Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-26

total would run into millions. All are
working for the railroads. of course. but
their time and ability just now are given
to the country.
The whole object is to speed up the
movement of freight to get coal to the
factories. iron to the furnaces and
food to the people and the armies. For
years there has been a shortage of cars
in the country. The cause of the shortage
has been de hated in Congress. in the legls-
latures of the states. on the stump and in
the newspapers. Opinions clash, but the
shortage exists.
One of the first acts of the railroads war
board was to appoint commission on
car .ei-vice. Six men were named. All of
them are superintendent of transporta
ton and associated with such great
systems as the Pennsylvania the Bur-
lington. the Boston and Maine. the South
crn Pacific. the Missouri Pacific and the
Norfolk and Western.
These men have accomplished wonders
They meet every day but Sunday and
often work at night. There. are 2.575. 900
freight cars in the United States. of which
2e5.000 are owned by meat packers. oil
refiners. coal miners and SO on. The aver
age addition to the freight equipment on
American railroads has been about 150.-
600 cars per year. Products to be moved
have grown much faster.
Freight is received and shipped from
about 100000 cities and towns. Lack of
terminals, lack of sidings lack of modern
appliances OH some Of the railroads and
lack of modern appliances by shippers and
receivers of freight in some Places says
the war board. have prevented the full
use of the cars and overtaxed the trans
portation system as whole
Before America went to war with Ger
many the movement of freight as every
one knows had been unsatisfactory Goods
often remained on the track for weeks.
The problem Of the six car service com
mitteemen was TO clear the railroads of
stagnant freight and to provide means
for the prompt handling Of the new bust
ness created by a new situation. Their
task was simriified somewhat by the fact
that all of the railroads We're for the
time being. to be operated single con-
tinental system.
Investigation showed that the average
run OF freight car per day was twenty
five miles; that the average capacity of
box cars was 1871 tons. but that the
average load per car of revenue freight
was only 13'2 tons 43 per cent
Orders were promptly issued by the
war board to speed IN the cars and
to load them 10 per cent above their
marked capacity. An increase of five
miles day in the run of a freight car
it was shown. would add the equiva-
lent of 3lo.9n0 cars to the equipment
of the railroads.
A locomotive is run an average of
seventy-five miles a day If the dis
equivalent of 1890 locomotives. the
car service commission pointed out,
Guild be added TO the power equipment
of the railroads. Ordinarily about i
per cent of the locomotives are under
going reLdirs. Were the percentage
reduced third. the commission said
it would mean an addition of 1925 loco
motives to the nations transportation
service.
With these facts before it, and with
others just as surprising on which to
base calculation, the war board de-
c!ared that by the heavier loading of
cars and speeding up of the trains.
as well the repairs on engines and
all equipment. it would be possible to
increase. practically. the number Of
cars In use by 779,0o0 and the number
of locomotives by 16.625. In detail,
quicker movement would add $1,000
cars and heavier average loading would
add .oo,00o cars.
Up TO within a short time freight
that could not be moved at once was
often loaded into cars and the cars he'd
on the tracks Waiting for hole in the
dam. 7 he practice has been stopped.
If man in Chicago, or at any other
point offers carload of export freight
For shipment to Network or Boston he
must now show documents that a vessel
s ready to take the freight across the
Atlantic. He is no longer permitted
20 choke eastern terminals while
watching for a. ship that may or may
not give him cargo room.
The work of the war board brought
about immediate results. Trains, even