Bisbee daily review., 1917-11-04
EFTHEN the United States entered the war W the first question that every red-biooded w man asked himself was
How can I best help my countr

W asked himself was:
 How can 1 best help my country?"
 To railroad men this question carried peculiar appeal, as practically every man in the service from track walker to president. appreciated that il time the transportation facilities of countr, rank next in importance to its army and navy They did rot need the reminder of Marshal Joffrt that the battle of the Marne was won bv the rail ways of France. to jolt them into realization of the responsibilities that the war had thrust upon them. They kaesc. And because they knew, just exactly five days after the declaration of war. rep resentatves of I75 of the principal independent railroad companies of the country assembled in Washington and voted unanimously to forget com petition and coordinate their activities for the period of the so that the railroads n this coun- try might be in position to respond Immediately and unit to any demand made upon them b, President Wilson in the interest of America an4 it's Allies.
 To snail committee of five men. representing the ablest brains in the tra: sportation 6cd. the railroads gave their control. Nothing of the kind had ever been done before by any industry in this any other country. It tie answer 0. the railroad of America to the question ths each individual in the railroad army was asking himself: How can I best help my country?'
 As result of this answer, the railroads of thi country are being operated today as single sy, tenn, working for and with the Government to q the last ounce of efficiency ont of their equipne'' that the abnormal transportation problem whic the war has produced may be solved without jeopardizing the commercial life of tine nation.
 Ownership Names Wiped Out
 Sitting consistently in Washington is the commit tee of five men to whom the railroads have en- trusted their control This committee, which has come to be known as the Railroads War Board keeps, in effect, before it I map of the United De- in length with all ownership na;aes wiped out Thr members of the War Roard longer think in term of the Southern Pacific. C. B. & Q.. B o. Pennsylvania or ,av o.iicr road. They see 5e1or them only the ,.4,, sation problems of the cntii country and as iliesc ', aSlems arise, one after l other. the solution af them is reached without th question of .wnersh,p i.ltrading iself.
 In the South. -ee andy, for instance, thousar... of cars nso5cd l. haul lumber to the eanto1 ments. The lines operating in that territory h.. every car shcr owned moving between the forest, and the can,onments, and it was not enough. With out qr:bble dispute the Railroads War Board. acting sa. ogh its Commission on Car Service. ordered r ads operatinr in the North and Middle West .o send c.syh ~emptics'' into the Southern territory to eotecs the lumber movement and t,,e rapid completion of the training camps in which .lcle Sans citizen soldiers being trained for their duties abroad
 All in all. more than l25, GOO cars have beei shifted from line to another, irrespective of ownership, during the past five months in order to avert freight congestion and slowing up of the country $ transportation machine
 What such soxing up would mean now is not difficult to visualize. For in addition to keeping the commercial life of this country at high pitch thousands of carloads of troops, munitions, food and other supplies must be kept moving constantly from seaboa-d to seaboard.
 From now on Great Britain France and all our other Allies will have to depend very largely upon this country for their food, and for much of tine material needed for carrying on the war.
 In addition must send at least million to the fighting lines within the next yeaF- This means that millions of tons. of food and SUI, plies mus be sert out of this country and all of this tonnage must he brought to the seaboards by the railroads
 The effect a shortage of transportation in normal times easily be appreciated What such shertage would at the present time, however, with the whole fate of both this country and Europe involved, staggers the imagination.
 The railroad men, however, have not permitted themselves to be terrified by the situation Neither have they deluded themselves with any false hopes concerning the possibility of securing enough equipment to enable them to handle the additional transportation that the has produced, without herculean efforts. They know that this and needed equipment is unavailable, not only because il impossible to turn out freight and locomo- tisss over night but because what new equipment be manufactured is sorey needed by the Allies.
 As rc>ui.. they have taken up the only real sontion that is practicable. which is to mab" ihc