Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-07
DELAYS 10 FREIGHT
II q. ---
Local Merchants Complain
Against Railroads.
MAKE PROTEST In VAIN
--.i
TAKES WEEKS INSTEAD OF DAYS
10 observation-disclosures.
SFaiH
Men in All Lines Of Trade Tell Their
Troubles to Reporter
for The Star.

There appears to be very general com.
plant by the various merchants engaged
IN business In Washington against the abb
normal delay In freight shipments to this
city. According to these merchants freight
coming from the north, east, south and
west, but more particularly from the south
and west. is seriously delayed.
1t IL said by many Of the merchants that
shipments OF freight that In the ordinary
course of travel should arrive In Washing
ton within three, four and Ave days after
being loaded on the cars at the point of
shipment do not arrive In Washington until
two. three and in some cases five and six
weeks later.
one particular line of business. but lumber
dealers, grocers, agricultural implement
dealers. furniture and hardware men, in
fact, men In all lines of trade are OF one
opinion In regard to the shabby treatment
they say the railroad managers are giving
the business houses of Washington.
A number OF the merchants with whom
a reporter for The Evening Star talked to-
day on the subject said they had made nu-
merous complaints to the various railroad
ofncials, but that these complaints. while
In some cases had been politely replied to,
had been of little or no avail In fastening
lHc QchfSfy VI the Shipment TcIoETeQ " az
the time or in Fastening the delivery OF
future shipments.
Mr. Thomas w. Smith, lumber merchant
OF LIST street and Indiana avenue, In talk
Ing to a Star reporter today said:
My particular trouble at this time Is
that l have to waste a very large amount
Of my time every day calling through the
telephone upon the freight agents of rail-
roads entering this city for information con-
corning ears of lumber and millwork which
have been en- route from the point of ship
ment an unreasonable time. In fact. as
merchant have to call upon these men so
often upon this subject and upon an inquiry
for one particular item, that they determine
at last that it must be a joke and that
they are not bound to be courteous or to
give patient attention and investigation OF
carrier to the person or firm to which car
load or smaller lots Of merchandise are con-
signed stt
A Specified Delay.
81 am under contract to deliver to an in
stitution in this city two carloads of very
large and long timber which were billed
from Carthage N. c. on April T. 1904, and
in due course of, railroad transportation
business should have been in Washington,
d. c., on April 14.iF Immediately after these
cars left Carthage, NJ c., a mail tracer
was sent out after them. This tracer was
received by the car service agent of the
Sea aboard Air Line at Portsmouth, Va,
prior to April 104 The car service agent
there wrote that .eompanys superintendent
at Richmond calling attention to these two
cars. To his mail inquiry he received an
answer on April IS, advising him that the
cars were on hand at Richmond In. bad
order. To this am order was wired to hurry
all possible repairs, which order had not
been replied to ON April %. On April %
the superintendent Of the Seaboard Air Line
wired the car service agent at Portsmouth
that the ears had been repaired and turned
over to the r.. F. & p. r. r. at Richmond.
THE car service man at Portsmouth noti-
fled me by telegraph subsequent to April
% that the cars in question had been turn
ed over to the r., f.. & P. r.. r.. on the 18th
instant, A telegram from L. Ellis of the
r., f. & p r. r. dated May A. 1904. states
that these two cars were forwarded from
Richmond on April 80. Daily for more
than two weeks 1 have exhausted all of
my resources trying to ascertain where
these cars are. / have spent more than
two hours time today telephoning, tele-
perintendents, etc, from Richmond to
Washington to ascertain the whereabouts
of these two cars.
This is only one case out of many hun
dreds. The dealers in merchandise in this
city and in all other cities are suffering
today because of the neglect of railroad Of
ficials In not giving proper attention to the
forwarding of dead merchandise. that is to
say, merchandise that Is practically un-
perishable. Cars will be carded from a CEN
trail shipping point.
Left on Side Tracks.
"If train men have trouble with the train
by reason of heavy grades or other causes,
cars are shunted on to sidings, freight cars
are left with the nearest freight agent, cars
lying on these sidings for days and some
times for months, the agent at shipping
point knowing nothing about the action by
the train men. Merchants desiring infor-
nation practically have to run the Offices
- ~,tx, lfzDa fD,,. 1;,-t~&
sometimes offices of superintendent of rail-
roads to ascertain where cars are
Il have reliable information that more
than LOCO cars of merchandise are now on
the sidings between Richmond and Wash
ington and have been there for weeks with
no possible relief in sight. and they are
there because the several railroads running
trains over the R., +. & p r. r. do not
have the motive power to move these cars
from place of shipment to destination and
further that at the Anacostia yards north
of Washington there are at the present
time more than 400 cars so congesting
the tracks at that point that the companies
controlling those yards are unable to prop
erly distribute cars"
Experience of Others.
AT the furniture establishment of w. B.
Moses Sons 1t was said:
I'VE are very much annoyed almost
every day by the delay in furniture Ship
ments that should arrive within a few days
after the order reaches the factory. but do
not get here within as many weeks. Just
why this delay should be we are unable TO
work out. We do know, however, that
very frequently when an order is placed
with one of our factories the goods reach
US within few days. and another order
placed with the same factory the next day
does not reach us within three weeks, al
though there is the same promptness in
loading by the factory people. 1t is GER
tainly very annoying, but we have been
unable to obtain relief We have made
complaints to the railroad people. but they
p. Mann & Coz, dealers in agricultural
implements and Fertilizers:
I'VE heartily agree with any movement
that will bring relief to the merchants ~
Washington and AFFORD US better time In
the handling by the railroads Of freight
shipments to this city. We are greatly an
noyed by the delay in material that we
know has been loaded on the cars Al the
point Of shinmenfI Why q falraa 49,. ~. ~