Off with Their Heads

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So far, Fred Dumaine's methods have done little evident damage to the New Haven. In the first half of this year the railroad's passenger revenues were off 9% from 1949—not so much as those of its New England competitor, the Boston & Maine; freight revenues' were off 1.4%, only a slightly bigger drop than the B.&M.'s. But railroaders, both in & out of the company, think that the effects of Dumaine's policies will soon be felt. Said one fired official: "The sales force is ruined, and . . . you can bet that the friends of the [dismissed] freight traffic people are going to start shipping on other railroads. Most of us feel sorry for the old man. He's gone through life without having any fun—unless it's firing people."