The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-11-21
CAR SHORTAGE IS
 CAUSING B|G LOSS
Production Much Recuced Be-
 cause of Car Trouble,
OPERATORS EXASPERATED
Vice President F. H. Crockard of the Tennessee Company Criticises the Southern-J. R. Ryan of
 the Corona Talks.

The car shortage situation In the Bir- mlngham district IS said to be the worst on record.
 There are fewer cars to be had for the industrial plants today than ever before, and there seems to he little prospect of any early improvement of the conditions.
 The shortage Is causing a great loss in Birmingham in more than one way. Mine operators and furnace companies claim that it is causing them heavy financial losses, and small concerns, it is claimed will have to close down for some time to come unless the railroads can furnish cars.
 The Louisville and Nashville railroad Is the only one that seems to be in good shape. New cars are arriving on some Of the lines, and all the roads have new motive power either being delivered or or dered for delivery within a short time, but even this extra equipment seems to be entirely inadequate.
 The shortage is not only in coal and ore cars. but in cars of every description. Flat cars are hard to get box cars are harder to get. and coal cars are still harder to get. Railroad men say that they have never seen the condition as bad as at present and most of them fur ther state that they see no chance of i'm provement this winter
 It is claimed that the railroads west of the Mississippi river have a great many of the cars. The railroad officials say that if car goes west of Chicago it is almost impossible to get it back again in less than eighteen months or two years, or unless it becomes crippled in some way
 Equipment Ordered.
 The Southern railway and the Alabama Great Southern have a large amount of equipment ordered and so have the Frisco and the Seaboard. The Central of Georgia claims to be in better shape now than has been the case for some time past, especially on the Birmingham d. vision. It has received forty new loco- motives, thirty of which are large freight engines
 The large corporations are complaining loudly of the Southern and next to the Southern the loudest complaint is against the Frisco.
 The Tennessee Company.
 "The car situation on the Southern could not be worse" said F. II. Crock ard, vice president and general manager of the Tennessee-R Republic. While the ear shortage cry goes -up sfromsevery part of the country it is particularly bad in the Birmingham district There seems to be a woefu lack of management some where. There is simply no excuse for things being as they are. Because of the shortage of cars on the Southern our output at the mines will fall off one-haf this month. This is a distressing state of affairs and is far reaching
 It is understood that the Sloss-Sheffield company has been keeping up a vigorous correspondence with the Southern rail- road officials this month with regard to car shortage, but it was stated at the company's office yesterday that no im- provement was in sight.
 c. B. Mccormack, president of the Pratt Consolidated Coal company, said that his concern needed half more cars than 1t was gettlnS
 Corona Company.
 John R. Ryan, vice president of the Corona Coal and Iron company, stated that in all his experience in the coal bus mess he had never known the car situ- ation to cause as much injury from trade a wage-earning or a financial point of view as it is now.
 q am writing every day or two to the high officials of the Southern calling at tention to the fix we are in. On Monday I wrote to President Samuel Spencer, and here are portions of a letter I sent to Second Vice President w. ". Finley at Washington a few days ago:
 The situation in regard to car sup ply grows worse with us in this district. We are more than 20OO tons behind De- tober shipments We are not working half time. Our contracts are piling up on us. and this car shortage is liable to cause us heavy damages.
 Prices Advancing.
 T notice the influence this is having in this community. On account of the shortage of cars, prices are advancing. There Is almost coal famine in several parts of the state. The dealers, taking advantage of this condition, are charging higher prices, which are obtained from the masses, or poorer classes This is intensifyng the feeling against the rail- roads, which, no doubt, will have an in huence on the legislature.
 "I noticed that Mir. Conner in his re- port reconimended certain things, especi- ally a compulsory law concerning the furnishing of facilities for transportation Immediately after that I noticed in the papers where the labor organizations of this community met and endorsed that part of the report especially. This was because of the effect of the car shortage on the miners, they being cut out of work
 "'Whle I feel very friendly to the Southern railway, l do feel very much provoked at the treatment that we re- eeive, and cannot help but feel that some thing should be done. Grievances seem to be confined to the Frisco and the Southern. Nobody seems to complain of the Louisville and Nashville. While the movements of the Louisville and Nash vile cars in this district amount to twice as much as the movements of the South