Page:Fagan (1908) Confessions of a railroad signalman.djvu/116

96 These figures are not inclusive of employees. The biggest single item of the year’s disaster for personal injuries fell under the head of collisions, 76 of them resulting in 456 claims, to the account of which the charge was $145,748. The total was 876 claims for personal injuries, costing $746,075, still leaving 2345 unsettled cases at the expiration of the year.

Some time ago, in the Chicago “Record-Herald,”, president of the Santa Fé system, was quoted as follows: “One of the most serious conditions which this country is facing to-day is the indifference and disregard which the employee has for the interests of the employer.”

“The Santa Fé,” continued Mr. Ripley, “hopes to establish a better esprit de corps among its employees, and expects that a liberal pension system will have that tendency. We have on this system as much loyalty as most railroads enjoy, if not more, but it is not what it should be. The lack of loyalty among employees is a condition from which all corporations are now suffering, and it presents a most serious problem.”

It matters little to what railroad one turns for information on this subject, Mr. Ripley’s remarks, in a greater or less degree, apply to them all. Quite recently, in discussing this topic, the manager of another railroad uttered the same opinion from a