The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-10-20
THE CAR SHORTAGE

where they lrrlgaCe, farmers ana snip
pers and "curbstoners" who periodi-
cally become shippers, are walking
into the depots and telling the agents
how many cars they want right away.
The total of these orders is more cars
than the company owns, and while
many of them are engaged in carry
ing beets and coal and merchandise,
they cannot at the same time be car
rying grain and potatoes.
The experienced shipper has antici-
pated this condition, and has made
such preparation for it as he can by
making granaries, elevators and cell
lars in which to store the products
from day to day and from week to
week, until the cars are available. He
has invested money in these things
amounting in some cases to fortunes.
He is prepared for any kind of delay
and any kind of weather. If he gets
a car partly loaded and heavy rain
came on he can finish the car and get
it under way without having to pay
demurrage charges while waiting for
roads to become passable.
The man who does business alone
the curbstone and has no Office nor
means of handling crops, but simply
depends ON having them hauled from
the field to the car, has no way of
protecting himself VIII storms come
on, and either himself or the man he
buys of must lose. The farmer who
undertakes to ship his own product
is at the same disadvantage unless the
weather-clerk stands by him.
All of these men come before the
agent Of the railroad company asking
for cars, and all have equal rights in
demanding cars when they are avail
able. The man who has invested
$4,000 in equipment by which to
handle produce in large quantities
and to handle 1t quickly while the
harvest is on, may have informed the
company that he would want 200 cars
in Octo' er, and may expect to be CIV
en- more cars than the curbstoner or
the farmer-shipped, who makes his
wants known the day before he is
ready to load the cars, but If he is
given more the other fellows will
probably cr'ticise (that is putting it
mildly the agent for discriminating,
and many, probably most of them,
criticise the railroad company for not
having enough cars to supply every
body at once. That would mean the
investment of some millions of dol
lars for rolling stock that would stand
idle largt part of the year. That
in turn, would mean that higher
rate would have to be charged for
the service pei formed to pay interest
on the larger investment and to cover
depreciation on the equipment
Even as it is, large numbers of cars
are taken out every summer and stor-
ed on sidings in the country, and are
idle for weeks, and sometimes fire
destroys lot of them. This year We
have an unprecedented acreage and
an unprecedented yield per acre, max
Ing millions of tons to be moved, and
tremendous excess over ordinary
and yet there Is no organization in
the valley that could or did canvass
the situation in advance of the har-
vest and inform railroad officials of
the. probable number of cars that
would be needed in southern Idaho
or eastern Idaho to move the harvest.
Three years ago the Oregon Short
Line tried to anticipate the need for
cars in the fall, and rented thou
sand refrigerator cars at the Missouri
river and hauled them all, empty, into
this part Of the system, kept them
standing idle all fall and hauled them
back empty to the Missouri river, los
ing tremendous sum by the expert
ment. The next year lot of fell
lows who thought to do some good,
organized the League of Commercial
clubs in eastern Idaho, and attempted
to make canvass of the acreage and
the probable yield and tht amount
that would be offered for shipment
at stated times. 1t was a big task,
and when men went out to work on
1t, working without compensation and
furnishing their own livery or auto,
they found the producers themselves
could give them but little informa-
ton. The farmer seldom knew how
many acres of each crop he had. He
knew approximately, but he knew less
about what he would do with tht
crop. When asked what part of his
crop he proposed selling at harvest
time, he would generally say that
would depend upon the price. He
usually suspected that the man max
ing the inquiries was seeking inside
information for his own personal adj
vantage, and information would ac-
cordingly be withheld. II don't know,
] may store my potatoes" was COM
mon reply, even from men who had
large acreages and no means of stor-
ing. In the face of all the ifs and
lands" that hedged about the infor-
nation obtained, the canvassers SIM
ply quit discouraged, and no intelli.
gent estimate could be given to tho
railroad officials to guide them.
This year extra cars are needed in
great numbers, and the railroad COM
pany has knownw simply that big
crop was coming on, and they have
gotten all their rolling stock in the
best trim possible for the campaign.
I'll strike is on, and it is impossible
to make extensive repairs on cars
that are damaged at the present time