The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1913-07-10
SHIPPERS HERE IN
kGENERAL PROTEST
OVER THE SERVICE
Commercial Club Will Ask
P. R. r. to Remedy
Conditions.
LONG DELAYS CITED
One Case Of Fifteen Days
Time in a Brookville
Shipment.
LONG DELAYS CITED

A demand for better freight service
on the Pennsylvania railroad will be
made to the officials of the local di-
vision by Richmond shippers through
the Commercial club. More than thir-
ty specific instances of unwarranted
delays, covering period of several
months, have been brought to the at
tention of the committee on steam
railroads of the Commercial club, and
these, with a complaint against the
service, are in readiness for presenta-
ton.
Charles d. Slifer, local freight agent,
stated today that the shipping facilf-
ties in this city are excellent and an
ample force is employed in handling
the freight, although for some time,
in the spring, it was impossible to Sc
cure men.
The Commercial club committee
denies this and has worked out plans
which they believe will secure for the
shippers of the city much better SER
vice. A similar plan was worked out
successfully with the c. and o. rail-
road some time ago with the result
that the freight service on that road
is excellent now and surpasses the
service on the Pennsylvania railroad.
Cannot Locate Trouble.
After an informal Investigation Of
the P. r. r. freight delays, shippers
have been unable to come to any salts
factory conclusion as to the cause of
the delays. Some believe that the sys-
tenn of shipping the goods is at fault,
while others believe that the local SER
for handling the freight in this city
are inadequate.
Bakers, wholesalers, commission
dealers, manufacturers and shippers of
perishable or fresh goods are behind
the general movement to eliminate
the sources of delay. These men say
that there are too few men employed
at the local freight depot and that the
reason that the men will not work
there is because of the low wages paid.
No complaint is made of the delays
during the floods and shortly after the
floods, when the railroads were known
to be badly crippled from washouts
and destruction of the tracks and
bridges.
Most Of the instances cited by the
shippers of unnecessary delays, are
before the floods or very recently.
Each shipper who has Joined the
movement for better service has been
asked to cite three or more specific
instances of freight delays and be able
o-9fexAs Sat their statements are au-
theAitic. i j
distances Of Delays.
Some of the instances of the length
of time required to reach or secure
freight from Indiana and Ohio points
are as follows: Hamilton, eight and
nine days; Vincennes. seventeen days;
Brookville, fifteen days; Tippecanoe
City, O., ten days; Fulton, thirteen
days; Griffin Station, eleven days; AL
exandria, eleven days; indianapolis,
six days; Winchester, five days. These
are a few illustrations of the longest
delays.
Mr.. Slifer, the local agent defends
the existing service and states that
the delays cited are exceptions to the
rule.
IN the business of the same ship
pers who are complaining" said Mr..
Slifer, there are delays, more or less
frequent, which they cannot avoid. At
times the impossibility to secure labor
is at fault while at other times, unfor-
seen obstacles present themselves
which they cannot avoid
Freight which is delivered on our
platforms during the day, which closes
at O'Clock in the afternoon, is plac-
ed in the freight cars, the cars sealed
and taken to the yards the same night.
Often this freight leaves the city the
same night and if not then it is sent
out early the following morning.
In Fine Shape Now.
"We are now in fine shape to handle
the freight. We have enough men
working here to load and unload the
cars. The supply of empties is not linn
tied. For some time all the conditions
We're against us and there were a few
delays which we wanted to prevent
but could not"
Mr.. Slifer says that the freight
house here is adequate to handle the
business. Richmond is a big transfer
Continued on Page Three)