The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-02
Santa Fe Is Doing It's Best to
Relieve Car Shortage.
Was but 419 Behind the De.o'
mand This Morning.
HAD 1861 ON EASTERN SIDINGS
Shippers Are Using These for
Storage Purposes. =
Failure to Unload Promptly
Causes the Trouble.
The car shortage!

The car shortage. -
All. there's the rub. with the aver-er
age railroad man; also the averages
shipper.
The State Journal will say it in
your own WORDS a reporter advised Il
]. r. Koontz, general freight agent OF n
the Santa Fe railway, this morning.
Your offer is accepted" Mr.
Koontz replied, land we will put It thiss5
way: If everybody wanted to bor-es
row money on the same day, the banks
would find 1t impossible to grant all
the accommodations sought. If every
family in town decided upon liver and
bacon for breakfast tomorrow morn
ing. the supply would be exhausted in :
half an hour. If every merchant in
Topeka ordered a page of display adj :
vertising in the newspapers tomorrow, $
it would be a physical impossibility
for the printers to set the matter up
Yet the banks have no difficulty in
supplying the normal call for moneys
the butcher shops are able to take caro-
of the ordinary demand of their liver
and bacon customers. and the news {
papers accommodate their advertisers
one day with another. The railroads
does not differ materially in this re-Ji
spect from the classes of business
named. 1t has cars sufficient for the
normal demand, but when all the
wheat shippers call for cars at once,
there is a shortage.
by enlisting the cooperation OF
shippers for prompt unloading. the
Santa Fe is keeping the trouble fair
ly well in hand" Mr.. Koontz CON-
tinued. We have advised shippers.
of the conditions a result of the
rush, and asked them to help relieve
the situation by releasing cars at the
earliest possible minute. Shippers as
rule have done their best The ex-
ceptions to the rule have made most
of the trouble. r
Only 419 Cars Short.
III. B. Lautz, assistan mt to the gem.
eral manager, who is giving the car
situation his personal attention was
only 4ls box cars short on the East
ern lines this morning. Considering
that this territory extends from Chi
cago to Newton. and from Superior.
Neb., to Purcell, Okla, the shortage (.
really is not serious. While Mr.. Lautxa
was standing off the customers who.
wanted the 41s cars this morning.
1881 loaded box cars were on sidinee +
at destination on our Eastern lines.
III these cars had been unloaded i'm
| mediately upon arrival at destination. :
| the empties could have been sent to
| the places where needed, and instead
of a shortage of 41s care, Mr.. Lautz
would have had a safe surplus n
Lack of storage is the main reasoriz
given for failure to unload promutiy.
| although some grain dealers admit
| that they hold the cars till the market
| suits them. The railway has no re-
course, except the nominal demurrase
| charge of 81 day. This charge is
| fixed by law. When wheat is advance
| ing from half a cent to a cent a BUSH
81 every day, the dollar demurrage Is :
| cheap storage, but it is pretty rough
| on the shipper who wants for the
| actual movement of grain the cars
| thus held.
| Fortunately the number of shin
pers who hold cars for storage Is
growing smaller all the time due to our
cooperation plan, and we are hopeful
that the practice eventually will be
discontinued"