The Railroad Problem

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THE RAILROAD PROBLEM

[Illustration: Courtesy of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway.

An interesting illustration of rail-power development. Notice the evolution of the crude steam engine of 1848 into the giant locomotive of 1913, which in turn is overshadowed by the later arrival--electricity.]

[Illustration: Courtesy of the C. M. & St. P. Railway.

Steam, the giant power, which, by welding our states together with bands of steel, has been a mighty factor in the unifying of the nation.]

THE RAILROAD PROBLEM

by

EDWARD HUNGERFORD

Author of "The Modern Railroad," etc.

Illustrated

Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co. 1917

Copyright A. C. McClurg & Co. 1917

Published April, 1917

W. F. Hall Printing Company, Chicago

To An Old Friend, and a Good One SAMUEL O. DUNN

Acknowledgment

I wish to express my indebtedness to the editors of Collier's, Every Week, and the Saturday Evening Post for their very gracious permission to use, as portions of this book, parts of my articles which have appeared recently in their publications. To Mr. E. W. McKenna of New York is due a special word of appreciation for his helpfulness in the preparation of this book.

E. H.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I The Sick Man of American Business 1

II The Plight of the Railroad 5

III Organized Labor--The Engineer 30

IV Organized Labor--The Conductor 45

V Unorganized Labor--The Man with the Shovel 62

VI Unorganized Labor--The Station Agent 77

VII The Labor Plight of the Railroad 90

VIII The Opportunity of the Railroad 105

IX The Iron Horse and the Gas Buggy 134

X More Railroad Opportunity 158

XI The Railroad and National Defense 181

XII The Necessity of the Railroad 217

XIII Regulation 235

Index 261

Illustrations

PAGE

Illustration of rail-power development Frontispiece

The engineer 34

The knight of the ticket punch 54

The section gang 66

The station agent 82

The Pennsylvania's electric suburban zone 114

Electricity into its own 114

The Olympian 130

Ore trains hauled by electricity 130

The motor-car upon the steel highway 152

The adaptable motor-tractor 152

When freight is on the move 158

The Bush Terminal 166

Freight terminal warehouse at Rochester 166

The railroad in the Civil War 182

The railroad "doing its bit" 186

America's "vital area" 196

Rock Island government bridge 206

Railroad outline map of the United States 216

The Royal Gorge 244

ERRATUM

The word "telephone" on page 182, line 2, should read "telegraph."

THE RAILROAD PROBLEM

CHAPTER I

THE SICK MAN OF AMERICAN BUSINESS

On a certain estate there dwells a large family of brothers and sisters. There are many of them and there is great variety in their ages. They are indifferent to their neighbors; they deem themselves quite self-sufficient. But, for the most part they are an industrious family. They are a family of growing wealth--in fact, in every material sense they may already be called rich. And their great estate is slowly beginning to reach its full development.