East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-01-30

The Salt Lake Herald has made a
personal investigation of the reasons
why that city is not receiving a suffi-
cient supply of coal to meet the needs
of its people and gives a list OF loaded
cars which It representatives found
standing upon the side tracks OF the
Oregon Short Line and Union Pacific
within a short distance of Salt Lake,
awaiting motive power with which to
move them. The Herald says OF the
situation:
In the last month or six weeks
there have been reports at regular in
tervals to the effect that hundreds OF
cars of coal line the side tracks all the
way between the coal mines and this
city.
Those reports are true.
There is plenty of coal all the way
to the mines, plenty of coal in the
mines and plenty of coal being mined.
Why there isn't any coal in Salt
Lake and other cities that are suffer-
ing from a famine is another ques-
tion.
\ Few Facts.
The misery of the situation in Salt
Lake does not add an iota of exag-
geration to the following facts:
At Thistle, 65 miles from Salt Lake
on Friday, January 25, there were 80
cars of coal in sight on side tracks.
How much more coal there was in the
box cars cannot be estimated fairly
Much of the coal is shipped from the
mines in box cars and is sealed.
Hence. it is impossible to say how
much more coal there was at Thistle.
on Friday January %, there were
% cars of coal in sight at Tucker, SO
miles from Salt Lake. There were
scores of box cars, many of which con-
tained coal, but how many cannot be
stated. In addition TO that amount
the Rio Grande has hundreds of tons
of coal in bins at Tucker.
At Cotton. 81 miles from salt Lake,
on Friday, January %. there were so
cars of coal in sight. There were any
number of box cars and "empties," I"
and some of these box cars contained
coal. Cotton is on the main line, and
from that little place a branch runs
up to the mines at Clear Creek and
Winter Quarters.
Today there stood on side tracks at
Tucker so cars of coal. A train of Is
cars, leaving Castle Gate the day be-
fore, stood on the track. At the same
time, there were 20 cars of coal on a
deraii switch near Soldier Summit.
There was no snow under the train,
but plenty on top and all around. No
engine was in sight. 4 !rnin Of coal
was at Castillo ct o'clock Saturday.
1t was bound for Salt Lake.
At Springville there were 23 cars
, Of coal, and at Provo there were 90 or
more.
All of this goes to show that there
| is coal on the move between the
mines and the capital of the state.
If it does not arrive at its destination
it isn't because it doesn't start.
Waiting for Engines.
There was hardly a side track be-
tween salt Lake and Castle Gate that
did not contain tons Of coal, stored
in cars and standing IN mute patience
for the helping hand of an engine.
At Castle Gate on Friday, January
%, there were IS cars of coal in
sight, standing idle. Many more cars
were being switched, many were being
loaded from the chute leading from
the mine of the Utah Fuel company
and lots of coal was being transferred
into coke at the long line of oveni
bordering the tracks.
The station agent at Castle Cat
told me that there have been an av
erage of 65 to 10 cars in the yard