The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-05
AFFECTS 5000 MEN
An Order to Stop All Freight
Trains OH Sunday Hereafter.
The Lake Erie Follows the Example Set
by the d., l.. d W.--Tonnage Business
Here Shows an Improvement.

The New York Lake Erie G. Western
railroad has decided to follow the exam
pie Of the New York Central and Delaware
Lackawanna & Western railways and sus-
pend operations in the freight service as
far as possible. The company has issued
an order to hold ali common freight trains
In the yards from i o'clock on Saturday
night TO u o'clock Sunday night every
week in the year. The order went into eff
feet Saturday at midnight. and nearly all
the railroad men handling freight on the
New York, Lake Erie q Western, New
York, Pennsylvania & Ohio and Chicago &
Erie were given day off. Only the neces-
sary crews to handle fast freight and per-
ishable freight will be kept at work. The
passenger service viii also be cut down
so that the station agents and telegraph
operators may get a few extra hours rest
on Sunday. The order affects nearly eight
thousand men, half of whom will get a
days rest, the other half being compelled
TO work for two or three hours on Sunday.
Increase i'm Freight Traffic.
The official train records show that in the
week ending March 8 there were received
and forwarded at indianapolis 1,472 more
loaded cars than in the week ending Feb. q,
but, making comparison with the CORE
spending week of 1893, the exhibit is by no
means favorable Yet ii can be said that
at the corresponding period last year the
loaded movement was phenomenally
heavy the roads not then having really felt
the depression, and I'm March last year the
shipments of exhibits TO the worlds fair
cut an important figure; 50, summing the
matter up. freight men have some grounds
for encouragement. The business of this
week, judging from the calls for cars, prom
ises a still further increase. The improve
ment IN business last week was largely in
through traffic, and in shipments of grain
and live stock a large per cent. of 1t for
export; shipments of cereal products and
Hour were large for this season of the
year While export bushes is fully appre-
clated, there is a feeling with freight men
who study the situation that this is bust
ness of a spasmOdic character and handled
at very low rates. AS Oscar Murray, freight
traffic manager of the Big Four lines, puts
II, w hat freight men want To see is the
try, as this means business which will stay
by road and traffic which il pays we'll to
move. While through business east bound
shows the most marked Improvement It is
noticeable that west-bound shipments of
the higher class freightS and heavy groceries
are heavier, and, were lOwer-class freghts,
such as glass, iron structural work and
railroad supplies, moving in the usual vol
ume, west-bOund business would be we'll
up with that of the average I'm March. In
local business there has certainly been some
Improvement of late There is a percepti-
bic increased activity about the city freight
depOtS and the loading and unloading
tracks, but not until there is more bust
ness In progress with local industries can
II be expected that traffic will be up to the
usual standard from week to week Belfw
Is given the number of cars received and
forwarded at this point for the week ending
March g. as compared with the correspond
Ing week of the two preceding years