The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-15

traffic of any importance-ore, coal,
oil, petroleum, meats, fruits, vegeta-
bles, grain, live stock, furniture, poul-
try, etc, etc.-many OF the items of
traffic being of periodic or seasonable
movement only, besides requiring spe-
cial schedules to accommodate.
But for lumber, the one steady all
year-round traffic, what has been
done? The same old fiat cars of forty
years ago, with no equipment, are still
with us, made worse by a five-fold
Increase in capacity, the records of a
large understanding railroad show
ing that in the past ten years only
they had increased the capacity of
their cars, viz, flats 1923 per cent;
box, AZ per cent; coal, 33 per cent
and by rigid rules as to equipment
promulgated by the railroads, taking
only the best quality of lumber, and
subject to most technical inspection
by the railroads. And who furnishes
this equipment; does cabinet work to
fit to the cars, subject to these rail-
road rules and technical inspection?
The manufacturer Yes, and then
pays freight on it besides!
An Unjust Discrimination.
Marvellous that this industry, Sec
ond in ali the land should have SO
long submitted to such discrimination.
Marvellous indeed that the railroads.
ever ready, and may add, with com
mendable promptneSS, to meet the re-
quirements of progress in all other di-
rections, on all other commodities,
should have continued to impose this
unjust burden ON the lumber manu-
facturers, and particularly when in a
state legislative hearing a master me-
chanic of forty years experience adj
mtted that proper equipment could be
provided by the railroads for a cost
of $25 per cara mere bagatelle when
compared to the showing at the same
hearing that this equipment was cost
ing the lumber manufacturers from
500 to $3.50 per car per year, or several
times the value of the whole car dur
ing its average life.
Marvellous that as an element of
safety the railroads have not long ere
this devised and applied permanent
adjustable equipment to flatcarS just
as they did in the matter of air brakes
and automatic couplers. Look at the
risk of having 10000 or more mills
great and small, furnishing and fitting
equipment of all kinds of material.
with all kinds of workmanship, the
same to be inspected by tens of thou
sands of inexperienced and often ire
sponsible agents and inspectors, result
ing in accidents unrecorded, and Gull
minating in the Connellsville accident,
in which sixty-five lives were sacri-
feed. The inducement to all parties
to solve this problem is too apparent
for comment or argument. That the
solution and adjustment of the other
mentioned problems are necessary for
the mutual good and prosperity of the
railroads and the lumber manufacture
ers is also apparent.
Prompt Action Needed.
Now. as to the manner of procedure.
The manufacturers urge comprehen-
sive, prompt action the railroads are
disposed to delay action or temporize.
Great railroad men and high officials
have made serious mistakes in their
day One, in speaking of the move
ment of lumber from a certain terri
tory, remarked that if they did not
transport il to-day. they could to-mor-
row. next year or some time. When
a branch was extended from another
system and the traffic slipped entirely
away from his lines, he realized his
mistake.