The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-11
RIPLEY TELLS WHY
Santa Fe President Explains
Car Shortage.
Not Enough Cars in Country to
Handle Freight.
DUE TO BIG CROPS.
Has Led to Expansion in Every
Line of Business.
Railroads Will Catch Up if Let
Alone.
DUE TO BIG CROPS.

The national car shortage cry has be-
come so insistent that z. P. Ripley.
president of the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa F'e Railway company, has deemed
it of enough Importance to set forth his
views on the subject, reviewing the rea-
sons that have led up to the prevailing
shortage. and suggesting the remedy.
Mr.. Ripley's statements made on
various subjects heretofore commands
attention for his discussion Of this mat
ter at this time. He says:
THE first and most obvious reason
is that there are not cars enough in the
country to handle the freight as now
handled
Everybody knows" continues Mr..
Ripley, that there are more cars in
existence than ever before, and 1t is no
torious also that the railroads are haul
ing more tonnage than ever before-yet
the shortage of cars all over the United
States has been for two months more
acute than at any previous time.
I'm general, everybody knows that an
enormous expansion has taken place IN
all branches of industry-the fine crops
of the past few years have made the
farmers rich and they in turn have been
liberal with orders for all kinds of mer-
chandtse-aS result every FACTORY
and saw-nnill and mine is striving for
maximum output, each anxious to sell
and ship at once during this era of un-
precedented demand and unprecedented
prices.
while no one could have foreseen the
extent of this expansion-which has no
parallel in the history of the country
the railroads have done their utmost
to provide adequate facilities and If
they have failed it is not their fault,
nor is it surprising. Every locomotive
and car shop has been worked to its
utmost capacity for at least four years
past and has now orders on hand which
will keep it busy during the entire year
1907. The Santa Fe company alone has
ordered, since January 1, 1906, twenty
four million dollars worth of equip
ment, of which only about one-half has
yet been delivered-such is the crowded
condition of the manufacturing plants
that cars promised for delivery IN july
are not yet received.
$50 far as the southwest Is con-
cerned it is unfortunate that the cot
ton and the wheat press for shipment
at almost the same time, viz: in the
four last months of the year. Add to
this the fact that there is in the same
time a rush of live stock, and also that
in this period everybody wakes up to
the fact that it is getting cold and he
must have coal, and it will be seen
that into these four months is crowded
the transportation demand of more
than half the whole year, so that If
the railroads provide cars enough to
these four months they will have dur
ing the remaining eight months a very
large investment which is earning
nothing. Moreover, should there be
crop failure next year the cars would
be Idle but the interest on the money
we borrow to buy cars with would be
going on night and day just the same.
These of course are the hazards of the
business and do not mention them as
relieving the railroads of the obliga-
tions to do all that can be done to add
to their equipment. 1 do not believe
any of the larger lines in the south
west could have bought cars any faster
than they have.
Another reason for the shortage is
the abuse of cars by the public and the
mistaken hberality of the railroads in
the time allowed for unloading. Much
of the country is new and has not
provided itself with facilities for hand
ling and storing merchandise. We
haul, for instance, a car of coal 100
miles for $40; the consignee has no
shed into which to unload; the roads
holds the car from two to ten days; !
true, he pays little demurrage, but
not a tenth part of what the car is
worth to us-it cost enough to build a
shed to hold ten cars-we finally get
the car and haul it back to the mine
empty; it has been gone, say, 10 days
and earned perhaps $50 all told,
whereas it ought to have made two If
MANY roads in the southwest, espe-
cially in the newer portions of Okla
homa, were hastily built and have
never been really completed; in bad
weather great difficulty is experienced
in getting trains over the road, and
this trouble IS aggravated if the traffic
is unusually heavy, the result being
delay to cars. Much money must be
spent on these lines before they can
be relied on at all times to perform
the service for which they were in
tended, but not one of them is so poor
that it could be spared; not one of
them that did not double or treble the
value of the lands along its route; not
one that the localities did not pray for
fervently-till they got it,
Let Railroads Alone.
''I have sketched the reasons for the
conditions that have existed AS to the
remedy-I know of none except to what
we are now striving to do-namely,
catch up. While am especially speak
ing for the Santa Fe know that / am
speaking for all the roads in saying
that there is nothing they desire so
much as to do this business and do il
properly and we'll. There is no salts
faction in the existing conditfons-busi-
have had the last four months cannot
be done with the usual system or econ
omy; every man knows he gets the best
results when he is crowding his bust
ness-not when his business is crowd
ing him. There is no reason to sup
pose that the railroads will not be equal
to the emergency If given time-they
are no worse now than other lines of
trade. It is not possible to get any
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