The Red Cloud chief., 1894-02-02
TAPPING THE CARS.
How Thieves Fob Grain-Luden Cars IN
Transit

How Thieves Fob Grain-Iuden Cars IN
Transit.
II could afford to give n great
many dollars to charitable institutions
each year il | had The grain that is
stolen while In transit IN tho United
States remarked u grain operator to
Il Chicago News man. and then he read
u communication from a farmer in
South Dakota who told how he had
shipped J.. 300 bushels net OF grain and
by the time ii had reached Buffalo and
the warehouse tolls had been paid the
grain netted him 1920.
Aside from the heavy warehouse
drain and storage charges and the
natural aud allowable shrinkages. that
grain, j dare say. lost many bushels
by theft" continued the Fargo man.
Ono OF the most ingenious and at
tho same timo the hardest to detect.
plans OF stealing grain from cars in
transit Is tho boring process. Great
numbers Of complaints are daily re-.
coivcd at terminal points about the
ravages Of 'borcrs.'"
How Is the boring process per-
formed?"
You know that it is almost an i'm.
possibility to move n car OF wheat
from u Western point TO an Eastern
market and keep the car going con-
tinually-that is 10 has 10 lie
switched from one roads yard to an
other. and very often when a conges.
ton occurs it frequently remains for
hours on n lonely side track. There
Is where the borer gets his oppor.
tunity.
LAS 1t is impossible to watch each
house in a great city continuously for
"a night so 1t is impracticable for n
railroad company 60 watch each car
on a side track. The borer IL Cener-
ally a poor follow who lives near thu
track and who Keeps poultry and per-
baps mich cows. To sneak up to a
freight train, glide beneath tho car.
bore an inch hole In tho floor and fill
several bags from tho downpouring
stream is a safe task. Railroad men
might pass and repass without OBJ
serving the 'borcr.' who might
easily conceal himself behind a
truck. Should n mau attempt 10
break a seal and force open n door
the chances are that he would DO de.
footed. Tho boring process Is safer.
Tho ~dopredations Of these borers
are becoming s o alarming that tho
railroad companies have in many
casos doubled their forces OF watch
men. Strenuous efforts are put forth
TO capture these marauders and mako
examples OF them. The shippers
would not kick SO hard If the borers
would content themselves with taking
Il bag or two OF grain from each car,
bat when they drill into q load. I'll a
few bags aud leave without plugging
up the augur.hole the grain leaks out
and is scattered along the tracks for
miles. With an inch-hole in tie
floor one can approximate tho leak
age from u thirty
load. II would be enormous ON a
trip of 100 miles.
Careful n rcpairers are detailed
to watch for these leaky cars and by
this species OF p%recaution the poo
shipper is often saved many a dollar.
Fortune often comes TO tho rescue
when tho cars cargo happens to be
oats or corn. Us the grain is apt tc
clog up and thereby stop the leakage.
Between this evil and Inc octopus
that controls the storage OF grain n
Buffalo where tho law regarding the
elevator rates and transactions seems
to be violated without fear the poo
grain shipper is kept guessing as tc
where his profits are coming from