Arizona republican., 1907-01-18
THE CAR SHORTAGE.

The subject of car shortage is one which is just now interesting the whole country and it will probably continue to do so for a long time to come We print elsewhere a state ment regarding the equipment of the Santa Fe covering the last six years. and We suppose that statements by any of the other great railroad lines of the country would be substantially like it The main facts are that the Santa Fe has expended in equipment since December 31 1901, more than s32. 900. OOO It has nearly doubled it's car capacity within five years and within the same period has increased its locomotive efficiency SS per cent. Ten per cent of this increase has been added within a year, and within the same time the car capacity has been increased 21 per cent
 But a circumstance which has a still greater bearing on the car shortage question, is that the Santa Fe and no other road has been able to secure all the cars and engines it has ordered. That is, if it had had s1O0.000,000 or any greater sum to expend on new equipment in five years it could have expended only ss2.OOOOOO More cars and engines could not have been se- cured by any expenditure.
 If the roads could have foreseen the great demand that was going to be made upon them. and no doubt they had as clear a vision of it as it was humanly possible to have, there was no way by which the car shortage could have been averted.
 Perhaps greater economy Of time might have been employed in the handling of the cars. but this economy must have been practiced by the ship pers and not by the railroads. The railroads would certainly not allow empty cars to lie around idle while cOnsignors and cUnsignees would have less interest in keeping the roll Ing StOck TOlllnS-
 But if the greatest economy had been practiced by all parties, the sit uation could not have been measurably relieved, for the stubborn and prom inent fact is that there were not enough cars and engines.
 The solution must lie in an increase of fao;Ii.ia. for tba ,,,apufactura of railroad equipment.
 We are speaking now of the car shortage which is general throughout the country. and not of those sections in the north and northwest where an acute condition prevails which has been attributed to car shortage. but which was brought about in large part by another cause.-the first opera tion of the railroad regulation law. Under that law, roads are required to give thirty days notice of any chal,ge in freight rates. The roads which traverse the northwest gave notice of a reduction of rates on coal and i'm mediately all the coal dealers in the tO-be- e-affected territory withheld their coal orders until time when the new rule would be effective. No one can blame them for this action, as it was in the main in accord with sound bus mess policy. Then came a series or blizzards and when the time came un- der the operation of the law to move coal, there were not enough cars to handle the current business along with that which had been accommodating for thirty days.
 But there will always be a car shortage until there are enough cars to handle the business Of the country and there can never be enough cars and engines until they are manufac- tured. Official study and investiga- tion cannot produce efficient and ser Viceable railroad equipment.