The Wichita daily eagle., 1903-08-12
AS BAD AS CAN BE
Congestion in Wichita Yards
Becomes Alarming.
CAR IN YARDS TEN DAYS
Between Time Ordered, Load
ed and Hauled Out.

The blockade in the Wichita yards is
becoming more serious every day, and
the business men are doing great deal
of talking about the trouble they have in
ing. The railroad men claim that they
cannot handle the cars fast enough. Each
of the roads have two switch engines
working day and night, but for some rea-
son or other they are unable to take
care of the business.
]. e Howard, of the Union mills, keeps
a record of all notices and requests for
cars, the time the notice was received or
the request filed, when the cars reached
the siding, when loaded and when moved.
Yesterday Mr. Howard showed the record
of one case which ended last week. On
Thursday, July 3Oth. Mr.. Howard asked
for two Frisco cars at his mill The
cars were switched onto the joint track
in the North End and were placed at
the mill by the Missouri Pacific on the
afternoon of August 5th, and were loaded
that afternoon and night and ordered back
TO the Frisco on the 9Th. They were
taken from the mill at 2 o'clock August
9Th and delivered to the Frisco Saturday,
Aufust 10th, just ten days after the order
was filed.
Mr.. Howard stated further that the mill
was within two hours Of closing down be-
cause they could not get the wheat to
grind. A car of wheat was loaded at
Clearwater and ordered in, but it required
just a week TO get it into the mill. Cars
OF wheat came in at very oppOrtune
times twice within the past two weeks.
and in one instance the car stood in the
yards several days.
THE switching situation this year is the
worst it has ever been, and I do not see
how it could be put into a more deplora-
BILE condition. said Mr.. Howard. Our
switch is jammed full of cars, and the
engine comes down here once a day. We
cannot depend on the railroads as to
the exact time when We can have cars set
or handled for shipment, and it is caus-
ing US some loss of money and consid-
cradle trouble and inconvenience when
we have cars in the yards and cannot
get them to our mill for unloading or get
empty cars to I'LL with -four, and when
We do get them for shipment over
other road We do not know when they
will be delivered to the other line. We
have loaded several cars by hauling
our sacks to another line, and yester-
day We made arrangements with trans
fer to haul another car today when
car was set in on the mill track
The railroad men do not deny that
their yards are full of cars and they
have more than they are able to handle.
but they claim that they are doing their
best to take care of the business. Every
track is jammed fun Of cars and this
has caused trouble between the switch
men and the city, and two were arrested
for running cars out into the streets and
blockading them.
Mr.. Howard's s kick is the same as every
other business man and manufacturer
who handles goods in car lots in this
city. Every one is discussing the situa-
ton, which has become SO serious that
& number of houses were handicapped
and when one business man meets an
other there is a long conference as to
their troubles and many remedies are dis
cusseG, some of which the railroads say
they have tried but found impractical
BILE. and the only thing that will relieve
the situation at present is more switch
room, and that is needed right away.