Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-10-06
TO LEAVE MARION
SECOND FORCE OF MILWAUKEE
DlsPATcHERs TO ARRIVE
TOMORROW.
Kansas City Dispatches Expected on
Next Sunday-AlI Milwaukee Trains
Handled Here-Freiaht Car Famine
General.

The force of train dispatchers which
is at present located at Marion will be
transferred to the Milwaukee junction
depot in this city tomorrow and ac-
| cording to present arrangements it is
thought that the six dispatchers who
are now located at Kansas City will
be transferred to this point on next
sunday. From that time on all Mil
Waukee trains between Chicago and
Kansas City will be handled from the
| Ottumwa office.
The force to be transferred from Ma
ron tomorrow consists of four men, H.
| w. Drum, acting chief dispatcher, j. f.
Anderson, I. e. Schick and ]. S. Har-
ned. These men together with the
three men transferred from Cone last
Thursday who have been handling the
trains on the Milwaukee cutoff under
the direction of Chief Dispatcher Chris
Romes will make force of eight men
at the Ottumwa Office. Mr.. Romes
Will resume his position as chief dis
patcher after the reunion of the two
forces takes place and Mr.. Drum will
be assistant chief dispatcher.
AdditlonS Completed.
With the exception OF painting the
outside of the building the work of re-
modelling and charging the Milwaukee
/ junction depot has been completed.
The partitions have been rearranged
and in addition a number of smaller
Offices, for the use of the superintend-
ent and his clerks. one big room
has been built for the use of the dis
patchers.
A Freight Car Famine.
We are never able to secure cars
enough to, handle all the business we
could get" said local Burlington of.
/ fetal this morning. THE shortage
from this time on while the grain ship
ping is at It's height will be greater
than for the past few months. We
cannot get the cars built fast enough
to accommodate the growth of our
business" he continued.
Shortage General.
| 1t is stated that the railroads of the
entire country are face to face with
what promises to be the greatest car
shortage in their history. Despite the
fact that the most liberal orders for
new equipment have been given by all
railroads during the last twelve
months they now find themselves un-
able to accept all the traffic that is Of.
4 fered
The condition of affairs was outlin-
| ed by Vice President w C. Brown of
the Lake Shore, who said
that that company was in urgent need
OF 1900 box cars daily. On other
systems with a much greater mileage
than the Lake Shore, larger numbers
of cars are needed for Immediate
use.
Could Load Many Cars.
| IF the Lake Shore railroad had the
cars" declared Mr. Brown, lit could
| load 200 of them daily, for example.
| with structural iron from the Pitts
burg district. From that district $50
car loads of structural iron ore are
being loaded daily for export and more
than 1000 cars daily for home distri-
button. This is only one example of
| the great activity in the movement
of merchandise and commodities
which is taking place all over the
country. If the business of the coun-
! try continues to increase in the future
?
railroads will be compelled to face a
shortage of cars every fall, when the
grain crop is moved. The railroads
could not afford to own enough equip.
ment to handle promptly all the traf-
fic that is now being offered, because
large part of it would have to re.
main idle more than half the year.
| The condition on the Lake Shore
will be greatly relieved by the acqui.
sition of 1000 box cars, which will be
delivered early in November Many
of the eastern roads have in the last
few days made strenuous enort to rent
foreign cars, but without avail Most
of the roads are now refusing to per.
nit their cars to leave their own
tracks, fearing that other roads will
detain them, and willingly pay the
per diem for their use.