Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-17
COAL At $50 PER TON
Northwest in the Throes of a
Fuel Famine.
DAKOTA DEALERS HAVE NONE
Two Families of Farmers Perish From
the Cold.
POSSIBILITY OF SNOW BLOCKADE
Shortage of Cars Partly the Cause
1000 Empty in Kansas City
Heavy Snow Adds to Trouble.

| frightful situation exists in North Dakota
owing to the scarcity of fuel. Several per-
| sons have frozen to death as result of the
| failure of the railroads to furnish cars for
| the shipment of coal and wood There is
little timber in the state, and the residents
of towns and farmers are obliged to rely
| upon the railroads to bring in all fuel.
The deaths occurred in the northwestern
part of the state, where the entire families
! of two farmers persisted.
| The northwest no longer faces q fuel
| famine. 1t experiences one. There is not
town in the northern half of the state in
which coal can be had except in small
quantities and to supply immediate needs.
| In scores of places there is not pound to
| be bought, the dealers having been out of
| fuel for days, and in some cases for a week
or more.
| At Lakota dealers are out of all fuel, and
| citizens are sharing with their neighbors.
At Cando the flour mill has been closed for
| three weeks for lack of fuel, and the light
plant closed Thursday. AT Granville the
| last coal was sold on December g. At
| Towner and Rugby the schools are closed,
| as they are in many smaller towns. At
| Minot the Central heating plant has closed
| down at intervals to save fuel These IL
| Illustrations could be multiplied indefinitely.
Possibility of Snow Blockade.
| One of the worst features is the POSSIBLE
| ity of a snow blockade. There is more
snow on the ground now than any time
since 1896. Thus far there have been no
high winds and bad drifts, but storm
such as is usual at any time in the winter
would pile up immense drifts and tie up
| the roads for many days and cripple them
for the entire winter. In this appalling
condition the people are paying atten-
ton to the lack of cars for wheat ship
ments although immense quantities lie on
the ground, buried under the snow. Citi-
zens, commercial and civic bodies and state
newspapers demand that fuel be given the
right of way over everything and rushed
to the points where it is needed.
There are some 1900 miles of railway in
the state, over which not more than one
passenger train and one freight run each
day. These lines it is almost impossible to
keep open. 1t is along them that there is
the greatest suffering.
At Aetna the coal and wood supply was
exhausted ten days ago. The kerosene sup
ply holds out, but is disa ppearing rapidly
The railroad there has been blockaded by
snow three times this fall, but no fuel has
been received for more than month
Fences have been torn down for fuel; out
buildings have been sacrificed; the lumber
yards have been depleted. Farmers are
twisting hay and straw into knots and
burning them. Snow has been falling for
two weeks and the highways are blocked
If no relief comes soon the people threaten
to raid the elevators and burn grain.
No trains have arrived at McHenry for
three days. The road is blocked with
snow two feet in depth. Farmers are con-
gregating at central points to keep from
freezing.
Selling at $50 Ton.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, December 17.-With
coal selling in Tonopah at $50 ton and
the northwest unable to get fuel at any
price, because the railroads say there is
shortage of cars, there are more than four
thousand empty cars standing on side tracks
in Kansas City alone. Reports from vari-
Gus railroad division points in Missouri and
Kansas indicate that cars are plenty in
both states.
The heaviest snowstOrm of the winter
was general over southwestern Missouri,
southeastern Kansas and parts of Okla
homa and Indian Territory last night The
snow ranges in depth from two to six
inches. Much suffering will result from
the storm in certain parts of Oklahoma,
| where fuel famine prevails. The mayor
of Mangum made such urgent appeal to
the Rock Island railroad yesterday that
trainlOad of coal was sent to Mangum at
once. The train given the right of way
over all other trains.
A systematic inves lgation of the various
terminal yards in Kansas City yesterday re-
vealed congestion of cars on nearly every
side track. In Kansas City, KAN there
were found in the five yards a total of
1,24O empty cars, $50 of which were box
cars. In the Missouri Pacific Cypress yards
there were pa empties; in the Santa Fe
yards, at Argentine, 375; in the Frisco
yards, 120; in the Union Pacific yards. $50,
Congestion Of Freight Yards.
On the Missouri side of the river condi-
lions were virtually the same. In every
| freight yard is state Of congestion never
before equaled. A conservative estimate
| makes it certain that in placing the num-
| Der of empty cars at 1900 there is no ex-
aggeration.
| Similar investigation iq Topeka places the
number of empty cars at that point at
| 800 In Wichita there are $50, in Spring
| field, 375; in Sedalia, 261. and in Hutchin-
son, 80. From small stations in the two
states reports indicate that nearly every
! side track is holding empty cars.
In asserting that scarcity of ears Is re-
sponsible for present conditions the rail-
| roads are misleading the public, If condi-
| lions elsewhere are similar to those in Kan
| sas and Missouri.
Lack of motive power Is at the bottom of
| the trouble in the middle west. In Kansas,
| City there are half as many loaded cars as
empties, many of which have been stand
| ting on sidetracks for two three weeks.
| The railroads simply have not the locomo-
tives to handle the traffic.
When he was in the city for the Com
| mercial Club banquet E. H. Hartman as
serted that the railways had enough cars.
| but Kansas City shippers were constantly