Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1907-01-02
TOO MUCH BUSINESS
RAILROADS uNARLE TO PROMPT.
LY HANDLE ALL FREIGHT
OFFERED.
Fe Gives company's Side Of
the Story.
FIGURES OF. INTEREST TO ALL.

FIGURES OF INTEREST TO ALL.
The bother of the operating depart
ment of the Atchison, Topeka & San
ia Fe railway, and of all western rail-
roads for that matter, just now, i the
lack of equipment to handle the crops
west generally. The congestion seems
to grow worse instead of better. New
locomotives and new box cars come
from the manufacturers weekly, but
freight continues to pile up at sta
tons.
A few days ago, to move perishable
freight which was accommodating at
Chicago and Kansas City, hurry or
der was made to send to those cities
all the empty box cars available. 1t
was case of necessity and the order
was obeyed on all divisions. The re-
suit was increased congestion Of
freight in Kansas and Oklahoma
However, the congestion has been re-
lieved somewhat at Chicago and Kan
sas City, and soon these cars will be
available west of the Missouri river.
In the meantime, shippers along the
line have been complaining and the
local newspapers are full of the SUBJ
ject. But the railway company is do
ing the best it can. 1t cannot per-
form the impossible. The existing
condition is something unprecedented
in the history of railroad transporta-
ton. For instance, on the Oklahoma
division of the Santa Fe alone the
| cotton shipments so far this year
| have been 10000 bales in excess of
| shipments in the same period last
year. This means the use of 240 cars
| more for this commodity than were
used for the same purpose last year;
| this in territory served by com
:paratively short section of road. In
corn, and wheat, the increase is even
| greater.
| The trouble, however, is not to be
/ charged wholly to lack of equipment
| Consignees might relieve the conges
ton if they would unload cars ex
| peditiously. For instance, there arc
to-day $4,000 loaded cars in Galveston
awaiting for consignees to empty
| them and turn them back into commits
sion. This is not the fault of the rail
road. Mr.. ]. Krutschnitt, manager O
maintenance and transportation of the
Southern Pacific, who has been study
ing conditions, finds that in a period
Of ten days the shippers held cars
| eight days-give to the roads onl!
two days use of them. He estimate.
that if the shippers had given to the
railroad the use of these cars tire,
days it would have been equal to tn,
use of $1,000 cars. Here is though
for shippers
Speaking of the condition, Mr.. J. E
Hurley, General Manager of the SAINT;
Fe, said to-day:
'The car situation, particularly will
reference to bOX-cars, has been the
cause of much anxiety in the operat
ing department of the Santa Fe fol
the past sixty, and especially, the las
thirty days. This has been due tt
several causes; notably:
(A) Inability to obtain the return
of equipment that had been delivered
| to other lines in the regular inter
change of business.
! OBJ Delay of consignees in unload
ing of equipment.
About one-third of the available
| box-car equipment of the Atchison
| Topeka G. Santa Fe Railway Company
is now on foreign lines. 1t is of frs
! Importance to the largest number OF
| people served by Railway Company
that merchandise loading shall be
| taken care Of These are commodities
| that are necessary for the sustenance
and comfort of the people,.
"The latter part of November the
car situation became so acute in the
larger cities that it was necessary tc
| forego grain loading for a period and
take empties from the grain district
to Kansas City, Chicago and other
large merchandise shipping points fol
| this loading.
AT the time we had at Chicago goo
carloads of merchandise and other
commodities for loading and transfer
The transfer loads could not come
through to destination on our line for
| various reasons. In some cases the
cars of other lines in which they were
loaded were bad order and could not
be repaired promptly, and in others
the line owning the cars were not will
ing for the cars to be moved away
| from their own tracks. We were shorl
from So to rs cars daily for loading al
the freight house; these loads being
chiefly merchandise.
''At Kansas City the situation was
much the same. We were short IS to
150, cars there daily. and had as higt
as 20 merchandise loads for transfer
| in addition to being short 25 to sc
| cars for similar loading at the ware
| house platform.
| Not only must the merchandise be
| handled promptly because of its neces
| sity to the people depending upon ani
| awaiting its receipt. and also because
| Plans Colony for the Blind.
| Mrs. Frances Fearn, an American
norman uhoca buchaud noW load fo1