The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-03-06
Freight Congestion In the East Has
Caused Famine In Rolling
Stock Over tho
Country.
100, 900 CARS ARE TIED UP
Are Idle on Eastern Tracks Filled
With Goods to be Sent Abroad
Some Other
Reasons.

Due to the unparalleled freight
connection in the east every railroad
In the middle west is suffering from a
car famine. The local roads have
been feeling the shortage for some
time and have been handicapped to
some extent because of the lack Of
rolling stock. One local road, at least
has had to turn down several orders
recently because of lack Of cars.
1t is estimated that there are 1907
600 freight cars tied up between Chi
cago and New York, containing mil
lions of dollars worth Of goods, wait
ing transportation. This has left a
great shortage Of cars. A large num-
Der Of freight cars used by the local
roads are foreigners from other roads.
With many of their own tied up in
the east, 1t is necessary to press in
to service every available car.
A rental is charged the roads that
enter Keokuk for every foreign car
used here. Accounts are evened up,
however, for the other systems have
to pay the same amount for cars of
the local roads, many Of which are
now tied up in the east.
The Rock Island road has Just put
In commission number OF new
freight cars, with the restriction that
they can not be sent off the Rock
Island lines. Local railroads receive
daily bulletins Of the kind of freight
that can be accepted here for de-
livery.
Months Of Idleness.
A freight expert in the Chicago
Tribune of Sunday reported that there
were 100000 cars tied up between
Chicago and New York. He says:
Goods that left Chicago in De-
cember have not gotten within
800 miles of New York.
The dock piers, private ware
houses, public storehouses and
finally the bare ground are lit
tered with delayed freight. The
freight lying on the ground alone
will total millions of dollars. s
Bad weather, lack Of bottoms.
the rush of export goods to the
seaboard, and finally the tremend-
GUS increase in the domestic
movement have combined to make
the situation most serious. In
addition the railroads have been
woefuly inefficient. The expert
will be further quoted as saying
that "ugly rumors" have been
at1oat that undue influence has
been used to expedite the move
ment Of munitions of war, but
that these rumors have never
been confirmed.
Americans probably do not real
lie the full extent Of the NUM-
lions movement. A banking au-
thority in New York told me
that the Bethlehem plant alone
was turning out more munitions
w.. than all the English plants put to-
gether.
Tied up in East.
1t is a matter Of general 1nforma-
ton that the roads Of the east have
many cars tied up in the terminals
along the Atlantic coast, loaded with
war supplies and munitions, and that
the reason for this was the inability
to secure ships to carry the shipments
to their destination.
Much OF the last years crop OF corn
and wheat is said to be still In the
hands of the farmers, and much OF
this will start moving soon. The
crop movement and munitions freight
of the east is blamed for the antlcl-
pated shortage in cars.
In the middle west farming COM
munities It is not an unusual sight to
find the wheat crop piled up by the
side of the track waiting for the
cars to carry 1t away, it is said.