poor business men. They are said to be particularly lacking in the business of salesmanship; great efforts are made in developing a comprehensive organization, elaborate train schedules, efficient equipment, and terminal facilities, but the interests of the patrons of the plant are slighted, or entirely disregarded.

Lack of Efficiency in the Past

Railroads have been such large employers of labor that it has been virtually impossible for them to establish standards for admission to the service. They have been compelled to accept such material as was offered rather than to select from what they desired. In the not far-distant past, practically the only requirement for admission to railroad service was that the applicant be able to read and write and be versed to some little extent in the elementary divisions of mathematics. A man so qualified would be acceptable as a junior clerk in some railroad station or in one of the general offices of the company. By successive promotions based to a great extent on seniority, and to a lesser extent on merit, that man might eventually become an agent or a general officer of the corporation. While, in his particular province, he might be a very able man, his knowledge of the laws of barter and trade would leave much to be desired.

Many of the executives of carriers exhibit a decidedly hostile manner toward the rights of the shippers. Conceding that such an attitude is to some extent justified because of disadvantageous legislation, unfair prac tices, and similar methods of unscrupulous persons, it is apparent that its continuation will aggravate rather than alleviate the situation.

Progressive Policy of the Present

In opposition to this policy, the "get-together" campaigns inaugurated by some railway managements are particularly gratifying. Officials of the operating, traffic, and executive staffs go over the road, interview shippers, and appear before chambers of commerce. They invite complaint and constructive criticism in order that improvements may be established and innovations inaugurated that will tend toward the elimination of every cause of dissatisfaction. This is a clever adaptation of a commercial practice to determine what is wrong with the product, why it doesn't sell, and what steps are necessary to improve its quality and to accelerate its distribution.

ORGANIZATION

It is not intended in this work to enter into an exhaustive discussion of the entire subject, but rather to treat railway traffic management as a profession.

The subject of railway organization and management has been very ably treated in a book by that name1 by James Peabody, late statistician of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. He presents various types of organization for consideration, and treats at length the merits of the departmental and divisional schemes.

In Fig. 62, a divisional or regional type of railroad traffic organization is illustrated. In a large transcontinental line such as this one, the work of each department assumes such proportions that it is neces

'Railway Organization and Management, LaSalle Extension Univer

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sary to segregate the various activities of the departments, and to assign their administration to specially trained individuals.

Traffic Manager

In this organization, one of the vice presidents of the company is made head of the traffic department. The freight traffic manager, the passenger traffic manager, and the manager of mail traffic are each charged with a particular function, and report to him independently of each other.

Assistant Traffic Manager

Reporting to the heads of the three main divisions thus established, are stars of lesser magnitude, each charged with the administration of a certain function, or the administration of similar functions at different portions of the line. There is, for example, an assistant freight traffic manager at San Francisco, and one at Chicago, the termini of the system. Each one is a court of last resort for the staff officers under his respective jurisdiction. Generally speaking, these executives are charged with the enforcement of the policy which has been adopted by the line to build up business within these particular provinces.

General Freight Agents and Assistant
General Freight Agents

Two general freight agents supervise the traffic of the line divided east and west by Albuquerque, N. M., and various assistant general freight agents report to

each of them. As the organization thus proceeds downward, the work becomes more and more specialized. In the general freight department, for example, the general freight agent may apportion the work on the basis of the nature of the commodity involved-coal, grain, ore and he may place the supervision of the establishment of rates, and the correspondence relative to it in the hands of one of his assistants. Thus we have a general coal agent, a general ore agent or a general produce agent. Each one may be styled as such, or he may be an assistant general freight agent.

Again, the work may be apportioned on a regional basis. That is, an assistant general freight agent will have entire charge of the initiating of rates and of the general correspondence relating to rates and rate matters affecting stations within his particular jurisdiction.

As the handling of live stock is accomplished by methods and confronted by legal objections radically different from ordinary freight, most carriers have a special division in the traffic department to handle questions involving the transportation of live stock.

The general freight agents, who are the chief officers of the general freight department, attend conferences with similar representatives from lines in the same territory or from competing lines, and agree on the adoption of rules and of bases to be used in effecting new rates or in the readjustment of old ones. They agree on the essentials, and leave the details to be worked out by the subordinate officers of the department.

The jurisdiction of the general freight agent and his assistant is still further localized by the creation of division freight agencies. These officers assume charge over a certain division of the line, arrange for the