Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-31
Railroads Reap Reward of Delay.

cars of freight in the hands of the
Great Northern railroad are stalled in
Minneapolis or at the Minnesota Trans
fer waiting for lines to be cleared and
for engines to move them. Elevator
firms interested in the movement >of
cars who have been doing some quiet
investigating to see where all the cars
are and what is actually doing, say that
1000 is safe estimate of the number
of stalled cars in and about the city,
All are loaded with merchandise con-
signed to points all over the northwest
In the delayed cars are thousands of
dollars worth of Christmas lines that
have not arrived yet and may not ar
rive until next Christmas. Tho the
roads have not been receiving perisha-
BILE goods for points in the northwest
for some time, some Of the delayed
shipments are of this class and will be
worthless when they arrive.
Roberts last week showed a large
number of Northern Pacific cars tied
up in the same manner. In addition
to the cars stalled in and about the
city, are many other cars stalled at
points all along the lines 1t is charged
that owing to the policy of moving
only capacity loads when the lines
were open, hundreds of cars We're
dropped off at intermediate points
when breaks, bad weather and cold cut
down the hauling capacity Of engines.
These cars theoretically 1t is said,
were to have been gathered up later,
but the blockade has made it impos-
sible.
The 500 line running west is not
without its troubles, too. A shipper
returning from tour of investigation
thru the west reports that he saw
twenty dead locomotives scattered
along the 500 line between Minneap-
oils and Darlington, N. D. In most
cases the trains they were trying to
haul are stalled with them. One en-
gineer who was ordered to take out
thirty cars protested that he conldn't
get thru with them. He started, but
died." as he expected.
Every stalled car on the three sys-
TENS must be shoveled out before it
can be moved. The dry, drifting snow
of the prairies packs about them as
hard as sand. Tho not necessarily
deep. the packed snow, once it has a
chance to pack between the wheels
and the rails, prevents any movement
by sheer force, and the shoveling crew
is necessary.
New York, Jan. 31-James j. Hill
president of the Great Northern rail-
way, arrived in New York, late yes
terday from out of the northwest.
where 700 miles of his road are buried
under snow drifts and the worst biz
zard in its history is raging. Speaking
of the storms, Mr. Hill said:
The storms raging from Larimore,
N. D., to the foot of the Rockies are
almost unparalleled in the history Of
that country. Out of seventy three
of storm. But we don't expect any
crates soon.
Notwithstanding the severity of the
winter, a wrong impression prevails in
the east regarding the sufferings of
our western citizens. That idea has
been fostered out there by the little
politicians who have been sending tel
egrams to Washington.
"Why. out in DEVILS Lake, which is
in the heart of the storm CENTER they
are giving balls and dances. They
were very indignant to learn that the
east believed they were starving and
freezing. Grand Forks. which is a
supply station, sent word in every di-
rection to learn where there was any
want or suffering. They heard from
one man who was in need of tobacco,
while another said his supply of crack.
ers had run short"