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Caption: Dedication - Transportation Building Dedication Addresses
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It is needless to emphasize the desirability of the greatest economy in operation oonsistent with reasonable compensation and working conditions for employes, and good service. Economy is most effectively promoted by hand- ling traffic in the largest units. For years the ingenuity and energy of railway engineering, mechanical and operating officers have been directed chiefly toward increasing the sizes of transportation units. The capacity of cars and power of engines have been augmented, grades have been reduced and curvature eliminated, almost entirely for this purpose. Supplemented by ever more thorough supervis- ion of car loading and train loading, these things have made the railways of the United States the leaders of the world in economy of operation, in spite of the fact that the wages of labor here are higher than in any other country, and over twice as high as in Europe. There must, however, be some limit to the extent to which we can practically and economically increase the capacity of cars, the size and power of engines, and the lwngth of trains. Probably the day is near when the ol4 t strenuous and largely "rule of thumb'' methods by which the big economies have been made must be supplemented, or even largely supplanted, by methods of greater refinement, which will secure more numerous, but individually smaller, economies. It eeerae clear that there is going to be need for more thorough, searching and scientific investigation to ascertain all of the means by which the moat efficient use
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