Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-04-04

obliged to crowd into this period all
the new work OF providing new faeili-
ties that should have been distribut-
ed through as many years more pre-
ceding And at the same time they
have had to anticipate, so far as pos
sible, future development of the
country.
1T matters little for this broader
view of the case whether we are on
top of or have passed by the crest
of this present wave of prosperity
Every such tide has had its rise and
ebb, and one would be living in g
fools paradise who didn't take that
into consideration in figuring out his
future requirements. The important
fact for the railroads is that the
country is going to keep right on de-
veloping through the next 90 years
and the next so years and the next
hundred years and as far ahead as
we may want TO look.
And We Are Unprepared for IL.
Now. how do we find the rail-
roads prepared to meet this national
development? said few minutes
ago that they had been Obliged TO
crowd into the last six or eight years
a task of providing facilities that
should have been spread over ten
years preceding. The result is that
they have fairly overlapped the facll-
tiles of the country to bring TO them,
with economy either to shipper or
railroad, the goods which are to be
carried. This is the all-important
point for cooperation between the
railroads and the public. for the fail
ure TO handle the business economic
ally on the part OF the shipper has
generally been charged up against
the railroads, while the railroads i'm
ability 10 handle Il economically has
meant less effective service and
tendency to higher rates.
Now, take an example. The
other week / went up to Groton.
Mass, whore my boy Is going to
school. | lived in my car while |
was there. and l couldn't help notic-
ing conditions in the station yard.
There were three coal cars and one
boxcar on a siding, and unloading
the three coal cars were two single
horse carts. At one OF the cars they
were actually screening the coal as
they unloaded Il.
Now, right on the other side OF
those cars there was coal shed. II
that coal had been unloaded into tho
shed instead of into the carts, the
cars might have been moved out on
the road again TO carry somebody
else's coal. But. no. they had to un
load IL, cart at a time. and to tic
up three cars for about three times
as long as was necessary. on that
basis the service OF two cars was lost
for the entire time that the three
cars were allowed 10 remain az Gro.
ton.
III you multiply that sort OF thing
by the number of sidings in all the
towns and villages of the country you
Will see what mean by saying that
he facilities provided by the rail-
'oads have oyerlapped the facilities
provided by the shippers. Yet Il is
put up TO the railroads to increase
heir facilities so as TO eliminate the .
congestion That is what we are try I
ng to do, but YOU win not get any
'orect conception OF the magnitude 1
II the task until you consider just |
or a little while the problem OF ter /
nlnal facilities. That Is where we .
lave got 20 have the cooperation OK 1
he public more than anywhere else. /
or we have reached the limit OF pro-
'idlng terminal facilities as the pres
mt development goes.
Why a Wider Guago Il Needed.
Take the island OF Manhattan for
m illustration. The ability OF the
ailroads 10 render service Is abso-
utely dependent upon the matter OF
criminal facilities. And those are
ondltloned, not upon the longth OF
he yards, but the number OF tracks
nd the capacity OF the cars
For instance. II you have a hun
red cars on a limited number OF