Coffin Medal

When, seven years ago, the late great Charles Albert Coffin/- resigned the chairmanship of General Electric Co. (which he founded by merger, 1892) to Owen D. Young, his practical associates established in his honor the Charles A. Coffin Medal. It goes each year to a railway company which during the year has made a distinguished contribution to the development of electric railway transportation for the convenience of the public and the benefit of the electrical industry. Last week the recipient was the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad. Electric railway men consider it the most important accomplishment of the decade. And only four years ago it was a "pile of junk." That was before Samuel Insull took it over.

With a $13,000,000 initial outlay he rebuilt the road from the ground up, put down heavy rails, built new stations, bought comfortable coaches, created an esprit de corps among employes, nine out of ten of whom bought company stock. He reduced the traveling time between

Chicago and South Bend from three hours to two hours. Passengers had for their comfort observation cars with swivel chairs, smoking compartments, women's lounges, buffet kitchens. A quarter of a million passengers travel on it each month now, and factories ship a quarter of a million tons of goods by it monthly. With profits went further improvements. Last August employes with delight began burning all the company's wooden cars--because they had enough all steel rolling stock for their needs.

/-Died 1926, aged 81.