The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-11-02
FILL FREIGHT CARS AND HELP
TO PREVENT RAILROAD CRISIS
BY Henry M. Hyde


United States is fast becoming
critical. 1t will require the closest
cooperation and the hardest work
on the part Of railroad men and ship
pers to prevent something like
catastrophe.
There Is an increasing shortage OF
freight cars, particularly in the mid
die west. The Illinois Central lost
3 200 box cars the last two weeks
of September. That number OF cars
belonging to the road were carried
away by other lines into other ter
ritory. The Burlington reports that
it has on it's lines $500 fewer cars
than it actually owns. Reports OF
the same kind come from all the
roads centering in Chicago.
Practically every road running out
Of Chicago has demand for many
more freight cars than 1t can fur
nish. They are needed for the load
ing Of merchandise, cement, fruit
and vegetables, wheat and oats. The
cars are simply not to be had. And
Just ahead is the movement of the
greatest corn crop in history.
There is an increasing shortage of
coal cars at the mines in Illinois and
Indiana. Every day the national
government Is increasing the number
of freight cars used for strictly mill
tary purposes.
Cantonments Tie Up Cars
How great Is this war demand on.
the resources of the railroad does
not begin to be realized by the pub
lie. 1t takes more than $500 freight
cars day to carry supplies to the
sixteen cantonments of the national
army alone. Then the government
is going into ship building on vast
scale. 1t is building steel mills,
great gun factories, huge plants for
the manufacture of airplanes. All
these enterprises require constantly
increasing number of freight cars.
We have undertaken to supply
millions of tons of fuel and food to
our allies. We are transporting
more and more soldiers to France
every week and every soldier landed
| in Europe makes new and continu-
ing demand on the railroads of the
United States. An army of only
100000 men will be needed-with
it's necessary horses and mules
$500 tons of food alone, every day.
1t is also necessary to build great
docks and wharves at the American
| bases in France, to construct hun
dreds of miles of railroads, equip
them, and furnish fuel for 'the loco
motives. For army automobiles
alone there will be needed 5000, 900
barrels of gasoline each month, to
say nothing of IS tons of grease and
oils. All of these things and many
millions of tons of arms, munitions,
and other supplies must first be
moved by the railroads of the United
States.
And it must always be remem-
bered that government demands will
get the first call on the railroads.
U. S. Given Right of Way
| Troops, munitions, war materials
of every kind" Danial Willard,
chairman of the railroads war board,
told me in Washington last July,
"Will be given right of way on the
railroads of the United States.
Everything else must wait on the
military needs of the government"
| w udL 10 oil Cduy d Udu SOAuAIIOA 40
certain to get worse. The railroads
themselves are doing magnificiently.
They have increased their efficiency
greatly. They have had good coop
eration-until recently, at least-on
the part of many shippers. But
greater exertions on the part of
everybody are necessary.
There must be-if disaster is to be
avoided-greater speed in both load
ing and unloading freight cars of. all
kinds. There are a few cars now in
Chicago which have not been
promptly unloaded on account OF
market conditions. The shipper who
uses freight car as a storage ware
house this fall may be counted al
most as an enemy of the country
At any rate he is hindering the eff
forts of the government to win the
war.
Bigger Loads Urged
1t will help also if shippers will
load all freight cars to their maxi
mum capacity and if buyers will in
crease their orders for material tt
the point where the shipment will fill
freight car to it's full capacity.
The average carrying capacity of &
freight car is $4,000 pounds. The
average load carried today-eve1
after all the efforts made to secure
more intensive loading-is not more
than half that weight. If all freigh
cars were loaded to full capacity thu
effect would be to almost double thu
freight carrying capacity Of the rail
roads.
There is today and will be whil'
the war lasts a demand for man.
more freight cars than the railroad
can supply" said D. I. Forsyth, vic
chairman of the Chicago car servic
committee of the railroads wa
board. "The demand will increase
but the number Of cars cannot be in
, creased in the near future. TIL
( shipper cannot send buyer NOR
. goods than he orders. Therefore tn
r remedy for the prevailing wastage o
. freight car space lies mainly wit
the buyers of commodities in bulk
To order shipments in maximum ca
lot quantities Is to do little towar
helping win this war"
VATJJART,E HORSES RJJRN