Rolling Tenements?

Chesapeake & Ohio's ebullient Robert Ralph Young has a 1946 batting average of 1,000. First he went to bat for through transcontinental sleeping car service at Chicago and St. Louis--and scored (TIME, April 1). Next time up, he got a base hit on his campaign against the black market in Pullman reservations. ICC approved Pullman's suggested changes on rail reservations.

Last week, Bob Young stepped up to the plate again. In 60,000 form letters and broadsides in 80 publications, he asked the traveling public: "Why must sleeping car passengers put up with 'rolling tenements'? Nine out of every ten sleeping cars belong in museums."

As evidence, Young cited the average age of the nation's 6,800 sleeping cars: 22 years. Less than 9% of the cars are of modern, lightweight design. Only 764 replacements had been ordered as of June 1.

Bob Young's solution was an "efficient, new sleeping car company. . . . We will gladly release all the new cars we purchase to any independently operated pool that will [make] modern sleeping car equipment available to all railroads, at reasonable cost. What roads will cooperate. . .?"

At week's end, none had come forward. Reason: most big roads are in the pool that was approved (by a lower court) as purchaser of the Pullman sleeping car service (TIME, Dec. 31). Bob Young, who wants to run Pullman sleepers himself, has appealed to the Supreme Court. He hoped the Supreme Court was reading his ads.

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