The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1913-09-23
PLENTY OF CARS ASSURED
Short Line Gives Assurance of Prompt
Movement Of Crops.

Good news for the farmers, stock
men and fruit growers of Idaho comes
from the headquarters of the Oregon
Short Line. There Will be no short
age of cars this fall for rushing the
tremendous crop of the state to the
markets of the east. II
President j. A. Blomquist of the
public utilities commission, acting for
the commission, took this important
matter up not long since with the
head officials Of the Oregon Short
Line, the Northern Pacific and the
| Oregon Railway e Navigation COM
pany.
| Fears were expressed on all sides
| that because of the heavy wheat, po-
tato, alfalfa, fruit, sheep and cattle
crops that the roads would be swamp
ed as had been the case in other years.
| This fear was especially acute in the
Twin Falls and Idaho Falls sections,
where the crops are reported to be
enormous.
Every assurance is now given by
the highest officials of the Oregon
Short Line that everything possible is
being done and will be done to avoid
car shortage. 1t is announced that
the Oregon Short Line and the Union
Pacific have added 1000 cars to their
equipment since last year, and that
the Pacific Fruit Express company has
!, added 1000 cars more.
What the real situation in the state
is and what the people fear from a
car shortage this year is we'll set forth
in letter write by President
Blomquist to the heads of the rail-
road systems named.
In his letter he says: "We are inn
portuned almost daily, both by letters
and by personal interviews, to adopt
some measure whereby the usual an
nual fall car shortage might be allie
waited to some extent, at least, along
the line of your road in Idaho. 1t is
pointed out that, through the inability
of shippers to receive cars promptly
great sums of money are lost to the
producers by reason of such failure
From observations made during ar
! extended trip over your system during
the last 10 days it is evident that there
is an abundant crops of all kinds O.
grain, fruits and vegetables that vii
require thousands OF cars in the mex
: 60 days to move to market. Referring
to potatoes especially, unless the pro
: ducers can get cars promptly, the re
suit of their years work may be alb
solutely lost, not only to themselves
! but the carriers as we'll. We realize
:. that you are not unmindful of thi.
condition and no doubt are doing wha
. you can to overcome this difficulty
. but we are writing you at this time
= urging upon you the necessity of do
: ing everything possible to procure
cars early for this movement.
: ''It has been suggested that thu
:, south central states have wha
amounts to practically crop failure
:. and that it should be possible to di
!. vert freight cars from that section t.
:, Idaho to enable crops OF move to mar
: ket freely. AS yet we have had N
particular complaint as to car short
age existing, but the fear is expresses
= that, unless almost superhuman eff
:, forts are made by your company tn
a usual car shortage will result, wit
:, great loss to all concerned"
J. No response to this communicated
y has yet been received from the O. R. 1
q N and the Northern Pacific, but tn
n Short Line is quick to respond wit
o the assurance that nothing is to b
left undone by that system this yea
to give shippers complete satisfaction
in the matter of cars. At the sam
time it is regretted that a shortage Q
labor this year has made it impossi
BILE to do all that it was planned to d
in the way of double tracking and th
II enlargement and improvement of tel
minals.
Urgent appeal is also made for &C
a operation on the part of shipper:
l. For example," says one communities
4 ton received by President Blomquis
E. '1ast fall we found that certain con
TX mission men We're ordering goo
I'd many more refrigerator cars tina
e. their actual necessities required, an
IN when they loaded and billed out thes
y. cars they usually did so expecting
divert them in transit to some maj
20 ket or other We found at places lih
is Pocatello, Cheyenne, Grand Islam
OF Council Bluffs, ETC., great many cal
v held under load awaiting diversion
Se some market. The shippers, of cours
It. paid demurrage on these cars, bl
I'd while they were used as warehouse
o. they were depriving other shipper
he and the railroad company of their us
ea eve also found that at loading ST
rs tons, both north and west of Poe
nc tello, where five or six refrigeratt
es cars would be set for potato loadin
" that it was the practice of certa
III commission men and shippers to pla'
r. a few sacks of potatoes in each car
II order to hold them and prevent othe
at the same point from loading"
1t is the general testimony that |
to date there has been an abundan'
of cars for the shipment of fruit al
the conviction is freely expressed tn
m this condition is to prevail througho
the entire shipping season.-State
man.