ago your old dad, with the title of -trainmaster and the duties of an assistant superintendent, obtained -smooth results from the following bulletin: - -"Instructions from this office governing the movements of trains, -engines and cars, and the temporary assignments of men, will be given -over the initials of the chief dispatcher. Messages concerning such -routine matters will be addressed to the chief dispatcher. The idea is -to limit the use of the trainmaster's initials to cases handled -personally by him." - -The men caught right on. They saw that it was impossible for a man to -be issuing all the instructions over the wire when he spent most of -his time on the road. - -I have long thought that a train order should be as individual as a -bank check and be signed by the dispatcher's own initials. I am -beginning to believe that no signature is necessary; that the -dispatcher's initials, given with the "complete," should be -sufficient. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XXII. - -WRECKS AND BLOCK SIGNALS. - - -August 14, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--You ask what we are going to do to prevent so many -wrecks. My various admonitions to you have been in vain if I have -failed to score some points looking to that end. We must get closer to -our men, improve their discipline, which means also their spirit. We -must have more official supervision. We must pay division officials -better salaries. The minimum pay of a division superintendent, -regardless of the price of wheat, should be $300 per month and -expenses, with such greater amount as the importance of the division -demands. Trainmasters cannot be expected to enforce discipline and set -an example in neatness if paid less than some of their conductors and -enginemen. Not a bad rough rule for fixing intermediate salaries is to -split the difference between the highest man in one grade and the -lowest in the next higher, and then add enough to make convenient even -money. Do not think you are saving money if you avoid raising the pay -of your officials when you raise that of employes. - -Wrecks are a reflection of administration. Sometimes cause and effect -are years apart, so distant, in fact, as to be almost unrecognizable. -Adversity makes heroes and the more disorganized we find conditions -the more comprehensive and earnest should be our efforts to seek the -cure. Neither public opinion nor our own self-respect will stand for -shifting too much of the blame to our predecessors. Whatever safety -appliances we adopt we shall never be able to eliminate entirely the -element of human judgment, we shall never get beyond trusting -somebody. Therefore we must train our men to alertness. We must build -up a loyalty that pervades every rank. Those roads have the fewest -wrecks due to defective equipment which cater to the welfare of their -men. Such roads do not expect a man to live on air. When repair work -is slack they put their men to building cars and engines, taking -advantage of the low price of material. If we have to operate so -closely that we cannot make such wise investments in influence, we are -grading the way to disaster. We are preparing to pay out later in -wrecking, personal injuries, maintenance and renewal of equipment, -much more than the expense of anticipating future needs by keeping our -men employed and contented. No amount of engine and car inspection can -overcome inherent defects due to careless workmanship. Will the track -walker who knows not when he will be laid off prevent as many -disasters as he whom we find time to tell in advance what tenure to -expect? We can overdo this matter of running our railroad too strictly -in accordance with the auditor's statistical blue print. As surgery -the operation is a great success, but unfortunately the patient dies. - -We have divided responsibility sufficiently when we furnish both the -conductor and the engineman a copy of the train order. If it is -desirable for the brakemen and the fireman to be informed, we should -furnish a copy to each man in the crew. What is everybody's business -becomes nobody's business. Even if it were practicable it is -undesirable, this idea of showing the orders to every member of the -crew. It would seem better to have three different standard signals -for an engineman whistling into town; one indicating a wait order or a -meeting point, either by time table or train order; another indicating -a passing point, and a third indicating no other trains to be -considered. The wrong signal sounded by the engineman should cause the -conductor to stop the train with the air before the switch is reached. -Some roads now have the engineman sound a prescribed signal, after the -station whistle, to indicate orders to be executed. The objection to -this is that valuable time may be lost by the conductor before being -sure whether or not he heard the signal. A condition should not be -indicated in a negative manner by the failure to do something. All -indications should be of a positive nature, that a positive -understanding may result and positive action be taken. It may be a -little hard to give up the good old long blast for stations, but -safety demands some such modification. - -The fad for main track derails at interlocking plants seems nearly to -have ditched itself. We are realizing that it is not necessary to kill -an engineman who runs past a signal. The money that such unnecessary -derailments have cost might better have been spent in enforcing -discipline by increased official supervision. If main track derails -were proper for an interlocking plant, it would logically follow that -every block signal should be interlocked with a derail. Desirable as -they are on auxiliary low-speed routes, it is doubtful if derails have -any place in a main track, even at drawbridges. We are learning, too, -that a good derail can be installed without cutting the rail. - -Public opinion is aroused on the subject of our failure to safeguard -human life in proportion to our progress in other matters. We must -cough up the money for more block signals. I say block signals, not -because they are the panacea for the evil that many people imagine, -but because they are the best safeguard yet devised. They are useless -without proper discipline and supervision. The vertical plane coupler -is not all that can be desired. Yet if modern equipment had to stand -the slack of the link and pin it would be in a bad way. The block -signal even with the train staff or the train tablet is far from -perfect. It is impolitic, however, for us to hesitate too long before -going down into our clothes for the coin. While waiting for the -perfect method to be developed the perfect man may be evolved and bump -the most of us out of our jobs. - -There will be fewer wrecks when executive and general officials have -better control of temper and judgment. Feeling in an indefinite way -the responsibility for an appalling wreck, the high official thinks he -must do something. He butts in with some ill-considered instructions -which breed distrust of the entire system of running trains, which -discount the whole organization. This action may result for a time in -an abnormal, unhealthy vigilance, which is certain to be followed by a -demoralizing reaction. When a condition, like a man, gets the drop on -you the only sane thing to do is to throw up your hands for the time -being. Wisdom consists in looking for the true prime cause of the -aforesaid drop. The frontal attack on a buzz saw is suicidal. Always -take it in flank. - -When you get your block signals, consider the permissive block as an -abomination before the Lord. The only block to have is the positive -block in both directions. If there is trouble in a block, let the -dispatcher give the delayed train a message to flag over. Encourage -your men to flag over, block or no block, against any train on the -road when common sense dictates such a course. The object of all rules -is to run trains with safety, not to tie them up on technicalities. -Flagging means good flagging, signals as sure and unmistakable as -fixed signals. Some day we shall find time to instruct our flagmen -uniformly. They should all either put the red light on the end of a -tie and swing the white light across the track, or they should swing -both lights; not sometimes one way, sometimes the other. A red light -of itself means stop. If the flagman swings it he runs a big risk of -blowing it out. In matters of this sort there cannot be too much -uniformity for all roads. Where we run uniformity into the ground is -where we fail to recognize the radical differences in individual -characteristics of men of the Atlantic, the Pacific and the prairie -type. - -Realization, if not repentance, must precede salvation. We must save -ourselves. If not, the government doctrinaires will undertake a task -for which we are better qualified. We cannot stop killing people -to-day or to-morrow, this year or next. The problem is not as easy for -us as for the oft cited English railways. Their block signals are a -coincidence, not a prime cause of their safer operation. Much of our -mileage has only a speculator's or a promoter's excuse for existence. -Much of our traffic is so thin that English thoroughness would put a -part of our lines out of business, much to our relief, but much to the -intolerance of the public. Until our systems are sufficiently stable -to remove the tempting sign, "Please kick me," from the view of the -financial manipulator, we cannot keep out of the scrimmage, we cannot -build up as safe and conservative operating organizations as the -English. We can, however, do much better than we are doing. Automatic -devices will help, but they are only a check. The balance lies, my -boy, in developing the human interest of the men, high and low, who -work for the road. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XXIII. - -UNIONISM. - - -August 21, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--"What will you put in its place, Bob?" was perhaps the -hardest query that the brilliant Ingersoll had to answer in his -assaults on the Christian religion. Does not the same question -confront us in our attacks upon organized labor? We endeavor to tear -down, but do we build up? This subject, like the marriage relation, -cannot be entered into lightly. It is longer than a train of ore -jimmies, and broader than a box vestibule. It is a bridge too close to -the track for the telltales to sting your face in time to get off a -furniture car. Like the ostrich, believing itself hidden with its head -stuck in the sand, we feel that if we call them committees of our -employes we are not recognizing the union. Is this consistent? We -claim, and justly so, that a high principle is involved; that if we -recognize the union we practically force every man to join, regardless -of his own inclinations and of his freedom as an American citizen. -This is sound doctrine, but its application is very faulty. Our spirit -may be willing, but our flesh is damnably weak. Do we give the -non-union man a show for his white alley? Not as long as we fail to -question the credentials of committees. We know that all their names -appear on the payrolls, at least during the time they are not laying -off and using our transportation for organizing or grievance work. We -do not disturb ourselves to find if they were elected as employes. Did -the non-union men have any voice in their selection? Not much; they -were elected in the lodge room. We, in effect, say to the non-union -man that the way to the band wagon is through the lodge room door. -Then we are very much shocked to find that he, like ourselves, is -following the lines of least resistance. It is so much easier to run -with the current of traffic than to cross over; it takes so much less -nerve to open up for trailing points than to keep our hand off the air -valve when approaching facing points. When a move is made to run out a -non-union man, we are so afraid of being accused of holding somebody -up that we put on the man the whole burden of making good. - -Unionism, like religion, and like love, is the outgrowth of certain -feelings and emotions in the human breast that strive to overcome the -limitations of mankind; that seek to make an eternity of time, an -ideal of an idea, a solid phalanx out of heterogeneous parts. You may -win the strike, down the union, hire your men as individuals; but -sooner or later, in the Lord's own good time, in obedience to natural -law, they will organize in some form, under some name or other. Only a -few will stand out; some from sheer contrariness; more from strong -individuality of temperament. The outsiders, from a lack of -organization, have little positive influence, simply a negative -conservatism. - -Since these things are so, why not, to drop into familiar phrase, be -governed accordingly? Instead of letting the men organize the road, -why not have the road organize the men? The system of collective -bargaining, of labor contracts, has come to stay. It is merely a -question of how and with whom we shall deal. It is so easy to let out -work by contract, to call on the supply dealer to help us out, that -doubt as to our own powers of organization becomes habit of mind. We -farm out our rest rooms, our temperance encouraging resorts, to the -Railroad Y.M.C.A. Where comes in the company, whose existence makes -occupation possible, whose capital is invested, whose property is -involved? - -Do you think we have made effort enough to let our men organize as -employes? Should not all our plans for terminals and headquarters -include the excellent investment of a club house and assembly hall? -When we have tried this plan and failed have we not been too easily -discouraged? Sometimes the cause of failure has been our own mistake -in selecting the wrong location, in deferring too much to the -convenience of our own land company, in attempting too much official -supervision, in allowing our local officials to butt in to ride their -pet hobbies. Let us try turning the building over to a committee of -our employes and inculcate a feeling of pride and responsibility. Our -employes are a high grade of men; many of them are nature's noblemen. -It is true they sometimes worship false gods, indulge in strikes, -commit violence, and require vigorous discipline. Although misguided -in all this, they are usually honest as individuals. When banded -together there results the same tendency that exists in political -parties, in churches and in societies, to mistake their own -organization for the only defender of the true faith. This same spirit -plans religious crusades, gains converts by the sword and destroys -freedom in the name of liberty. This spirit run mad breeds anarchy. It -may result in a condition, as with us in the strikes of 1894, when -cold lead and sharp steel are needed to cool hot blood, when the -innocent have to suffer with the guilty. This spirit is unreasonable, -but its existence cannot be ignored. - -"Men," says Marcus Aurelius, "exist for one another; teach them then -or bear with them." It is up to us to do more of the teaching act. A -prime requisite of a teacher is honesty. Let us be honest. Let us -either recognize the unions outright, or else try to teach them that -they have not yet attained full age; that as yet they are lacking in -the ripe wisdom which permits of a larger participation in affairs. -Let us be fair and tell them wherein they are lacking. Capital, from -inherent differences in nature, can never surrender itself to the -absolute control of labor. Capital can, however, give labor, its poor -neighbor, the results of deeper study, of wider view, of larger -experience. It can point out the consequences of mistakes of past -centuries, as, for example, the shortsighted policies of the trade -guilds in England. We can teach the unions that much more than the -payment of dues should be essential to membership; that they are in a -position to demand high standards of conduct. The unions must learn -that if they would be powerful, they must be severe as well as just. -If they desire merely benevolent and comfortable care of their members -they must put away the ambition for recognition. To be respected they -must purge their ranks of the morally unfit. The union must expel the -thief and the drunkard, as well as the thug and the ruffian, if justly -discharged by the company, before it can hope to be trusted as a judge -of capacity. It must learn that the American people will never stand -for the closed shop, the restricted output, a limited number of -craftsmen. - -The failure of the A.R.U. strike in 1894 taught a much-needed lesson. -It put many a good man on the hog train, but it was a terrible warning -to would-be strikers. Did we maintain our advantage? Did we develop -more men and prepare for the great rush of business the years were -sure to bring? Perhaps we did the best we could; perhaps in the name -of economy we maintained too few officials. Perhaps our officials were -so overworked that they did not have time to watch the game. Perhaps -the situation got away from us because the unions increased their -official payrolls relatively faster than did the railroads. Perhaps -the union leaders made relatively greater progress than railway -officials in attracting the men with insurance or profit-sharing -features. The whole question is interlocked with so many side lines -that it is easy to overlook a dwarf signal or two. Be that as it may, -we lost our nerve and shut off too far back in the country when we got -a meeting order for the flush times of 1902. We were so afraid the -other fellow might make a dollar or two if we happened to tie up, that -we yielded the inch which has resulted in the ell of union domination. -A war, terrible as it is, may result in good. There are worse things -than strikes to contemplate. We chose peace at any price, and we are -paying the price. We blame our statesmen and politicians for not -resisting union influence, for being morally responsible for the -uncompromising attitude of union leaders. Why should they open our -firebox door for us as long as we fear to burn our own fingers? The -great comfort in the situation is that we are beginning to wake up. We -have walked long enough in our sleep. The slumbering giant, business -sense, is aroused. The worst is over if we but do our part. The unions -have come to stay. Their extermination, even if desirable, is as -impracticable as liquor prohibition. We cannot surrender supinely. The -solution lies in wise regulation, in education, in the inculcation of -true temperance of thought and action. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -LETTER XXIV. - -THE ROUND-UP. - - -August 28, 1904. - -My Dear Boy:--When you have a conference of your staff, do not -overlook the storekeeper. Even if he reports to the general -storekeeper, he should be on your staff in somewhat the same relation -to you as is the master mechanic who reports to the superintendent of -motive power. If the management, in the last treaty of peace, has -awarded the storekeeper to some other sovereignty, be foxy enough to -invite him to be present for his own good. He will not decline to -come. Then, when you are discussing work trains; when the master -mechanic figures out the engines; the trainmaster, the crews; the -roadmaster, the men; the chief dispatcher, the working hours; the -whole arrangement will not fall down from lack of material which the -storekeeper did not know about in time. Invite the storekeeper out on -the road with you; drop in frequently at the storehouse and see if you -cannot help him out of his difficulties. We all have our troubles. Do -not proclaim your own inefficiency and narrowness by writing the -general superintendent that your failure has been due to the store -department falling down on material. Unless you have kept close to the -game, you may find that you were lame in not giving sufficient -warning; that the stuff was loaded in time but was delayed by the -transportation department waiting for full tonnage. - -When you get to be general manager, do not forget the general -storekeeper. Keep close to him and take him out often. When you become -operating vice-president, do the same with the purchasing agent, whose -position, like that of the general storekeeper, is an evolution from a -clerkship in some general office. Not all of us have realized the -necessary elevation of these places to official status. They, too, -have come to stay. They will survive even the awkwardness of their own -titles. Would not "purchaser" or "buyer," and "supplyman" or -"supplier," be better terms? - -Speaking of inviting people to ride in your car. From operating -vice-presidents down we do not avail ourselves sufficiently of the -company of representatives of the accounting department. They do not -and should not report to us. They, however, compile statistics from -data which we furnish. We want to have our data in such good shape -that they will not misinterpret. As they count our Australian ballots, -it is important for us to know how to put the cross opposite the eagle -or the rooster. On the other hand, the service will not suffer if we -have a chance, on the ground, to show the inconsistency of some -arbitrary requirements. - -I carried by an idea in a recent letter. I asked the man on the -opposite run to take it back; but he, too, had a big switch list and a -time order. So it has been an over in the freight room until now I -bill it free astray. The thought is that our organization should -provide automatically, as in the army and the navy, for the next in -rank available to assume the duties of an absent or incapacitated -official. A superintendent has to be sick or absent for quite a long -time before we designate an acting superintendent. We let the chief -clerk sign for him, an absurd fiction if long continued. Why should -not the assistant superintendent, or, if none, the trainmaster, sign -as acting superintendent as a matter of course when the accidents of -the service take the superintendent off the division? An assistant is -really a deputy, although, with all our borrowing and mutilating of -titles, we have not utilized the comprehensive qualification of -"deputy." The time is soon coming when we shall welcome the -opportunity of making our organization elastic by giving understudies -the title of acting so and so. As we grow in liberality we shall feel -proud to lend one of our men to another road for a few months at a -time to do special work or to introduce some new idea that he has -developed. The other road will be glad to pay the man a good salary, -and he will return to us all the broader and more valuable because of -service elsewhere. We have been meantime training another man for any -vacancy in the grade that may occur. By the same token, we shall by -and by consider it a privilege to get back in our official family a -man whom we trained to our ways in youth, but who has been broadened -by service with different roads. We shall get over considering him as -having lost his rights, as an unpardonable offender against our sacred -civil service. There is never any affection stronger than our first -real love. - -As you master the details of your profession, as you carry out loyally -the policies of your management, keep in mind the possibility of -radical changes. We shall not forever keep up the absurdity of a -Pullman conductor's snap and a train conductor's busy job. When we -each own at least the sleeping and parlor cars local to our own rails, -the conductor will run the train and perhaps work the sleepers, while -a collector will work the coaches and chair cars. When oil burners and -automatic stokers have revolutionized the fireman's duties, when train -orders are unknown, when the position or color of a signal is the only -instruction, we may transfer the command of the train to one of the -men in the engine. When we so protect our trains by block signals or -other devices that to send back a flag is an absurdity, our trainmen -will become starters, and perhaps collectors, with duties not -dissimilar to those of guards on elevated roads. When the much-needed -motor car for suburban and branch service is perfected, other changes -will come. You may not live to see electricity displace steam for -heavy motive power, but you had better not gamble all your life -insurance on such a proposition. - -The tendency has been to limit all the utilities of a railroad to -transportation. Before long we shall, for a time at least, be going to -the opposite extreme. Some of us have entered the pension and life -insurance business, some own coal mines directly or indirectly. Should -we not manufacture our own ice at various points as needed and cut out -some haul? Should we not control the banks in the cities and towns -where we disburse so much money? Why not grain elevators and -industrial plants? Can we afford to manufacture relatively fewer of -our own appliances than that comprehensive organization, the Standard -Oil Company? These questions cannot be answered easily or by a simple -yes or no. They all depend upon time and circumstance. Our trouble has -been a fundamental error in reasoning, a dogmatic generalization from -too few particular cases. Stagnation is usually death to business. As -we cannot back up, it would seem wise to be ready to move forward in -power and influence. Ours is a high destiny. The railway officials of -the future will never be without knotty propositions to tackle. They -will not have to work as long hours as we, but their problems will be -more intense. The injector saves the drudgery of jacking up an engine -to pump her, but it does not warrant sitting down while waiting for -the steam derrick. - -Through all the improvements, real or imaginary, through all the -changes that the years may bring, bear in mind the human element. -Although the race grows better all the time, the old Adam and Eve will -be ever present in all of us. High explosives, armor plate, modern -weapons, modify the conditions of war, but as the Japs and Russians -are teaching us to-day we can never do entirely without the individual -initiative, without the courage necessary for the hand-to-hand -conflict. Some may deplore this condition, but, in the words of the -Salvation Army lassie, I thank God for it. - -For a period covering some thirty years, beginning and ending over a -hundred years ago, an English nobleman and statesman, the Earl of -Chesterfield, man of letters, wrote a series to his son. The morals -inculcated are hardly acceptable in this better age. The manners -taught, the art of pleasing so attractively set forth, have a value -to-day, have made the term Chesterfield a synonym for grace. Lord -Chesterfield's letters to his son were collected to the number of -nearly five hundred and published in book form. He has had many -imitators, and I confess to being one of them. Whether or not he -borrowed the idea from some ancient father I have never sent a tracer -to find out. Now that you and I are to be near enough for -heart-to-heart talks, my weekly letters will cease. Whether or not -they shall be preserved in book form it is up to you to say. - -Affectionately, your own - -D. A. D. - - - - -POSTSCRIPT. - -BY FRANK H. SPEARMAN. - - -When a young army officer, a West Pointer, resigns his commission to -become a railroad man the unusual happens and observers naturally -follow the result with interest. Major Charles Hine was more than a -lieutenant of the Sixth United States Infantry when he threw up his -commission to become a freight brakeman on the Big Four. He was even -then, at twenty-eight, a graduate of the Cincinnati Law School, a -member of the bar and a practical civil engineer. When the country -needed her army men in 1898, Lieutenant Hine, then on the staff of a -Big Four superintendent in Cleveland, secured leave of absence, -volunteered and was commissioned a major of the First District of -Columbia Infantry. After Santiago, Major Hine promptly resumed his -work as a railroadman. He has served as brakeman, switchman, -yardmaster, conductor, chief clerk to the superintendent, trainmaster, -assistant superintendent and general superintendent. He is, by nature, -a student; no task is too onerous to dismay him if there is in it or -behind it something he can learn. Thus he has not only stored away -information, but he has learned how to impart it, and his fund of -shrewd observation and good common sense he has drawn on in writing a -railroad book entitled "Letters From an Old Railway Official to His -Son, a Division Superintendent." - -The letters cover a breadth of ground in railway operation that is -really astonishing to any one who does not know the man behind them. -This is not all; loaded as they are with nuggets of hard, practical -sense in railroad practice, they have a form and finish that make them -doubly attractive. They are short, compact, of an easy and agreeable -style and both lively and humorous as well as instructive. - -Major Hine has long since won his literary spurs as a contributor to -the Army and Navy Journal, The Railway Age and The Century Magazine. -His present book is bright, quick and gossipy, and it would interest a -man that did not know the difference between a puzzle switch and a -gravity yard, but its especial appeal is to the young railroad man of -to-day who understands that whether in the operating department, the -accounting department or the motive power, he must, to get ahead, know -all that he can, and the letters cover as many railroad subjects as -they bear numbers. They will take their place at once in railroad -libraries and in railroad literature. Major Hine--recently doing -special railroad work on the staff of the general manager of the Rock -Island system and at present on the staff of the second vice-president -of the Burlington, specially charged with the subject of company -supplies--may write longer and more pretentious books than this; but -hardly one of more real value to the ambitious young railroad man. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Letters from an Old Railway Official, by -Charles DeLano Hine - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS FROM AN OLD RAILWAY OFFICIAL *** - -***** This file should be named 44853.txt or 44853.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/8/5/44853/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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