Word: ladd
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...Land (Jaguar; Warner). "Thuh East needs beef!" That's what the man says, but regrettably, in this as in most of his independent productions. Actor Alan Ladd is able to deliver almost nothing but corn. For a moment now and then the wide screen opens on the blond infinities of Kansas grassland, but then it quickly narrows focus to the usual picayune plot: hero in trouble, villain (Anthony Caruso) in black, redhead (Virginia Mayo) in stays, weakling (Edmond O'Brien) in his cups. Then come the cattle drive, the big stampede, the solemn walk through the swinging doors...
Although he guessed that passenger service is "desperately unprofitable," Ladd found that the industry doesn't know whether it is losing $637 million a year or making a slight profit. He pointed out that the "averages" used to compute the costs of operating a single train could be off by more than $350,000 annually...
These averages are derived by the prescribed ICC Uniform System of Accounts, which Ladd accused of "retarding the development of good management cost data." One ICC account combines water cooler ice, car cleaners' wages, detouring costs, and eye and ear tests for trainmen into one figure...
...Ladd pointed out the need for trained cost analysts, saying that misjudgements can cost a railroad $1,000 a day. He continued that the railroads "should not be burdened with data prepared in standardized forms required by regulatory authorities...
...Ladd, who is now associate professor of Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario, submitted his report as a doctoral thesis last June, and it was published last month...