The Washington times., 1906-10-09
FREIGHTS SWAMP
RAILROAD APACITY
Transportation Lines Can't
Hold Their Own in
Growth.
ROLLING STOCK FAMINE
Every Department Of Railroad Con-
structiOn Behind Increase in Ma
tiOn's PrOductiveness.

II the volume Of complaints reaching
the Interstate Commerce Commission is
indicative of conditions at large. the
country never faced SO serious prob
lem In transportation affairs as today.
The railroads are utterly unable to take
care OF the business offered 10 them.
They have not the cars. and cannot
get them built. II they had the cars
they would not have motive power to
move them; and it is almost as difficult
20 get locomotives buitt as TO secure
cars. II they had the cars and the
locomotives, they would not be able to
handle all of them over present tracks.
Tens Of thousands of miles Of addi-
uonal trackage, paralleling present
lines, would be needed, and indeed Is
needed now. Much double track work
is going on, but here again it is inn
possible to proceed as fast as business
demands. 1t requires money and steel
rails and ties and labor in immense
quantities to double track the rail-
roads and OF all these the money is
rather the easiest to get and the labor
the hardest
Complaints pour in on the commission
for relief, but that body cannot create
M can
do is 10 assure that the Inadequate
supply on hand is distributed equitably
and fairly among those who ask for
them. Complaint on this sort is not
much heard nowadays
Enormous Increase in Freights.
The burden that has been tossed upon
the railroads, with the cheerful demand
that they move &c whether or no, IS al
most inConcelvabla- The freight max
ins Industries Of the country have prob
ably doubled their output i'm a decade.
but obviously II has been impossible
for the railroads to double their capac-
icy in that time. Take pig iron. In 1884
less than 100000 tons OF il was pro
auced- I'm 1905 almost $1,000 600 tons of
30 was turned out That means freight
Ii must he hauled somewhere: so must
The materials of which il is made, the
coal and ore. I'm coal the couutry's
production grew from I5-o050 600 in lS9l
% 5.tH0l0J iu lg1l-m1re than doubling.
lL, likewise. lIl Co Ee hauled. And cot
ION. -l- country produced more than
twice as much lu 1898 AS I'm 1>s3-to be
hauled Jl markets C0Tu-increa its
output rather COnseryativeIy in com
par.s1l- turned ont an average Weld
1n the first five years of the current de-
-E the same wears OF the last decade
Wheat grew from 4i- 1900 bushels On
-..H % 100000 iu 1893. The $3.50. 90
worth OF live stock IN 1895 has increased
ta $500 gaHuI9 worth in 1905.
Railroads Can't Keep Pace.
These are just a few samples. Up
and down the list Of the country's pro
ductiOns the same sort Of Increases
are shown. Now compare these strIk-
ing figures OF the country's products
with the statement of railroad mileage
and equipment and it will be easy to see
what has happened TO the transporta-
tlCn service.
In 1894 there were $4,000 miles of rail-
road in operation. In 1904 there were
2l2,coo While iron production increased
$40 per cent. railroad mileage increased
81 per cent
The number of locomotives increased
from $500 10 5000 between 1908 and 1904
about % per cent. or freight cars
likewise, the number increased about
One-third-from ]. Isl. 900 to ], ,72S. 600. True
the capacity of the newer cars is much
greater than of the older ones: bu+
making al allowance for this, il Is stul
pointed out that equipment and mileage
have not grown at a pace that could
possibly be expected to take care of
the huge volume of business.