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2- GOLDEN JUBILEE
OF THE
CITY OF GARRETT
ADDRESS
BY
DANIEL WILLARD
PRESIDENT
THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY
AT
GARRETT, INDIANA
OCTOBER 30. 1924
GOLDEN JUBILEE
OF THE
CITY OF GARRETT, INDIANA
ADDRESS BY DANIEL WILLARD
I appreciate very much, Mr. President, your cordial invitation
to be present and participate in Garrett's Golden Jubilee in com¬
memoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the completion of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Baltimore in the East, through
Garrett, to Chicago in the West.
I have frequently said before that while some disadvantages
attach to the office of railroad president, there are also many
advantages not the least of which is the privilege which the holder
of that office may properly claim, to be looked upon, construc¬
tively at least, as a citizen of all the communities served by the
railroad of which he happens to bé the chief executive. I feel a
very personal interest in the welfare of the City of Garrett, and
it gives me a feeling of no little pride that the relations which I
am told exist between the railroad and the city as a corporation,
and between the employes and officers of the railroad who have
their homes in Garrett and those other citizens who live in Garrett,
should be as cordial and sympathetic as seems to be the case. It
is easy to understand why such a relationship should exist, al¬
though unfortunately such a relationship does not always exist
under circumstances more or less similar.
There is another reason why I feel a particular interest in the
City of Garrett, and that is because it was named after Mr. John
W. Garrett, who was President of the Baltimore and Ohio Com¬
pany from November 17, 1858 until his death on September 26,
1884, a period of more than twenty-five years. It was due chiefly
to the vision and energy of Mr. Garrett and to his confidence in
the future of this countrv, that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
during his administration became one of the great transportation
systems of this country. In an address delivered by Mr. Garrett
before the Board of Trade in Chicago in May, 1870 he referred
with much pride to the arrangements which had just then been
2
perfected for extending the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through
Connellsville to Pittsburgh, and announced his intention of con¬
tinuing the extension on to Chicago, and pointed out to his hearers
that the distance from Chicago to tidewater at Baltimore via the
Baltimore and Ohio line, when completed, would be 185 miles
shorter than the New York Central line from Chicago to tidewater
at New York, and 166 miles shorter than the Erie as then pro¬
posed. As a matter of fact it is something more than 200 miles
shorter than the Erie as it was ultimately built. It is interesting
that today, forty years after the death of Mr. John W. Garrett,
his grandson, Robert Garrett, is and has been for many years a
member of the Board of Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio
Company. While it is a great compliment to the great President
of the Baltimore and Ohio to have this beautiful city bear his
name, his real and enduring monument is the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad itself.
I think it may be said in all truth—and I doubt if anyone in
Garrett would question the statement—that Garrett is indeed a
railroad city. I am told that when the Baltimore and Ohio line
was located through Garrett something over fifty years ago, there
was nothing whatever at the place where Garrett now stands to
even suggest the prosperous city which has since come into
existence. The location, the soil, the surroundings, the sky above
and the water beneath had all been there for untold centuries
before the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was built, but still there
was not even a village at Garrett. Immediately, however, after
the railroad was constructed and after it was decided to make
Garrett a division point with such offices, shops and other activi¬
ties as are usually associated with a railroad division point, the
real growth of Garrett began and from practically nothing in 1874
a city of 5,000 inhabitants has come into existence in 1924, a city
noted not only for its good streets, schools, hospitals and churches,
but also for the high standard of its civic life. I congratulate the
city officers and other agencies which have contributed to bring
this condition about, and I also congratulate those who are fortun¬
ate enough to have their homes in such a city as I have described.
On a somewhat similar occasion at the City of Willard a few
weeks ago I discussed briefly the inception and development of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. I have decided, however, to
take another topic for my discussion today. The topic which I
3
have chosen today has to do more closely with the relations
which exist between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a cor¬
poration and the great army of its employes who carry on the
operation of the railroad.
The last time I addressed an audience at Garrett—I think it
was in this very same room—was on September 1, 1922. At that
time a condition of industrial strife existed on nearly all the rail¬
roads, including the Baltimore and Ohio, due to the general strike
of the shop craftsmen which began on the first of the previous
July. I came here with other officers of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad for the express purpose of endeavoring to bring about an
adjustment of the situation. I had been told that the shopmen
in the employ of the Baltimore and Ohio Company were generally
satisfied with their wages, conditions of employment and relations
with the management before the strike was ordered; in fact, I
had received definite assurance to that effect from the principal
officer of one of the unions involved.
The Baltimore and Ohio Company had endeavored conscien¬
tiously to comply with all the requirements of the labor pro¬
visions of the Transportation Act, and we had not sought by
evasion or arrangement of any kind to escape any of the pro¬
visions of the Act or any of the orders issued by the Labor Board.
We were willing, and had been from the very first day of the
strike, to take back the men who had left the service, unwisely,
as we thought, and were willing to pay them the wages fixed by
the Labor Board, and were willing also to do everything that was
practicable and right towards bringing about a satisfactory read¬
justment of all relations. I urged a settlement on that basis
when I was in Garrett. Two weeks later a settlement was reached
between the Baltimore and Ohio Company and its employes on
substantially the same basis which I had suggested here in Garrett.
It was feared by some that it would be very difficult, if not impos¬
sible, under the terms of the so-called Baltimore agreement, to
restore a satisfactory relationship between the companies and the
striking employes; nevertheless, the officers representing the
Baltimore and Ohio Company, as well as the representatives of
the employes, took hold of the matter with a firm detérmination
to bring about a real settlement, and I think it is a fair statement
that the settlement which was made in Baltimore on September
15, 1922, has not only restored the amicable relations which
4
existed between the Baltimore and Ohio Company and its em¬
ployes before the strike, but that such relationship is even closer
and more sympathetic today than ever before, so far as I know,
in the history of the Company. This should be sufficient to
justify both parties in their joint action to bring about the
settlement.
I am well aware that the officers of the Baltimore and Ohio Com¬
pany, including myself, and the representatives of the men, in¬
cluding many of the labor leaders, were criticised because of the
settlement which was made. I have never regretted the action
of the Baltimore and Ohio Company in that connection, and I
hope that the employes and their representatives are equally well
satisfied from their point of view.
The strike having been settled on September 15, 1922, I ad¬
dressed a message to all employes advising them of the settlement
and requesting their earnest cooperation in an effort to restore
normal conditions as soon as possible so that we might be able to
fulfill our obligations as a common carrier. In that connection it
gives me the greatest pleasure to say now and before this audience
that the response which we received from men in all branches of
the service, and particularly from the men in Garrett shop and
roundhouse, was most gratifying, and the best evidence of the
effectiveness of the cooperation which we received on all parts of
the line is to be found in the fact that in less than four weeks after
the termination of the strike, the Baltimore and Ohio Company
had removed all embargoes from all gateways and was taking all
freight offered of any and every description. It is true that
some of the passenger service was not restored until later on, but
the postponement in that respect was partly for the purpose of
checking up the situation in order that we might intelligently
decide whether all the former service was needed under the con¬
ditions then existing, and particularly because of the greater use
which had come to be made of the automobile.
Some weeks before the strike of 1922, Mr. W. H. Johnston,
President of the Machinists' Union, and Mr. O. S. Beyer, Jr., an
engineer of high reputation and broad experience, called at my office
in Baltimore and said that they would be glad to cooperate with
the officers of the Company in an attempt to develop a plan
under which the workmen in the shops might cooperate in greater
degree towards improving the efficiency of the operations. Such
5
a suggestion coming from such a source was most unusual, in fact
was unique in my experience. However, the suggestion was ac¬
cepted in good faith and a plan had been worked out to put it into
effect some weeks before the beginning of the strike of the shop-
crafts in 1922. After the strike had been settled and things had be¬
gun to move again in a more normal manner, discussion of the sub¬
ject of cooperation was renewed and arrangements were made to
give the plan a trial at our Glenwood shops located near Pittsburgh.
Once more I wish to make acknowledgement of the effective
cooperation which we received from the very first from the men
chosen to represent our employes, as well as from the grand officers
of the respective unions. Before a very long time had elapsed we
could see that we were also beginning to get the earnest coopera¬
tion of the men themselves. It was too much to expect that such
a new and novel idea would be accepted in its entirety and all at
once. The experiment—^and I looked upon it largely as an
experiment at first—was continued for about a year at the Glen-
wood Shops. During all that time we were getting additional
experience ; we were developing new angles of the problem, and at
the same time working out their solution, but after the experiment
had been running a year it was decided that there was at least
enough merit in the plan to justify its extension to the principal
shops all over the Baltimore and Ohio System, and on February
25, 1924 an agreement was entered into between the officers of
the Baltimore and Ohio Company and the officers representing the
Federated Shop-Crafts in the Baltimore and Ohio service, which
provided for the appointment of Cooperative Committees in
forty-five different shops. The agreement also provided that
twice each month meetings of such Committees should be held at
stated times and places for the discussion of such matters as might
properly come before theiñ, the agreement itself enumerating the
different subjects that might be taken up for discussion.
Of course, we expected when the plan was extended to the entire
System, that we might find objection at certain points on the
part of some of the men, as well as reluctance on the part of some
of the Company officers, but the opposition was much less than
we had anticipated. The arrangement contemplated an entirely
new relationship which in turn demanded an entirely new and
different point of view. The larger plan, however, has now been
in effect about eight months, and I am going to give a brief report
O
showing in sitnple outline what has been accomplished in that
time. In accordance with the agreement which I have already
referred to and which was entered into between the Baltimore
and Ohio management and its employes in February 1924, 657
meetings have been held between men representing the manage¬
ment and men representing the employes. The average attend¬
ance at such meetings was 12. The average length of meetings
so held was l}/2 hours. Total number of suggestions submitted
for discussion, 5272. Number of such suggestions adopted, 3810.
Per cent, of those adopted to the total proposed, 72.2. Number
of suggestions still under consideration but not disposed of, 972.
Number postponed because the expense necessary to install them
not justified at the present time, 85. Number dropped because
after full discussion considered impractical, 405.
Please bear in mind that this record of accomplishment refers
only to one phase of the results which have been, obtained from
the new relationship developed in the Baltimore and Ohio ser¬
vice. The figures which I have just re^d are sufficient, I think,
to show that the plan in this particular aspect alone is a very
real one. It has actually been put into effect, meetings have been
and actually are being held at regular intervals, suggestions
actually are being made by employes and officers for mutual dis¬
cussion, and such suggestions really are being given serious con¬
sideration, and, as I have just shown, during a period of less
than eight months more than 3800 suggestions out of 5272 brought
up for discussion at the meetings of the Cooperative Committees
have actually been put into effect, and are today a part of the
Baltimore and Ohio standard practice. These results of them¬
selves more than justify the arrangement if nothing else had been
accomplished, but, as I have already said, I have a feeling that
the results indicated by these figures are really the least of all
the accomplishments to be expected under the plan.
First of all, the plan itself contemplates a full and sympathetic
understanding between the management and the men concerning
the problems confronting them in the Baltimore and Ohio ser¬
vice, and I believe that only with such an understanding is it
possible to have a satisfactory relationship based upon mutual
trust and confidence. The Cooperative Committees that have
been formed between the managing officers and the men employed
chiefly but not alone in the shop-crafts are simply one of the
7
agencies made use of in giving effect to the policy above outlined.
Frequent meetings between officers representing the management
and groups of the different employes are also helpful and to be
encouraged. In short, it may almost be said that the Baltimore
and Ohio labor plan or policy which has been developed in con¬
ferences between the management and the men is little if anything
more than an earnest determination on the part of -each to deal
honestly, fairly and sympathetically with the other, at the same
time making use of such agencies or methods as seem most likely
to secure the results mutually desired. When I speak of sympa¬
thetic understanding or relationship, I do not use the word sympa¬
thetic in any maudlin sense, but rather as indicating a mutual
desire to maintain a relationship based upon a friendly under¬
standing.
Now, what is the effect of such an understanding and of such
a relationship? It seems to me that there can be only one answer
to that question. It gives to every employe an enlightened and
enlarged view of his own worth and importance as a part of the
great organization known as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
It emphasizes to each man the importance of the work which he
himself is doing, and the responsibility which goes with his job
or position, and which rests upon him personally to do good
work, to do honest and dependable work, not just because it is
really his duty as an honest man to give good work in return for
good wages paid in good money, but because, realizing the re¬
sponsibility which he shares with the management for the safe
and proper operation of the railroad, he wants to do good work;
he wants to do thorough and dependable work in order that he
may fulfill the enlarged conception which he has of the responsi¬
bility which properly rests upon him as a part of the railroad
organization. In fact, I think it has come about that the work¬
men themselves in greater degree than ever before are doing and
doing happily the best that is in them, not just because they feel
they are obliged to do it, but rather because they want to do it,
understanding and knowing that it is the right and creditable
thing to do.
What an immeasurable difference there must be in the mental
attitude, in the point of view of a man working under such cir¬
cumstances, and one who without knowledge of the plans and
ideals of his employer, without understanding and appreciation
8
of the joint responsibilities which really rest upon both of them in
their joint relation to the public, simply goes about his daily task
feeling that he is obliged to do a certain apiount of work in return
for a certain amount of wages. How can a man working under
such conditions be expected to take the keen, lively and personal
interest in his work which makes all the difference between an
employment that is irksome and tiring, and' another that is
stimulating and full of interest?
I believe that it has now been fully demonstrated that the
cooperative plan which the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad has put
into effect, in cooperation with its shop employes, and with the
support of their respective unions, is no longer an experiment.
It has more than justified itself from many different angles. It
is now a part of the definitely adopted policy of the Baltimore and
Ohio Company, and I have a feeling that we have not yet begun
to realize the potential possibilities of the plan. As time goes on
and as we develop and cement still further the understanding and
relationship which has already grown up between the manage¬
ment and the men, I feel certain that the friendly and sympathetic
efforts of both parties will discover and suggest new methods and
new practices that will not only make for economy, and thereby
enable the railroad to pay good wages and at the same time
maintain satisfactory working conditions, but will also contribute
towards giving to the public the lower rates for transportation
service which they desire, but for which in my opinion they
sometimes press with undue and unwise urgency.
We must, of course, remember that first of all it is our duty
as a common carrier to give the public/'adequate service at reason¬
able rates.'' I have just quoted the words contained in the
Transportation Act. By "adequate service" I think is meant
that the service should be such as to meet the reasonable require¬
ments—^both freight and passenger—of the communities which
depend upon the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for transportation.
The matter of reasonable rates is one concerning which there are
many different views, but in the last analysis, under the existing
legislation the reasonableness of all rates is determined by the
Interstate Commerce Commission. I repeat that it is our duty
as common carriers to furnish the public adequate transportation
at reasonable rates, but we have also other important duties, one
of which is to operate the property so as not only to give the
9
public adequate transportation at reasonable rates, but so that
we will be able, after paying our operating expenses and taxes, to
pay the interest on our funded debt, by which I mean the interest
upon the mortgage which rests upon the property, and we should
also earn in addition to all that enough more to pay fair and
reasonable dividends upon the more than two million shares of
stock outstanding. Unless we are able to pay our interest and
show a reasonable profit for those who own the property by virtue
of owning its stock, then we are a failure as an industrial enterprise.
I have heard men in railroad service say in times past when
questions of wages and working conditions were being discussed,
that they were not personally interested in the success of their
Company; that they would just as soon receive their pay check
from a receiver appointed by the Court as from a corporate officer
of a railroad, meaning, of course, that even if the railroad were
bankrupt, they would get their wages and be just as well paid.
I think I can show that that is a very mistaken point of view.
There are many men in the employ of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad who have been in its service long enough to have had
personal knowledge of what happens during periods of depression,
as well as during periods of prosperity. When business is good
and earnings satisfactory, shops, engines, cars and all facilities
are worked to their full capacity, which of course means a full
force of employes. When business begins to fall off, it is first
evidenced by the number of empty cars standing around in yards
and on side tracks ; the number of engines withdrawn from service,
which means fewer train and engine men; roundhouse forces
reduced; back shop forces curtailed, and if the business continues
dull for some time, shops may be and are frequently shut down
completely. But if a period of poor earnings resulting either from
a falling off of business or from inadequate rates should be pro¬
longed, it will be noticed on most roads, if not all, that in
the effort to still further reduce expenses, forces will be still
further reduced, and then the following things will be noticed:
The engines that are in service, while safe to run, and while
meeting the requirements of legislation, will not be in as clean
and satisfactory condition as when times are better. The shops
will not be kept as clean, holes in the floor will not be repaired,
the roof may leak, window panes may fall out, and gradually,
but none the less certainly, it will come about that because of the
10
things I have mentioned, and many others, accidents will occur
more frequently, and men will get injured because tools, hoists
and all that sort of thing get overstrained; working conditions
become less attractive, less sanitary, less healthful, less safe—and
who will say that a man had just as soon work under such con¬
ditions even if the pay were exactly the same as under conditions
such as exist in the Garrett Shop today, where the tools are all
provided with the most approved safety devices, where the build¬
ings are clean and orderly, well kept and sanitary; where a man
can feel proud to work and proud to take his friend and show him
where he works? It is indeed a mistake to feel that money alone
represents everything that is included in the wage. Of course
money is a very essential thing, and up to a certain point it is
perhaps the most essential thing, because one must live and take
care of his family, but there comes a time when money is not the
most essential part of the wage which one receives. The conditions
of employment, the comfort, convenience, health and stability of
employment become involved, and these things or any of them
might far outweigh in real value and comfort any slight or even
considerable increase in wages. It is a mistake to think that the
employes of a company, particularly of a railroad company have
not a personal interest in the prosperity of that Company. They
are vitally interested therein and they should want to see their
Company prosperous because it is in their own selfish interest
that their Company should prosper, and being fully advised
concerning the affairs of the Company—and that is a part of the
present policy of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad—and being
given the fullest opportunity for self-expression, they ought
individually and collectively to be able and willing to make a
much greater contribution toward the prosperity of the Company
than would be the case if relations were not such as I believe exist
on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the present time.
While the Baltimore and Ohio Company has been endeavoring
to bring about the relationship between the management and the
men which I have just been discussing, it has also been endeavor¬
ing to develop a similar relationship between the Company, which
as I now use the word includes all the officers and employes, and
the public which the Company serves. Some years ago, when
addressing a staff meeting of the Baltimore and Ohio officers, I
tried to point out the relationship which I thought should exist
11
between a railroad and the communities which it serves, and
not being able upon the spur of the moment to think of a better
expression, I said that I wanted to see the Baltimore and Ohio
Company looked upon as a ^^good neighbor" in all the commu¬
nities which it serves, and to illustrate what I had in mind I
said that if a community or city such as Garrett, for instance,
should be visited by disaster from fire, water or disease, I
should hope that the people in that community or city would
turn instinctively and at once to the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad as their best and biggest neighbor, willing to help them
in their distress, and that I should expect the officers of that
division to act promptly and as a ^^good neighbor" ought to act
under such circumstances and not wait for instructions from
Baltimore or elsewhere.
I was very glad, therefore, to read in the papers a few days fol¬
lowing the terrible disaster which not long ago befell the cities of
Sandusky and Lorain, that Superintendent Hooper in Garrett,
in response to a request that he arrange in some manner to trans-
sport a number of nurses from Chicago to Lorain, immediately
replied, and without stopping to ask anyone what be should do—
Bring on your nurses and I will furnish the train!" That
in my opinion was acting the part of a good neighbor, and that is
the relationship which we want the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
to sustain with all the communities which we serve. While it may
be urged by some that such a relationship is idealistic, I think on the
other hand it is also very materialistic, because I believe that by
showing our willingness to serve others, we are doing the very thing
that we wisely should do if we were acting simply from selfish
motives. In short, the policy which I have endeavored to outline
and which we like to think is the real Baltimore and Ohio policy,
is not only in line with the very beautiful suggestion that we
should treat others as we would wish to be treated ourselves under
similar circumstances, but it is also in my opinion the wisest and
the best policy purely from the standpoint of earnings and ma¬
terial interests.
I wish once more to express my appreciation of your very
cordial invitation to be your guest today, and of the many
courtesies which have been extended to myself and other officers
of the Baltimore and Ohio Company, and I would like to have
it appear as of record that I also express the wish for a still
12
greater success at the 100th Anniversary of the building of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through Garrett, which will no
doubt be celebrated fifty years hence. While I do not expect to
be present on that occasion, it is quite probable that there are many
young people living in Garrett today, and very likely in the em¬
ploy of the Baltimore and Ohio Company, who will be here, and
when the records are read at that time, I would be glad to have
them reminded that, although not present in person, I nevertheless
extend to them my congratulations and very best wishes.
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