The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-02-08
GREED OF ROADS
BRINGS SC0URCE
ON NORTHWEST
ARMERS Lest MILLIONS
Lunber Trast> Excessive Pr,ers Pro-
Vent Building Of Granar'ea and
Mountains OF Gram AS
Covered ~ Snow.

S0sSLNG ~ wv
NJ. p-,G Nlnua t,ee . The gaslfoal
AJaatioa he the northwest is u%ppAAlas.
phe effect OF the present congestion
Will NOT be obltelated ilsidc of u year.
The fuel famine ana snow bloektd" ate
had .tlld perhaps, as j. j. li!ll says.
the coal dealers are largely responsible
Tor the coal shortage. because they Qld
NOT order supplies e|alliel. but the fuel
anime is but one phase OF the situt-
tiou.
There are 1000 loaded freight ears In
the yards of the Minnesota Transfer
company. every car loaded With CHRIST
mas goods billed TO North Dakota
towns, which have been in the yards
as far back as December j. There are
also half this number of cars scattered
along the sidetracts between the Twin
cities and the Dakota eastern border.
loaded With food supplies and mer-
chauaise, which have been en- route.
some of the cars. since November II,
long before The snoNStorms came. but
slill at II time when it is is said The
railroads had reached AN agreement To
Withhold cars from the northwest, SO
that shipments of grain could not be
made to the east until after thu close
OF navigation ON the Great Lakes.
The storms came, and the railroads
have suffered as We'll as the people OF
the northwest.
Railroads Lose Much: Farmers Moro
BUT this loss To the railroads has been
Insignificant compared to the loss sus-
tanned by the farmers of Dakotev
though the railroads cannot go through
till spring under AN Expense OF less
than So, 900, 600, not including an equal
amount in loss of traffic which the
blockade has occasioned.
Millions of bushels of wheat are
stacked upon the ground covered With
nothing but a foot TO three feet OF
SNOW, and it is estimated by a travel
ing railroad man who spent three
weeks ia the North Dakota wheat belt
that ut least fifty per cent. OF This
grain will be q total loss. untt for
marketing.
The amount of grain or the
ground. said he. lis almost beyond be
lief. / SAW stacks of grain which CON
tanned 1000 bushels of wheat, covered
With eighteen inches of SNOW. When
this SNOW melts il will not run off.
but will soak into the grain and make
1t unfit for anything but stock food.
Lumber Trust Plays Part.
'Lumber i'm North Dakota is very
costly and farmers cannot afford to
build extensive granaries. They have
depended upon the elevators to store
their grain. but this Year. for one rea-
SOL OF t!lOtlIci, tIt IiIlIOiUS Citi not
furnish the cars necessary 20 haul the
grain as fast as ii MAS received by The
elevators. The elevators are all fun
now and have not been able to receive
grain since December J.. The loss ON
the grain crop of this state alone be-
cause the railroads would not haul the
product to market will reach We'll into
the millions, compared to which tho
fuel shortage ana loss VIII be %insigMif-
can't
one of the great points in the imves-
LEGATION of the railroads of the north
west was the overlooking Of his Short
nge of transportation facilities from the
grain centers of the wheat belt 10 the
eastern markets. Tho fuel shortage
cvershadowed all other subjects and lit
tie attention was paid TO investigatin.
the reason for not taking care of the
gr*.in crop as in years past, and which
the railroads could count upon with a
certainty.
Rich Vet Go Hungry.
AS a result of being unable 70 real
lie upon their crops and the forced
necessity of allowing n large percentapa
of grain to remain on the ground Inc.
farmers have been hard pressed for
necessities TO carry them over the win
ter. While the country merchants have
not only Nhausted their credit. but
their stocks have gone to keep the peo-
pie from starving. Fifty million dol
lars is a low estimate for the amount
OF money tied up by the action of the
railroads i'm not early handling the
grain crop.
OF course circumstances ooc,,rrea
tei up the roads and made 1T impos-
Slble to take care of the traffic. and
they have also lost heavily. The policy
of holding back shipments so that
earnings may be equalized the year
round. month by month, has been an
extensive ono md ~ ;cE1;I.1I-L
ouce u revolution in railroading.
What Experience Viii! Teach.
The roads must he prepared to take
citre OF the traffic quickly and clean
1T up The effect will be to do away
WITH agreements to hold back until lake
is over. that the roads may
enjoy u longer haul of freight. and this
lesson will teach the farmer the ynI1e
OF having storage facilities for his
grain independent of the railroads and
'lienI IT he is forced to pay a high rate
OF freight during the winter monthu he
an Vail ull ummer and ship via the
rake route. At the same time he win
De able to raise money on his stored
grain in case of necessity.
Ihe situation this fall has taught ,ha
railroads., the grain grower and the fuel
forget. 4rNef
M%ontana's Worst Storm.
Billings, Mont. Feb. 5.-The sevarast
sloWSlorm IN twenty years prevails n,
eastern Montana. Snow covers mo
ground over a foot. Conditions are
worse than since 1856, when thousands
Of sheep died in a storm.
40 Below in Wisconsin.
Superior. Wis, Feb. 5.-Thermom-
eters registered 40 below This yaornimg
Trans are nine hours behind.