Panama City pilot. (Panama City, Washington County, Fla.) 1907-19??, 1907-11-21
Car Famine.

Car Famine.
The season of the year is again at
hand when from all parts of the cOun
try comes the cry of a car shortage.
The masses are compelled to pay eX-
orbitant prices for staple articles of
food for themselves and their stock,
far above what the market reports
show these articles are selling for
where they are raised, or manu-
featured. The excuse offered for
such abnormal conditions is that there
is a shortage at the distributing point,
owing to the impossibility to get ears
at initial points to move the grain,
produce, &c ordered. Therefore the
demand at distributing points far ex-
ceeds the supply, and prices go up.
When the grain, corn and cotton
crop begins to move, with coal also
seasonably demanded, there is such
a congestion of freight that it is i'm
possible to care for it promptly or
satisfactorily. This causes the con-
sumner to pay more than he ought for
even the necessities of life, while the
producer receives possibly less than
normal prices owing to the impOssi-
bility of getting his goods to market.
These are abnormal conditions that
an intelligent business nation should
! correct.
The people complain that there is
not enough cars to do the business of
the country when the crops are ready
! to be moved, while the roads say that
they could not afford supply of cars
to move years crops in three months,
about the time required to move the
wheat, corn, and cotton crop. Where
lies the fault in the system?
1t is fact that the railways are
not getting that mileage out of their
ears that they should. A railway only
earns money while its equipment is
under motion. If cars could be
utilized for the purpose of transport
ItatiOn double the time they are now,
it would eqnal doubling the railway
equipment of the country. This
would be a proposition well worth
accomplishing. Can it be done?
Where are the idle ears? Too much
time is taken in loading and unload
ing them. Shippers given IS hours
to load car take the full time, even
though it does not take an hour to do
the work. They are angered at the
"demurrage" which at times they
are called upon to pay because ofnOt
unloading cars promptly, SO "even
up" by holding ears far beyond the
time necessary for loading. This is a
hardship upon those people wanting
cars far more than it is on the rail
road; in fact it does not affect the
latters business to any great extent,
as what they cannot handle one day,
or week, they will another.
Demurrage or car service charged
and collected from dilatOry cOnsig-
neeS fails to cause the cars to be UNI
loaded promptly. Many parties use
ears for warehouse purposes and even
though charged 50 per day demu1-
rage, will hold the ears for that use.
In large city where warehouse
charges are high they can we'll afford
to do so. This not only adds to the
car shortage but in both this and in
the case Of holding by the shipper it
adds materially to the railways cost
of doing the work at terminals. as
these ears have to be moved, set and
reset, until the cost of so doing has
surpassed both switching charges and
demurrage.
Both of these faults are with the
people solely. The railroads do all
they can to secure prompt loading,
but without avail. Public conscience
has gone to sleep and it takes more
than a fine in the way of car service
to waken it. The people suffer and
demand from the roads the cars that
their co-partners in business are with
holding from them, Possibly making