Col. J.M. Schoonmaker and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad; A Study of Personality and Ideals (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1913. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VII THE LAST NINE PRINCIPLES OF EFFICIENCY IN OPERATION ISCIPLINE in its old-time meaning refers to the spirit of the organization. The Catholic Church uses the word in this sense when it speaks of the Discipline of St. Francis or the Discipline of St. Dominic. There is a spirit of organization on the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie. Men live up to the spirit of the game, the spirit of the road, the spirit of the department, the spirit of the chief. The superintendent of motive power told of a machinist who asked for his money after working half a day, stating as his reason, "This place is too much like a Sunday-school for me." This reminded me of the wonderful discipline of a hospital at Seattle, conducted by French Canadian sisters. They received volunteers on probation, would not allow them to take final vows until they had proved that they had vocation. If the real spirit was not there they were sent back into the world. Both these instances illustrate, however, one of the weaknesses of modern employment methods. Why should the machinist who had no vocation for a steady regular life be employed even for half a day? Was not the man wiser than the management? Why should a girl work three years before it can be determined that she is without vocation? It is the one decaying apple that will often spoil a whole barrel; nay, a single apple of a different color and kind will lessen the value of a whole box. On the occasion of a freight blockade at Buffalo, the general manager called to break it first sent back to the yards the crippled locomotives that had been gathered in the hope that quantity of power would solve the difficulty. In the emergency, more than at any other time, the general manager wanted quality, reliability--not quantity. So with employees. But the...