The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-07-01
PAD MANAGEMENT i, OF RAILROADS IS CLAIMED BY EDITOR Washington Times Prints Article on Short-Sighted
 Method of Operation COAL TRAFFIC GIVEN AS CLEARING EXAMPLE This Product Is Shunted About Over | Country Needlessly and at Great
 Expense at Whim of Men
 in Charge
By HUGH ". ROBERTS

Washington, June 3O.-(Specal.) 1.-The first column of the first page of Arthur Brisbane's newspaper, the Washington Times, printed on the first day of the New Workers active management con tains a story bearing directly on alleged business stupidity of the nations rail- roads
 It Is a southern story because it Is al- legged to be the product of a southern editor familiar with conditions in the southern territory. It is an Alabama story because it deals with Alabama coal, Alabama railroads and Alabama business affairs.
 As to whether or not it is a true story, opinions may differ. At any rate, this Is how the unnamed editor talked about the great industrial geniuses' who man age "our poorly managed railroads:
 Here is one of the things that make
 TRAFFIC IN COAL
 for the blockading of railroads and the . high price of coal.
 .s Coal Is being mined in the Alabama Y district and shipped to east Tennessee. Coal IS being mined in east Tennessee and shipped to other states where there are coal mines. Coal Is being mined in east Kentucky and shipped to the cS1al \ fields of Ohio and Illinois. Coal is being mined in Illinois and is ' 1 hauled 400 miles into Mississippi and Ala Abama. / This coal Is used for the engines that haul Alabama coal away from the mines
 'The coal cars used to haul the Hi Hois coal into Mississippi and Alabama are then sent back empty north to get more coal
 ILLINOIS COAL CHEAPER
 ''The railroad people say they can buy n1 in and i,, their engines in Alabama than they can buy the coal from the operators in Ala bana who have chutes to dump the coal in the cars on the Frisco side tracks
 The coal operators having contracts with the consumers refuse to deliver and give lack of cars as an excuse. Then they hear of demand in some other city at twice the amount for which they have contracted to supply the coal for to their regular consumers and they shoot this coal through to the high market.
 Illinois and Kentucky coal is being sent 800 miles to New Orleans when the Ala baina coal fields are only 250 miles away from New Orleans. The Alabama field is also open to New Orleans by water route. but the operators and the railroads do not encourage water routes.
 Tn west Kentucky two years ago coal was sold at the mouth of the mine for 90 cents ton.
 Now the operators are asking from g to $2 50 ton. The added cost of pro- duction is not over 2c per cent.
 1.-Two years ago the railroads did not buy any ears because they said they had no money. Now they are not building any cars because they say iron is too high
 They refuse to build wooden cars be- cause they say wooden cars are not safe ii. a long train
 If the government permits the railroads to have the increase in freight it ought to make them use every cent in cars and loct motives.
 "A workingman can speed himself up 10 per cent and not hurt himself If the railroads would speed up per cent s they would solve the transportation prob lem of this country.
 ''The railroads are laying off until they get the 15 per cent.
 made more money last year than ever before in their history. s'lf this war is to be seized upon as an occasion for a lot of rich people to get richer, there will be nothing for the government to do except to fix the price of coal sat the mouth of the mine the price of pig iron. the price of wheat and the price of cotton.
 'If this remedy does not bring results. &then the government should seize all the Yrailroads, all the coal mines, and all the ore mines. & If this war is fought on present prices it will cost the United States more money fin six months than it has cost Eng land during two. and half years"