well aware that fast mail train No. 8 was following his train and in view of the dense fog prevailing, he should have taken extraordinary precautions in the performance of his duty as flagman. . . . After the accident, a test was made for the purpose of ascertaining how far back the flagman could have gone in the time at his disposal. In this test a man at a brisk walk covered a distance of 2,277 ft. in six minutes. It was thus conclusively proved that the flagman did not go back as far as he might have gone had he sufficiently regarded the responsibility resting upon him. He also displayed exceedingly poor judgment in applying two torpedoes to the rail, thus arranging for a caution signal instead of putting down only one torpedo which would have given the stop signal." Mr. Belnap then calls attention to the lack of definiteness in the rules of this and many other railways covering flagging instructions to employees. The simple requirement (without specific instructions) that the flagman must go back a sufficient distance to insure full protection, he thinks, leaves the matter of distance to the judgment of the flagman to such an extent that an error of judgment may prove disastrous, as in this case. Many railways, by their rules, fix a minimum distance which the flagman is required to go back. Mr. Belnap thinks this is the safer practice, but he does not state what the minimum distance should be. The failure of Engineman Brownson of train No. 8 properly to control the speed of his train and to obey the indications of the fixed signals, is given as a contributing cause of the disaster. "If he had approached Western Springs with his train under control so that he could have come to a stop before passing the block signal as required by the rules, the collision would not have occurred." The report states that the signals on the division of the Burlington on which the accident happened were inadequate, especially during foggy or stormy weather. Credit is given the road for the fact that distant signals were being installed at the time of the accident, and the report continues. "But where trains are operated at high speed when the weather is so foggy or stormy that signals can be seen a distance of only a few feet, no system of fixed signals can provide that measure of protection to which the traveling public is entitled, and for this reason positive and definite instructions should be given prohibiting the running of trains at high speed during foggy or stormy weather." Mr. Belnap thinks that Mrs. Wilcox, the operator at Western Springs, notwithstanding the fact that she violated no rule in releasing No. 8 at West Hinsdale, nevertheless, exercised poor judgment in doing this while she was so uncertain as to the position of No. 2. Regarding the speed at which the trains were running Mr. Belnap says: "It was particularly dangerous in view of the dense fog which prevailed on the morning of the accident. As the train schedules in many cases are fast for clear weather, it is apparent that in fog, enginemen must run at high speed between signals, or not reduce speed as they approach signals, or fail to make schedule time, since in foggy weather signals can be distinguished at a comparatively short distance. Either of the first two conditions may be dangerous; and yet, notwithstanding the rule which requires enginemen to approach signals with their trains under control prepared to stop, the desire to maintain schedule speed and make a good showing by bringing their trains in on time will impel enginemen to take chances against the dictates of good judgment. . . . There is a limit to the speed at which trains can safely be operated. This limit is variable, depending upon numerous local conditions. In several derailments which have been investigated it was evident that speed was above the limit of safety, in view of the condition of track and equipment. In a number of collisions, also, notably those at Kinmundy, Ill., on the Illinois Central Railroad, and Corning, N. Y., on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, speed was too high for safety. While these accidents were caused by a disregard of signals or rules, there can be no question that the attempt to make up time or to maintain schedule time led to high speed which no doubt caused the employees involved to take dangerous chances, in the absence of which the accidents might have been avoided, or at least their severity greatly mitigated." Following this Mr. Belnap calls attention to the testimony of F. C. Rice, general inspector of transportation of the Burlington to the effect that "excessive speed is the cause of about 75 to 80 per cent. of the catastrophes of the last few years." Mr. Rice is quoted as saying also that many of the block systems now in use were put in when the speed of trains was less and when neither the railways nor the public had reached the present craze for high speed, which would make some of these installations, adequate originally, now inadequate. Mr. Rice considered the public responsible "because they ride on the railroad that has the fastest train and the road that doesn't make that fast time is not patronized." Mr. Belnap's report continues: "It is believed that Mr. Rice has not properly placed the responsibility for high speed. It is true that the public patronizes the railroad that makes the fastest time. But did the public have knowledge that any railroad was operating its trains at such high speed as to make travel upon that road unsafe its patronage would quickly be withdrawn. The great majority of people who ride on railroads desire to travel quickly if it can be done with safety, but their first consideration is safety. They rely upon the judgment of railroad managers, knowing that they are the only ones who have full knowledge of conditions existing upon their roads, and the assumption always is that the road operating high-speed trains will bring them safely, as well as quickly, to their journey's end. It is apparent, therefore, that if trains are run at such a high rate of speed as to sacrifice safety the railroads themselves must bear the responsibility. Moreover, in view of Mr. Rice's statement that 'excessive speed is the cause of about 75 to 80 per cent. of the catastrophes in the last few years,' a double responsibility rests upon the managers of railroads. If Mr. Rice's statement is correct, it lies wholly within the power of the railroad managers to virtually put an end to from 75 to 80 per cent. of these harrowing railway disasters, and in this one feature of railway operation alone lies an opportunity for them to introduce an entirely practicable reform which will be of vast benefit to the public and meet with commendation on every hand." International Association for Testing Materials. The International Association for Testing Materials is holding its sixth congress in New York during the current week. On Tuesday morning there were addresses of welcome by Gen. William H. Bixby, chief of engineers, United States Army, as the representative of President Taft; by Gov. John A. Dix, in behalf of the state of New York; and by William A. Prendergast on behalf of the mayor of the city of New York; and the usual address by the president of the association, H. M. Howe After a courteous address of welcome, in which he spoke to the German-speaking members in their own tongue, the French in theirs, the Spaniards in Spanish, the Italians in Italian and the Hungarians in Magyar, grouping all others in the English welcome, President Howe took for the text of his address the ultimate goal of the art of testing materials. He said that the association's purpose is to serve humanity by distinguishing the fit from the unfit in such materials as are essential to mechanical industry. This association is an open court for the deliberation of such subjects, giving to the world the result of the association's deliberations. He deplored the fact that, at the present, all materials are tested to destruction, or what amounts to the same thing, so that those which are actually used are only tested vicariously and it is impossible to know that that which is put into service is what is desired or not. He looked forward to the time when there would be some means by which materials that are to be used in structures, whether they be for buildings, steamships or railways, could be so inspected and tested that an accurate knowledge of their physical and chemical properties would be obtained. He sug gested that the investigations of the effect the stresses to which certain materials are subjected had on polarized light might lead to the use of such principles in the detection of defects that are now beyond the reach of investigation. It also lies within the bounds of possibility that the resonance of metals may be able to tell the story of their constitution, so that in the future it may be possible to test not only the constitution of the individual members of a structure but the very structure itself, and so ascertain the real resisting qualities of a building or a steamship. It is not expected that these things will come in the immediate future as they can only be developed after a long series of painstaking investigations. It may not be in this cen tury or even in the next. But we know that the advance of knowledge is constantly accelerating and there is no reason to think that this acceleration will not continue well on into the future; the middle age of mankind is not in the past, but well in advance, and we are really at the beginning of history. Mr. Prendergast spoke of the development of the testing lab oratory of the city of New York. Though it is still in its in- The technical sessions have been held each day during the The association now numbers 2,400 members, of whom 472 are from the United States, the total membership being distributed through 130 countries. The total registration at the congress is about 650, of which number about 75 are ladies. Abstracts of such of the papers and discussions as are of especial interest to the readers of the Railway Age Gazette will be published in our next issue. On Sunday afternoon the members will start on an excursion that will take them to Washington, Pittsburgh and Niagara Falls, at which places they will be given an opportunity of inspecting industrial plants. Chief Car Inspectors' and Car Foremen's Association. At the thirteenth annual convention of the Chief Interchange Car Inspectors' and Car Foremen's Association, held in Chicago on August 27, 28 and 29, the following officers were elected: President, J. L. Stark, general car inspector, Hocking Valley, Columbus, Ohio; vice-president, F. C. Schultz, chief interchange inspector, Chicago; secretary, Stephen Skidmore, foreman car department, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis, Cincinnati, Ohio. The sessions of the convention were devoted to a general discussion of the interpretations of the interchange rules of the Master Car Builders' Association. MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS. The following list gives names of secretaries, dates of next or regular meetings, and places of meeting. Con AIR BRAKE ASSOCIATION.-F. M. Nellis, 53 State St., Boston, Mass. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF GENERAL PASSENGER AND TICKET AGENTS.-W. C. AMERICAN RAILWAY BRIDGE AND BUILDING ASSOCIATION.-C. A. Lichty, C. & AMERICAN RAILWAY TOOL FOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION.-M. H. Bray, N. Y. AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING MATERIALS.-Prof. E. Marburg, University AMERICAN WOOD PRESERVERS' ASSOCIATION.-F. J. Angier, B. & O., Balti- ASSOCIATION OF RAILWAY CLAIM AGENTS.-J. R. McSherry, C. & E. I., Chi cago. ASSOCIATION OF RAILWAY ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS.-Jos. A. Andreucetti, C. & CANADIAN RAILWAY CLUB.-James Powell, Grand Trunk Ry., Montreal, CAR FOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO.-Aaron Kline, 841 North 50th CENTRAL RAILWAY CLUB.-H. D. Vought, 95 Liberty St., New York; 2d ENGINEERS' SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA.-E. R. Dasher, Box 704, Harrisburg, INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY GENERAL FOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION.-L. H. Bryan, INTERNATIONAL RAILROAD MASTER BLACKSMITHS' ASSOCIATION.-A. L. Wood- MAINTENANCE OF WAY MASTER PAINTERS' ASSOCIATION OF STATES AND CANADA.-W. G. Wilson, Lehigh Valley, Easton, Pa. MASTER BOILER MAKERS' ASSOCIATION.-Harry D. Vought, 95 Liberty St., MASTER CAR AND LOCOMOTIVE PAINTERS' Assoc. OF U. S. AND CANADA.-- PEORIA ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD OFFICERS.-M. W. Rotchford, Union Sta- RAILROAD CLUB OF KANSAS CITY.-C. Manlove, 1008 Walnut St., Kansas RAILWAY BUSINESS ASSOCIATION.-Frank W. Noxon, 2 Rector St., New Ohio. RAILWAY SUPPLY MANUFACTURERS' ASSOC.-J. D. Conway, 2135 Oliver bldg., ROADMASTERS' AND MAINTENANCE OF WAY ASSOCIATION.-L. C. Ryan, C. & TRAFFIC CLUB OF CHICAGO-Guy S. McCabe, La Salle Hotel, Chicago; TRAFFIC CLUB OF NEW YORK.-C. A. Swope, 290 Broadway, New York; TRAFFIC CLUB OF ST. LOUIS.-A. F. Versen, Mercantile Library building, TRAIN DESPATCHERS' ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.-J. F. Mackie, 7042 Stewart TRANSPORTATION CLUB OF BUFFALO.-J. M. Sells, Buffalo; first Saturday TRANSPORTATION CLUB OF DETROIT.-W. R. Hurley, L. S. & M. S., Detroit TRAVELING ENGINEERS' ASSOCIATION.-W. O. Thompson, N. Y. C. & H. R., WESTERN CANADA RAILWAY CLUB.-W. H. Rosevear, P. O. Box 1707, Win- WESTERN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS.-J. H. Warder, 1735 Monadnock Block, Traffic News. The Traffic Club of Chicago held its semi-annual field day on September 5, at the Homewood Country Club, Flossmoor, Ill. Special trains were provided by the Illinois Central. The Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie has appointed an agricultural commissioner, T. A. Hoverstad, heretofore connected with the North Dakota Agricultural College. Shipments of lumber by rail from the state of Washington during 1911 amounted to 86,421 carloads, or 15,123 carloads more than the shipments made in 1910, according to figures published by the Pacific Lumber Trade Journal. Shingle shipments by rail in 1911 amounted to 33,708 carloads. A break in the Erie canal near Rochester on the morning of September 3 destroyed the bank for a length of 700 ft., and it is thought that the damage cannot be repaired before the time comes for suspending traffic on account of cold weather. It is said that the washout is due to interference with the present canal structure by the work on the barge canal. The Michigan Stove Company, Chicago, has sent à circular letter to each of its 16,000 customers, warning them of the probability of a severe car shortage this fall and urging them to place orders as early as possible. The company reports that the letter has already brought results, as many customers have ordered the immediate shipment of goods which they had not intended to move before October 1. The California terminal railways are considering the discontinuance after this year of the reduced homeseekers' fares to California. The fares were established last spring at the instance of the Western Pacific, which wants them continued on account of the large amount of territory served by its line, which is in need of development, while the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe are said to be advocating their withdrawal, A controversy between the railways and the steamship companies at New Orleans similar to that which has been in progress at Galveston nearly all summer has been started by the refusal of the railways to issue through bills of lading on lumber and lumber products going to any steamship company not signing an agreement proposed by the rail carriers. The agreement provides for the observance of demurrage rules and the payment of demurrage charges by the steamship companies. The steamship agents have thus far refused to sign the agreement. J. M. Belleville, president of the National Industrial Traffic League, who recently issued a circular letter to members urging them to co-operate with the railways in making preparations for the threatened car shortage, has issued an additional circular urging the railway companies "to make special efforts immediately to clean up their roads completely; to employ all the extra forces necessary to put their freight equipment and their motive power, particularly switching power, in as complete repair as possible, and to hurry forward all proposed additions to side tracks, yards or other work that have been laid out so that when the emergency comes they will not be delayed by a heavy construction work that so seriously delays traffic; also to urge upon their operating departments the importance of promptly unloading coal and other material for company use." Rise in Ocean Freight Rates. With surpassing crops soon to reach the seaboard, seeking shipping for their distribution, and with general business increasing output for foreign consumption, there has come a sudden realization of the enormous rise in prices of ocean transportation. This situation threatens business congestion. Prices of ocean freights are reaching almost prohibitory levels. Shipowners are canceling offers. Charterers are withdrawing from present prices. The present condition is the reflex of a depression which continued for over ten years. It is gradually righting itself. During the Boer War, in 1900, there had been a great boom in rates. Because of the demands for steamers, transportation of every kind, a great tonnage had been added. After this there was a cessation in the building of boats. Two years ago matters began to correct themselves. Pressures are now greater than in twenty years. The increase of the world's business is enormous. The shipbuilding trade is unable to meet the demands for ships, though the yards are filled. Every indication points to the fact that rates must go higher. Exportations of grain and of manufactured merchandise are growing larger rapidly. Exportations of apples are assuming large proportions. Regular chartering rates started their increase at the end of last year. Taking the average of opinions of steamship men, owners, agents, charterers, shippers, it will be found that the increase in ocean freight rates is calculated at about 33 per cent. It differs largely for different commodities. For grain and cotton, it reaches 100 per cent. Rates are answering the demand. There is an extraordinarily well balanced distribution of tramp tonnage over the world. The possibility of chartering tramps is extremely limited. There is not a keener man on earth than the tramp owner. English shipbuilding yards have the books filled with orders for liners and tanks, but no tramps are building. The owner, because of this scarcity and the strong demand, can set his own price. Between deficient supply, no near additions to tramp fleets, increased cost of repairs, higher prices for food, and the payments under the British national insurance act, the higher rates are amply justified. They will not decrease. The British liability law, which indemnifies even a drunken sailor who breaks his leg, or pays £300 for a death, is one new element of cost.-Wall Street Journal. Atlantic Deeper Waterways Convention. The fifth annual Atlantic Deeper Waterways convention was held at New London, Conn., this week. Among the matters considered was the report of General W. H. Bixby, U. S. A., favoring a $5,000,000 canal 12 ft. deep from Norfolk, Va., to Beaufort Inlet, N. C., this being part of the plan to join by a series of canals the rivers, harbors and segregated inlets of the Atlantic coast. A standard depth of 12 ft. was advocated, and the necessity of proper terminals owned and operated by the municipalities was urged. American Association of General Passenger and Ticket Agents. The 57th annual convention of the American Association of General Passenger and Ticket Agents will be held at the new Washington hotel, Seattle, Wash., September 12-13. The program includes discussions on Substitution of Round "O" Punch in Lieu of "L" Punch; Desirability of Uniform Practice in Conduct of Passenger Traffic and Rules Governing Same; Printing of Folders and Other Advertising Matter and Economical Distribution Thereof; Indirect Routes, Futile Competition by Such Routes and Consequent Sacrifice of Revenue; Compilation of Joint Passenger Tariffs; Number of Tickets and Revenue to Be Collected for the Use of the Drawing Room; Cash Fares on Trains and Improved Method of Collecting Same; Is There a Demand for an Official Manual of Coupon Ticket Agents, and if So, How Should it Be Published?; Supplying Tariffs to Federal and State Governments; Duties of the Standing Committee on Association Ticket Paper; General Promotion, See America First Movement. Eastern members of the association will leave Chicago at 5:30 p. m. Sunday, September 8, in a special train on the Chicago & North Western via Milwaukee. The party will leave St. Paul at 6:00 a. m. September 9 via the Northern Pacific, arriving at Butte, Mont., on September 10, where it will take a sight-seeing street car for a side trip around the city and will arrive at Spokane at 9 a. m. September 11, where the party will be met at the station with automobiles for a one and three-quarter hour trip about the city. There will also be a side trip via the Spokane & Inland Empire Electric Railway to Hayden Lake, where a game dinner will be served by the Spokane Transportation Club. The party arrives at Seattle at 7:45 a. m., Thursday, September 12, where the convention will be opened at 11 a. m. At the business session there will be an address by William Sproule, president of the Southern Pacific. During the convention there will be a luncheon and trip on Puget Sound to the Bremer ton navy yard, and a visit to one of the battleships for the ladies. In the evening there will be a banquet tendered by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, while the ladies will be entertained at a special theater party. Friday morning the sessions of the convention will be resumed and for the afternoon an automobile tour of the city, its boulevards and parks has been arranged for the entire party. The entertainment in the evening will consist of illustrated talks by distinguished speakers on Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands and the Panama Canal. On Saturday, September 14, the party will take a trip to Vancouver on the Canadian Pacific steampship Princess Alice, returning to Tacoma on Sunday morning. The program for Sunday includes an automobile trip to Rainier National park, a luncheon at the club house at the National Park inn and trips to various points of interest. Sunday night the party will leave Tacoma for a trip to Seaside and Portland via the Spokane, Portland & Seattle, and on Monday it will be taken for a drive about the city. In the evening there will be an informal dinner at the Portland hotel. The party breaks up at Portland, returning east by various routes. A Way-Bill for Every Express Shipment. All of the principal express companies of the country have adopted (beginning with September 1) a system of labeling and way-billing freight which has been prepared in accordance with the suggestion of the Interstate Commerce Commission, made in its order of last June, proposing numerous reforms in the operation of the express business. The circular of Wells Fargo & Company, announcing the new plans, shows eight principal forms of labels and way-bills. Those made on yellow paper signify that no charges are to be collected; on white, that charges are to be collected; on green, that charges for transportation and also for the cost of goods are to be collected (C. O. D.); and red labels are for shipments carried in bond. The word "prepaid" or "collect" appears in bold face type on every label and every bill. A small label is affixed to each piece of every shipment (except money) when it is received, and if prepaid the amount is shown. The second and larger label is substantially a duplicate of the way-bill, made at one writing by carbon process, and is affixed to the package before it is started on its journey. Blanket way-bills, or those in which a number of items are shown on the same sheet, are abandoned entirely, except the forms used by the supply department; and these usually carry only one or a very few shipments. In connection with this abondonment of the blanket way-bill, it is of interest to note that on the Central of Georgia Railway, where individual way-bills have been in use for ten years or more, the number of way-bills is found to be only about 16 per cent. more than when the old forms were used. The instructions sent out by the express companies contain elaborate directions for compliance with the dictum of the Interstate Commerce Commission that when an agent at destination is in doubt whether or not to collect charges on a shipment of merchandise he is to give the consignee the benefit of the doubtand deliver the goods without making any collection. If a shipment is received with a label but no way-bill, delivery is to be made according to the label. In delivering goods without full knowledge the agent is to have an understanding with the consignee that charges are to be paid later by him if it be found that the shipper has not paid them. INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. The commission has postponed until November 1 the date on which the railways must comply with its order reducing freight rates between Shreveport, La., and Dallas, Tex. The commission has suspended tariffs filed by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe showing increases in rates on flour from points in Kansas to New York by way of Galveston and the Mallory Steamship Line. The commission has suspended until December 31, tariffs filed by the transcontinental lines, to go into effect September 2, showing increases in freight rates from all eastern territory to the Pacific coast. These tariffs, which were noticed in the Railway Age Gazette, August 16, page 320, show increases to Pacific coast points and reductions to many interior (intermountain) points. As was stated in our issue of August 16, there was a tacit understanding that these rates were not to be suspended. The present action would seem to indicate that the commission interprets this understanding as referring only to the rates to interior points and not to the coast rates. COURT NEWS. In the Federal Court of Hartford, Conn., September 3, the New York, New Haven & Hartford confessed judgment in a suit involving 50 violations of the Federal hours-of-labor law, and fines aggregating $5.000 were imposed. The United States Pipe Line Company, operating oil pipe lines in Pennsylvania, has applied to the Commerce Court for an injunction against an order of the commission requiring it to file tariffs. The company admits that it is a common carrier; but claims that none of its business is interstate. RAILWAY DIFFICULTIES IN CHINA.-The unsettled condition of affairs in China struck the Shantung Railway hard in 1911, when compared with the previous year there was a decrease of 534 per cent. in gross earnings and an increase of 9 per cent. in operating expenses, resulting in a decrease of 1134 per cent. in net earnings. Notwithstanding, the dividend was decreased only from 61⁄2 to 6 per cent. Floods, crop failures and the prevalence of the bubonic plague are charged with the decline. PROPOSED RAILWAY FOR NEW SOUTH WALES.-The need for a railway between Booyang, New South Wales, and Ballina is being considered by the public works committee. In giving evidence before that body in regard to the proposal the assistant commissioner for railways said that the cost of construction of the line was estimated at $503.575 and the gross expenses for one year were estimated at $29,270, while the net receipts were estimated at $15,080. Conditions had changed since the proposal was first made in 1907. The population of Ballina was now about 3,000, and as a seaside of the north coast districts and the thickly populated back country, it possessed advantages above any other locality within access of the railway line. He thought the line would carry at the lowest estimate about 30,000 passengers a year. The line will pass through a forest of about 800 acres containing iron bark, tallow wood, mahogany, etc. Railway Officers. ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS. Executive, Financial and Legal Officers. The office of consulting auditor of Texas & Pacific, with headquarters at Dallas, Tex., has been abolished. E. Alexander, assistant treasurer of the Canadian Pacific, at Montreal, Que., has been appointed assistant secretary, succeeding A. R. G. Heward, deceased. Charles E. Carlson has been elected secretary of the Duluth, Missabe & Northern, with office at Duluth, Minn., succeeding A. T. Banning, Jr., resigned to engage in the private practice of law. S. R. Murphy has been appointed acting freight claim agent of the Chicago & Alton, with office at Chicago, succeeding H. B. Belt, resigned to continue as freight claim agent of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western. H. M. Watkins, assistant auditor of the Union Pacific at Omaha, Neb., has been appointed assistant auditor of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., with office at Portland, Ore., a newly created position. He was formerly auditor of freight accounts on the O.-W R. R. & N. Co., having been appointed assistant auditor of the Union Pacific on January 1, 1912. B. C. Stevenson, whose election as vice-president in charge of traffic of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western, with office at Toledo, Ohio, has been announced in these columns, was born June 9, 1874, in Lewis county. Ky. He began railway work with the Chesapeake & Ohio and was with that road about two years, first as yard clerk at Maysville, Ky., and later as bill clerk and cashier at Brighton station, Cincinnati. He was then consecutively clerk in the local office of the Newport News & Mississippi Valley Company at Memphis, Tenn.; bill clerk in the local freight office of the Ohio & Mississippi, now the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern, at Cincinnati; clerk in the office of the commercial agent of the B. & O. S. W. at Cincinnati, and rate clerk in the general freight office B. C. Stevenson. of the latter road from 1894 to 1899. He attended law school while in the last-named position, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1899, and then practiced law in Chicago and took a postgraduate course at Northwestern University for a year. In August, 1900, he was appointed traveling freight agent of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western at Toledo, and from October, 1903, to May, 1904, he was commercial agent of the same road at Buffalo, N. Y. He was then transferred to Toledo as commercial agent, and on March 1, 1905, was promoted to assistant general freight agent at Toledo. In December, 1907, he was made first assistant general freight agent of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western and the Chicago & Alton at Chicago, and two years later was made assistant freight traffic manager of those roads, the Iowa Central and the Minneapolis & St. Louis. Since January 1, 1912, when the Iowa Central was merged in the Minneapolis & St. Louis, Mr. Stevenson has had jurisdiction only over the Toledo, St. Louis & Western and the Chicago & Alton. Incident to the separation of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western from the same management as the Chicago & Alton, the following officers, who have had jurisdiction over both roads, have been appointed to the positions designated on the Toledo, St. Louis & Western: A. L. Ungewitter, chief clerk to the vicepresident, has been appointed assistant to the president, with office at Toledo, Ohio, succeeding E. S. Wortham, who remains with the Alton. M. L. Crowell, assistant to the assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, has been appointed assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, at Toledo, Ohio, succeeding H. E. R. Wood, who remains with the Alton. R. Larmer, assistant to the comptroller at Chicago, has been appointed comptroller, with office at Toledo, and E. S. Benson continues as comptroller of the Alton at Chicago. F. W. Morse, whose resignation as vicepresident and general manager of the Chicago & Alton was recently announced in these columns, has resigned also as vicepresident and general manager of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western. Operating Officers. R. E. Mulhern has been appointed assistant trainmaster of the Buffalo division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, with headquarters at Buffalo, N. Y. C. M. Himmelberger, has been appointed superintendent of the Raritan River Railroad, succeeding R. B. Sheppard, acting superintendent, transferred. R. B. Fowler has been appointed trainmaster of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific, with office at Shreveport, La., succeeding E. P. Tatum, assigned to duty as chief despatcher. W. A. Barnard, trainmaster of the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie at Gladstone, Minn., has been appointed superintendent of the Winnipeg division of that road, with office at Thief River Falls, Minn. Frank S. Yantis has been appointed general manager of the Scott City Northern, with headquarters at Scott City, Kan., succeeding, as general manager, E. A. Tennis, vice-president and general manager, resigned. C. W. Nelson has been appointed acting trainmaster on the Kansas City division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, with office at Argentine. Kan., succeeding G. W. Atmore, resigned to accept service with another company. S. T. Cantrell, superintendent of the Kansas division of the St. Louis & San Francisco at Neodesha, Kan., has been appointed superintendent of the Southwestern division, with office at Sapula. Okla., succeeding E. L. Magers, resigned. H. H. Brown, superintendent at Ft. Smith, Ark., succeeds Mr. Cantrell. George R. Layher has been appointed superintendent weighing and handling of freight of the Wabash, with office at St. Louis, Mo. He will have supervision over the weighing and handling of all freight. Superintendents, trainmasters, agents, yardmasters and others are directed to co-operate with him. H. M. Levinson, roadmaster of the International & Great Northern at San Antonio, Tex., has been appointed assistant superintendent of the Eastern division of the Texas & Pacific, in charge of track, with office at Marshall, Tex., and the duties of the superintendent will hereafter be confined to transportation. C. W. Coe, superintendent of the Cleveland division of the Wheeling & Lake Erie at Canton, Ohio, has been appointed superintendent of the Toledo division, with office at Canton, succeeding A. P. Titus, resigned to accept service with the Chicago & Alton. F. E. Barber, assistant superintendent at Canton, succeeds Mr. Coe, and D. J. Morris succeeds Mr. Barber. Charles W. Ford, general traffic manager and general superintendent of the Grand Junction & Grand River Valley, at Grand Junction, Colo., has been appointed general superintendent of the New Orleans Southern & Grand Isle, in charge of operation and maintenance, and also of passenger and freight traffic, succeeding to the duties of R. S. Stearnes, resigned, and of E. W. Burgis, superintendent and general freight and passenger agent, who has been appointed superintendent of construction. F. R. Mullen, superintendent of the Sterling division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy at Sterling, Colo., has been appointed superintendent of the Omaha division, with office at Omaha, Neb., succeeding A. G. Smart, transferred to the Aurora division. G. L. Briggs, trainmaster at Omaha, suc |