El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-02-16
1ASHINGTON. D. c.. Feb. IS
A Making the railroads eff
rfenrl That is what Uncle

cfentl That is what Uncle
Sam has undertaken TO do. He is put
ting his giant hand on the tangled
network OF iron which covers the
United States. He is Tightening the
meshes and making every line do its
duty. He has as his assistants the best
railroad men Of the country, and has
brought them together IN this one
great work OF transportation applied
to winning the war. From now on
every mile Of passenger traffic. every
ton Of freight transportation and
every atom Of friction in running the
railways viii be regulated to this end
and no other.
Results Already Apparent.
The work has begun and the results
are already apparent The average
run OF q freight car has been % miles
per day. II it can be increased only
five miles It viii add 5l5,O cars TO
our railway equipment. The average
run Of a locomotive has been 70 miles
day. II we can make il run Is
miles farther We viii have what is
equal TO more than 1900 additional
locomotives for fighting the Germans.
Ordinarily one locomotive in seven is
undergoing repairs The railroad OF
ficials tell me that this percentage
might be reduced so as TO add 5000
vice In short, by speeding up and
watching repairs on the equipment as
well as by heavier loading Of both
cars and engines we can enormously
increase the rolling stock which is so
FAR below the government needs
Some Of the members Of the war
board believe We can thus add to our
present supply what Will equal about
500. 000 cars and 5000 locomotives.
Moreover, these efficiency methods
a in n he v
ing has been steadily increasing ever
since war was declared last spring.
The war work is excellent More
than 100000 men have been moved
on the trains here and there over the
United States, and 95 percent Of those
WHO have Travelled q hours have had
sleeping cars In the transfer Of the
troops there have been only four de-
railments. and of the vast number
carried only three have been killed.
Few people realize the changes thar
have been going on in our railroads.
For the past two decades they have
been ground between the upper and
neither millstOues OF increased wages
for labor and decreased freight rates.
All Of their years have been lean
years and each system has had &C
study efficiency and economy in order
10 maintain the equipment. and keep
out Of the hands OF receivers. As a
result all sorts Of improvements have
been made in our rolling stock to in
crease transportation without addi-
tiOnsi cost, and We have today. not
withstanding the poverty Of the rail-
way companies. the best transports-
tien system OF the world.
Lowest Rates IN The world.
We have been carrying our pas
sengers and freight at a greater econ
omy than any other nation. and our
freight and passenger rates are today
3 bout the lowest Of the world. Before
~ s. nj
take bushel Of wheat from Chicago
70 New York, and the average freight
rate Of the whole country was less
than three fourths Of cent per mile.
The term ton mile means the carrying
of a ton OF goods for q distance OF
one mile. That is what We have been
paying A two horse wagon load of
goods has been transported four miles
for 3 cents. Think Of toting that much
goods that distance for a postage
stamp
That has been the average price for
All the traffic upgrade and down all
over the country It was the rate
paid when the farmers were Citing
so cents a busheI for wheat. and It
was the rate they paid last year when
they were receiving more than 50
buzhel- It was the rate when cotton
was worth Is cents a pound. and II
was tna same when the price rose TO
more than 500 per bale.
IN contrast with this I give you the
rates which the people Of other coun-
tries were paying when the war be-
gan The rate for moving 1000 pounds
OF goods one mile in Great Britain
was more than three times what we
are now paying. The rate in Austria
was twice as large and that OF Nor
way and Sweden still larger. Our
actual rate was less than .073 cent. In
France they were paying one and
three tenths Of a cent, in Germany
more than one and one third cents
and IN Russia more than one cent. The
cost Of the same service in the United
Kingdom was just about two and two
fiffhs Of a cent This was so notwith-
standing railroad materials we're
chesper and wages lower in Europe
than in the United States. The coun-
Try traTersed was much flatter,
whereas our railroads crossed many
mountains and we had to lift our
goods uphill and down
Hest Equipment On Earth
There are no railroads in the
world which have as big cars and as
strong locomotives as those Of the
United States. The average American
locomotive is twice as heavy and
twice as powerful as the average
English locomotive. and the biggest
one IN this country is four times as big
as the biggest one in Great Britain.
Take the Centipede, which has been
running on the Erie railway for the
past two or three years II is the
ever built. and IL will carry a train
load weight Of almost 80. 900. GOO
pounds. It is capable Of hauling 4
train Of freight cars four and three
quarters miles long. The engine
weighs $4,000 pounds and it has ac-
tually hauled $50 50 ton loaded gon-
dola coal cars. This locomotive is used
as a pusher on the eight mile grade
Of the Erie east OF Susquehanna, Pa.
where the climb is &C feet to the
mile II does the work that three big
enrines did in the past.
First Locomotive On Primitive Road.
The first locomotive to -un regular
" on rails in the United States
weighed 10 tons II was made IN
England 100 years ago and was used
on the Delaware & Hudson Canal
company line between Honesdale and
Carbondale, Pa The first locomotive
made in America was manufa ctured
at West Point n Y, in 1880 II was
used on a little six mile railroad run