Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-08-04
SHORTAGE Of CARS
DUE To VAST CROP,
FACES RAILROADS
Enormous Production in the West
Threatens to Swamp Carriers
on Many Lines.
PRODUCTION OF GRAIN IMMENSE
Transmissouri Country is Raising
Vast Amount.
OF GRAIN IMMENSE
EQUIPMENT TAXED TO LIMIT
Not a Road in Shape to Handle
Flood of Cereals.
ALL COAL IS MOVING SLOWLY
This and Many other Comm Odities
Must BE Taken Care of at the
Same Time That Wheat is
Being Marketed.

Railroad freight traffic men have all
agreed that the country, especially the
middle west, is about to face the most
serious car shortage in its history, and
no matter how hard they may try, it
cannot be averted. Most Of the traffic
men say that the impending car short
age Is due to the fact THAI en- enormous
small grain crop has been raised all
through the trans Missouri country and
that to get 1t to market will tax the
equipment of all the roads. On top of
all this, they say that owing to labor diff
ficulties and other causes, very little
coal has moved from the mines, whereas,
1t should at this season be nearly all
on the docks at the lake ports, or in
transit to the Dealers or in the bins Of
the consumers.
There are another lot of railroad
freight traffic men who bring the pros
pective car shortage right home to the
operating departments of the roads, the
country over. These men say that it has
become the policy of most of the operat-
ing heads to insist upon immense freight
trains being hauled over their respective
lines, regardless of the delays to the
shipments. By putting onto the roads
freight trains of sixty and eighty cars
they can show to directors and stock
holders heavy tonnage per train and a
corresponding tonnage per mile, thus in
dicating an immense saving in operating
whereas 1t is enormously expensive.
Other railroad men insist that the
enormous tonnage that Is to be hauled
this year is the real cause of the car short
age that is almost at hand. They say
that every road has it's equipment, both
cars and engines ready for the service;
that thousands of new cars have been
bought. but with all this, there will not
be enough to take the grain TO market
and bring back coal within q reasonable
time. .-...>..
In proof Of the statement they point
to the Nebraska wheat crop as an illus
tration of what may be expected. 1t is
agreed that the Nebraska crop is around
50,000,000 bushels. The largest freight
car used by any of the roads has carry
ing capacity Of LOCO bushels of wheat
4ilCduo luSLt " ilONt tle
crop to market will require $4,000 of these
big cars, more than is owned by all Of
the roads entering Omaha, Kansas City.
st. Paul and Minneapolis.
The Nebraska crop is but a small fac
tor in the grain movement, for Kansas,
Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota have a
crop that in the aggregate would require
fully $4,000 freight cars to move. This
is greater number than there are in
the United States.
Were there nothing but wheat to be
moved in the freight cars the railroad
men could, so they say, find way out
of the difficulty. Coal is also worrying
them. Up to date, the coal moved from
the Pennsylvania mines is not 25 per cent
of the normal at this season Of the year.
Practically none has been sent out from
the soft coal mines and the result of this
is, say the railroad men. that the entire
winter supply has got to be moved within
the next sixty days and right at time
when the cars are going to be needed to
take the wheat to market.