Are Presidents Necessary?

When the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad's Patriot rattled into Boston two hours and 31 minutes late from Washington one night last week, the railroad might have counted it as just one more routine Late Arrival. But as luck had it, one of the irate passengers was Massachusetts' Republican Representative John W. Heselton. Fuming at what he called New Haven President Patrick McGinnis' "public-be-damned policy," Heselton announced that he will ask Congress to fix "civil or criminal penalties" for railroaders who cannot run their trains on time.

For Railroader McGinnis, it was only the beginning of another bad week. While waiting for an overdue train to Manhattan, a group of Madison Avenue admen invented an essay contest on how New Haven commuters feel about the railroad. Prizes would be awarded to the Connecticut commuters who provide the best endings to such sentences as "When I arrived in my office a few minutes before lunch, my boss . . ." or "We're thinking of moving back to Long Island because . . ." First prize: $50. Consolation prize: a share of New Haven stock.

But the hardest blow was struck at McGinnis by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Ever since a McGinnis group won control of the Boston & Maine Railroad last April, the B. & M. president's chair has been empty, and McGinnis aspired to fill it, as he does the presidency of the New Haven. When he failed to show up before ICC Examiner Homer T. Kirby to push his application, his lawyer explained that he was busy 24 hours a day personally dealing with the New Haven's problems. Asked Examiner Kirby: "If Mr. McGinnis spends all his waking and sleeping hours running the New Haven, how can he possibly run the Boston & Maine, too?"

The lawyer's answer was to withdraw the application, and at week's end it seemed that McGinnis would have no second chance to head the Boston & Maine. Was McGinnis really necessary? In its nine months without a president, the Boston & Maine ran on time, improved its commuter service, picked up new freight business and clicked along from a $2,745,000 deficit to a $2,352,000 profit.

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