The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-11-12
RAILROAD NEWS.
Rock Island Not Discriminating
Against Kansas StOckmen.
Trouble is That Company Is 600
Stock Cars Short.
SHIPPERS COMPLAINT.
Writes That Road FayOrs Texas
Men Because OF Laws.
Gossip and Matters OF Interest
i'm Railroad Circles.
SHIPPERS COMPLAINT.

officials of the Chicago. Rock Island
& Pacific Railway company deny en-
phatically that in the matter offurnish-
ing stock cars they are discriminating
against the stockmen of Kansas IN
favor of those of Texas, because of the
stringent laws III the latter state which
impose a heavy penalty on railroads
for failure to have stock cars on hand
when they are ordered.
They state that their failure to fur
nfsh stock cars promptly is due to the
fact that the company has not enough
of these cars to meet the unusual de-
mands that are being made Tor lheLn
and that they are doing as goou as
they can with the equipment at hand
and this equipment is by no means
small
Charges that the Rock Island was
discriminating against the Kansas
stockmen in favor of those in Texas
were made in the following letter TO
the State Journal:
My Dear Journal: You are gen
orally so correctly honest that it's hard
90 criticise. but in your issue or DC
tober GATH, in the Railroad News
Shortage of Cars, Movements OF Cat
tie is Tied Up Already" you get off
wrong so far as the Rock Island rail-
way is concerned. If you should visit
the Bucklin or Hutchinson divisions
YOU would see the sidings full of empty
cattle cars, but they don't have to
furnish them to their customers IN
Kansas. they tote them off to Texas,
where they have law that is a law,
law made by an unsubsidized ieg1s-
lature. To Texas the cattle cars go
when it costs the railroads lots Of
money every day they fail to furnish
them, and Kansas people that have
paid In bonds for decent treatment can
whistle. what was it that Wander
bilt said about the public? The Rock
Island seems to concur in that senti-
ment"
I have just had a little experience
myself and know what / am talking
about. I drove in two loads Of old
COWS to Meade October 81, to be
loaded for that far famed "StOck Ex-
press" that the Rock Iisland was so
free to advertise These cars were
ordered the Monday previous. I had
to drive them home again that night. I
then drove them in again saturday
October 28th. and kept them in the
yards until Wednesday noon, NOVen-
Der l. and had to drive them back
again to the ranch, because the road
would not furnish the cars and the
yards at Hutchinson are fun of cattle
cars. Ten other loads had to do the
same, and cattle cars going to Texas
every day by the hundreds To Texas
where the people have some law, and
our little dinky Kansas legislature
passed the thing they did, 1t makes us
tired And they pretend to be a re-
Island agents boast that they don t
have to be in a hurry to furnish cars
only to Texas people.
The trouble with the Rock Island is
that they have bought up every bob
tailed little railroad that was for sale,
and is spreading itself out like an old
hen, to cover more eggs than it can
cover. They are trying to bore an
auger hole with a gimlet.
They have plenty of cars at every
division, but no motive pOwer-only
for Texas.
There are other things that ought
to be told to the conhding public Of
Kansas, but this is so long that L will
foregO the pleasure at this time.
D. E. BALLARD.
Meade. Kansas. Nov. 1, 1906.
Burton Nudge, chief clerk to +. Z.
Dolan. superintendent of the southwest
district of the Rock Island, was shown
this letter and in reply he said:
I'VE surely are not discriminating
against the stoCkmen of Kansas in ia
vCr of those in Texas, and there is not
q single stock car in our equipment
that is idle in Kansas or any other
place on our southwest divisions unless
&c is in need of repairs. As a matter
of fact we are handling more cattle
from Kansas now than we are from
Texas.
"The trouble is that we are short
fully 600 stock cars and our equipment
I'm this line is large. There is an I'M
pTecedented shipment of cattle to the
market and as is always the case ev-
eryone wants to ship at the same time.
Why on one day last week there were
$50 cars ordered from points between
Santa Rosa and HeriuEton. Most of
the shipping is done on Saturdays and
Sundays to reach the Kansas City mar
kets on Monday and Tuesday and of
course the empty cars are hauled back
through Kansas to be used again as
Texas, It Is true. to fill our orders
there and as a rule these cars for Texs s
are ordered weeks in advance. The big
shippers there know just when they
are going TO move their stock and put
orders In away ahead of the time and
we fill these orders to the best Of our
ability, and we DO the same for the or
ders I'm Kansas and other places.
I'VE cannot afford to discriminate
against any class Of shippers and es-
pecially the small ones, such as your
correspondent appears to be for it is
the small shippers that really make VI
the bulk of our live stock tonnage
Our orders for cars being greater
than we have cars to supply it has
been our custom to appOrtion our cars
proporuonately to the orders on the
various divisions. and give these cars
to those who have their orders in fir t.
I'VE are not short of motive power
TO handle our equipment and we are
getting every ounce of work possible
out Of our motive power and cars and
sou can rest assured that there is not
stock car on our lines that is idlz
FOR a minute In fact they are all
working overtime"
SURGEONS ELECT OFFICERS.