The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-16
THE POOLING OF CARS
RAILRoADs PLANNING TO RE-
 LIEvE SITUATION.
"Ton Unit" May Be Adopted il Switching Movements-other News in the World of
 Railroads.

St. Louis Republic.
 Car pooling Is the only feasible plan yet presented to cure the sectional car famines which make semi-annuai visit tations.
 Tn the summer months the side tracks |of the Western grain hauling lines are full of idle equipment for the reason there Is nothing for them to do and at the same time roads In the South and East are at their wits end to supply equip ment for movement of melons. vegeta- bles and fruit In the falis months and in the spring when business is dead in the fruit and melon producing country there are strings of ears standing idle in the South whereas the Western grain lines are driven to the extrenii- ties on account of shortage of equipment to move bushes offering.
 To cure all this lear pooling" is pro posed That is, the roads in need are to be given relief by those that are holding equipment in idieness. This plan Is not a purely philianthropic one, but Is based on railroad economics. Under the per diem plan for car hire, every day car is away from home 1t earns S cents per day, except when a single road holds 1t exceeding thirty rays. when 1t must be settled for to the owners at A per day.
 Railroads of course are constantly on the alert to avoid paying the N per day rate, or as 1t Is better known. the penal ty'' rate. Even at 20 cents a day car would repay its owner 12 to IA per cent, per snnum on investment of from $5co to $500. When cars are in demand they are considered good for $i0 per day as an earning proposition. but when idle and not needed. and some other road is short of cars, a return of F to IA per A.xA As~r. q 1~@Nn 1x The Ton Unit Basis.
 It is a foregone conclusion that the rail roads will soon adopt the ton unit basis for settlement of cars handled on switch movements, abolishing the "cai unit" arrangement now in effect
 By switch movements is meant the handling of cars moved from one indus try to another in the same terminals but not necessarily located on different roads. For instance, if a firm in Mont gomery wishes to have the railroad move a carload of freight for them tc ing tariff rate would apply. which is 5.
 per car regardless of weight of shipment
 to be moved, or the classification thu
 shipment would take.
 The old plan Is manifestiy unjust to thu
 railroads as we'll as its patrons. For in
 stance, a shipper Is charged as much fol a shipment weighing 2O.OO0 pounds fol
 moving a ear through town" as h'
 would be if the shipment weighed So,
 600 pounds, and of course the railroad lose out in the same manner. By adop 1 ton of the ton unit" that is, asse I
 switching rate as per actual weight O
 commodity to be switched, a fair adjust
 ment for shipper as well as carrie'
 will be reached.
 Larger Eastern lines are now working
 under this plan and the American Rail I way Association advocates ts genera
 adoption SO as to make the usage Unf | form throughout the country.
 Effect of Boil Weevll Quarantine.
 The Louisiana crop pest commission recently appointed to take steps to pre- \ vent the spread of the boil weevil int that State has issued a set of rules, on of which is that no cotton seed or othe proucts which are believed to convey tn weevil Is allowed to be shipped iron
 Texas either into or through that State The inevitable H1sult Is that all rail ship ments of cotton seed, seed cotton, hulls loats, hay straw, or anything else likel, to transmit the sinfeetion,s must go nortl out of Texas. This win send a grea Il majority. of the, shipments through tn II ITexarkana gateway to Memphis, at whicV