The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1891-11-26
GRAIN CAN'T BE MOVED
NORTHWESTERN ROADS ALL
SHORT OF CARS.
Although New Rolling Stock Was Largely
Bought, There Are Still Thousands Of
Cars Needed Locomotives Never Laid
Up-SuHering VIII Ensuc.
Grave Cause for Alarm.

locomotives to pull Them" Sa ID Assistant
General Freight AGENT Kelley, of the
{ hicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul Rail-
road Company. I'm the far West and
Northwest every availa Bile cubic inch OF
space under cover is filed to overflow
ing with grain. We are striving to the
utmost to give the necessary aid. We
give the remote sect .ons the preference,
and to demonstrate how earn' st our
efforts let me say cur locomotives arc
worked as they never were before. The
moment one crew leaves another takes
the engine in hand. Seventeen crews to
six engines is the present record he
farmers, nearly every one of them. are
behind in their payments and must have
money. Should the snow prevent the
movement of grain starvation will in
many localities end the Suffering of
struggling families. They must la c
coal and food. To obtain these they
must secure a market for their crops,
and if the country buyers cannot move
the grain then no money can be paid
for it,"
Tho Chicago aud Northwestern tells
the same story. An Official says: The
crowded to their greatest capacity
There are no ears for rental Even the
Southern lines are without extra
"empties." The Nor hwestcrn i doing
its utmost to break the blockade.
Every ava liable car is sent to the North
western era IL belts. But traffic is UNI
usually heavy in al commodities and
the cars must 90 ont loaded. There are
few empty cans in the country at the
present time. i he farmers, owing to
their need of ready money, are striving
to deliver TO the buyers at least SO per
cent. of Their crops. There is elevator
room for only a su all PORTION Of this
vast amount of grain.
George II. Ross, superintendent of car
and special freight service of the Chi
cago, burlington Il Quincy, said the
company could ne 1000 cars more than
it now had to good advantage Corn
would soon begin to pour in, and then
greater shortage in cars would | G made
apparent. The new crop would be in
active movement during December, and
a grain blockade would be almost GER
tain. The Eastern lines were now un
able to meet the demands made upon
them. What would be the situation in
December he dared not predict
God help the farmers of the No TIL
west should there be a snow blockade
this winter
This is the sentiment expressed by the
officials Of every railroad over whose
lines the products of The great grain
belts are to be moved. BY reason of the
anxiety of the farmers to convert their
crops into cash at the earliest possible
moment the carrying capacity of each
company is far too limited to meet the
clamorous demand. How long this
q inc " inn * q U
matter Of conjecture The enormous
yield of all cereals estimated at more
than zoe, OCo, 600 bushels in excess of the
crop of 1880, and the great Y increased
demand for commodities of every kind
are the reasons why tie railways are
short from 100 to 3.50O cars each Al
employees, all locomotives and all cars
are being worked to the utmost limit
1 he 700: crops of the last two years
reduced the tiicrs Of the soil in the
Northwest to extreme poverty. Money
/ tn y must have. The lavish kindness of
nature in the wheat fl DIS of 1891 has
! again filled with hope the hearts of these
j farmers. The interest on their mort
cages may now be paid. Seed for next
] years SOW ng is assured But their Sur
plus grain must be converted into cash
These are the principal rea OnS why the
peope Of the Northwest are clampr-
ing for cars Their G evators-of limited
capacity-are filled Bins, bed rooms,
barns. and even tents are bursting with
grain. Five hundred million bushels not
yet thrashcd are stacked upon the prair
les The buyers can take no more. Ihey
have no place '>torc it To give relief
the railway companies are doing all that
is possible.
Every railway through the grea,
Northwestern wheat belt has made spe.
cial preparation for hauling to market
the phenomenal wheat crop. More
fir, light cars were purch; s ID than in any
other year in the railroad history of this
section, IL addition the cars were en-
larged and 700 bushels of wheat has be-
come a standard car inst, a / of 500 as
heretofore, but all Preparations are in
adequate, and every road reports cal
I famine. TIE crop is moving even more
rapidly than was eXpe ted and cars can
not he supplied t. II cet the demand. The
la lway Commission has received ant
investigate | a score of comp aints and il
! every case il has been shown that it wa:
sheer inability on the Fart OF the com
panics to furnish sufficient ears. The
roads having the longest hauls are sui
fering the mos: So ercly, with the eXcep
ton of the Northern lines, from whose
territory little complaint comes. Thu
greatest apprehension is now felt for thu
coal supply. Through that great sec
tion of Western country supplied Will
coal via the lakes and Duluth the de
mand for cars is now the greatest 70
the crop, and the pre- ent cold snap ha
so stimulated the demand for coal as I,
excite the fear that the ear famine vii
be intensified later on.
So great is the shortage of frcigh
ears on the AtchSon. Topeka and SAINT;
Fc that the farmers of Kansas and tn
Southwest are terribly depressed owe
the poor prospect of an early movcmcn
of their crops The company is eXertin
every effort to move The corn and wheat
and would willing LAY premium owe
! and above the mileage for empty cars
; The farmers of the Southwest Will
+ they need money quite as badly as thei
brethren of the Northwest, do no: fac
starvation as do the latter by reason G
) the inability of the railroads to handl
the grain.
"Rushed to our limit" and "Not car
enough by the hundreds" are the rcplie
of the managers of the Eastern lines
So heavy, indeed, is the demand for car
that many shipments If grain go aero,
the ocean via New Orleans. SO it
that the railroads running into Fixi
are in but little better shape than thos
of the North, West and East.
The Flint and Pere Marquette Raj
read, which by reason of its different:
rate was able to carry grain to the Sc;
b ard cheaper than the all-rail lines il
it is sa ID, in as bad shape as its WeSter
connections The Northwestern has i
sued to its agents in the Northwest o
ders not to accept any freight for dcli'