SOI 
 ?7 
 
BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 o 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED ( 
 
 THE RAILROAD BUREAU FOR BRICKBATS 
 AND BOUQUETS" 
 
 REPRINTED FOR DISTRIBUTION THROUGH THE 
 BUREAU FOR SUGGESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 
 
 WASHINGTON, OCTOBER, 1918 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1918 
 
A LIFE SENTENCE 
 
 From an address recently dtticzrcd by the ReV. J. F. 
 Wdnmann, of Philadelphia. 
 
 '"TAKE the case of a railroad con- 
 A ductor or engineer. Suppose a 
 man has ta take a train of coaches from 
 New York to Washington, leaving New 
 York, say, at 6 a. m. Anyone can readily 
 see that his task may be contemplated in 
 two entirely different frames of mind. 
 " He can say, as the bell rings and rouses him in what seems 
 the dead of night, ' Hang it all, it's time to get up again; noth- 
 ing but the same old grind; I hate railroading anyway; I 
 think I'll quit; this isn't a job; it's a life sentence.' 
 
 " Or he can do something else. He can press a button 
 somewhere inside himself and in a flash see the whole situa- 
 tion big before him, pulsating and tense in its human interest. 
 He can see the great 'system' with which he is connected; 
 its multiple* life. He can see the huge overarched shed with 
 its breathing trains; he can see his own engine or train, and 
 as he contemplates what by this time has begun to shape 
 itself in his mind as an opportunity a smile can be seen break- 
 ing out on his lively face it is his engine, his train; he can 
 see the three hundred souls, mere or less, waiting to be 
 taken to Washington, each with a living interest, hew and 
 with what fraught God only knows; and it's uf> to him to la\e 
 that big human thing to Washington I Once more he smiles 
 and, thanking God he has a share in human things, in the 
 work that needs to be done, he presses his hat down on his 
 head and 'beats it.'" 
 
 Printed for distribution among the United States 
 Army of Railroad Men with the compliments of 
 
 Director General of Railroads. 
 
 COPY OF POST CAKD RECENTLY SENT TO EVERY EMPLOYEE 
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION 
 
 BY DIRECTOR GENERAL MCADOO 
 
p 
 
 THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 
 
 "THE RAILROAD BUREAU FOR BRICKBATS AND BOUQUETS. 
 
 By THEO. H. PRICE, 
 'Actuary to United States Railroad Administration. 
 
 As you fall unconcernedly asleep in a Pullman car, which, with 
 all its drawbacks, is the least uncomfortable means of traveling at 
 night on land that has as yet been devised, did you ever reflect upon 
 the number of persons and the complexity of the organization upon 
 which you are dependent for the safety and luxury in which you are 
 able to make your journey? The engineer and the fireman, the con- 
 ductor and the brakemen, the Pullman conductor and the porter, the 
 steward in the dining car and the waiters are all more or less in evi- 
 dence, and of their presence and the service they render you may be 
 more or less conscious, but behind them and directing their activities 
 is an unseen host of others upon whose vigilance in the performance 
 of their duties your life and comfort depend. 
 
 There is the train dispatcher and the telegraph operators, the track- 
 walker who patrols the right of way day and night, and the section 
 gang who must always be ready to repair any defects, the switchmen, 
 and the inspector who used to go about tapping the car wheels with 
 his tell-tale hammer at the end of each division, the " hostler " who 
 takes care of the engine and the machinist who repairs it, the car clean- 
 ers, the iceman, the commissary chief who provisions the dining cars, 
 the ticket agent and the station master, the " red cap " and the baggage- 
 man ; if any one of these fails in his appointed task, the passenger is 
 almost certain to suffer or be inconvenienced. Back of these again 
 there used to be the executive officers, the president, the various vice 
 presidents, the general manager, and the superintendent, with scores 
 of other functionaries who were the objects of relentless public criti- 
 cism if their subordinates were careless or inefficient. Now that the 
 railroads are under the control of the Government the operative duties 
 of the railroad president and the vice-presidents devolve upon a 
 Federal manager and his assistants. They are in turn responsible 
 to a regional director, who is the representative of Director General 
 McAdoo at Washington; but in other respects the operating organ- 
 ization is not much changed and, because some people, forgetting 
 the exigencies of the war, assume that the Government is omnipotent, 
 they are now disposed to be more, rather than less, exacting in de- 
 manding perfection of service from the machine that is called the 
 American railroad system. Composed, as this machines is, of literally 
 
 89295' 18 
 
4 THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 
 
 millions of mechanical parts whose functioning depends upon the co- 
 ordinated watchfulness and care of thousands of fallible human be- 
 ings, it is really surprising that more accidents do not occur, and that 
 the reaction of man upon man does not result in irritation oftener 
 than is the case. When we consider that a loose spike, a defective 
 rail, a misplaced switch, or a misread signal may precipitate a train- 
 load of people into eternity, and that an innumerable number of 
 spikes, rails, switches, and signals, to say nothing of the air brakes, 
 couplings, electric wires, and steam and water supply pipes, with an 
 engine having about 15,00(5 separate parts that make up a passenger 
 train must all be as they^ should be if we are to reach our journey's 
 end successfully and on time* it is little shore of marvelous that travel 
 is as safe as it has become and that under the strain to which they 
 are subjected railroad employees are not oftener careless and impa- 
 tient. It is greatly to the credit of the executive officers who through 
 three generations had built up the fabric that is called the American 
 railroad system that they should have succeeded in developing the 
 esprit de corps by which the men under them were animated. This 
 had been accomplished in the face of many difficulties, including 
 especially a mass of hampering legislation in 48 different States; and 
 when, in order to meet the exigencies of the war, it became necessary 
 for the President to put the transportation agencies of the country 
 under the control of Mr. McAdoo, his first care was to preserve and 
 increase the spirit of idealism in the performance of their duty that 
 was characteristic of the Americans who had become proud of being 
 called " railroad men." 
 
 There were not wanting those who predicted a speedy decline in 
 what has come to be called the " morale " of the railroad army, and 
 there were some who, professing to discern such a decline, persuaded 
 others to look through glasses that were darkened by a defeatist self- 
 interest in the failure of Government control. 
 
 The Director General, confident as he was of the loyalty of the men, 
 did not share this pessimism, but feeling nevertheless that it was his 
 duty to ascertain whether it had any basis, he determined, with his 
 customary directness, to ask the public to tell him frankly how and 
 where the service could be improved. 
 
 Accordingly he issued an order establishing a Bureau for Sugges- 
 tions and Complaints, and on the 3d of September, 1918, the follow- 
 ing notice was posted in every station and passenger coach under the 
 control of the United States Railroad Administration : 
 
 To the public: 
 
 I desire your assistance and cooperation in making the railroad service while 
 under Federal control in the highest possible degree satisfactory and efficient. 
 
 Of course, the paramount necessities of the war most have first consideration. 
 
 Our gallant sons who are fighting in B'rance and on the high seas can not be 
 adequately supported unless the railroads supply sufficient transportation for 
 the movenu'Mfc of troops and war materials and to keep the war industries of the 
 Nation going without interruption. 
 
 The next purpose is to serve the puhllc convenience, comfort, and necessity to 
 the fullest extent not incompatible with the paramount demands of the war. 
 
 In order to accomplish this, criticisms and suggestions from the public will be 
 extremely helpful, whether they relate to the service rendered by employees and 
 officials or impersonal details that may convenience or inconvenience patrons of 
 the railroads. It is impossible for even the most vigilant management to keep 
 constantly in touch with local conditions and correct them when they are not as 
 
THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 5 
 
 they should be unless the public will cooperate In pointing out deficiencies and 
 disservice when they exist, so that the proper remedies may be applied. 
 
 I have therefore established a Bureau for Suggestions and Complaints In the 
 Director General's office at Washington, to which the public is Invited to resort. 
 
 Aside from letters of complaint and suggestion, the public can render a genu- 
 ine service by sending letters of commendation of employees who are conspicu- 
 ously courteous and efficient in the performance of their duties. Nothing pro- 
 motes the esprit of a groat organization more than recognition from time to 
 time of these employees who perform their duties faithfully and commendably. 
 
 It is requested that all communications be brief and explicit and that th 
 name and address of the writer be distinctly written. 
 
 Also give the time of day or night, the number of the train, the name of the 
 railroad, and, if possible, the name of the employee whose conduct is complained 
 of or whose services are commended, together with such other information as 
 will enable me to take appropriate action. 
 
 Please address r' ,_, 
 
 W. G. McAooo, 
 
 Director General of Railroad*, 
 Bureau for Suggestions and Complaints, 
 
 Washington, D. 0. 
 
 To deal with the letters which this notice was expected to elicit, five 
 trained men were selected and put under the direction of the writer. 
 They include Ballard Dunn, assistant actuary to the United States 
 Railroad Administration and formerly special representative of 
 president's office, Union Pacific Railroad, Omaha; J. F. Jarrell, 
 formerly editorial writer on Kansas City Times and Topeka Capital, 
 and later with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad as editor 
 of its industrial and agricultural publications and in general charge 
 of publicity matters ; T. T. Maxey, formerly of the Chicago, Burling- 
 ton & Quincy Railroad as advertising agent; E. H. Lamb, formerly 
 general agent of the Chicago & North Western Railway at Sacra- 
 mento, Gal.;* and Frank F. George, formerly secretary to the actuary 
 to the United States Railroad Administration. 
 
 This Bureau for Suggestions and Complaints, which a newspaper 
 man has facetiously dubbed the " bureau of brickbats and bouquets," 
 is Mr. McAdoo's latest application of his motto "The public be 
 pleased." It has now been in existence long enough to make it pos- 
 sible for those in charge of it to draw a cross section of the composite 
 public mind as revealed in the many thousands of letters that have 
 been received. 
 
 The writers of these letters unconsciously divide themselves into 
 two classes one comprising those who are temperamentally cen- 
 sorious, and another which includes the people who believe that praise 
 is a duty and that "criticism is best defined as an emphasis of tho 
 desirable." 
 
 The rhyme which runs 
 
 Between the optimist and pessimist the difference Is droll, 
 The optimist the doughnut sees the pessimist the hole 
 
 finds fresh application in not a few contrasting letters upon the same 
 subject, but between the two extremes there are many who are evi- 
 dently inspired by a public-spirited desire to improve the service that 
 the railroads are trying to render and a patriotic willingness to 
 subordinate their own convenience and comfort to the primary pur- 
 pose for which the railroads were taken over, namely, the winning of 
 the war. 
 
6 THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 
 
 this latter class is in a very large majority is one of the reas- 
 suring facts revealed by the experience of the Bureau for Suggestions 
 and Complaints. 
 
 Some of the newspaper writers who have been vociferous in pro- 
 claiming the discourtesy and indifference of "Uncle Sam's railway 
 employees " would perhaps be surprised at the number of letters of 
 -commendation that have been received, and while a few of them are 
 no doubt the result of auto-suggestion, it is evident that as a class 
 the men and the increasingly large number of women who compose 
 the " railway army " of the United States are loyal and enthusiastic, 
 anxious and willing to give the best that is in them to the work in 
 which they are enlisted. Perhaps a story written by a newspaper 
 reporter who started out to find the discourteous railway employee 
 and failed describes the experience of not a few disappointed pessi- 
 mists. This reporter was named John C. Baskerville, and his story 
 was published in the Des Moines (Iowa) Record. It follows and is 
 reprinted as a spontaneous tribute to the many railroad employees at 
 Des Moines and elsewhere who deserve a word of praise for their 
 self-control under conditions that are irritating. 
 
 YOUNG REPORTER TRIES TO LOCATE DISCOURTEOUS RAILWAY EMPLOYEES 
 SEARCHES TICKET OFFICES AND RAILROAD STATION TO FIND MEN WHO Yv 7 iLL 
 ! TALK ROUGH TO HIM. 
 
 [By John C. Baskerville.] 
 
 Because of so many rumors that railway employees had adopted an attitude 
 of " the public be damned " since the roads came under Federal control, the 
 young reporter set out to investigate on his own hook. 
 
 He selected the most pretentious-looking ticket office in Des Moines, entered, 
 and approached the bar beg pardon; desk, I should say falteringly. He 
 asked for the manager. The clerk smiled, but courteously summoned a busi- 
 nesslike-looking man with rimmed spectacles. 
 
 "What is the best way to get from Des Moines to Skeedunk Hollow, Mo.?" 
 asked the young reporter. 
 
 Although the businesslike agent had never heard of the place, he searched 
 through big volumes and many maps, finally locating the place in question. He 
 located the railroad it was on, looked up the connections, gave the hours trains 
 left Des Moines, and went into detail to the rather dull-appearing youth on 
 the other side of the desk. 
 
 NO NEED TO PURCHASE. 
 
 Unlike the clothing salesman or jewelry-store clerk, he did not insist upon an 
 Immediate purchase of a ticket, and when the young man turned away, stating 
 that he had heard of that place and wondered how he would get there if he ever 
 wanted to, the agent was still smiling and courteous. 
 
 From this office the young man forsook the offices of Walnut Street and 
 sought one in the vicinity of Seventh Street. Here he inquired how to get to a 
 remote spot in South Dakota. Although there were not as many men in the 
 office to wait upon the public as in the- other, he was required to wait his turn. 
 But his questions were answered courteously, and the greatest of care taken to 
 direct him with regard to all details of the journey. 
 
 He retraced his steps to Walnut and entered another office. He was delayed 
 somewhat by a large, overgrown, superfed human crab, who was vociferously 
 attempting to provoke the genial and accommodating agent to wrath by criti- 
 cising railroads in general, and expounding upon the way he would run the 
 roads if he were doing it. 
 
 j GETS INFORMATION CHEERFULLY. 
 
 This time the reporter was interested in Pullman berths from a point outside 
 of Des Moines to the far West. He asked the agent to make the reservations, 
 assuming ignorance of the fact that the Director General had prohibited all 
 
THE PUBLIC BIT PLEASED. 7 
 
 offices wiring for berths except at the expense of the purchaser. 1 This fact was 
 explained by the agent, who volunteered, however, to make out the wire, send 
 it over, and telephone results, although the expense would have to be met by the 
 person resenting the berths. 
 
 It so happened that the young reporter had once or twice had occasion to buy 
 Pullman tickets before not having always been a reporter hut never had he 
 been shown such attention and accommodation. 
 
 So far Dotliing but failure had rewarded the search for the "public-be- 
 damncHl " attitude among the railway men. But he was not discouraged. He 
 decided to beard the lion in his den, and call upon that high and mighty, the 
 manager of the division. 
 
 He was informed that the manager was out at the time, but still greater 
 wonder the chief clerk, generally considered to be more fierce in his natural 
 instincts than the manager himself volunteered to give \vliat information he 
 could on the subject, calling in the general freight traffic manager to assist. 
 J| 
 
 SEES FAILURE AHEAD. 
 
 What was to be done? Failure stared grotesquely into the face of the young 
 niHn who had started in pursuit of success. But additional thought brought one 
 more chance to light That night he would visit the station when it was most 
 crowded and seek more Information. 
 
 When tiie limited trains became due, the reporter took his place in the long line 
 of ticket purchasers before the window at the railway station. When he reached 
 it, his questions and numerous desires pot two clerks to work searching records, 
 maps, and rate schedules. There was no complaint from the men behind the 
 window. 
 
 lie then went out among the trains and people on t,he tracks. He selected one 
 brakeman who had been handling hundreds of suitcases and dozens of babies, in- 
 cidently answering some thousands of questions, who stood mopping- his brow, as 
 the train was almost ready to start. He held a letter, previously prepared, out 
 to the man, asking that he mail it on the fast train at the junction with an- 
 other line. 
 
 This last card he was certain woiild give him the necessary data for his story. 
 It would surely be the last straw for the brakeman with the " pnblic-be-damned " 
 attitude, since he was getting paid by the Government 
 
 The brukeman took the letter, obligingly agreeing to mail it at the point 
 mentioned ! 
 
 Then the young reporter went to the office and wrote a different, but better, 
 story than he expected to get. 
 
 Apropos of the foregoing, it m-ay be appropriate to mention a letter 
 from a man who says that " I know that many will complain of the 
 discourtesy of railway employees to the public r but I desire to file a 
 complaint in regard to the discourtesy of the public to railway em- 
 ployees," as emphasizing the need of reciprocity in politeness in a way 
 that many travelers would do well to ponder, for it is undoubtedly 
 true that some of the questions that railroad men have to answer 
 and some of the demands made upon them are absurd and exasperat- 
 ing to a degree that even Job would have resented. 
 
 Of the letters received, probably three-fourths complain of condi- 
 tions that are presently unavoidable or of regulations, the reasonable- 
 ness of which is not apparent to the casual traveler who fails to 
 appreciate or understand the complexity of the railroad machine or 
 the necessity of protecting the public against the ignorance, careless- 
 ness, and selfishness of some and the dishonesty of others who feel 
 that it is no sin to evade the payment of their f ares or " get the 
 best of the railroad." 
 
 What may be called the conventional complaints relate chiefly to a 
 few subjects, which are dealt with, as follows, in the order in which 
 
 1 Since this newspaper story was written arrangements have been made for the free nst 
 oi railroad wires in making telegraphic reservations of Pullman accommodations for con- 
 tinuous journeys. When thus reserved, however, those reservation* must be paid for. 
 
8 THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 
 
 they seem uppermost in the public mind and have elicited the largest 
 number of letters. 
 
 They are: 
 
 1. The crowded condition of the stations and cars and the delay 
 encountered in purchasing tickets. Under this heading there may be 
 considered practically all the complaints which arise as a result of the 
 unprecedented increase in the passenger traffic of late and the short- 
 age in the ticket-selling forces that is the result of the draft and the 
 high wages which have attracted many experienced railroad men 
 into other positions where they can, for the present at least, earn more 
 than it is possible for the railroads to pay. The enormous increase in 
 passenger traffic with which the railroads are now contending is not 
 perhaps generally appreciated. The complete comparative statistics 
 for June, 1917, and June, 1918, are not yet available, but a statement 
 wjiich includes the passenger traffic of 208,988 miles of railroads out 
 of a total mileage of nearly 300,000 miles shows that 3,621,088,633 
 passengers were carried 1 mile in June, 1918, as compared with 
 3,049,S03,()35 passengers carried 1 mile in June, 1917. The increase 
 of 571,285,028 passengers carried 1 mile is equal to 18.17 per cent, and 
 if it be assumed that the average journev of each passenger was 50 * 
 miles, which is probably an approximation to the fact, we shall be 
 justified in concluding that the railroads reporting had to carry 11,- 
 425,700 more persons in June, 1918, than during the same month in 
 the previous year, and that there was an equal increase in the number 
 of tickets sold. As the roads reporting include only about two-thirds, 
 but the most important two-thirds, of the total mileage in the United 
 States, it is not improbable that there, was an aggregate increase of 
 15,000,000 in the number of persons traveling and the number of jour- 
 neys made throughout the United States in the month of June, 1918, 
 as compared with June, 1917. This means an increase of 750,000 in 
 the number of persons traveling each day. The average passenger 
 car will seat 50 people, and to carry 750,000 persons 15,000 cars filled 
 to capacity would be required. They are not to be had. They could 
 not have been built even if they had been ordered. The labor and ma- 
 terial necessary are unobtainable. According to the figures of the In- 
 terstate Commerce Commission there were (excluding parlor and 
 sleeping cars) only 40,870 passenger cars of all sorts in the United 
 States in the year 1916, and the necessity of crowding these cars in 
 order to transport those who now desire to travel will at once be ap- 
 parent even to the statistical tyro. 
 
 An average of about 1,100,000 troops a month is now being carried 
 by the railroads on orders from the War and Navy Departments. A 
 great many other soldiers and sailors are traveling on their own ac- 
 count and at their own expense. The mothers, fathers, wives, sweet- 
 hearts, and friends- of these men have also been traveling to visit them ' 
 at the camps at which they were stationed. The high wages that are 
 being paid in industry generally, and particularly in the shipyards 
 and munition factories, the agricultural prosperity that is the result 
 of $2 wheat and 30-cent cotton have made many of those who were not 
 previously in the habit of traveling feel able to " take a trip," and they 
 
 i According to tho figures of the Interstate Commerce Commission the average journey 
 per passenger in 1910 was 34.73 miles, which figure, if applied to the returns for 1918, 
 would indicate an incroase of over 21,000,000 in the number of persons traveling during 
 the month of June, 1018, as compared with June, 1917. Inasmuch, however, as this year's 
 figures include the movement of many troops over long runs, I have preferred to avoid an 
 overestimate by assuming that the length of the average journey was 50 miles. 
 
THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 9 
 
 have yielded to the impulse. Concurrently the force of ticket sellers 
 has been depleted by draft or resignation to accept other and better- 
 paid positions, and those who were left have had to deal with the un- 
 precedented increase in the passenger traffic that the figures given 
 disclose. 
 
 Under the circumstances it is not surprising that sometimes long 
 lines of people are to be found waiting at important ticket offices. 
 It is not possible for untrained men to sell railroad tickets. This 
 work requires a knowledge of routes, rates, time tables, and connec- 
 tions that can only be acquired by experience and an ability to make 
 change promptly and accurately and to be self -controlled when tired 
 or exasperated that can not be learned in a minute. In an effort to 
 meet the public demand the United States Railroad Administration 
 has opened schools in some of the larger cities for the education of 
 women as ticket sellers, and not a few graduates have been passed 
 from these schools- into active service, but the number of women who 
 have applied for this instruction is not large, and after making 
 allow ances for the drain that will be caused by the pending draft 
 it seems unlikely that the ticket-selling force can be appreciably in- 
 creased in the near future. 
 
 Thes-e conditions are frankly stated that the public may have some 
 idea of the situation and refrain from unnecessary travel. The 
 increase in passenger rates seems to have had no effect. Mr. McAcloo 
 has appealed to the public to avoid pleasure traveling, but he seems 
 to have been unheeded. It is not possible for the United States Rail- 
 road Administration to put a quart in a pint bottle. It can not carry 
 the soldiers who must be transported comfortably and provide the 
 public with the luxury and accommodations to which they have been 
 previously accustomed. The former is an imperative duty, and this 
 is written that those who complain of the crowded cars and the 
 delays at ticket offices may understand that some discomfort and 
 inconvenience are unavoidable. Universal mileage books, good in the 
 hands of bearer upon any railroad under the control of the Dhvctot 
 General, have been devised and are now on sale. Those who use 
 them will avoid the delay usually encountered in the purchase of 
 tickets, but the best method of relieving the situation is to- avoid 
 unnecessary travel and preach the gospel of ""winning the war by 
 staying at home " among your friends by both precept and example. 
 
 2. The surcharge of one-half cent a mile now made for transpor- 
 tation in parlor or sleeping cars, which charge is in addition to the 
 regular Pullman fare, is another thing that provokes many com- 
 plaints. The reasonableness of this charge will be appreciated in the 
 light of the following comparisons: With one person in a berth the 
 average sleeping car will accommodate but 27 people, whereas a mod- 
 ern coach has seats for approximately GO people. Upon the average, a 
 passenger in a sleeping car occupies 13J square feet of space, whereas 
 a passenger in a modern steel coach occupies but 7| square feet. The 
 average dead- weight per seat in a sleeping ear is 3,250 pounds* whereas 
 the average dead-weight per seat in a modern steel coach is but 1,400 
 pounds. The passenger capacity of a sleeping car is, therefore, less 
 than half of the passenger capacity of the average coach and the 
 engine load per passenger is more than double in the case of Ptolhnstit 
 cars that are completely filled, and still further increased when they 
 are only half filled, as was not infrequently the case when a person 
 
10 THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 
 
 with only one transportation ticket was permitted the exclusive occu- 
 pation of a section. In view of these figures the reasonableness of the 
 increased charge now made for t?ie luxury of a Pullman car at once 
 becomes apparent. It is not necessary to elaborate upon it. 
 
 3. The rule which makes it impossible to reserve Pullman accom- 
 modations without paying for them and another rule, formerly 
 in force, which made it necessary that Pullman tickets not used 
 should be sent to Chicago for redemption are the subjects of many 
 complaining letters. These rules were deliberately adopted in an 
 effort to prevent those who were only thinking about a journey that 
 they were not certain to make from preempting the Pullman space 
 that was urgently required by others who were compelled to travel. 
 iWhen it was possible to reserve a berth by telegraph or telephone or 
 buy a Pullman ticket and get your money back at the last moment, it 
 frequently happened that sleepers in which all the berths were re- 
 served in the morning would go out half filled in the evening because 
 the reserved space had not been taken up or had been released so late 
 that it could not be resold. Now that it is necessary that both the 
 railway ticket and the Pullman space must be paid for before a berth 
 can be reserved, only those who are reasonably certain of traveling 
 make reservations, and the Pullman cars are better filled, to the ad- 
 vantage of both the public and the railways. The rule which made it 
 necessary to send Pullman tickets to Chicago for redemption has 
 recently been rescinded and they will now be redeemed at the office- 
 of sale provided they are presented long enough before the departure 
 of the trains to permit of their resale. Thus tickets on trains leaving 
 during the forenoon of any day must be presented at the office of sale 
 by 5.30 o'clock p. m. on the previous day, and tickets on trains leaving 
 after 12 o'clock noon must be presented at least three hours before 
 the departure of the trains for which they are sold. Pullman space 
 released later will, if possible, be resold for account of the buyer, and 
 when so resold the tickets will be redeemed if sent by mail to the 
 Pullman Co. in Chicago. The necessity of providing Pullman cars 
 for the transportation of our troops on night journeys has made it 
 necessary to adopt these rules, all of which are designed to secure a 
 full loading of the sleepers which are used by the public and thereby 
 release those which are necessary for the transportation of soldiers. 
 
 4. The sale of surcharge tickets for transportation in Pullman 
 cars when no berths or seats are to be had is one of the things 
 properly complained of that has been remedied. Formerly the Pull- 
 man Co., being a separate and independent organization, objected to 
 collecting revenue due the railroad companies. Now that both are 
 under the control of the United States Railroad Administration this 
 difficulty has disappeared, and arrangements are being made in pur- 
 suance of which the Pullman Co. will hereafter sell tickets for the 
 transportation surcharge to those, and only to those, who are able to 
 secure accommodations in parlor cars or sleepers. Much of the un- 
 necessary confusion hitherto arising will thus be avoided. 
 
 5. The limit of from 24 to 48 hours now placed upon the use of 
 tickets issued by a few roads that formerly sold unlimited or 30- 
 day tickets for short journeys has also provoked many complaints. 
 It is natural that those who do not understand why this limitation 
 has been imposed should resent it. but there is a good reason for the 
 new rule. It is to be found in the crowded condition of the trains, 
 
THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 11 
 
 makes it exceedingly difficult for the Conductor to be sure of 
 collecting the tickets from everyone in the car, especially when some 
 of those who have no scruples about u beating the railroad " are skill- 
 ful in evading hfm. If these dishonest persons could buy unlimited 
 tickets and succeed, as many of them do. in riding without surrender- 
 ing them, they would be able to resell the unused ticket or get a second 
 or third ride free, thus giving them an advantage over their more 
 conscientious fellow travelers. A limited ticket good only on the day 
 of issue makes such practices more difficult, and the rule prohibiting 
 the sale of unlimited tickets has been framed in the interest of the 
 honest as against the dishonest person and is to be commended rather 
 than rnmlornned. 
 
 6. Ill-kept stations, cars, and lavatories compose another group of 
 the grievances complained of in many letters that reach the Bureau 
 for Suggestions and Complaints. The investigations which have fol- 
 lowed the receipt of these letters reveal not a few cases of genuine 
 neglect an-d carelessness. Efforts are being made to prevent their 
 recurrence and enforce high standards of cleanliness and sanitation 
 everywhere. It is to be admitted, however, that the shortage of labor 
 makes this difficult, and that while the war lasts immaculate house- 
 keeping is hardly to be expected. One of the letters received upon 
 this subject is worthy of special notice. It came from a woman in a 
 Pennsylvania town where the station was unkempt. The writer said 
 that she knew that the station agent was doing all that he could, but 
 that she realized that it was impossible for him with the help at his 
 disposal to keep things in a presentable condition, and she offered to 
 organize a committee of women who would 'undertake to sweep out 
 and clean the station daily as part of their war work. It has not 
 yet boon decided whether it would be expedient to accept this offer, 
 but the admirable public spirit that it expresses is entitled to appre- 
 ciative recognition. 
 
 7. The departure and arrival of trains at inconvenient hours and 
 schedules whicii are .arranged to prevent rather than facilitate 
 dose connections between trains on roads that were formerly in 
 competition are matters that are complained of in still another 
 group of letters, many of which have been helpful to the officials who 
 over since the United States Railroad Administration was organized 
 have been trying to -coordinate the railway time-tables of the various 
 roads. 
 
 Now that competition is eliminated, there is every reason why the 
 national time-table should be synchronized as far as possible. Efforts 
 are being made toward this end, but the arrangment of a railroad 
 schedule is a matter of infinite complexity and its rearrangement is 
 even more difficult. There -are many communities in the United States 
 where the whole scheme of living hns become /adjusted to the arrival 
 and departure of certain trains. To change their time would in- 
 volve -almost a social revolution. Then again a single change in a 
 schedule may compel hundreds of other changes at other points or 
 on other roads, and each innovation must be carefully studied. Some 
 improvements have already been made, and ultimately, no doubt, a 
 large portion of the time HOT .iwisted in waiting for connections can 
 be saved; but in the effort to attain the ideal in this as in other re- 
 spects great care roust bo used t* avoid dropping a monkey wrench 
 into the machinery that is already working fairly welL 
 
12 THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED. 
 
 This about completes the list of what have come to be called " con- 
 ventional grievances " in the Bureau for Suggestions and Complaints. 
 Of course, it does not include many other things that are complained 
 of, nor does it take account of the innumerable suggestions that are 
 made for the improvement of the service. Some of these suggestions 
 are practicable and have been thankfully adopted. Others, as for in- 
 stance, a bachelor's advice that a nursery car reserved for mothers 
 and children should be run upon every train, are impracticable. 
 
 Complaints of discourtesy on the part of employees are less fre- 
 quent than might have been expected and are about equal in number 
 to the letters of commendation received. 
 
 The consolidation of ticket offices, which was at first criticized, is 
 now generally approved as the new offices are getting into working 
 order and their convenience is appreciated. 
 
 The delays in settling claims for lost or damaged freight and bag- 
 gage are the subjects of many letters which will, no doubt, lead to a 
 reform in the traditional policy of many claim agents who had been 
 in the habit of trying to save money for their roads by a procrastina- 
 tion which often wore the claimants out. Mr. McAdoo has ordered 
 that just claims shall be promptly paid, and that unjust or dishonest 
 demands shall be resisted and the claimants prosecuted where there 
 is any evidence of criminality. 
 
 Concurrently with the increase in passenger travel there has natu- 
 rally been an increased amount of baggage to handle, but the com- 
 paratively small number of letters reporting " lost trunks " encourages 
 t] 13 j-n.jVf that the baggage men have succeeded in meeting; the strain 
 to which they have been 'subjected. jJ p may not be amiss, jnowever, to 
 express the hope that the American public will soon realize that it is 
 a war duty to travel with as little baggage as possible when travel is 
 necessary. Handling heavy baggage is a duty that can only be per- 
 formed by strong and vigorous men, and delay in the transportation 
 and delivery of heavy trunks is almost inevitable when the number 
 of such men available is constantly being decreased by the draft. 
 
 Generally, and with few exceptions, the communications reveal a 
 widespread desire to cooperate with Mr. McAdoo and the United 
 States Railroad Adminstration in the effort that is being made to 
 improve railroad efficiency for the winning of the war. To this 
 everything else must be subordinated, and in comparison with this 
 everything else is trivial. Our soldiers must be carried in comfort on 
 what, for some of them, will be their last journey in their own 
 country. While they are risking their lives for our protection on the 
 battle fields and in the trenches of Europe, they must be kept liberally 
 supplied with everything that they may require. Our allies must be 
 fed. Our wounded must be brought back and tenderly carried to the 
 homes and hospitals that are ready to receive them. The Bureau for 
 Suggestions and Complaints was primarily organized to promote the 
 efficiency with which the railroads may serve the Nation in the doing 
 of these things. 
 
 If it shall have exalted the convenience or comfort of the indi- 
 vidual to the disservice of the country or a civilization that has be- 
 come militant in the assertion of right and the protection of human- 
 ity, then it had better be discontinued. Comfort and convenience 
 must give way before the supreme needs of war and be surrendered 
 until victory is ours. 
 
 o