Fred Arthur McKenzie

“ It has been the experience of other generations that a successful nation emerging triumphantly from a hard-fought war has in itself such springs of hope, enthusiasm, and inspiration that the impossibilities of other days are tackled and overcome. The British railways may at least hope that, having solved the problems of war traffic and employment in unequalled fashion, they will master the lesser problems of the coming days of peace. ”

“ In the darkest hours of Serbia's sombre his- tory, when the doctors and nurses sent by the Allies were compelled to leave because of the Austrian conquest, the Serbian wounded had few to look to save the gallant little band of American doctors and workers. They could not save the land from the worst of its agony. Faced by starvation, slaughter, and stark brutality, whose full horrors the world has not yet realized, they could only stand for the right like men. Dr. Donnelly, the well- known American surgeon, died when fighting plague in Serbia. ”

“ Above all, there was the outstanding fact that the old scale of wages was inadequate under war prices. The average cost of food of the kind mainly purchased by working men had doubled; clothing was much dearer; all the incidental expenses of living, except rent and rates, had gone up; and men could not maintain their families decently on the old wage scale. The idea of making the rise the same for all ranks was to benefit most those who needed it most—the lowest paid men.
Up to the beginning of the war British railways had been very reluctant to employ women labour, even for office details. ”

“ In the great rush of work to be done when the world is to be repaired, when ruined countrysides are to be rebuilt, great cities re-equipped, and the waste of war made good, there will be for a time at least a demand for labour greater even than the supply afforded by a gradually demobilised army. ”

“ William Archer, the famous critic, "France will know that this unassuming soldier of the Legion, Who, not mindful of the antique debt, Came back the generous path of Lafayette, was one whom even she may be proud to have reckoned among her defenders." Little has been written about the Americans in the ranks of the British Army. It is not that the British people have not warmly appreciated the help of the American men, but there has been a desire to do nothing which should seem in any way to run counter to the American official declaration of neutrality. ”

“ Many railway employees were convinced that since the Government was now virtually in control of their lines their demands for increased wages should be met. The rapid rise in the cost of living had made it obvious, after a time, that something must be done. The railway companies felt that, from their point of view, any rise in wages, even though wholly or mainly made by the Government, might have the serious result of putting on them a heavy burden to be borne after the war and after private ownership was resumed. ”

“ If a substantial increase on the pre-war rates is found necessary—as many think it will be—how are the companies to meet it? Are they to be allowed to maintain higher passenger rates or to increase freight charges? If so, will these higher charges mean increased revenue? It is an axiom of management that low fares mean heavy traffic. Here is a matter which will demand the most careful consideration of both railway managements and the men's leaders.
The third problem is that of the future of women's labour on the railways. ”

“ America is the guardian of her own honour. It is for her statesmen and not for us to decide what the nation shall do. The majority of Americans in the British ranks have naturally enlisted in the Canadian Army. At the beginning of the war a large number of Americans resident in Canada joined the ranks, and many others crossed the frontier for the same purpose. An attempt was made on one occasion to raise an American Legion, and four special American battalions were re- cruited, one being sent to England. ”

“ The absence of vibration, the ease with which cases could be taken in and out, the facilities for carrying patients to the treatment room, and the arrangements for the staff excited the greatest admiration in the numerous places where the train was put on show before it was brought into service. Not that the Brighton Railway was exceptional in this. All the great English railway works devoted their utmost skill and care to the ambulance trains, and each pitted itself against the others in providing the best for our wounded men. ”

“ Those like myself whose affairs take them irito the Allied lines are constantly surprised to find Americans in the most unlikely places. Their speech be- trays them, whatever declarations they may have made when joining up. "If you take a map of the United States and go up and down the American lines in France, you will find no city, great or small, which has not sent a flying man, a bomber, an artilleryman, a sniper or despatch rider to help to destroy Prussian despotism," wrote Lord Northcliffe, after a visit to the front. ”

“ A minor economy introduced early in the war was an agreement by the railways to accept each other's "paid" and "to pay" stamps and labels on parcel traffic. This saved very much labour, and it led to a further development in January, 1917, when the Railway Executive Committee announced that from a given date "the carriage charges for all descriptions of traffic for conveyance by passenger train or other similar service must be paid by the sender at the forwarding station." The whole system of bills and accounts for passenger goods traffic was thus swept away. ”

“ A fourth American, Bert Hall,* a Texan cowboy who had also joined the Foreign Legion, was transferred to the air service shortly after Thaw. Air Corps are to modern armies what the King's Guards were in the days of the Stuarts and the Louis—the corps d'élite. In France, the Army airmen rank specially high, and any- one who has witnessed their marvellous work admits that they have earned their place. ”

“ These rapid rises in the wages paid to the men came in for much criticism. It was pointed out that the increase of 1916 was nearly equal to wiping out the dividends on the ordinary stock. The Railway Magazine declared: "Under no other system but State control would a war bonus be paid on an all-round basis alike to lads of eighteen years of age and the oldest employee, and single and married men placed on the same plane, no matter what may be their financial responsibilities or comparative wages." ”

“ Many of them, the very pick of the nation, have given themselves as volunteers. The great Universi- ties, headed by Harvard, have sent doctors and hospital staffs to nurse the sick and wounded. Groups of rich young men crossed the Atlantic when war broke out, bringing their own automo- biles with them, and formed the nucleus of the splendid ambulance services that have been of incalculable service to France. ”

“ The trade unions pressed for a definite understanding about the wages the women were to receive, and further asked for assurances that the employment of women in capacities where they were not formerly employed was an emergency action arising out of circumstances created by the war, and would not prejudice in any way the undertaking given by the railway companies as to the re-employment of men who had joined the Colours, on the conclusion of the war. The pay of women in grades in which they were not engaged in August, 1914, was fixed at the minimum pay of the grade. ”

“ The great fact is that more than 50,000 young Crusaders have crossed the Atlantic to join an Army in which they are fighting not for King or country, but against what they realize to be the curse of the world at this moment—the attempt of the Ger- mans to dominate Europe and then America." The most spectacular and thrilling side of the work of the war is found among the Army flyers. The American squadron of the French Avia- tion Corps owes its existence to three young men —William Thaw, of Pittsburg, Norman Prince, of Boston, and Elliot Cowdin, the Long Island polo player. ”

“ Hundreds of clerks had been employed at the Railway Clearing House at Euston, London, in dissecting payments covering different lines, so that each line should have its proper share. This work was no longer required. The vast amount of competition maintained before the war for traffic at once ceased. British railways, particularly those competing with others for the business of particular towns, had maintained staffs of canvassers not only for freight, but even for passenger traffic. ”

“ Among the most active American sol- diers in the Allied ranks are men who began as ambulance workers or relief agents, and who were so roused by the cruelties they witnessed that they took up the sword to fight a foe whom they recognised as the common enemy of all who love justice and freedom. ”

“ No journey which is NOT of REAL URGENCY should be undertaken, and the public are warned that the passenger train service during the Christmas Holidays will be greatly reduced in comparison with previous years, and that the Railway Companies cannot undertake to CONVEY PASSENGERS to ANY PARTICULAR DESTINATION. The Military Authorities propose to restrict the leave of soldiers stationed in this country, and, in the interests of the nation, civilians should regard themselves as under a like restraint. ”

“ The American'Commission has carried this burden for two years with the aid of contributions from the whole world. Every Country, except America, has its own increasing load, and can no longer give so generously. ”

“ The very railway cars were built to a size that could be employed for transporting the maximum number of men. Goods trucks were planned so as to be suitable when the moment came for the carriage of guns and war material.
The British railways were privately owned, and were built solely for commercial purposes. The control of the principal lines was divided between forty companies. These maintained only a minimum of co-operation among themselves, and wherever they ran through the same territory there was keen rivalry. ”