THURSDAY SESSION

OCTOBER 5, 1922

President Todd called the meeting to order at 10:10 o'clock.

PRESIDENT TODD:- The first business will be the Report of the Committee on Education, Mr. Edward Dana, General Manager, Boston Elevated Railway Company, Boston, Mass., Chairman.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

To the American Electric Railway Association:

GENTLEMEN.

The personnel of Committee on Education for the year 1922 is as follows:

EDWARD DANA, Chairman, General Manager, Boston Elevated Railway, Boston, Mass.

M. B. LAMBERT, Manager Railway Department, Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., East Pittsburg, Pa.

THOMAS S. WHEELWRIGHT, President, Virginia Railway & Power Co., Richmond, Va.

THOMAS FINIGAN, Vice-President, American Brake Shoe & Foundry Company, Chicago, Ill.

EDWARD A. WEST, General Superintendent, Denver Tramway Co., Denver, Col.

F. R. PHILLIPS, Superintendent Equipment, Pittsburg Railways Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.

HENRY H. NORRIS, Engineering Editor, Electric Railway Journal, New York City.

EDWARD J. BLAIR, Assistant to President, Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway Company, Chicago, Ill.

A. E. POTTER, President and General Manager, United Electric Railways Co., Providence, R. I.

THOMAS N. SCHOEPF, Vice-President, Cincinnati Traction Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.

INVITED MEMBERS

C. S. COLER, Manager Educational Department, Westington Electric and Manufacturing Co., East Pittsburgh, Pa.

PROF. W. H. TIMBIE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

The vote of the Executive Committee, creating a Committee on Education, was as follows:

"That the Executive Committee create a special committee which may grow into a continuing or standing committee for co-operation with educational institutions of the country with a view of bringing before the engineering schools the necessity for more new blood in the transportation business and the opportunities existing there. Also to encourage where possible courses in electric railways and public utilities. Also to arrange where possible co-operation between individual railways and engineering schools with a view to placing engineering students in summer time and after graduation."

Two meetings have been held, one at association headquarters on Tuesday, January 3, 1922, at which meeting were present Messrs. Dana, Lambert, West, Phillips, Von Phul, Blair, Potter and Norris, and by invitation Messrs. Timbie and Coler, and the other at association headquarters on May 15, 1922, at which meeting were present Messrs. Dana, Blair, Wheelwright, Lambert, Norris and by invitation Professor Timbie.

It was plainly evident from information forwarded to your committee that the subject is one of vital importance as well as evident that much must be accomplished in working out definite and practical methods of attacking the problem. Your committee has believed that its work would be of a preliminary nature this year and that it should proceed cautiously until after this convention has deliberated upon the subject and indicated more definite policies to be followed. Your committee is unanimous in its opinion that it should continue its work until the desired results have been achieved.

In order to direct the attention of the industry to the vital importance of the subject, your committee members, utilizing the various sources of information and suggestions which came to them, have written brief theses from different points of view upon this subject. In part, these have appeared in various railway periodicals and are attached to this report as an appendix.

The committee prepared the following outline of the subject along the lines it believed that the problems should be considered and invited criticism and suggestion from member companies as follows:

"The supply of trained men to fill positions of responsibility is of utmost importance in the street railway industry. The men already engaged in the industry must be educated for such responsibility and new talent must be recruited.

"The Committee on Education has been appointed for the purpose of attacking this problem. The committee needs all possible assistance in formulating plans for its report.

"Will you please criticise the following tentative outline of our program and indicate what you are doing along any of the lines mentioned.

"It is felt that the problem of maintaining the effectiveness of the electric railway supervisory and other personnel can best be met by doing the following:

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EDUCATING PRESENT NON-TECHNICALLY EDUCATED EMPLOYES FOR SUPERVISORY POSITIONS.

"CO-OPERATING WITH TECHNICAL SCHOOLS TO ASSURE A SUPPLY OF TECHNICALLY TRAINED RECRUITS.

"The following list of items make the subject somewhat more specific and appeal to us as worthy of careful consideration:

"I. PARTICIPATION IN CO-OPERATIVE COURSES WITH UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES.

"2. SIMILAR CO-OPERATION WITH HIGH SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS IN EITHER DAY OR NIGHT Courses.

"3. CO-OPERATION BETWEEN ELECTRIC RAILWAYS AND LARGE MANUFACTURING INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING EXCHANGES OF EM

PLOYES.

4. CONDUCTING CLASSES ON UNIVERSITY EXTENSION PLAN. "Second as to educational efforts within the railway's own organization:

"5. ARRANGING FOR PERIODIC STAFF MEETINGS AND PROVIDING FOR SERIES OF LECTURES AND DISCUSSIONS BY LOCAL MEN.

"6. PROVIDING FOR COMPANY SECTION AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL LECTURES AND DISCUSSION OF COMPANY PROBLEMS.

"7. PROVISION OF SHOP AND DEPARTMENTAL APPRENTICE COURSES. "8. DISTRIBUTION OF COMPANY AND ASSOCIATION LITERATURE OF AN EDUCATIONAL NATURE.

"9. CONDUCTING WORK ALONG AMERICANIZATION LINES, TEACHING OF ENGLISH FOR THE BENEFIT OF FOREIGN BORN EMPLOYES.

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IO. PROVISION OF INSTRUCTION ALONG THE LINES OF COURTESY TO THE PUBLIC."

The reaction secured from the committee's questionnaire was meagre and disappointing although some half-dozen companies by their replies and suggestions materially aided in the consideration of the subject.

The apparent lack of appreciation of the importance of the subject or interest in assisting this effort to produce results confirmed the opinion of the committee that it should proceed cautiously until after the convention in the hope that this subject might be specifically opened up and the way of future progress more definitely marked.

Your committee, therefore, has believed that it could best present a basis for consideration and discussion by elaborating upon the several statements in the questionnaire, as follows:

NO. 1. PARTICIPATION IN CO-OPERATIVE COURSES WITH UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

Participation in co-operative courses with universities and colleges should be for the purpose of training the higher executives. It should not be expected that railway companies would draw the minor executives and skilled workmen from the type of men who would benefit by such training. A limited number of college men might be employed during the summers following the first three years at college. These could be used largely to take the places of the regular employes who were on vacation. This, however, at best tends to increase the seasonal employment problem and a much better co-operative plan would be to arrange a course throughout three or four years of the student's time at college during which he would spend regular periods of from two to three months at the railway, going through a carefully arranged and supervised course of training in different departments. By dividing these cooperative students into two groups it would be possible always to have the same number of student employes on the railway. Both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard College have such co-operative courses in successful operation with industrial concerns and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has recently proposed a detail course for the training of men for railways situated within three or four hundred miles of Boston. The University of Cincinnati and Marquette University also have successful co-operative courses with electric railways.

NO. 2. SIMILAR CO-OPERATION WITH HIGH SCHOOLS AND TRADE SCHOOLS IN EITHER DAY OR NIGHT COURSES

Co-operation with high schools and trade schools in, either day or night courses is desirable for the training of minor executives and skilled workmen. The high school at Fitchburg operates a day cooperative course. In the vicinity of Boston, Wentworth Institute, Franklin Institute, Lowell Institute and several night high schools offer courses for training foremen in science and mathematics. These courses could be pursued to advantage by an employe of an electric railway company who wished to advance to a position of increased responsibility. Similar courses are available in other large cities. The active interest of the street railway companies in seeing that their employes avail themselves of such facility would seem to be a duty in providing the supply of trained executives.

NO. 3. CO-OPERATION BETWEEN ELECTRIC RAILWAYS AND LARGE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES INCLUDING EXCHANGE OF EMPLOYES

The number of large manufacturing establishments serving the electric railway industry affords a splendid opportunity for the exchange and development of promising young men, which would be beneficial to the operating companies, the manufacturing companies and the individuals, and beneficial to the industry as a whole.

Among such manufacturers are the large steel industries, the car and locomotive companies and the electrical equipment and appliance manufacturers.

Some of the large manufacturing companies have been conducting a co-operative plan of this character with satisfactory results. Arrangements were made with a few electric railway companies, during the past few years, for one or two promising young engineers to enter the employ of different electric railway companies for a period of six months. During this period they worked for the electric railway company as car inspectors, car wiremen or on testing work of various kinds, receiving the regular rates paid for such work, thus giving these engineering apprentices six months' practical experience in electric railway shops. On the other hand, some electric railway companies, appreciating the value to them of having promising young men in their employ securing the advantage of six months' training in manufacturing plants, have arranged for them to enter the employ of manufacturing companies for such periods at apprentice rates in the manufacturing plants selected.

This phase of educational work is worthy of full consideration by member companies, both operating and manufacturing, with the idea that perhaps some definite plan of co-operation and exchange of apprentices may be worked out.

NO. 4,

CONDUCTING CLASSES ON UNIVERSITY EXTENSION PLAN.

The State university extension plan is available in most cities for training in mathematics, drawing and electricity. The usual scheme is by correspondence except in the cases where a class of twenty-five or more can be brought together in one town, in which case evening or afternoon classes are taught by a teacher supplied by the University Extension Division of the Department of Education. In one State the Department of Education also offers a special course for the training of motormen, although not enough men have applied to warrant the department in supplying a local teacher for classes, the entire work at the present time being carried on by correspondence.

NO. 5. INSTRUCTION OF SUPERVISORY FORCE IN ELECTRIC RAILWAY "OVERHEAD" PROBLEMS

It is essential that electric railway employes have an understanding of the fundamental economic problems of the industry in general and of the property employing them in particular. Educate the supervisory force from foremen up and the clerical force in the following matters:

Finances,

Governmental Regulation,

Taxes,

Accounting,

Allied Executive Problems.