Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1917-11-23
The R. r. Transportation Problem

tiles which they have been moving.
Tn" situation l. similar to That IN
other industries. The stee. manu-
!acturcrs cannot produce all tn,
steel needed. the coal mines cannot
produce all the coal needed. and the
farmers haze not produced all tht
wheat needed. other industries
faced by similar conditions under the
.inc,ion and dir 'c'iOn of In" Gov
crnmcnt. are reducing the amount Of
fuel and materials furnished to bus
in"s5 concerns producing things no;
essential 10 carrying on the war.
Th" time may b" almost here when
II will b" necessary 70 distinguish
in railway transportation between
, things that are essential and things
that are not os .ontial The Railroads
War Board has. therefore. furni he'd
to Judge Lov"tt. tn" Government di-
rector of priority. and Dr. Garfield.
the Government Fuel Administrator.
Al their r,'uu"st. list compiled by
Il committee OF railway traffic o'fi
/ GERS showing commodities. the trans
portation of which is regarded as
/ non essential under present condi-
up of about 4a0 commodities who's,
transportation il is believed could b"
1 dispensed with without any cOnsid-
"rablc Inconvenience to the public.
Another part contains about IS
commodities which 1t is believed the
public could dispense with. but not
without Inconvenience. Ii is for the
priority director and the fuel admin
istrator to determine how many OF
/ these commodities shall be denied
transportation.
We have no doubt that if non-es-
s.ntial commodities are eliminated
B the railways can transport all com
I moditics required by the Government
in carrying on the war. and the peO-
pie for their subsistence and com
/ fort. Furthermore, those RESPONSE
I BILE for the operation of the railways
do not wish to be understood as con-
,"ding that tn" transportation lines
have reached the limit of their ca
, plcity. They are still increasing til"
amount OF traffic they are handling,
and with greater eXercis" of skill
and energy by railroad Officers and
employees and increased co-opcra
Government officials. including the
regulating authorities. the freight
s..rvice rendered can still be greatly
augmented The Railroads Wll
Board is issuing to railway officers
and employees and to tn" public de-
tailed suggestions in addition to those
already made as to methods by
which this result can be accomplish
ch, and we have no doubt but what
THESE will be- received and acted up
on as similar suggestions heretofore
made have been.
The difficulties with which tn.
railways We're confronted at the be
ginning of tn" war were very great
and some of th"s" have been over
come. The increase during tn.
first five months of the war. of II
per cent in freight traffic handled
With practically no increase in loco
motives or cars. was equivalent Il
the addition of 5000 locomotives
and 500. 900 ears to the number il
service.
. The difficulties now cou:rOntin,
the railways are even greater thar
those faced at the beginning of tn,
near all the men they need; the!
have lost many of their most eff
cient Officers and employees because
of their enlistment in the service %
the Government. or for other rea
sons, and the new men OF course arr
/, not as efficient as those we have
, lost. II is impossible for the carrier
to get the material and new equip
ment they need because il is though
by those In authority that the Ma
tiOnal welfare demands that the out
put of the iron and steel mills of tn
railway equipment concerns be d"
, voted to other purposes. Great
however. as are the difficulties tn
railways are encountering in thei
efforts to render adequate service
we believe that if the Government
and the public will he patient an,
will continue to give the manage
ments of the railways their cooper
: alton most of these difficulties viii
, be overcome.