The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-12-01
The Railways

In the calendar year 1916, by ire
mendous exertions, the railways of
the country managed to handle ap-
proximately 66,6OO,OOO,O 1000 more
ton miles of freight traffic than in
any previous year, an increase of al
most twenty-five per cent. Since the
present drive for still greater eff
cheney was begun in April, they have
still further greatly increased the
amount of traffic handled with only
a negligible increase in the number
of locomotives and cars in service. In
the month of May, 1917, as compared
with the month of May, 1916, the in
crease in the number of freight loco
motives IN service was only one-haIf
of one per cent. and the increase in
the number of freight cars in ser
vice was only one and one-half per
cent, and yet the increase in miles,
sixteen per cent. This meant an in
erase in the traffic handled by each
freight locomotive of fifteen and one
half per cent, and on increase in the
traffic handled with each freight car
OF fourteen per cent. The railways
are being blamed for the coal short
age and yet rport of the Federal
Department of the Interior shows
that in the first seven months of this
year they handled 100000 tons or
fourteen per cent, more coal than
they ever did in the same months be-
fore.
The traffic being carried by the
railroads OF the country continues to
grow. Every month=sf1ows an in
crease of fifteen per cent or more ov-
er any record ever made in the cor
| responding month of any past wear.
and it is plain that the traffic which
IS going to be offered during the next
twelve months will vastly surpass anv
the railways have ever tried to deal
with before. 1t IS estimated that the
amount of ground actually being titled
in the United States this year is thir-
ty per cent, larger than it was last
year. There is no sign of slowing
down of our general commercial and
industrial business and this means a
continuance of the present record
| breaking traffic arising from ordinary
manufacturing and mercantile opera
tIonS- We must continue to produce
vast quantities of munitions, ma
chienry, etc, for our allies. We are
now in the midst of the raising, train
ing and equipping of an army of hun
dreds of thousands of men, and that
means vast addition to the present
traffic
Since it is impossible largely to in
crease our railway facilities for the
present, the railways if they are to
handle our military traffic and also
our commercial traffic must still fur
| Their greatly increase the amount of
freight traffic handled with existing
| facilities.
No well-informed railway official
feels any confidence that the railways
will be able this fall and winter to
/ oil
they have moved the military traffic
they may and probably will be other
traffic which will have to wait. The
inconvenience and suffering due to
! this situation can be kept at the
practicable minimum only If all those
who are IN a position to influence re-
suits will strive with the one end of
helping the railways in their effort
to help the nation win the war.
The railway arrangements and en-
ployees can make still further increas-
es IN efficiency if they will all pull to-
| gether IN one supreme effort. The
shippers can help by making still great
er efforts to increase the loading of
cars and to reduce delays to cars
while in their hands. Finally, the ma
tional and state governments can
help by refraining from putting need
less restrictions and burdens on rail
/ ways which VIII interfere with their
| efficiency.
1t is greatly to be feared that this
winter, when the railways may be
struggling with a traffic exceeding
their maximum possible capacity,
they will become the objects of criti-
clsm and denunciation from persons
who may be merely ignorant or who
may think they have more to gain by
attacking and crippling the railways
than by aiding them IN their effort
they are making to help the nation
to win the war When that time
comes, If it does come, let US hope
| that the American press and the
American people will be well enough
informed regarding the situation to
| compel the ignorant agitator, the
Prussian hireling, and the political
demagogue to keep thier hands OF
the railways and give them a fair
chane to 'tDO their bit" as they viii
be inteligently and theoretically try