The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-03-05
Agree TO Adop. the Nine Hour
System Without Delay
CLAIM 1T WILL WORK BADLY
New Order Of Affairs VIII Mean the
Employment of Thousands Of Ad-
ditional Operators. the Closing OF
a!arse Number Of Small Stations.
and General Inconvenience 20 the
Travelling and Shipping Public.


"nine-hour law" The operation OF
the law will mean the employment
by railroad companies of several
thousand additional operators and
the closing of large number of
small stations on the 4th of March.
The discontinuance of railway ser
vice at many points, it is realized,
will induce at least temporary ineon-
venience to tie travelling and ship
ping public, but, in order TO reduce
operating expenses which now seems
necessary, operating officials of
the railways believe that this is the
only way they possible can meet the
situation with which they are con-
fronted.
Astonishing Statements.
During the hearing of applications
for an extension Of the nine hour law
by the Interstate commerce commits
sion some astonishing statements
were made by the operating officials
of important railways. A good many
lines, owing to a reduction in THEN
revenues, and to their inability to
command the cash necessary to meet
their pay rolls, have been forced.
during the past four months, almost
to the point of asking for receivers.
In the opinion of railway officials ex-
pressed at the hearing under oath
and in private conversation this con-
dition does not seem to have been
due to the enforcement Of Legislative
laws or to the ineapacity Of railway
management. Most of the railroad
officials attribute the difficulty to the
unfortunate banking situation which
developed last September. The rail
ways did not feel the stringency in
money until about the 1st of Noyem-
Der. In fact, the month of October
was one of the best in the history OF
the business of American railroading.
One railway official ventured the
statement that in the country to-day
there were 100000 idle freight cars,
and one line which he instanced was
declared to be hauling empty cars
backward and forward because it
had not yard room or sidings to ae-
commodate them.
Note of Confidence.
Not single official of a single
railway line who appeared before the
commission, however, expressed the
belief that the present industrial de-
preston would be lasting. In the
testimony of nearly every witness be-
fore the commission there was a note
of confidence because all of them
practically believed that the string
ency in the money market from
which the country has suffered is not
due to fundamental causes. They
point out that the crops last year
were good that prices were excel
lent; that industrial enterprises
throughout the country were -four
ishing. 1t was merely the inability
to command ready cash and the
boarding of money by panic-strieken
individuals which produced so sud-
denly the remarkable depression
from which all have suffered. They
practically uniformly express conf
dence that the return Of prosperity
will be almost as sudden as was the
coming Of adversely and in their ar
guments as to the enforcement: of the
nine-hour law they pointed out to the
commission that such a return of
prosperity might seriously embarrass
them in complying with the law, be-
couse it would render it difficult to
command the services of competent
operators in sufficient numbers to
meet the needs of prosperous condi.
tions.