Morris tribune., 1918-01-04
RAILROADS ARE DOING
THEIR SHARE TO WIN
Every Road in United States Doing
It's Share to Help Allies Win the
War

That the railroads of the country
are doing everything possible to help
the Allies win in the present war is
evidenced by tn many facts given be-
low. Some have called this a rail-
road war but one of the ways that
America was prepared for such a war
by having a greater railroad mileage
than that of the entire continent of
Europe, and a railroad army of l.
10000 employees. Already the
railroads, modified under their War
Board at Washington, have won
some important victories.
Up to November IL the number of
carloads of construction materials
and furnishings brought into the Ma
tional Army environments was TO-
1874. To the same date building sup
plies used in the Guard camps
amounted to 32,370 carloads; and
9,649 carloads had been shipped into
the Aviation camps.
A standard box car of 100000
pounds capacity is forty feet and six
inches long. If all the cars carrying
material for these three classes of
camps could be coupled together the
train that would result would extend
from New York to Chicago and on
out to Evanston, Ill.
That is long train. 1t represents
a great burden added on to the task
accomplished by the railroads in the
record breaking year of 1916. But
the carrying of construction materi-
ais to the cantonments is only a small
part of the total increase in traffic
for 1917.
After the camps had been built,
the railroads had to move the men
into them. They have also had to
carry to the Atlantic seaboard, from
all parts of the country, the men
who have gone to France. Up to
November 10Th they had carried a
total of 100000 soldiers to camps
and ports of embarkation.
And after the men have been
moved, the railroads have to carry
supplies to them. Every day $500
carloads of food and coal are being
AQu1Cu " L1IC 4SoI1Oho1 oucIl " ctAo
National Army camps alone.
Up to November IL, total of IT,
600 carloads of freight had been
hauled for the Shipping Board. This
fgur~ presents part of the traffic
inyC ed by the building of 1,400
new FPS. An enormously greater
number Of cars have rolled down to
Atlantic and Gulf ports loaded with |
supplies and munitions for ships al |
ready built to carry to France and
England and Italy.
All modern military and CONNER |
cial activity is based on coal and oil
but especially on coal. No figures |
reveal more clearly the extent of the i
increased effort put forth in the last |
half year by America generally and |
by the railroads in particular than
the figures on the coal traffic.
In the six months from May to
October, inclusive, there were moved
$50, 200 more carloads of hard coal
than in the same months of 1916, |
and $4,000 more carloads of soft |
coal. Figuring an average coal car
at a length of 33 feet, the total in
crease for half of 1917 over the cor /
half of 1916 may be re-
presented by a solid train load of
coal. extending from New York,
New Orleans, to Los Ange-
les and on up the Coast to Seattle,
and then east again to a point in
Montana, 80 miles east of Butte.
The day is past whez, it was the
good citizens duty to fight the rail-
roads. The railroads are doing their
best on a tremendous job. The citi-
zen can do part of his bit by helping
them in any small way that they
can.