The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1906-12-20
HE TAKES UP SUFFERING.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT PERSONAL
LY INQUIRIES INTO FUEL AND
CAR SHORTAGE.
SHIPPERS ALSO AT FAULT.
Kansas City Menaced by Great Freight
Jam and .nquisitoIs Go There
from st. Louis.


ing legislative remedy for the car short
age in the northwest was indicated by
conference at the white house today.
The Presiden. sent for Senator Hans
brough and asked him whether the &C
tual danger of suffering is as great as
has been reported by press dispatches
and kilograms from individuals. The
North Dakota senator said it is. The
President promised TO give the question
his personal attention with view to al
lcviating any immediate suffering, and
said he desired Senator Hansbrough to
devote time and thought to some leglsla-
tive remedy in order to avoid occurrences
of present conditions.
Senator Hansbrough has i'll mind the
passage of a law which would compel
the railroads to anticipate extraordinary
movements of fuel, grain or other com
modities. 1t is believed by Senator
Hausbrough that if law of this char
acter were passed the railways would
be able to contract for the use of equip
ment from roads in the south OF other
parts of the country, when the demand
for rolling stock is not great during the
winter or in the crop moving seasons.
Shippers Also at Fault.
Interstate Commerce Commissioner
Clark appeared before the House COM
mittee on public lands today i'll support
Of the Presidents suggestion that the
government cease to sell coal lands ana
lease them hereafter to mining compa-
MES He reiterated his charges that
great corporations. in league with rail
roads, have "coruered" coal lands and
forced the prices up unreasonabiy.
When questioned as 10 the present
difficulty i'll getting cars, Mr.. Clark re-
piled that in his opinion shippers are as
Oh rr;n "a
thousands of cars are delayed unneces-
sariy in large centcrs by the failure of
shippers to unload them promptly. In
Mr.. Clark's opinion railways are buy
ing cars and locomotives as rapidly as
they can get them.
Inquiry at St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS, Mo, Dec. 1S.-The inter
state commerce commission today began
an investigation into the shortage OF
freight cars. The hearing Is expected
To conclude tomorrow afternoon when the
members Of the commission VIII 90 10
Kansas City and resume the iuvestiga-
ton.
Prior to the opening of the session
Commissioner Prouty said: The inter
state commerce commission is here To
ascertain if possible if the shortage of
freight ears is due to scarcity of
engines or improper management on the
part of the railways. We expect to fix
the responsibility and then try TO rem
edy it"
Jam at Kansas City.
KANSAS CITY, Mo, Dee. 1S.--LaCk
not only of cars and locomotives, but in
sufficient yardage, warehouses and ele-
vatorS are the causes that have brought
about freight congestion in Kansas City,
and probably elsewhere it is stated.
Every freight house in Kansas City is
gorgcd and every storage track is crowd
ed. As many cars are waiting to be UNI
loaded as are waiting to be loaded The
loads cannot be dumped on the ground
and the cmptips cannot be loaded faster
than about so many per day.
The roads are frequently forced to or
der cars brought To Kansas City instant
~ without waiting for loads, because
when the loads arrive here there is no
place to put them. Warehouses and Gle
yalorS must be emptied before they can
be rrhllcd.
Roads Get Busy i'll Northwest.
MINNEAPOLIS Mimi, Dec. IS
Singing under Il vigorous squirting by
the interstate commerce commission. the
railroads of the Northwest last night
came TO the front with a promise to re
licve the fuel famine in North Dakota
within twenty-fuur hours and began
race with Il forty bclow-zeru blizzard for
that state.
Death ana suffering will result, if the
cold wave wins, cutting down the ELI
cheney of motive power and bringing ON
heavy SHOWS. Already the thermometer
has fallen to ID degrees below at Willis
ton, - below at Devils Lake and 20 ut
Bismarck. So far the blasts from the
north have been unacCompanied by snow,
and in this fact the hope of the thou
sands in distress lies.
Commission Is Startled
The commission at the close Of the
hearing expressed itself as startled ut
some Of the reports sent to IT. These
have 50 far shown situation more seri
GUS than they had expected TO find.
kilograms began to pour in early to-
day and it was clear that the commits
sion had acted none too quickly in Sc
curing the promise of cooperation of
coal companies and railroads. In some
localities farmers have been burning
their fences and the out buildings up to
yesterday, and in other towns piles of
valuable lumber were cut up into fuel.
North Dakota bankers and farmers
gave testimony showing that failure to
move the crops had put the country COM
mercially in strained conditions.
Nebraska Coal Prices Steep.
NORFOLK, Neb., Dec. 1S.--A cold
wave struck TINS section laSt night, the
mercury going to three degrees below
zero.
Coal is very scarce on the Rosebud
reservation north of this place, settlers
paying SIS n ton for soft coal and $50
for hard coal.
In Kentucky, Too.
LOUISVILLE. Ky. Dee. 1S.-C c.
McChord chairman of the Kentucky
railway commission, today received
Telegram from James Ii. Harlan of the
interstate commerce commission, asking
him to come to Chicago Thursday to APP
pear before the commission and to bring
witnesses as to the coal situation in
western Kentucky.
Mr.. McChord has not decided what he
will do, but says the coal situation in
western Kentucky is serious.
DODC IC ICCT A NHIIi ION