The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-12
RAILROAD NEWS.
Present Car Shortage Condition
Not the Fault of Railroads.
j. C. Ferguson of Union Pacific
on Transportation Problem.
TOO MUCIIPROSPERITY
This Is Given as the Reason for
Demanding Too Many Cars.
Other Railroad News of In
tereSt.

| Much of the criticism Of the Harri-
man system in which it is accused OF
Acknowledgement resulting in car Short
age has not been justified by the facts
! in the matter, according to j. G. Fergu-
! son, general agent of the UNION IA
] cific in Denver. Mr. Ferguson has fig
ureS on hand to show that the tonnage
| capacity of freight cars to be delivered
! in 1907 is equal to the tonnage furnished
| during the preceding five years, ana
that the increase in motive power, while
not quite so great is very substantial,
being 60 per cent over the year of 1902
THE business which the road handles
will be Al per cent greater in 1907 than
it was in 1902 said Mr.. Ferguson yes
terday land to handle it we Will pave
Sc per cent more car capacity ana o9
per cent more locomotive capacity than
we had then"
Mr.. Ferguson points to the following
statement of conditions on the Harrl-
man lines made public recently:
The statement relates that during
the past five years the Hartman lines
have anticipated the development on the
territories which they serve, and nave,
as a matter of fact ordered equipment
further than the engine and car fac
tories have been able to turn it out.
From January 1, 1902. to January l,
1907, the Hartman lines expended for
new equipment over $50 900, or $40
0OO for every work day in that period
IneY purchased l,194 new lOcOHIOllNCS
and 30,196 new freight cars Ihey now
have orders in for over $4,000 other cars.
or 20 per cent of their present equip
ment. In other words, the rolling STOCK
of the company is to be increased one
fifth during the calendar year, IL the
cars can be secured
To further help in solving the social
ed car shortage problem, the railroads
are now endeavoring to hurry cars
along with a manifest system Wh1cn
I -,e-1,0 I'LL md
high class freight on through trains and
quick schedules. Every effort, too, is
made to utilize the equipment capacity
of the cars.
Recently all the important lines of
the country including all the Hartman
lines. have reached an agreement to
charge each other and all other lines a
higher per diem rental than formerly
for the purpose not of increasing reVe-
nue., but to keep the cars on the move
and make it an object to a line dilatory
in getting cars not needed started on
their way home. They have also form
ed car clearing house whereby the
equipment of the country is to be treat
ed as unit and used to best advantage.
Throuehl this clearing house records are
made daily of surplus cars all over the
country and of the districts where they
are most Needed. and movement order
ed accordingly. With all these improve
ments what then is the trouble?
The local officers of the Hartman
lines give several reasons. One of these
is the abnormal situation with respect
to San Francisco since the fire. Not
only has there beel an immense tom
mage concentrated in San Francisco
since the fire but the consignees with
limited warehouse facilities, torn up
streets and changing conditions gener-
ally have been quite unable to unIoad
their freight with the usual dispatch As
much as 10000 cars have been tied up
in San Francisco and around the bay,
neces stating embargoes upon bringing
freight into San Francisco, as Well as
creating a car famine at the time the
cars were in greatest demand. This sit
nation should not be charged to the
railroads Today the Southern Pacific
has several thousand cars in Oakland
and San Francisco which 1t is doing us
utmost to get unloaded- when 10 TO "
per cent of the rolling stock of rail-
road is tied up at one point famine else
where may be reasonably expected Elk
IRENE measures have been taken to re-
ueye the situation and it is thought
with the rapidly improving warehouse
facilities in the city and the better
conditions for teaming that within
few months the trouble will be OF the
past.
Again. it is claimed that in these pros
rerous times nearly every industry in
the country is flooded with orders. Ma
terial and labor are hard to get, eSpec-
tally material Every business man
knows that there is shortage OF pro-
duction compared with demand in al
most every. line. Many concerns are
away behind in filing their orders
With scarcity of cars it has been so
easy for a shipping clerk to advise
customer "order is delayed-no cars,
that the excuse has been worked over
time and the railways been blamed for
DELAYS thousands of times through be-
ing used as scapegoats, inability on the
part of the manufacturer to assemble