H53 
 
 Mi 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
H E 
 
 H59 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORA- 
 TIONS AND THE PUBLIC 
 
 ALEXANDER 
 HAMILTON 
 INSTITUTE 
 
 H-30 
 
The Relations Between 
 Public Service Corpora- 
 tions and the Public 
 
 By WILLIAM G. McADOO 
 
 \ 
 President, Hudson (.& Manhattan Railway Company 
 
 One of a Series of Lectures Prepared for 
 the Alexander Hamilton Institute 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON INSTITUTE 
 ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK CITY 
 
A/3 
 
 WILLIAM G. McADOO 
 
WILLIAM GIBBS McADOO 
 
 William G. McAdoo, president of the company 
 which built the Hudson tunnels, was born near Mari- 
 etta, Georgia, October 31, 1863. He is descended 
 from a family which has been prominent in the public 
 and military affairs of the South for nearly three cen- 
 turies. Mr. McAdoo's father, William G. McAdoo, 
 M.A., LL.D., was a judge; a soldier both in the 
 Mexican and in the Civil Wars; for two terms Dis- 
 trict Attorney General of the State of Tennessee; and 
 in his later years Professor of English and History in 
 the University of Tennessee. The Civil War swept 
 away his possessions, and William G. McAdoo, the 
 son, was born and raised in poverty. Far from be- 
 wailing his fate, he looks back on the privation of his 
 early life as a most fortunate circumstance. In a 
 public address not long ago he said: 
 
 "I was brought up in Georgia, in the path of Gen- 
 eral Sherman's famous march to the sea. As Henry 
 Grady once remarked, 'General Sherman was a bit 
 careless with fire,' and for this reason, among other 
 things, he has never been a popular man in Georgia. 
 For myself, however, I feel that I owe General Sher- 
 man a debt of gratitude. I believe that character is 
 produced and developed to the highest degree by hard- 
 ships, sufferings and poverty. I have never doubted 
 that whatever of character I have developed has been, 
 in a large measure, due to the surroundings and condi- 
 tions which General Sherman forced upon the people 
 of our section during that great war." 
 
 Mr. McAdoo entered the University of Tennessee 
 but was forced to leave in his junior year in order to 
 take a position as clerk in the United States Circuit 
 Court. His spare time was spent in the study of law, 
 and at the age of twenty-one he was admitted to the 
 bar. Within a short time he became division counsel 
 for the Central Railroad and Banking Company of 
 
 M252358 
 
Georgia, and afterwards for the old Richmond and 
 Danville Railroad (now part of the Southern Rail- 
 way system), and at the same time was active in 
 Democratic politics. 
 
 But Mr. McAdoo was looking for bigger oppor- 
 tunities. In 1 892, when he was twenty-nine years 
 old, he moved to New York City and began the prac- 
 tice of law. In 1 898 he formed a law partnership 
 with Hon. William McAdoo, formerly Congressman 
 from New Jersey, Assistant Secretary of the Navy 
 and Police Commissioner of New York City, and now 
 Chief Magistrate of New York City. Contrary to 
 the general impression the two McAdoos are not 
 related. 
 
 In 1902 he organized the corporation which has 
 constructed the two tunnels under the Hudson River 
 connecting the railroad stations and cities on the Jersey 
 side with the New York business and shopping dis- 
 tricts. The whole plan was a gigantic experiment. 
 Sixty million dollars capital was required. Two pre- 
 vious attempts to tunnel the Hudson had failed. 
 Nevertheless, Mr. McAdoo persuaded capitalists to 
 invest, carried through the construction with scarcely a 
 hitch, and so organized the operating system that it is 
 everywhere recognized as a model of efficiency. The 
 methods by which he has succeeded in serving econom- 
 ically and at the same time pleasing the public are 
 described by Mr. McAdoo himself, in this lecture. 
 His own personality plainly appears in every detail of 
 the management, and it is not without reason that the 
 people of New York persist in disregarding official 
 titles and in speaking of the whole system as the 
 "McAdoo tunnels." 
 
 The extent and value of Mr. McAdoo's contribu- 
 tion to American business practice cannot be measured. 
 His influence extends far beyond his own corporation. 
 He has appreciably raised the standards of courtesy 
 and of comfort of millions of his fellow citizens. 
 
The Relations Between 
 Public Service Corporations and the Public* 
 
 By WILLIAM G. McADOO 
 
 This is a big question, and it has been the sub- 
 ject of much discussion and legislation during the 
 past few years. The corporation question has, 
 unfortunately, come to be more of a political than 
 an economic one, and it is not only the public 
 service corporation, but every kind of corporation 
 that is embraced in the issue. 
 
 Your invitation confines me, however, to a dis- 
 cussion of public service corporations only. 
 
 What is a public service corporation? The 
 public, generally, would say "a railroad or a street 
 railroad corporation, or any corporation engaged 
 in the transportation business." Such corpora- 
 tions as telephone, telegraph, gas and water 
 companies are not included in the popular idea. 
 The reason for this is that the railroad corpora- 
 tions come more intimately in touch with the public 
 and are more often touched by the public. The sub- 
 way, elevated and surface lines of New York City, 
 for instance, carried in the year 1909 approximately 
 nine hundred million people, each one of whom paid 
 a five cent fare. Every day, therefore, these 
 people are in actual contact with the transporta- 
 tion line, observing its defects and weaknesses and 
 criticizing its management, whereas, with electric 
 
 *A lecture delivered before the Graduate School of Business 
 Administration of Harvard University, April 6, 1910. 
 
light, gas and water companies, payment for the 
 service rendered is made once a month, and the 
 service itself is less conspicuously brought to the 
 daily attention of the user. I assume that I am 
 expected to speak with reference to that particular 
 form of public service corporation known as a 
 transportation corporation; that you do not wish 
 a political or an economic discussion of this ques- 
 tion, but that you prefer to have me treat it from 
 the standpoint of one who has had practical 
 experience with the public in the actual construc- 
 tion and administration of an important public 
 service facility. It is my purpose, therefore, to 
 deal more with what may be termed the psycho- 
 logic phases of the problem, although I may make 
 an occasional excursion into collateral issues. 
 
 Corporations are not "Soulless" 
 
 The popular conception of corporations, whether 
 they be public service ones or not, is that they are 
 "soulless." This is an error, and one which has 
 caused much mischief, because, so long as the 
 corporation manager believes that he is in the 
 shadow of an impersonal entity and, therefore, 
 not held to personal responsibility for his acts, he 
 will do things behind this screen which he would 
 not do if he knew that the public considered him 
 the personification of the corporation and held him 
 to personal accountability for the corporate acts. 
 The public, having accepted as axiomatic the propo- 
 sition that all corporations are soulless, has come to 
 regard the action of such corporations, however 
 objectionable, as beyond remedy because of this 
 very soullessness. I have often heard people ex- 
 
 6 
 
claim, when something has happened justifying a 
 complaint to the corporation management, "What 
 is the tise of making a complaint to a soulless 
 corporation?" Thereby they have not only ex- 
 cused the objectionable act, but they have en- 
 couraged its repetition. Whether a corporation 
 is soulless or not, complaint should always be made 
 to the management of abuses or derelictions. 
 
 Its President's Soul is the Corporation's Soul 
 
 I assert that no corporation is soulless ; that, on 
 the contrary, every corporation has a soul; that 
 the soul of such corporation is the soul of its 
 dominant individual usually the president; that 
 the management of the corporation reflects the 
 prevailing soul almost as infallibly as a looking 
 glass reflects an object set before it. If that soul 
 be selfish, little and narrow, the policy of the 
 corporation will be selfish, little and narrow; if 
 that soul be broad, progressive, liberal and honest, 
 the policy of the corporation will be broad, pro- 
 gressive, liberal and honest. It is inevitable that 
 the rank and file of the corporation, by which I 
 mean its employees, will, in time, imbibe the spirit 
 of its dominant factor. 
 
 What I have said on this point needs this 
 qualification : that the dominant soul in a corpora- 
 tion is not reflected in the attitude and the quality 
 of the employees and in the policy of the corpora- 
 tion itself, until it has been long enough in com- 
 mand to assert its power effectively. This is 
 readily seen when there is a change in corporate 
 management. Some time necessarily elapses before 
 the new order is able to make its impress upon the 
 
corporate organization, as well as upon the public 
 itself. 
 
 It may be said that the Board of Directors is 
 paramount. This is true, in a measure, and yet it 
 is a well-known fact that most Boards of Directors 
 in this country are dominated by the chief officer 
 of the corporation. This is necessarily so, because 
 it is essential that the Board of Directors have 
 confidence in and be controlled by the judgment 
 and views of the directing officer; otherwise the 
 corporation would be without a guiding hand. 
 
 Modern electric railroad practice has developed 
 what is called the multiple unit train. Such a 
 train is composed of a number of separate and 
 independent units or motor cars, each one self- 
 contained and capable of independent propulsion, 
 but when connected together and forming one train 
 they are under command of a single motorman, 
 who, by the turn of a lever, can make the train 
 start, move faster, or slower, or come to a stop. 
 On each one of these trains there are a number of 
 employees, but all of them are under the control of 
 a single soul the motorman while this train is 
 in motion. He starts upon his journey and brings 
 his train to its destination by the manipulation of 
 the different units and of the apparatus at his 
 command. 
 
 A corporation is simply a multiple unit. It is 
 composed of various independent departments, all 
 under the control of a single individual usually, 
 as I said before, the president. He, with the 
 collateral assistance of the Board of Directors, 
 guides the company over the fixed track of its 
 
 8 
 
corporate powers and has control of all of its 
 employees. 
 
 Having thus made clear, as I hope, the fact that 
 every corporation has a soul, I now assert that 
 so true is this that the character and quality of 
 this soul may be judged, in large measure, by the 
 character and quality of the service rendered by 
 the corporation. Go over the lines of any public 
 service utility to-day, and carefully observe the 
 general details of its service and equipment, the 
 manners of its employees and their attitude to the 
 public, and you will get a fairly good reflection of 
 the soul of its management. It is to the interest 
 of the public, as well as of the corporation, that 
 this should become a recognized fact, so that the 
 controlling force in each corporation shall be held 
 to the highest measure of individual and personal 
 responsibility for the conduct of its affairs. And 
 when this time comes, this dominant soul will 
 realize that it will be pilloried for practices that are 
 objectionable, as it will be applauded for practices 
 that are commendable. 
 
 Arbitrary Management a Back Number 
 
 The hostility of the public to corporations, 
 especially transportation corporations, so much in 
 evidence during the past few years, is the cumu- 
 lative effect of years of indifference, oftentimes 
 contemptuous, on the part of corporate managers 
 to the interests and just grievances of the public. 
 Very frequently these grievances arose out of easily 
 remediable matters, such as unreliable train service, 
 disregard of public convenience in arranging train 
 schedules, failure to give prompt and truthful in- 
 
formation about delayed trains and accidents and 
 habitual incivility on the part of the employees 
 generally. The old style manager resented sug- 
 gestions and complaints as impertinence, consigned 
 them usually to the waste basket, and went on in his 
 arbitrary way, firm in the belief in his own in- 
 fallibility and the public's complete dependence. 
 
 There were, of course, other and more serious 
 causes than those I have enumerated, for resent- 
 ment against the railroads. Rebates and discrim- 
 inations, long practiced, benefiting the few to the 
 injury of the many, finally aroused the public and 
 caused legislation throughout the country. The 
 railroads have become a sort of political football, 
 and some good and some unwise legislation concern- 
 ing them has been enacted during the past few 
 years. It is inevitable, in a popular form of govern- 
 ment, that legislation oftentimes reflects the popu- 
 lar excitement and resentment of the moment, and 
 that we get back to a stable equilibrium only as 
 result of experience and a more composed and 
 judicial state of the public mind. 
 
 As a result of the agitation, one thing, at least, 
 has been clearly established, viz. : that the public 
 is a factor now in corporation management; it is 
 almost a member of the Board of Directors of every 
 corporation. The old time arbitrary manager is 
 already a back-number and where he still exists, 
 is making a hopeless fight. He must conform to 
 the new order if he would survive. 
 
 Commissions Have Come to Stay 
 
 The public has come into the management of 
 the railroads through the Interstate Commerce 
 
 10 
 
Commission and through the various state rail- 
 road commissions which have been created within 
 the past few years. The most notable of these is 
 the Public Service Commission of New York, 
 because of the exceptional powers which the State 
 has conferred upon that body. 
 
 I believe in the commission idea. Some such 
 body is essential now to the protection of the public 
 and the corporations. But to be in the highest 
 degree useful, these commissions should have a 
 well-defined power of wholesome regulation only. 
 They should not be permitted to undertake the 
 management itself. The responsible owners should 
 not be deprived of their right to control and operate 
 their properties within proper limits, nor is it to the 
 interest of the public that they should be. It is 
 extremely difficult to draw the line between 
 regulation and management, but it will be found 
 eventually. Experience and court decisions will 
 make clear the extent to which government may 
 go in this direction. 
 
 The Public Service Commission of New York has 
 shown good judgment in the exercise of the broad 
 powers entrusted to it. It is composed of men of 
 high character, who came to their task without 
 previous railroad experience, but with a just 
 appreciation of their responsibilities and an earnest 
 desire to discharge them with justice, moderation 
 and wisdom. They have had to spend a great deal 
 of time, necessarily, in studying the complicated 
 problems of Greater New York. Too much has 
 been expected of the Commission in a short time. 
 The unmerited criticism it has received is one of 
 the best justifications of its existence, because it 
 
 ii 
 
shows that the Commission intends to proceed 
 carefully, and to exercise its large powers justly 
 and not oppressively. No other course would 
 enable it to be useful or to preserve the respect and 
 confidence of the community. 
 
 There has been and continues to be much 
 criticism of the commission idea, but corporation 
 managers may as well make up their minds that 
 commissions have come to stay. The corpora- 
 tions should co-operate with the authorities in 
 securing just and wise laws, and in the administra- 
 tion of those laws. The authorities should also 
 invite and welcome the assistance of corporation 
 managers in the framing of proper legislation. 
 This is the way to get sound conclusions hear all 
 sides and try to do the right thing. Nothing will 
 put the lobbyist out of business more quickly than 
 this frank and open way of getting together 
 and discussing the questions at issue. Politics 
 should play no part in the making of such laws nor 
 in their enforcement. The corporations are es- 
 sential to the public welfare. We do not want to 
 injure, much less to destroy them. It is to the 
 interest of the people that they be fairly and 
 justly treated. Too often the feeling exists that 
 no good can come out of a corporation and that 
 any sort of legislation, proposed and enacted by 
 men who have had no experience and have made 
 no study of the complicated problems involved, is 
 good enough if it seems to hit the corporation hard. 
 This is altogether mischievous and wrong. What 
 we want in all these cases is to approach the 
 question in the noble spirit of Lincoln, "with 
 charity for all, with malice towards none" seek - 
 
 12 
 
ing justice, truth and light, and basing our con- 
 clusions and our actions upon these infallible 
 foundations. 
 
 The gravest dangers we confront in dealing with 
 important problems is a perverted, misinformed 
 and ignorant public opinion. Political considera- 
 tions are too often put above the public good. 
 Too many politicians are opportunists. They 
 seem too willing to support any measure which 
 promises personal and party success. It is easy 
 to arouse public resentment against corporations 
 upon wholly false premises and specious reasoning. 
 The politician's chief occupation is to keep at this 
 sort of work, while the corporation manager is 
 usually so occupied with the graver responsibilities 
 of safely and efficiently operating the property 
 under his control that he has no time to set up a 
 counter propaganda, and the people get only one 
 side of the question. 
 
 Dangers of Commission Rule 
 
 So long as we can keep public utility commissions 
 out of politics, appoint men of character and ex- 
 perience to run them, confine their powers to 
 reasonable regulation, and define those powers 
 clearly, so that everybody may know what the 
 law actually is, and so long as such commissions 
 discharge their duties justly, wisely and im- 
 partially, they will be of advantage to the public 
 and to the corporations. 
 
 I do not believe in giving these commissions the 
 power to arbitrarily fix rates. Grave wrongs and 
 injustices might result. Property could be con- 
 fiscated or destroyed before the courts could protect 
 
 13 
 
it. The public interest would suffer from any 
 serious injury to the transportation lines. It must 
 be remembered that the prosperity of these lines 
 is as essential to the general welfare as good govern- 
 ment itself. It is only necessary to imagine the 
 condition in which we would find ourselves if we 
 didn't have them, to realize how vital they are to 
 our existence. Railroads must be run at a profit 
 if they are to provide good service and continue to 
 develop their lines to meet the growth of the 
 country. Rates are, as a whole, reasonable, and 
 competition will, I believe, keep them so. The 
 principal grievance has been discrimination and 
 insufficient and inefficient service, and facilities, 
 and these can be remedied by a sound policy of 
 conservation of just rights; by the regulatory 
 powers of the commissions and by the force of 
 public opinion. There has never been a time in 
 the history of the world when public opinion 
 properly directed has been so potential as now, 
 nor has there ever been a time when corporations 
 were so amenable to public opinion nor when they 
 have been so honestly conducted as now. A dis- 
 tinguished Harvard alumnus has had much to do 
 with this result. 
 
 The most serious grievance against certain cor- 
 porations is, in my judgment, the undue privilege 
 they enjoy from an excessive and wholly indefensi- 
 ble high protective tariff. It is not the railroads 
 but the industrial companies and so-called ' ' trusts ' ' 
 that are the direct beneficiaries of this protection. 
 The trust talk and the trust evils would largely 
 disappear if the "trusts" were forced into whole- 
 some competition with the world, and were de- 
 
 14 
 
prived of the power they now have to tax the people 
 for their special benefit. But I am getting away 
 from my subject. I had not intended to get into 
 politics nor to "branch" so extensively. 
 
 Is the Public "Soulless"? 
 
 While the public considers the corporations 
 "soulless" the corporations consider the public as 
 much so or more. It must be admitted that the 
 attitude of the public to the corporations is 
 characterized by suspicion, by ill-concealed resent- 
 ment, by a feeling that the corporation has no 
 rights which ought to be respected, and that any 
 advantage taken of a corporation is justifiable, if 
 not commendable. The average person has a code 
 of ethics for dealing with a corporation entirely 
 different from that for dealing with an individual, 
 and the code for the corporation is morally wrong, 
 while that for the individual is morally right. 
 
 In fact, the corporations and the public remind 
 me of two big boys suspicious of each other, 
 frequently "scrapping," to use the vernacular, 
 and yet compelled to live together and play with 
 each other. This attitude of suspicion is an in- 
 evitable estrangement. If it can be removed, a 
 more cordial relationship will result. 
 
 I have always believed that the public, like the 
 corporation, has a soul that the public at large 
 is reasonable that it is just as responsive to decent 
 treatment as an individual. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the corporation and the 
 public each represent a reasonable individual, but 
 they don't understand each other. The corpora- 
 tion manager makes rules and issues orders 
 
necessary, for the conduct of his business. These 
 rules and orders are usually in the interest of the 
 public, designed for their convenience and safety, 
 but they oftentimes seem to the public arbitrary 
 and unreasonable. An explanation by the cor- 
 poration would at once satisfy the public, because 
 it is always satisfied with a good reason. The 
 corporation manager ought to take the trouble to 
 explain things to the public, and he ought to give 
 the public plenty of information. 
 
 A Concrete Example 
 
 Our experience with the Hudson tunnels has 
 convinced us of the correctness of these views. 
 We have never yet had a complaint that we have 
 not satisfied with an explanation, except one and 
 that came from a " crank" whom no one could 
 appease. 
 
 It is with great reluctance and after long hesita- 
 tion that I have determined to speak of the trans- 
 portation system of which I have the honor to be 
 an employee and, in doing so, I beg that you will 
 acquit me of any seeming or intentional egotism. 
 I would not relate these experiences except to 
 illustrate our theories of corporate management, 
 and to give you concrete examples of their practical 
 application. 
 
 On the 26th of February, 1908, the first tunnels 
 under the Hudson River were opened to public use. 
 Five days before that date the employees of the 
 road were called together and addressed by the 
 president of the company, in part, as follows: 
 
 This is a time when there has been a great deal of talk 
 about, and criticism of public service corporations. Some 
 
 16 
 
of these criticisms are just and some are unjust. There 
 are two sides to most questions, but there can't be two 
 sides to some of the questions which have been discussed, 
 and there can't be two sides to some of the complaints 
 which have been made against public service corporations. 
 Now, we want to profit by these criticisms and the mis- 
 takes of others, and we want to run this road so that there 
 will be no complaints, or, at any rate, as few complaints 
 as possible. It is, of course, impossible to attain absolute 
 perfection of operation, but it is not impossible to attain 
 approximate perfection. 
 
 I want to impress upon you the fact that this railroad 
 is operated primarily for the convenience of the public. 
 It is designed to accommodate the people who traverse 
 the river between New Jersey and New York, and the 
 duty devolves upon you to do everything in your power 
 to make this facility as perfect as possible. It can be ac- 
 complished by your taking, as I said before, that intense 
 and intelligent interest in your work which is the only 
 guarantee of success. 
 
 Safety and efficiency of the service are, of course, the 
 first consideration, but, among the things of the highest 
 importance, are civility and courtesy in your dealings with 
 the public. You must treat people courteously, no matter 
 how they treat you. You must not engage in unnecessary 
 conversation with passengers, and you must not address 
 passengers before they enter into conversation with you. 
 You are not there for the purpose of entertaining the 
 public; you are there for the purpose of seeing that the 
 road is safely and properly operated. Attend strictly to 
 your duties, answering questions when they are addressed 
 to you. No matter if questions seem to you foolish, give 
 civil replies. The day of "the public be damned" policy 
 is forever gone. It always was an objectionable and in- 
 defensible policy, and it will not be tolerated on this road 
 under any conditions. 
 
 There is a thing which the French call " esprit de corps " ; 
 this means a spirit of common devotedness, of common 
 sympathy or support among all the members of an associa- 
 
 17 
 
tion or body. It means comradeship and a common pride 
 in the general work in which we are engaged and in each 
 other. Let us start this road with this feeling of "esprit 
 de corps." We are all working together for the good of 
 each other, as well as for the good of the company and of 
 the community. Let us convince the public that public 
 service facilities can be operated in such a way that the 
 just claims of the public will be recognized and that the 
 public will have proper service and treatment. 
 
 The Hudson Tunnel Creed 
 
 Seventeen months later, in July, 1909, upon the 
 opening of the second pair of tunnels under the 
 Hudson River, the president of the company 
 spoke as follows: 
 
 We believe in the "public be pleased" policy as opposed 
 to the "public be damned" policy; we believe that that 
 railroad is best which serves the public best; that decent 
 treatment of the public evokes decent treatment from the 
 public; that recognition by the corporation of the just 
 rights of the people results in recognition by the people 
 of the just rights of the corporation. A square deal for the 
 people and a square deal for the corporation! The latter is 
 as essential as the former and they are not incompatible. 
 
 These declarations are the creed of the company, 
 and represent our convictions as to the proper 
 attitude of a public service corporation to the 
 public. 
 
 Sincerity is Essential 
 
 In carrying out this policy it is essential first, 
 that the officers of the corporation shall sincerely 
 believe in it, and, second, that the employees shall 
 catch the spirit of it and earnestly seek its enforce- 
 ment. 
 
 This sincerity must be genuine it cannot be 
 
 18 
 
feigned. The people are quick to discover a 
 counterfeit. Lincoln said, "You can fool all the 
 people some of the time, " and this may have been 
 true fifty years ago, but we have progressed since 
 that day. You can't fool all the people even 
 "some of the time" now. 
 
 Sincerity implies no, it means the human 
 quality. It means that you must put this quality 
 into your relations with your employees, and that 
 they must put it into their relations with the public, 
 and that the public must put it into its relations 
 with the company and its employees. These 
 employees come into closer contact with the public 
 than the officers, and upon them rests in large part 
 the successful execution of your policy. 
 
 Our efforts have been directed, therefore, to the 
 creation of a body of employees who would feel a 
 genuine interest in cany ing out the company's 
 aims. 
 
 Developing Courtesy in Employees 
 
 It has been difficult to always secure civility on 
 the part of employees. Many of them have had 
 little or no advantages and, while they want to do 
 the right thing, they don't always know how. 
 By patient and kindly admonition we have suc- 
 ceeded in educating them to the required standard, 
 and we now have a body of men who have dis- 
 tinguished themselves for their civility and con- 
 siderate treatment of the public. I do not believe 
 that there is a finer lot of public service corporation 
 employees in this country than those of the Hudson 
 tunnel system. We are proud of them as men and 
 of the esprit de corps that animates them. We 
 
find that they take a real interest in treating the 
 public courteously, and we find that the public is 
 taking a real interest in treating them courteously. 
 Verily courtesy breeds courtesy. There is a feeling 
 of good will and friendship between the public and 
 our employees and our company that is delightful 
 and refreshing. Everybody seems to take an 
 interest in being kindly and considerate, and in 
 doing everything possible to make the policy suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 We have posted signs in our cars inviting sug- 
 gestions and criticisms. We receive occasional 
 suggestions, some of value, and we always adopt 
 them if they have value, but strange to say, we 
 rarely ever have a complaint. We always ac- 
 knowledge suggestions we always investigate and 
 reply to complaints, and we always apply a remedy 
 if the complaint is well founded. When I tell you 
 that the system is only partially completed and 
 that it is already carrying at the rate of 50,000,000 
 people annually, and that we have had not over 
 two dozen complaints in the past two years, you 
 can readily understand why we are convinced that 
 our policy is sound. 
 
 The Duty of the Public 
 
 Courteous treatment of the public and the im- 
 partation of correct information are of prime 
 importance. On the other hand, courteous treat- 
 ment of employees by the public is necessary. 
 Unfortunately, the public is not alive to this. We 
 can discipline our employees for rudeness, but we 
 cannot discipline the public. Did you ever realize 
 that the guard or conductor on a train is just as 
 
 20 
 
human as you are? That he has feelings, sensi- 
 bilities and desires very much like your own? 
 That rude and offensive treatment of him is more 
 reprehensible than of some free agent? You 
 literally take advantage of a man with his hands 
 tied when you abuse such an employee. He has 
 orders not to resent it under penalty of discharge, 
 and this makes it harder for him to bear. I have 
 occasionally seen passengers abuse a poor, helpless 
 employee for merely executing the rules of the 
 company, when the right practice is to write a 
 complaint to the management. We must remem- 
 ber that to ill-treat an employee this way makes it 
 more difficult for the company to promote civility 
 among the men, and that the company cannot 
 correct the trouble unless complaint is made to the 
 proper officer. We would come nearer satisfactory 
 operation of public service utilities if passengers 
 would make complaints and suggestions, because in 
 no other way can the management learn the facts 
 and apply the remedy. One has only to report the 
 number on the cap of the offending employee to 
 assure redress if offence has been given, and the 
 moral effect on the entire body of employees of 
 wholesome discipline, resulting from conviction 
 upon a specific complaint, cannot be overesti- 
 mated. The public can help the management this 
 way, but it seldom does. The American is in too 
 big a hurry, and is too indifferent to follow up 
 matters of this kind. So he condones faults by 
 helping the employees conceal them from their 
 superiors, and satisfies himself by giving the 
 employee a piece of his mind on the spur of the 
 moment and by cherishing a grudge against the 
 
 21 
 
company. The public must realize that its co- 
 operation is highly important if the best results 
 are to be obtained. Co-operation by criticism 
 directed to the management is very valuable, as I 
 have already said, and then it is so easy and so 
 satisfying to criticize. I would suggest, however, 
 that criticisms be addressed in polite language. 
 Even a corporation manager is susceptible to 
 courteous treatment. I have already assured you 
 that he has a soul. It is a curious fact that many 
 complaints are couched in offensive terms. The 
 writer of a complaint too often assumes that the 
 act of which he complains was purposely or 
 arbitrarily done by the company, and he proceeds 
 to denounce everything and everybody in advance. 
 This is simply evidence of the condition to which I 
 have previously alluded, viz. : a latent hostility or 
 ill-will in the public's attitude towards corpora- 
 tions, which ought to be eradicated, and which 
 can and will be eradicated by reasonable co-opera- 
 tion along the lines I have suggested. 
 
 How much better, how much more dignified, 
 and how much more effective to write a polite and 
 temperate statement of the facts, and how much 
 more willingly the manager takes hold of it and 
 sees that justice is done! It is merely the applica- 
 tion of the human quality in the relations between 
 the public and the corporation. 
 
 The Value of Praise 
 
 The public can help the corporations enormously 
 in their efforts to give good service by writing 
 occasional letters of commendation of things that 
 deserve praise. Nothing is so encouraging to the 
 
 22 
 
manager and to the men under him as the feeling 
 that their work and efforts are appreciated, and yet 
 how seldom it is that a "bouquet" is sent! Did 
 you ever reflect that in every public service cor- 
 poration's administration and service there is 
 probably 99% that is satisfactory, if not praise- 
 worthy, and probably one per cent, that is faulty? 
 Nobody ever thinks of saying a good word 
 about the 99% that is all right, but many will 
 "throw bricks" at the one per cent, that is wrong. 
 None of us can be perfect ; yet it is necessary for 
 a complicated electric machine like the Hudson 
 tunnels or your own admirable Boston subway, to 
 be nearer perfect than any human being. The 
 intelligent co-ordination of mind, matter and 
 science in the modern electric subway is truly 
 wonderful. 
 
 Nothing so encourages the men and stimulates 
 them to better effort as recognition by the public 
 and their superiors of good work. 
 
 Not long ago, Mr. D. W. Cooke, General Traffic 
 Manager of the Erie Railroad, sent us the following 
 letter: 
 
 There are so many things to commend in the manage- 
 ment of the Hudson and Manhattan Tunnels that the 
 whole would be a long story, but the average of your men 
 is so conspicuously higher than that of any other public 
 service institution that I know, that I believe it is one of 
 the most satisfying things you have accomplished from 
 the standpoint of the public. Last night I came to the 
 ticket office, Twenty-third Street and Sixth Avenue, at 
 nine-thirty, bound for the Pennsylvania station. I gave 
 the ticket agent a quarter for three tickets, and being un- 
 accustomed to purchasing tickets, walked away without 
 my change. I was scarcely more than seated in the car 
 
 23 
 
when the guard or the chopping-box man, I do not know 
 which, came in and asked me if I had failed to collect my 
 change, and on being informed that I had, proceeded to 
 get it for me. I do not say that I kept it, but he did his 
 part, and I congratulate you on having men of this sort in 
 your employ. 
 
 This letter was posted on the bulletin boards, so 
 that every employee of the Transportation Depart- 
 ment could see it. 
 
 The following, chosen from many of similar 
 character, are cited merely to show the effect of 
 our policy. : 
 
 SURRICK LINCOLN, 
 
 Assisted by Mrs. Lincoln. 
 
 THE LINCOLN TRAVELOGUES. 
 
 Permanent Address, 
 Antrim Lecture Bureau, 
 10 1 1 Chestnut Street, 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 En Tour, 571 West 13 9th Street, 
 N. Y. City, April loth, 1909. 
 
 Dear Sir: I wish to congratulate you on your excellent 
 service. I believe you are trying to please the public who 
 travel over your lines. If all railroad companies did the 
 same they would be much better appreciated by those who 
 patronize them. As it is the real traveler usually has it in 
 for them. There is a reason. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) S. LINCOLN. 
 24 
 
KIRKLAND & YARDLY, 
 37 Liberty Street 
 
 January 22, 1910. 
 GENERAL MANAGER, 
 Hudson Tunnel Co., 
 
 30 Church Street, New York City. 
 
 Dear Sir: It may be of interest to you to learn of a 
 courteous action on the part of one of your employees, 
 that was rather out of the ordinary. 
 
 On the 2ist inst., a woman, a stranger, entered the tunnel 
 at Hoboken. On opening her bag she thought that all 
 her money had been stolen. She was naturally very 
 nervous and in her excitement asked your colored porter, 
 No. 10, what she should do. He courteously told her that 
 he would give her what money she required and she was 
 thus enabled to reach her friends in New York. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) FARNHAM YARDLY. 
 
 January 24, 1910. 
 MR. FARNHAM YARDLY, 
 
 37 Liberty St., City. 
 
 Dear Sir: Yours of the 22d inst. informing us of the 
 courtesy of one of our porters, received. I thank you very 
 much for letting us know about this. Will write the porter 
 a very pleasant letter. I can assure you it gives us great 
 pleasure to know that our employee acted as he did. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) E. T. MUNGER, 
 General Superintendent. 
 
 These letters are highly gratifying, because they 
 prove that our conception of the duty of the cor- 
 poration to the public is sound, and they indicate 
 our belief that the public is appreciative of good 
 work and earnest effort. 
 
 25 
 
Frankness Pays 
 
 Frequently questions arise involving public 
 relations and policy, which are very hard to 
 determine. Our practice in all such matters is to 
 take the public into our confidence and give our 
 reasons for the action taken. 
 
 An agitation arose last year for separate cars 
 for women in the subways of New York. It was 
 very doubtful if the anticipated relief would be 
 realized from their operation. We believed that 
 the experiment was worth trying, but we knew the 
 risk of failure and hesitated to take the odium or 
 criticism that might result from it. But we felt 
 that anything that would make it easier and more 
 comfortable for women and children to travel 
 during the crowded hours in New York was worth 
 achieving, so we determined to make the trial. 
 
 We announced the new service with a poster in 
 which we frankly said: 
 
 This is an experiment which the management hopes 
 will prove successful in practice, and which it reserves the 
 right to terminate if it should be found to work unsatis- 
 factorily. 
 
 The suggestion for separate cars came from an 
 organization known as "The Woman's Municipal 
 League." In order that no doubt should arise 
 about the company's good faith in giving the 
 experiment a thorough and honest trial, we invited 
 representatives of the League to attend the in- 
 auguration of the separate cars, to watch their 
 operation carefully and give us the benefit of any 
 further suggestions they might have to offer. 
 
 On the morning of March 31, 1909, a large and 
 representative number of women assembled at the 
 
 26 
 
railroad station in Hoboken. The company had 
 issued special instructions to all guards and plat- 
 form men to announce the separate car and direct 
 women to it, and had advertised it thoroughly, so 
 that little or no confusion resulted. One of the 
 women asked if we would keep the car in service 
 long enough to demonstrate its usefulness. We 
 asked how long she would suggest. She said, two 
 weeks. We said that we would try it three months 
 and we did so. The car was very popular at first, 
 but the newspapers wrote humorously about it 
 and many women became sensitive on the subject. 
 The papers referred to it as the "Jane Crowe Car," 
 the "Hen Car," "The Adamless Eden," "The Old 
 Maid's Retreat," etc. We advised the women 
 that all they needed to do to keep this car in 
 service was to demonstrate that they wanted it 
 by actually using it. The patronage, however, 
 continued to decline. Many women frankly ad- 
 mitted that they preferred to ride in the cars with 
 men; that they felt a greater sense of security in 
 case of accident from being with men than if they 
 were with the women alone. Long before the 
 expiration of three months it became obvious that 
 the experiment was a failure, but we kept our word 
 and continued it for three months. At the end of 
 that time it became necessary to discontinue it. 
 Here an important question of policy arose. 
 Some of the operating force contended that we 
 ought simply to drop the car without saying any- 
 thing about it, and that no notice would be taken 
 of it. The executive officers, on the other hand, 
 took the view that just as conspicuous notice of 
 the discontinuance, and the reason for it, should 
 
 27 
 
be given, as when it was inaugurated. We accord- 
 ingly posted all over the road the following : 
 
 NOTICE 
 
 On and after July ist, 1909, the exclusive car for women 
 will be discontinued, as the patronage does not warrant 
 further maintenance of this service. 
 
 Some of our operating officers feared that the 
 newspapers would say hard things about us for. 
 discontinuing this car. The exact contrary was 
 the result. Our frankness in giving complete and 
 truthful information about the whole matter com- 
 mended itself to the press, and we received nothing 
 but praise for having demonstrated that there was 
 no real demand for the segregation of women on 
 subway trains. 
 
 This incident only goes to prove what we are 
 contending for, namely, that a frank and open 
 policy with the public and an explanation of 
 reasons for actions taken, is the proper course. 
 
 "An Unwarrantable Restriction" 
 
 Some men felt very much outraged at what they 
 considered an unjust discrimination on our part 
 in favor of women. We are almost exclusively an 
 interstate railroad. Therefore we come under the 
 jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Com- 
 mission, at Washington. The following corre- 
 spondence is interesting as showing the character 
 of complaints with which the commission and the 
 corporations have to deal and how such matters are 
 handled : 
 
 28 
 
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION 
 
 WASHINGTON, April 27, 1909. 
 MR. WILLIAM G. McAooo, 
 
 President, Hudson & Manhattan Railway Company, 
 30 Church Street, New York City. 
 
 Dear Sir: The enclosed is a copy of a letter this day re- 
 ceived by the Commission from Mr. Francis Dundon, 39 
 Washington Square, New York, N. Y., in reference to a 
 discrimination alleged to be practiced by your company in 
 the transportation of passengers between Jersey City and 
 Hoboken, N. J., and New York, N. Y. 
 
 The Commission thought it proper to call this matter to 
 your attention, to ascertain what your attitude is. 
 Truly yours, 
 
 (Signed) C. A. PROUTY, 
 Commissioner. 
 
 NEW YORK, April 24, 1909. 
 THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Gentlemen: I take the liberty to direct the attention of 
 your honorable body to an infraction of the law by a public 
 service corporation doing interstate commerce viz.: the 
 Hudson and Manhattan Railway Company, transporting 
 passengers between Jersey City and Hoboken, N. J., and 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 The infraction referred to is, in essence, a restriction of 
 the rights to accommodation on the company's trains, of 
 a part of the public, by excluding this part from one car 
 (the last) on every train. 
 
 The excuse is that this car is reserved for women; but 
 so far as the male passengers are concerned, it makes no 
 difference whether the exclusion is for women or for the 
 convenience of the Directors' families; they are forbidden 
 access to this car, while female passengers are allowed 
 access to all the cars. 
 
 Now, it is not necessary to point out to your honorable 
 
 29 
 
body that this is not segregation, where each class being 
 restricted to its own confines, none may encroach on those 
 of others. 
 
 It is neither more nor less than an unwarrantable re- 
 striction without any compensation, and in effect an as- 
 sertion that the fare paid by a man does not entitle him 
 to the same opportunity for accommodation as the same 
 fare paid by a woman; in fine, it is discrimination on the 
 part of a public service corporation, doing interstate com- 
 merce an offence cognizable by your honorable body. 
 
 I beg to enclose a clipping from the New York Times of 
 the 24th instant containing a statement in relation to the 
 matter by Mr. William G. McAdoo, the Hudson and 
 Manhattan Company's President. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) FRANCIS DUNDON. 
 
 April 29, 1909. 
 
 INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sirs: Replying to yours of the 27th instant, in 
 which you enclosed a copy of a letter addressed to you by 
 Mr. Francis Dundon, 39 Washington Square, New York, 
 in reference to a discrimination alleged to be practiced by 
 this Company in operating on our trains a car reserved for 
 women, I beg to say: 
 
 A petition, backed by the Women's Municipal League 
 of New York, was a short time ago filed with the Public 
 Service Commission of this district, urging that a separate 
 car for women be operated in the Subway by the Inter- 
 borough Rapid Transit Company. A considerable public 
 sentiment in support of this idea seemed to exist, on ac- 
 count of the overcrowding in the cars of the local trans- 
 portation lines during the rush hours of the day. 
 
 Realizing the desirability of doing anything which 
 would make it more comfortable for women and children 
 to travel during the crowded hours, I concluded, after 
 consideration, to give the idea a practical test on the Hud- 
 son Tunnel Lines, and, accordingly, an order was issued 
 
 30 
 
directing that the rear car on each one of our trains be- 
 tween the hours of 7 and 9 a. m. from Hoboken, N. J., to 
 New York and between the hours of 4.30 and 7 p. m. from 
 New York, to Hoboken, N. J., be reserved for the exclu- 
 sive use of women. In this order, it was stated that the 
 operation of this car was experimental, and that the Com- 
 pany reserved the right to terminate the arrangement, if 
 it should prove unsatisfactory in operation. The car has 
 been in operation about thirty days. 
 
 We do not exclude men from this car. We simply 
 advise them that the car is reserved for women. If a man 
 wishes to ride in this car, in spite of that fact, we cannot 
 and do not attempt to prevent him from doing so. We 
 rely upon the chivalry and courtesy of men, generally, to 
 help us in an effort to make more comfortable the condi- 
 tions under which women have to use the crowded local 
 transportation facilities. 
 
 Our test has hardly continued long enough to enable 
 us to say definitely whether or not it ought to be estab- 
 lished as a permanent feature of our line ; but, in any case, 
 there is no discrimination against male passengers, as they 
 can, if they want to, ride in the women's car. 
 
 The situation is precisely analogous to that of smoking 
 cars which are run by interstate carriers. The car is re- 
 served for smokers, but men who do not smoke, and even 
 women themselves may occupy seats in such smoking cars, 
 if they care to do so. I believe, also, that it is conceded 
 that interstate carriers may handle separate or special cars 
 for any. reasonable and lawful purpose, and, so far as I am 
 advised, there can be no lawful objection to our setting 
 apart a car for the convenience and comfort of women and 
 children. I wish to say, however, that if, in the opinion 
 of the Commission, this practice is an unlawful discrimina- 
 tion, we shall, of course, discontinue it, in which case I 
 shall be greatly obliged if the Commission will inform me, 
 and also let us know if it will adopt a ruling on this point. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 W. G. McAooo, 
 
 President. 
 
 3 1 
 
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION 
 
 WASHINGTON, May 3, 1909. 
 MR. W. G. McADoo, 
 
 President, Hudson & Manhattan R.R. Co., 
 30 Church Street, New York City. 
 
 Dear Sir: Your letter of April 29, in reply to complaint 
 of Mr. Francis Dundon, concerning alleged discrimination 
 in favor of women passengers is received. 
 
 Inasmuch as your company appears to make request of 
 the male passengers that they occupy other cars while not 
 insisting upon it, it would not seem to be an unreasonable 
 one and the complainant is being so advised. 
 
 Truly yours, 
 
 C. A. PROUTY, 
 Commissioner. 
 
 Another Example of Frankness 
 
 Another interesting incident occurred when we 
 opened the downtown tubes. On account of a 
 shortage of equipment, due to a strike at the car 
 works, we were unable to establish a service between 
 the Hudson Terminal Buildings and Hoboken, 
 except during the hours of 9.30 a.m to 4.30 p.m. 
 This was, of course, the time of day when the ser- 
 vice was needed least, because the "rush hours" 
 are the important periods. 
 
 A certain element of our management argued 
 that it was better not to run the service between 
 9.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m., because it would simply 
 create dissatisfaction. It was contended that the 
 public would not understand why the service was 
 not given during the "rush hours," when it was 
 most needed, and that a great deal of adverse 
 criticism would result. The executive officers, on 
 
 32 
 
the other hand, believed that a frank statement of 
 the reasons why the service was not given during 
 the "rush hours" would disarm criticism and 
 satisfy the public. So we ordered the service in- 
 stalled during what may be called the "non-rush 
 hours," and posted conspicuous notices in the 
 cars and all over the system containing the follow- 
 ing paragraph: 
 
 Because of non-delivery of equipment the Company is 
 unable for the present to give this service during the "rush 
 hours" on week days, but hopes to extend the service 
 throughout the entire day about August 2d, 1909. 
 
 Instead of adverse criticism, we were commended 
 for our enterprise in giving a partial service until 
 sufficient equipment could be received. We fre- 
 quently heard passengers on the trains explaining 
 to other passengers that it was because of a lack 
 of equipment due to a strike at the car works that 
 the company could not give the service during the 
 "rush hours." The public, in other words, was 
 making itself a defender of the company and was 
 voluntarily making explanations to those who 
 were uninformed about the reasons for the in- 
 sufficient service. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the partial service had been 
 inaugurated in the usual way of simply announcing 
 that the service would be established between 
 certain hours of the day, without explanation of 
 the reasons why it was not extended throughout 
 the entire day, the public would have criticized the 
 arrangement, simply because it would not have 
 understood the reasons therefor. 
 
 Doubtless many of you have had the experience 
 of waiting in a railroad station, long after the 
 
 33 
 
scheduled time of departure, for the train to go, 
 and wondering why it did not start and fretting 
 because you could not get information, or you may 
 have found yourselves standing on a side-track or 
 on the main line somewhere waiting impatiently 
 for the train to proceed, without being able to find 
 out the cause of the detention. In all such cases 
 how easy it is to satisfy the public by a simple 
 statement of the reasons for the delay. If a 
 passenger is told that there has been a wreck ahead, 
 or that there has been a derangement of signals, or 
 if he is given any other good reason, he will at once 
 become pacified. In all these cases the passenger 
 wants simply to be informed. For a long time 
 railroad companies refused to give information to 
 passengers about anything that might happen on 
 the road, particularly about accidents. This 
 policy only aggravated the situation and created 
 hordes of enemies. No intelligent railroad manage- 
 ment pursues this policy any longer. 
 
 A Problem in Distances 
 
 I may cite another incident in our experience, 
 where we had a very difficult problem to deal with, 
 and it was a subject of much discussion before a 
 decision was finally reached. When we built the 
 great Hudson Terminal station, we provided four 
 large entrances and passageways, thirty feet wide, 
 from the street to the concourse floor, immediately 
 below the street level. There are above the station 
 two great office buildings, twenty-two stories in 
 height. The thirty -foot entrances, on each side of 
 the buildings, were connected by narrow passage- 
 ways, so that the people going to and from the con- 
 
 34 
 
course floor could enter the office section through 
 these narrow passages. They were not intended 
 for general use going to and from the trains. In a 
 short time the public discovered that a few seconds 
 could be saved by crowding through these narrow 
 passageways, thereby establishing a shorter route 
 to the trains. This was a misuse of the facility, 
 disadvantageous to the public itself. In the 
 course of time an aggravated situation would have 
 developed, because the capacity of these narrow 
 ways was entirely too small to accommodate the 
 growing traffic. The remedy was to close the 
 narrow passageways. We finally determined to 
 take that course and, as usual, we posted a notice 
 giving the reasons for our action. Instead of the 
 horde of complaints which we expected, we had 
 just one, which I shall read, together with our reply 
 to show you how we deal with such matters : 
 
 32 MulfordSt., East Orange, N. J., 
 
 February 15, 1910. 
 MR. WILLIAM G. McAooo, 
 
 Pres., Hudson & Manhattan Ry. Co., 
 
 Dear Sir: The card posted in the cars of your Company 
 to the effect that suggestions relating to the improvement 
 of your service are always appreciated, emboldens the 
 writer to address you regarding what he considers as a 
 really serious proposition. He refers to the recent closing 
 of the staircase by which tenants of 30 Church St. were 
 formerly enabled to obtain ready access to the train floor 
 of the Hudson River tunnels. 
 
 The present arrangement reduces the time which the 
 writer can save by using the tunnels by about one-third, 
 and thus greatly lessens their efficiency so far as he is con- 
 cerned. The same is undoubtedly true with regard to 
 many other tenants of 30 Church St., and the results to 
 
 35 
 
the H. & M. Ry. Co. may perhaps be appreciably unfor- 
 tunate. 
 
 It would seem to be very important to provide some 
 means by which tenants of this building can reach the 
 train floor in a minimum of time and without the incon- 
 venience of traveling around the long ramp. 
 
 Your company have doubtless given this matter some 
 consideration, but it is possible that its full importance 
 has not been appreciated. 
 
 With apology for thus trespassing on your valuable time, 
 I remain, 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 FRANCIS P. WITMER. 
 
 February 18, 1910. 
 FRANCIS P. WITMER, ESQ., 
 
 32 Mulford Street, 
 East Orange, N. J. 
 
 Dear Sir: I have your favor of the i5th instant, and note 
 carefully what you say about closing the passageway be- 
 tween the Cortlandt Street and Dey Street train entrances 
 of No. 30 Church Street. 
 
 You may be sure that before this action was taken it 
 received our very careful consideration. This passageway 
 was never intended to accommodate the mass of people 
 who go to and from the trains. We found that a serious 
 congestion was arising there, similar to that which occurred 
 at the same relative position in No. 50 Church Street, and, 
 in the interest of the traveling public and in order to pre- 
 vent the condition becoming even more seriously aggra- 
 vated in the future, we felt obliged to close this entrance 
 as a means of general access to the trains. I enclose a 
 copy of the notice posted at the entrance explaining the 
 reasons for the Company's action. 
 
 I am quite sure that the comfort of the public generally 
 is conserved by compelling the use of the big, broad pas- 
 sageways designed especially for the use of the public in 
 going to and from trains. Some slight accidents have al- 
 ready happened from the use of the narrow passageway, 
 
 36 
 
such being without the Company's fault in any way, and 
 yet the disposition on the part of the injured was to make 
 claims against the Company. 
 
 I am positive, because I have walked it myself several 
 times in order to make an actual test, that little or no time 
 is lost in going down the ramp to trains as against going 
 hrough the narrow passageway in question. I figure that 
 it requires about thirty seconds longer to go by the ramp. 
 We are always glad to have suggestions, and are anxious 
 to do everything in our power, within the limits of reason, 
 for the comfort and convenience of the Company's patrons, 
 but, in doing this, we ought not to permit the misuse of 
 facilities in any way that will immediately or ultimately 
 work to the detriment of the public. 
 
 I may add that thus far yours is the only complaint we 
 have received on this subject. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 W. G. McADOO, 
 
 President. 
 
 February 10, 1910. 
 NOTICE 
 
 When this building was planned, special entrances from 
 Cortlandt and Dey Streets to the Concourse Floor were 
 purposely constructed for the convenience of passengers 
 going to and from trains. These entrances are sufficient 
 to prevent congestion. This narrow passageway was in- 
 tended solely for the use of persons going between the 
 Concourse Floor and offices in this building. Large num- 
 bers of people have been using this narrow way for access 
 to trains, causing a congestion, which would become more 
 aggravated as time goes on, and defeat the Company's 
 object in building the large entrances above referred to. 
 For this reason the Company is obliged to close this pas- 
 sageway as a means of general access to the station. Pas- 
 sengers are respectfully requested to make use of the main 
 entrances. 
 
 (Signed) W. G. McAooo, 
 President. 
 
 37 
 
32 Mulford St., East Orange, N. J., 
 
 February 21, 1910. 
 MR. W. G. McAooo, 
 
 Pres., Hudson & Manhattan R.R. Co. 
 
 Dear Sir: Your courteous reply to my letter of the i;th 
 explains to my entire satisfaction your reasons for closing 
 the narrow passageway from offices of 30 Church St. to 
 Concourse Floor. I am sure that in this, as in all other 
 matters, your Company is studying the best interests of 
 the public at large. It merely occurred to me that possibly 
 some substitute for the short cut in question might be 
 practicable for instance, a staircase from the upper level 
 of the Southeast ramp at Cortlandt St. direct to the Con- 
 course Floor, at the corner where the barber shop is located. 
 This would save some time and half-a-minute is often of 
 great importance to a commuter, and would make it op- 
 tional, whether to use the longer ramp or the shorter cut 
 by the stairs. This is, of course, a matter which your ex- 
 perience and opportunities for observation would probably 
 decide at once to be practicable or the reverse. I only 
 speak from the point of view of a daily traveler, and I 
 surely feel that a shorter route than the ramp would be 
 acceptable to those in a similar position to myself. 
 
 Thanking you for your courtesy, and with sincere assur- 
 ances of the appreciation of as much of the public as come 
 within my observation, for the admirable service which 
 your Company is giving, I am, 
 
 Very truly yours,* 
 
 FRANCIS P. WITMER. 
 
 Reaching the Public Through the Press 
 
 In dealing with the public, another highly im- 
 portant factor must be considered, and that is the 
 press. This is the agency through which the public 
 gets information and oftentimes reaches conclu- 
 sions. The policy of dealing frankly, truthfully 
 and honestly with the newspapers, is obviously the 
 
 38 
 
part of wisdom. We have always adhered to that 
 policy, and I think I may say without exaggera- 
 tion that no enterprise has ever been more fairly 
 treated by the press of New York, and of the 
 country at large, than the Hudson Tunnels. If an 
 accident occurs we give the newspapers the whole 
 truth as quickly as we can get it ourselves and we 
 don't wait for them to come for it. We send it 
 to them. Many corporation managers regard re- 
 porters as impertinent intruders. I shall never 
 forget the time when one apologized to me for 
 " intruding," and was astonished because I told 
 him that no apology was necessary because his 
 mission to get the news was just as legitimate as 
 was mine to build the tunnels. A reporter gets 
 his "turn" at our office, in the order of his arrival, 
 just as anyone else does. Essential as the * ' banker ' ' 
 is to our happiness and welfare, he gets no prefer- 
 ence over the newspaper man. Nor is this simply 
 "stage play"; it is merely justice and a part of 
 our policy of fair play and courteous treatment. 
 
 The Humanitarian Spirit in Corporations 
 
 There has been a vast improvement in the past 
 few years in the relations between public service 
 corporations and the public. Not only are such 
 corporations managed with greater regard for the 
 public convenience and comfort, but there has been 
 developed a higher appreciation of the duties and 
 obligations of these corporations to the public. In 
 some companies a spirit of practical and wise al- 
 truism has appeared. This has been manifested 
 in the establishment of pension funds to which the 
 faithful employee may resort with the assurance 
 
 39 
 
of support in his declining years. The Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad, the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 road, the New York Central Railroad and others 
 have voluntarily assumed this burden. It is the 
 essence of enlightened management. It ought to 
 result in improving the character and quality of 
 the employees, in assuring more interested and 
 faithful service and in creating a greater com- 
 munity of interest, with advantage to the com- 
 pany, the employee and the public. The better 
 the grade of the employee, the better the service 
 that the corporation can render to the public. It 
 is also a humanitarian act of the finest quality, 
 worthy of emulation by all corporations and by the 
 states themselves in dealing with the aged poor. 
 I confidently look for the time when there will also 
 be established by the corporations, under wise legis- 
 lation, benefit funds, as assurance against disability 
 and accidents, so that injured employees may ob- 
 tain quick and certain relief, in case of accident. 
 There is great force in the argument that certain 
 hazardous risks of the employment should be as- 
 sumed and borne by the employer, and I believe 
 that enlightened policy will soon dictate this con- 
 cession to labor. I am confident that a system of 
 prompt and just compensation for injuries to em- 
 ployees can and will be worked out, and that it 
 will have a happy effect for both employer and 
 employed. 
 
 I have already overtaxed your patience and 
 must not attempt to discuss it here. One thing, 
 however, is certain, and that is that something 
 must and will be done, and the sooner the better, 
 that will assure to the family of the injured em- 
 
 40 
 
ployee, in case of fatal accident, prompt relief. 
 The present system of long litigation, at the end 
 of which some unprincipled lawyer takes half of 
 the recovery, or more, is not only inhuman, but is 
 a crying scandal, for which a remedy must be 
 found. 
 
 Young gentlemen of the Graduate School of 
 Business Administration, I congratulate you upon 
 living in this age of advanced intellectual thought 
 and of awakened interest in grave sociologic prob- 
 lems. Among you are future presidents and man- 
 agers of great corporations. As you go to your 
 tasks let me admonish you not to allow commer- 
 cialism to be your only guide. Combine with it a 
 lofty humanitarianism, an intelligent regard for the 
 welfare and advancement of your employees and a 
 high appreciation of your obligations to society and 
 to the public, and you will achieve a satisfying 
 success. 
 
 Cultivate, also, a spirit of justice. What is more 
 beautiful, more ennobling, than justice? 
 
 11 Truth is its handmaid, freedom is its child, 
 peace is its companion, safety walks in its steps, 
 victory follows in its train; it is the brightest 
 emanation from the Gospel; it is the attribute 
 of God." 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 IN STACKS 
 1! 
 
 ICT 2 2 ?;.- 
 
 LD 2rff 
 (A1724slO)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
m 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY