" Inefficiency! "

Senator James C. Couzens, progressive ex-Mayor of Detroit and suc- cessor to Mr. Newberry, declared in a public memorandum that demagogues throughout the country are magnifying the difficulties under which railways are operating. The public is being offered the choice of wage reductions for railway men or increased railway tariffs. Reduction of wages is an obvious saving for railway executives to suggest. " Why," suggested the Senator, " don't they do a little brain work to produce the necessary saving by increased railroad efficiency ? "

In support of his contention that the railways can economize by efficient operation, Mr. Couzens offers statistics obtained from the Interstate Commerce Commission: The net ton miles per 1,000 pounds of tractive power in 1920 was exactly the same as in 1903. On the 10 most efficient roads freight locomotives average 77.2 miles of travel a day, but on the 39 largest roads the average is only 63.4 miles. Coal consumption on the most efficient roads is 160 pounds per 1,000 gross ton miles, on the large roads it is 202 pounds. These figures suggest the possibility of economics which Senator Couzens estimates at upwards of $465,000,000 if carried out. The railways have not yet replied as to the practical possibility of putting the suggestions into effect.