etc. As it is the general belief of railway managers, whose conclusion in this respect has rarely if ever been challenged, that the passenger train services, as a whole, do not produce revenues sufficient to meet their fair proportion of the operating costs and the necessary return upon investment, and therefore are not reasonably compensatory, it is evident that the mail service, the pay for which is more than 25 per cent. below the average for the other services rendered on the same trains, must bring in much less than reasonable compensation. No merely statistical comparison can, however, reveal the whole story, for the railways are required to furnish many incidental facilities and to perform many additional services for the Post Office Department, which render the mail service exceptionally arduous and costly. These extra services include calling for and delivering mails at a large proportion of the post offices located at railway towns; supplying rooms, with light, heat and water, in railway stations for the use of the mail clerks; placing cars, duly lighted and heated, on station tracks for advance distribution, often many hours before the departure of trains; carrying officers and agents of the post office department as passengers but without compensation to the extent of more than 50,000,000 passenger miles annually (this being, of course, in addition to the railway mail clerks on duty), etc., etc. No one can examine this appendix and not be convinced that the mail service is the most exacting among all those rendered by American railways. In accordance with the request of the postmaster-general, the railways estimated the cost of conducting the mail service and reported the results to the postmaster-general. After first charging to each service the expenses wholly due to it they apportioned the common expenses between the passenger and freight services, following (with inconsequential exceptions) the method most generally employed for that purpose, namely the apportionment of these expenses in the proportions of the revenue train mileage of each service. Having estimated, in this way, the operating expenses attributable to passenger trains, the railways assigned to the mails the portion of this aggregate indicated by the proportion of the total passenger train space required for the mails. Using this method, 186 railways, operating 2,370 mail routes, with a total length of 176,716 miles, ascertaine and reported that for November, 1909, the operating expenses (not including taxes), for conducting the mail service were $4,009,184. The postmaster-general states that all the railways represented in the foregoing, and enough others to increase the mileage represented to 194,978 miles, were paid for the same month only $3,607,773.13. It thus appears that the pay was far below the operating expenses, without making any allowance for taxes or for a return upon the fair value of the property employed. The postmaster-general, by his method of apportionment arrived at a cost of $2,676,503.75, but this must be increased (as will be shown below, on account of his erroneous apportionment of car space) by $800,802.00. And also on account of his refusal to assign expenses directly incurred in the mail service, $401,126.* Total, according to the postmaster-general's method of apportioning costs between passenger and freight traffic, $3,878,431.75. Thus even the postmaster-general's method of apportioning costs between freight and passenger traffic produces an operating cost in excess of the total pay received by the railways, leaving nothing whatever for return upon the fair value of the property or necessary but non-income producing improvements. There is no allowance, in any of these estimates of cost, for the large volume of free transportation supplied to officers and agents of the Post Office Department, when not in charge of mail, although this amounts to over 50,000,000 passenger miles annually and, at the low average rate of two cents per mile, would cost the Post Office more than $1,000,000 per year. *There may be some duplication in this item, but to eliminate it would require an elaborate computation which, in view of the broad margin of expenses over receipts, is wholly superfluous. Whatever duplication exists must be small in comparison with this margin. Moreover, all the figures here discussed are for the month of November, a month which, because of the abnormally low ratio of passenger traffic to freight traffic, substantially understates the cost of the passenger train service, when figures derived from it are applied to an entire year. Reference will now be made to the methods and controlling effect of the postmaster-general's apportionment of passenger train space between the mails and the other services rendered on passenger trains. Having obtained certain estimates of the cost of the passenger train services, considered together, by methods producing the lowest results, the next step was to apportion a part of this cost to the mail service. The accepted method for such an apportionment is to distribute the total cost in proportion to the train space required by each of the respective services. The postmaster-general obtained from the railways statements which he might have used in applying this method, and these statements showed that 9.32 per cent. of the total space in passenger trains was required by the mails, but, instead of using the data showing this fact, he substituted figures of his own which reduced the space credited to the mail service to 7.16 per cent. of the total. The total of passenger train costs which the postmaster-general estimated should be apportioned among passengers, express and mail, on the basis of space occupied, was $37,074,172.* He therefore assigned to the mail service 7.16 per cent. of the last-named sum or $2,654,510.69. If, however, he had used the proportion of space, 9.32 per cent., resulting from the reports he had obtained from the railways, the amount apportioned as cost of the mail service for the month would have been $800,802 greater. Multiplying this by twelve gives an increase in the estimated annual cost of over $9,600,000. Thus the postmaster-general understated the annual mail expenses and taxes of the railways by at least $9,600,000, and he ignored entirely the necessary return on the value of railroad property. This examination of his methods shows that the determination of space was of primary and controlling importance and that the changes in space allotment have destroyed the value of his deductions. These changes were due to his refusal to assign to the mail service the working space and temporarily unoccupied space on trains, which were necessary to the mail service and to his actually assigning much of this space to the passenger service rendered on the same trains. These modifications of the data correctly reported, not susceptible of justification upon any sound transportation principle, were carried so far that the tabulations of the post office department, which are stated for railway mail routes having a total length of 194,977.55 milest show only 926,164,459 "car-foot miles" made in the mail service, although certain railways, included therein, and having railway mail routes aggregating only 178,709.96 miles, had correctly reported mail space equivalent to 1,153,110,245 "car-foot miles." Thus, although the department's figures cover 8.3 per cent. more mileage, its reductions of space resulted in assigning to this greater mileage about one-quarter (24.5 per cent.) less mail space. At the same time the department actually increased the space assigned to the other passenger train services, its figures showing 12,014,065,506 car-foot miles in these services for 194,977.55 miles of mail routes which must be compared with 11,222,478,739 car-foot miles reported by the railways for 178,709.96 mail-route miles. As a part of the investigation reported in Document No. 105 the postmaster-general obtained from the railways statements showing the amounts expended by them for the station and terminal services required by his department and the amount of free transportation furnished on his requisition for officers and agents of the postal service when not in charge of mail. These This is the sum which was apportioned by the postmaster-general on the basis of train space occupied. He estimated $40,121,294.83 (Document No. 105. page 280) as the total operating expenses and taxes of the passenger train services for the month. Of this total $21,993.06 was charged directly to the mails and $3,025,129.77 directly to the other passenger train services, leaving the sum stated in the text to be apportioned on the space basis. Document No. 105, p. 53. ! data were not used and, as no adequate allowance was made in any other way for these expenses, the omission unjustly reduced the estimates of the cost to the railways of their postal services. The postmaster-general's explanation of this omission implies that it was partially offset by the assignment as cost of mail service of its proportion, on the space basis, of all the station and terminal expenses of the passenger train services; but these special mail expenses are disproportionately heavy and the amount so assigned was far too low. The expenses for station and terminal services especially incurred for the mails, during November, 1909, and reported to the postmaster-general, for 92 per cent, of the mileage covered by Document No. 105 aggregated $401,136.00, as follows: Amount of wages paid to messengers and porters Rental value, plus average monthly cost of light Total $79,980.84 198,927.01 5,640.98 37,258.93 47,029.12 18,400.57 3,895.36 .$401,126.00* *This total includes $9,993.19 reported by four companies which gave totals for these items, but did not report the items separately. All the foregoing data were reported to the postmaster-general in response to his request, but he made no use of these items, an omission manifestly to the serious disadvantage of the railways and having the effect of unduly reducing his estimates of the cost of the mail service. Similarly, the postmaster-general omitted to use the data he had obtained from the railways showing the volume of free passenger transportation, already referred to, supplied to the officers and agents of the post office department, and his estimates contain no recognition of the cost of this service, although its extent should be a matter of record in the department, as it is furnished only on its requisition. The space in passenger coaches occupied by these representatives of the post office department, traveling free, was not assigned to the mail service, but was treated as passenger space. A commission of Senators and members of Congress which, between 1898 and 1901, most fully and carefully investigated the subject, ascertained and declared that railway mail pay was not then excessive; since then there have been many and extensive reductions in pay accompanied by substantial increases in the cost and value of the services rendered by the railways. These reductions have so much more than offset the rather doubtful advantages which the railways might be assumed to have obtained from the increased volume of mail traffic that in 1912 they find their mail service more unprofitable than ever before. The following table shows the facts: The foregoing shows that the post office department expended for railway transportation, in 1901, $34.18 in order to earn $100 in gross, and that by 1911 this expenditure had been reduced 37.8 per cent. to $21.26. No one will contend for a moment that there has been any net reduction in the cost of supplying railway mail services and facilities since 1901, the year in which the report of the Joint Commission to Investigate the Postal Service was made. In fact, all changes in railway operating costs, except those due to increased efficiency of organization and management, which can have little if any effect in connection with mail traffic, have been in the opposite direction. During the years characterized by these reductions the railways have been called upon continually to improve the character of their postal service, and the post office department will not deny that the railways are now rendering better, more frequent, and more expeditious postal service than in 1901, or any intermediate year, and are doing so at greatly increased cost to themselves.c That the recent savings of the postal service have been wholly at the expense of the railways is shown by the following: This table shows that in the ten years from 1901 to 1911 the post office department reduced its operating ratio between its total expenses and its gross receipts from 103.5 per cent. to 100.3 per cent., being a reduction of 3.2 points; but it also shows that this improvement was due solely to the fact that the ratio of railway mail pay expenses to gross receipts was reduced from 34.2 per cent. to 21.3 per cent., a reduction of 12.9 points, while the ratio of all other expenses to gross receipts increased from 69.3 per cent. to 79 per cent., an increase of 9.7 points. Thus the improvement of 3.2 points in the ratio for all expenses was due entirely to the greatly reduced ratio of railway mail pay, the heavy reduction in that respect exceeding by 3.2 points the very substantial increase in the ratio of all other expenses. That increases in postal expenditures were necessary, between 1901 and 1911, is not denied. The period was one in which steady and extensive increases in the cost of living made necessary considerable increases in the salaries of postal employees and in the cost of postal supplies, precisely as the railways were impelled to increase the salaries and wages of their employees and were obliged to pay higher prices for their supplies. In other words, the purchasing power of the American dollar, and of standard money everywhere, greatly decreased and this decrease affected the post office department as it has affected every business undertaking. But the purchasing power of the railway dollar decreased exactly as that of all other dollars, and it was unreasonable and unjust that while this charge was in progress, the losses which it entailed in the postal service of the government should be shifted, as it has been shown that they were, to the railways which were, at the same time, suffering far greater losses from the same cause. The transportation pay received for each railway route is determined, under the practice of the department, for a period of four years on the basis of the average daily weight carried during a period of about three months duration prior to the beginning of the period for which it is fixed. Thus, by the terms of the law, the government upholds the principle that weight should be the basis of payment but, by an inconsistent practice, denies that principle and creates a condition under which it is practically certain that the weight actually carried will differ materially from the weight paid for. Congress, surely, never intended this result. for the provision of law is, merely, that the mail shall be weighed "not less frequently" than once in four years, and clearly implies an intention that it should be weighed whenever a substantial change in volume has taken place. But the post office department controls, subject to the provision of law, the frequency of the weighings, and naturally seeks those reductions in its expenses which can be effected without loss anywhere except in railway revenues. Consequently, it long ago ceased to order new weighings, except when compelled to do so by the expiration of the statutory limit. It thus happens that while the railways are paid on the basis of a certain average daily RAILWAY AGE GAZETTE. weight they are frequently carrying a much greater weight and with no compensation whatever for the increase in the weight. In other instances the change is in the opposite direction, but with increasing national population and wealth it is obvious that most of these changes must be to the injury of the railways. However, the element of uncertainty thus introduced into each contract is unbusinesslike, and in fairness to both parties ought to be removed. No railway would make a four years' contract to carry, for a definite sum, the unlimited output of any manufacturing plant, and if it attempted to do so the contract would be void under the Interstate Commerce law. Railways are required to transfer the mails between their stations and all post offices not more than a quarter of a mile distant from the former and, at the election of the post office department, to make similar transfers at terminals. For the former no compensation is accorded, and for the latter the allowances are inadequate. There are numerous instances in which these extra services require expenditures, on the part of the railways concerned, that exceed the total compensation of the mail routes on which they occur. The extent of these requirements in particular cases is largely subject to the will of the department, and this produces unreasonable uncertainties as to what may be demanded during the life of any contract. The basis of payment plainly does not contemplate such services; they are a survival from the period when the mails were carried by stage-coaches, which could readily deviate these distances from their ordinary routes, and it is clear that the government ought to perform these services itself or reasonably compensate the railways therefor. Much of the mail moved by the railways is carried in cars especially equipped as traveling post offices in order that it may be accompanied by postal clerks who perform, on the journey, precisely the labor which they would otherwise perform in local post offices. Cars so used can be but lightly loaded and are costly to supply, to equip, to maintain and to move. Their use has greatly increased the efficiency of the postal service and vastly expedited the handling of the mails. In the infancy of this service Congress provided for additional payments for the full cars so required, but when the practice of requiring portions of cars for the same identical purpose was inaugurated no provision for paying for them was made. and this condition never has been corrected. Even in Document No. 105, the injustice of this situation is recognized, and the postmaster-general asserts that it is a purely arbitrary discrimination and without logical basis. Obviously a reasonable allowance for apartment cars ought to be made. The foregoing discussion makes plain the error and injustice in the postmaster-general's proposal to pay the railways for carrying the mail upon the basis of returning to them the operating expenses and taxes, as ascertained by the post office department, attributable to the carriage of the mails, plus six per cent of the sum of these expenses and taxes. The ascertainment of the cost to a railroad of conducting mail service is necessarily very largely a matter of judgment and opinion, because a large proportion of the total operating expenses are common to the freight and passenger traffic and can only be approximately apportioned. There is room for a very wide discretion in the making of such apportionments. It would not be right or proper to entrust the post office department with the discretion of making such apportionment, because the post office department has an obvious interest at stake, its object always being to reduce the railroad pay to a minimum. The last preceding statement is fully justified by the facts disclosed, which show how consistently the post office department has relied upon reductions in railway mail pay as the ever available source of desired curtailments of expenses and how unsuccessfully the railways have resisted this persistent pressure. They show that successive postmasters-general have taken advantage of every legal possibility, such as taking the longest time between mail weighings which the law permits, and the 933 strained interpretation of the statute fixing the basis of payment, in order to effect reductions in railway mail pay. Consequently, the facts point irresistibly to one conclusion, namely, that the post office department is a bureaucratic entity with an interest in the reduction of the amounts paid to the railways that is incompatible with an impartial ascertainment of what is fair compensation. This interest, coupled with the brief tenure of the responsible officers of the department, must always incline the latter to support insufficient standards of mail pay and prevent their recognizing the ultimate necessity of paying fairly for efficient service. It would, therefore, be clearly inexpedient and strikingly unjust to place railway mail revenues wholly at the mercy of the department by enacting a law which would authorize each postmaster-general to fix railway mail pay on the basis of his own inquiries and opinions in a field in which so much must be left to estimate and approximation as that of the relative or actual cost of the different kinds of railway service. It is conceded that every railway mail contract is between the government, which is the sovereign, and a citizen, and that the nature and terms of the contract are always substantially to be dictated by the former. But this very condition invokes the principle of primary justice, that the sovereign shall take care to exercise its power without oppression. To this end the determination of the terms on which the post office department may have the essential services of the railways ought to be reserved, as at least partially in the past, to the Congress; or, if delegated at all, it should be entrusted to some bureau or agency of government not directly and immediately interested in reducing railway mail pay below a just and reasonable compensation. GOVERNMENT REPORT ON ANTIOCH The Interstate Commerce Commission has issued a report, dated September 21, giving the conclusions of Chief Inspector Belnap on the cause of the derailment of a passenger train on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, at Antioch, Ill., August 25, when one passenger was killed and 25 were injured. Mr. Belnap does not accept the theory that the derailment was caused by a broken flange. The train, consisting of five cars, was running at about 30 to 35 miles an hour. The track is straight and is laid with 60-lb. rails, 30 ft. long; 16 ties under each rail; coarse gravel ballast. The first wheels to leave the track were those of one of the trucks of the tender. The track was in very bad condition. Many of the ties were decayed, and one competent witness said that only about one in ten of them was fit for service. In the majority of the ties the spikes had become loose; many had worked from 1⁄2 in. to 2 in. Many bolts were missing at the joints. Photographic illustrations are given in the report showing the bad condition of the ties and the absence of spikes. The roadbed is covered with weeds. The foreman in charge of the track had held that position three months, and during this time the spikes had not been tightened. He said that he had an insufficient force of men. His section is six miles long; he needed six men; had been instructed to hire three; but had been able to get only two. The flanges of the forward wheels of the rear truck of the tender were somewhat broken, but the inspector concludes that the breaks were the result of the derailment and not the cause of it. The marks made by the wheels on the surface of the rail were such as could have been made only by a whole flange. The edges of the breaks in the flanges were clear and sharp. In many places the track was found to be in such condition that the rails were depressed from 1 in. to 2 in. under the weight of a passing train, though when there was no weight on the track it appeared to be in good condition. Track, which by the gage appeared to be in correct alinement, was found to be so loose, owing to the worn condition of the spikes and to the spikes having been pushed over, that the rails could readily be pushed 11⁄2 in. out of gage by a passing train. Many shims were found to have become loosened and to have jarred out. Many spikes could be pulled out by hand. At three rail joints the splice bars were found broken and the breaks were old. In a length of 92 rails 578 bad ties were found; in another place a length of 55 rails showed 328 bad ties. In still another case there were 94 bad ties in 270 ft., or an average of 10 to a rail. The engine of the train was larger and heavier than had ever been used on this division before, but the report does not give its weight. The conclusion of the inspector is in accordance with the foregoing statement, his opinion being that the bad track caused the tender to rock to such an extent that the forward truck mounted the rail. The Prussian minister of finance has recently made a report, to the commission in charge of the budget, regarding the condition of the state railways. While pleased at the present condition of affairs, he does not think that he is justified in being too optimistic for the future. He states that in 1908 the net income of the railways amounted to $24,800,000. In 1910 it was $70,200,000, or $32,400,000 above the appropriation, by which $17,800,000 could be turned over to the "compensation" account. As for 1911-12 he anticipates that the result will be still more favorable in spite of the injurious effects of the strike in the Ruhr district. In fact the railway management thinks, at present, that it will be able to turn over from $35,000,000 to $37,000,000 to the "compensation" account. These favorable results are regarded as dependent upon the industrial activity of the country, which is reflected by the increase of railway receipts. It has been possible to cut down the corresponding increase of expenses during the period covered by the last reports so that the operating ratio was 67.27 per cent. for 1910. This ratio was about 66 per cent. for 1911. But future requirements of railways are difficult to foresee. They naturally depend, in the first place, on the development of the receipts, and it is stated that during the fiscal year of 1910-11 they increased, but under very favorable conditions of the traffic. In 1895 the freight train load was 212 tons; in 1900 it was 198 tons; in 1905 it was 201 tons; in 1908 it was 210 tons; in 1909 it was 232 tons, and in 1910 it was 236 tons. The loading is, therefore, improving. It is true that this has only been made possible by an improvement in the equipment, especially in the power of the locomotives. During last February the receipts amounted to $4,980,000, or 12.74 per cent. more than for the same month in 1911. The point in doubt is the possibility of maintaining the balance between the amount of traffic and the facilities for handling it, and consequently between receipts and expenses. It seems probable that the summit has been reached. The management considers that the amounts contributed to the compensation account in 1910 and 1911 as exceptional, and does not think that the operating ratio can be maintained at the level then established. A consideration of the past shows that during the preceding four years the increases of wages and salaries have raised the operating ratio by about 4 per cent. But outside the increase of salaries and the cost of materials, there is a whole series of unfavorable conditions that must always be counted upon to affect this ratio, especially those which tend to offset the increases in passenger and freight receipts, namely, the great development of branch lines, the increasing demands of the passenger traffic in the matters of comfort and speed, and the increased cost of safety of operation. The minister adds that when the future financial situation of the railways is considered, account must be taken of the increasing burden imposed by extraordinary appropriations, and the effect of the general necessities of the state. In consequence of the increase of capital invested by about $100,000,000 per year, this charge is subjected to an annual increase of $3,250,000. To this must be added an increase in interest charges of $2,500,000 per annum, which totals $5,750,000. On the other hand, it must also be remembered, that for the same conditions, the operating ratio, when taken for a long period, has a tendency to rise, as, for example, between 1895 and 1910 it rose on an average of 75 per cent. per year. Now this fact alone represents a supplementary annual charge of $4,250,000, which, added to the $5,750,000 already provided for gives a total of $10,000,000. In order to obtain this net amount above the net income, it is necessary, using the operating ratio of 1910, to add about $30,000,000 to the receipts. In the face of such an outlook the new regulation affecting the use of extraordinary appropriations of the state funds must be borne in mind. This regulation is only susceptible of a very limited temporary application, for it implies very important increases in charges, the amount of which cannot be foreseen. LOCOMOTIVE BLOW-OFF VALVE. The L. J. Bordo Company, Philadelphia, Pa., after a careful study of conditions, has come to the conclusion that the exacting service required of locomotive blow-off valves demands a special material for their construction. It is therefore placing on the market a new type of valve, known as the reversible gate blow-off valve, which is made of a hard bronze consisting of pure tin and copper. The other advantages claimed for the valve, which is shown Bordo Reversible Gate Locomotive Blow-Off Valve. in the accompanying drawing, are that it has no pockets in which water may lodge and freeze; there is nothing to obstruct the passage of scale or hard substances, thus preventing possible engine failures from this source; the reversible gate should give double the service of one which can be used on one side only; the renewable seat is out of the range of pressure; and a lever arrangement is provided by which the valve may easily and conveniently be adjusted. THE Maintenance of Way Section. HE installation of a labor bureau on the Baltimore & Ohio as a branch of the maintenance of way department to recruit laborers for the various kinds of maintenance work, marks an advance in the methods of securing unskilled labor for railway service which will be watched with much interest. While railways have given exclusive contracts for supplying all labor to one agent, in this way making him the official labor agent of the road, this is the first time, so far as is known, that a railway has created a labor bureau under its sole direction and has attempted Eastern states a similar exodus to the factories has occurred. In the face of the outlook for a large amount of railway development next year, this labor situation presents a most serious problem. The present indications are that much new construction and improvement work will be undertaken during 1913, and in many quarters it is felt that the amount opened up will be limited only by the labor which can be secured. to secure the laborers needed for its work IT is interesting to note the favor with which the Japanese through agencies under its direct control. With branches in all the labor centers on this system, such an organization should be able to secure men better than in the old way, and the results for the few months in which this bureau has been organized justify this conclusion. As it becomes known among the laborers that the road is conducting its own labor bureau and that a man can secure work without paying the customary fees, it will probably be found that a large proportion of those employed will return from year to year. Such a bureau should also be valuable in securing laborers for other departments; in fact, the Baltimore & Ohio's bureau already has been called on to supply laborers for several departments besides the maintenance of way. THE HE universal prevalence of broken rails last winter is still fresh in the minds of all, and should impress upon every maintenance officer the necessity of getting his track into the best possible condition before the roadbed freezes. Aside from the inherently defective rails, which have been discussed at length in these columns, many sound rails have been broken by flat wheels and because of defective track conditions. For these the railways must assume the full burden; and the responsibility for track conditions rests directly upon the roadmaster and his forces. In some cases rails may be supported on unsound ties. More frequently the track is not properly surfaced and drained. In most parts of the country it is still not too late to go over the track carefully and see that everything possible is done to bring it into such condition that the unnecessary stresses upon the rail will be reduced to a minimum. A little additional care expended now in going over the track carefully, raising all low spots and seeing that the rail has a full bearing upon all ties and that they in turn are firmly supported by the ballast, will save much trouble and work later on when the extreme cold weather comes. After the roadbed freezes, the best that can be done until spring is to insert shims promptly and carefully as the track heaves in order to give the rail the best bearing that is possible when the other conditions are the most unfavorable. CONTR ONTRARY to the expectations of many the railway labor situation has not been materially relieved with the approach of winter. Usually at this season men are plentiful and gangs are being laid off, but this year, especially in the Eastern states, it is as hard to get men now as at any time during the summer and in some places work is almost at a standstill because of lack of sufficient forces. The condition of the track in many cases reflects this situation. Not only has more work been deferred until late in the season than is usual, but the track itself is in poorer condition in many places than is customary at this time. One thing particularly noticeable is the early reduction of the section forces to a winter basis by the action of the men themselves. In the Central Western states many who know that their employment on the track will last only a short time have gone into the corn fields, where the wages are higher, while in the are looked upon as track laborers by those who have employed them. The most frequent complaint heard is that their numbers among the railway forces are continually decreasing since no more are coming to this country to replace those who are leaving the railway to engage in other industries, such as fruit farming and truck gardening. Their fields of labor have been confined almost entirely to that portion of the country west of the Rocky mountains. The Japanese compare advantageously with other foreign laborers in their desire to learn the English language and their rapid mastery of it, their general willingness to work and the interest displayed in the work and in their cleanliness in personal habits. Their desire to learn the English language is indicated by the fact that the Educational Bureau of the Union Pacific was called on to translate the track course into Japanese for the benefit of the 600 men of that nationality in the track department; and the proportion of Japanese taking the course to the total number of Japanese employed was much greater than the ratio of native workmen. While there has been a strong feeling against the Japanese in the western states because of the fear of their competition with the native American laborers, this competition would not occur in track work since comparatively few native Americans are to be found here today. On the other hand, the Japanese would compete with foreigners of other nationalities, and the competition would resolve itself into a case of the survival of the fittest. TH 'There HE contest on methods of promoting safety in the maintenance of way department, which closed October 25, indicates very clearly that the universal interest in the subject of "Safety First" is not confined to the shop men and switch men, although the principal attention has been paid to eliminating injuries among these classes of employees. (As an indication of interest taken by the men on the track, it is currently reported that on a southern road the negro section laborers are now carrying "safety" razors for "social purposes !") were 27 papers entered in the contest, and while many of them are from roadmasters and higher officials, a large number of section foremen are also represented in the list, showing that the safety propaganda has interested a very large number of these men, upon whom rests almost entirely the responsibility for securing safety among the foreign laborers who so largely predominate in section and extra gangs. The judges of the contest, T. J. Foley, assistant general manager of the Illinois Central; E. H. Lee, chief engineer, Chicago & Western Indiana, and H. G. Clark, assistant to second vice-president, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, awarded the first prize to G. W. Andrews, inspector of maintenance, Baltimore & Ohio, Baltimore, Md., and the second prize to L. J. Evans, foreman, Western Pacific, Stockton, Cal. Other papers which have been accepted and will be published in this and succeeding issues were submitted by E. H. Barnhart, assistant division engineer, B. & O., New Castle, Pa.; B. A. West, roadmaster, A. T. & S. F., Pueblo, Colo.; E. M. Grime, supervisor bridges and buildings, N. P., Glendive. Mont.; M. Ganley, roadmaster, A. T. & S. F., Argentine, Kans.; |