Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 198, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1915 — HELPS ALL EMPLOYEES [ARTICLE]

HELPS ALL EMPLOYEES

EDUCATIONAL BUREAU DOING A REALLY GOOD WORK. Venture Which Was the Idea of the Late Edward H. Harriman Is Likely to Spread to All the Lines of the Country. As a result of the generosity and farsightedness of the late Edward H. Harriman, a unique plan for the betterment of railroad employees throughout the United States has made rapid progress in the last two years. This plan, which Mr. Harriman conceived and caused to be put into operation on the Union Pacific railroad, was the forming of an educational bureau, through whose offices the employees of the Harriman lines were tittered an Opportunity to increase their capacity to assume greater responsibilities to fit themselves for promotion. So successful has the venture proved that officials of practically all the railway companies in the United States are considering the advisability of adopting similar methods for the benefit of their own employees. As there are about 365 such companies, employing some 1,800,000 jhe possibilities for good, should”' this educational work be to each line, are enormous.

Through the agency of the educational bureau, every man in the employ of the Union Pacific can, without incurring any personal expense, avail himself of the benefits of some thirty courses of instruction, covering virtually every branch of railroad work. A central bureau has been established at Omaha, Neb., under the direction of Mr. D. C. Buell, who has a score of assistants, including traveling representatives, instructors, etc. In the words of Mr. Buell, the railroad is creating a reserve supply of better men, which will make it unnecessary for the officials of the operating department of the road to go outside of their ranks for men to fill responsible positions, as w r as frequently the case in the past. The interest of the employees themselves is indicated by the fact that in the first year of the bureau more than 50 per cent of them enrolled as students. All instruction is conducted by correspondence, thereby giving each employee, no matter where he is located, an equal opportunity to obtain the benefits offered. The lessons are specially prepared, and are approved by the heads of the departments interested before they are issued, thus putting the stamp of authoritative information on each course.

After a man enrolls he receives a set of lesson papers, including a pamphlet that explains just how to proceed -with his studies. Each lesson contains a set of questions which the student must answer in order to qualify on that lesson and proceed with the next. The answers are corrected at the central office of the bureau, and the report sent to the student, so that he can ascertain whether he has acquired an understanding knowledge of the subject.

One of the best things about the plan is the fact that lack of previous education does not prevent a man from taking a course. Some of the courses can be completed by anyone who can read and write, while others require a knowledge of simple mathematics. In correcting the lessons, writing, spelling, and punctuation are not considered.

The training of station helpers and clerks is another important part of the bureau’s work. For this purpose there has been established in Chicago, in co-operation with the Illinois Central railroad, a class room where young men graduates of telegraph schools are received and given a practical course in station and other clerical work. Here they are enabled to familiarize themselves with the actual work they will have to do when they enter the service. This course averages about four weeks, and when a student has successfully completed it, he is immediately placed in a position as station agent’s helper. Three months’ acceptable service in this work leads to the position of scheduled telegrapher, and from then on promotion depends entirely upon the man's ability and attention to duty.— The Sunday Magazine.