The independent., 1903-03-19
WHO KNOWS

weeks 1t was impossible to get cars,
but just at present the sidings all
over the state are crowded with
"empties" and trains of empties as
long as can be handled on the sid
ings go scooting over the state in ev-
cry direction. Where were these cars
six weeks and two months ago?
In investigating this subject, in
formation has been obtained from cor
respondents in Chicago and New
York, from bankers, elevator men,
merchants and others in this state,
and this is what these men say, some
giving one thing as the cause and some
another, the first is from New York.
The thirteen men who rule this
country through the power OF ac-
cumulated capital, of which The In
dependent spoke a while ago, got to-
gether in New York and having come
to the conclusion that there was dan
ger of a panic on account OF the
stringency in the money market, de-
termined to cut down the amount OF
business being transacted in the coun-
try and limit it to such a volume that
there would be no strain ON the New
York banks. New regulations were
{n
which was that no freight should be
started out from any chief point OF
shipment until there was full train
to haul from each place. No emptles
were to be sent west. Cars were to
be held until they were loaded with
merchandise for the spring trade. Way
cars that became empty, We're to be
shunted out on side tracks and left.
Whenever one car became nearly
empty, the train men were required to
transfer the goods to another car and
leave the empty. That is, no empty
cars were to be hauled anywhere.
That, it was thought, would not only
accomplish the desired object of re-
stricting trade, but be great money
maker for the roads. That is one ex-
planation sent to The Independent.
Here is another: t- g. $500.
The roads were gradually increasing
the work that trainmen were required
to do without any increase in their
pay. The man who had fired one OF
the old engines and could do it with
out overwork was put on one of the
big moguls where the work was more
than doubled on account of the size
| of the engine and the increase in the
| tonnage hauled. He got no extra pay
| for this increase of work. The length
and weight of the trains was greatly
increased and the work of every train
man was largely augmented. Against
this condition of affairs the men at
last rebelled. They refused to per-
form the service required of them.
They side-tracked loaded cars here
and there, without any record being
made, until they had reduced the
length of the trains so that they could
handle them. In other cases they
made no attempt to keep up the sched-
ule time and trains for weeks were
hours and sometimes days behind
time. 1t Is said that stock trains
from Wyoming and other cattle ranges
have sometimes been sc hours behind
time at Omaha. Suits have been be-
gun against the railroads for i'm
mense sums in damages caused by loss
in handling live stock.
A distinguished banker says to The
Independent that the chief cause was
the ineficiency of the management
resulting from combining the roads
into great systems reaching across the
continent and making it an utter i'm
possibility to e1iciently manage them
from one office.
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