New-York tribune., 1917-07-30
Solving Storage
Problem as Aid
To the Railroads
Cooperation Between Gov
ernment and Business In.
terests Being Developed

Washington, July 30.-A bulletin is
sued by the Chamber of Commerce Of
the United States, cooperating with the
Council of National Defence, calls at
tention to the seriousness Of the stor-
age situation in connection with the
governments war activities. A special
committee appointed by the Council OF
National Defence has been endeavoring
to solve some Of the problems with
which producers and manufacturers are
confronted, as well as the government.
The principal demands of the situa-
tion, it is held, are: First, to develop
storage facilities at points of produc-
ton, to avoid congestion in manutact-
ure; second, to develop such facilities
for finished goods near the point of
consumption or shipment abroad, in
older to minimize the need for rail-
road cars, and, third, in general to
create conditions under which railroad
GERS will not be used for storage pur-
poses.
Railroads 0verburdened
Every economy, the bulletin says,
must be practised in the use of trans
pcrtation facilities, and the government
must see to it that in connection with
its purchases no avoidable demands
ere made upon the railroads, overbur-
dened as they are by a load beyond
their utmost capacity. If. for instance,
the government were to ship to one
warehouse and later ship the same
goods to another. or send them back
and forth from warehouses to points OF
consumption or foreign shipment, rail-
road equipment would be used unneces-
prily.
Unless adequate preparations are
nade TO store materials or goods on the
arrival of railroad cars these cars
themselves must of necessity be used
for storage purposes. Ocean trans
portation at best is irregular, and to-
day the conditions are uncertain, 70 say
the least. Often in the last two years
shipments for France and England nave
so accumulated at New York and other
ports that many hundreds of cars for
rionths have not only blocked terminal
facilities, but sdetracks al the way
&c Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The work
of the Storage Committee is directed
toward avoiding this condition on the
er rormous shipments to be made by our
government.
There are five branches Of the army
which are actively interested in the
storage problem-the Ordnance De-
partment, the Signal Corps tincluding
Aviation), the Medical Corps, the En-
g,neering Corps and the QuarteTmas-
cr's Department--and the Secretary of
War has appointed board composed
CT a representative Of each of the
above deuartments and two members Of
the Storage Committee of the Council
&C National Defence. This is known as
the Depot Board, and is assisting in CO.
ordinating the work Of the five depart
ments in meeting the storage problem.
Expert Baling Essential
Baling or compressing products for
shipment is said to be developing great
possibilities for saving transportation
space. Already socks and blankets are
being baled, and satisfactory progress
is being made toward baling uniforms,
shoes, and even prunes. Bales are COW
cred with a waterproof material, which
is later used for sand bags at the front
One advantage of baling is that use can
be made Of Aatcars in shipping mer-
chandise.
The storage committee has been de-
veloping the use Of motor trucks for
short hauls in order 70 release freight
cars for the longer ones. Railroad
cars have frequently been used in cities
TO transport goods only few blocks, il
is said. In Europe to-day motor trucks
are used in many places for all haulage
under forty miles. Now that our de-
mand upon the railroads is so great, we
are told no time is to be lost in making
use Of the opportunities presented by
the motor trucks for short hauls.
Furthermore, the storage committee
has called upon large shippers and
warehousemen in all parts Of the coun-
try for men of experience in handling
ansportation and warehouse problems.
Many men who a few weeks ago were
drawing salaries of ten, fifteen and
twenty thousand dolls $ a year in i'm
portant commercial pcsitio rs, il is said,
are now working for The government ct
the modest pay Of men in charge of
government wareho uses which handle
the freight for our armies. Many such
men are already in France.
College Men Study Storage
Other efforts Of the storage commit
tee have resulted in special courses
training men for work in handling
stores. Such courses are now being