The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-01-03
SOUTHEAST WILL HAVE
A BETTER SHOW
TO Have Its Products Taken to Mar.
ket Under Government Con-
troll of TRANSPORTATION

troll OF Transportation
Washington, Jan. 3.-Now that the
government as a war measure has
taken over the Operation of the rail
roads with William Gibbs McAdoo, a
Georgian by birth, as administrator,
the southeastern seaboard. is going to
experience unwonted traffic activity,
and the crops of Florida will be
hauled to northern markets prompt
ly.
Much of the outward shipment of
supplies to Europe are now TO be di-
vested from congested ports at New
York and Boston to southern ports,
such as Savannah, Charleston, jack
sonville, Pensacola, Mobile and Tam
pa.
The cars that take these war sup
plies southwark will be used to bring
back north the raw materials and the
seasonal produce of Florida and the
other southeastern states. On account
of the big increase in all lines of ag-
riculture, in hog raising and in the
growing of castor beans for the sig.
nal corps, the production in the. six
southeastern states will be much
greater than ever before.
The railroads war board, which has
had charge Of the distribution of cars
to points where they are needed most
urgently, and it's ally, the car service
commission, have had vexatious ex-
perience. They have been unable to
get anything like the number of cars
in demand and have had to contend
again congestion at certain centers
while other sections suffered.
First They had to press into ser
vice large part OF the car supply
to get coal for the northwestern states
up to the Great Lakes before they
froze over. This caused congestion in
that district up to the early part Of
December.
Second They had TO employ every
available car to rush raw materials
for munitions and other war work up
to the New England manufacturing
centers and munitions plants.
They had to haul the lumber from
certain states, mostly in the south, to
the sites of the various national army
environments. This produced conges-
ton in another locality. The hauling
Of the cotton crop to the New Eng
land mills still further complicated
conditions.
It will be noted that in all of these
cases the haul was one way. The
movement was always towards the
north, with nothing to be hauled back,
so that the rolling stock was used
only to half it's capacity.
The Southern railroad, the Atlantic
Coast Line and the Seaboard, all
feeding the South with their lines,
have been forced to loan many cars
to other railroads and on. account Of
local congestion it is impossible to gel
them back, so that the car famine for
the southeast has been still further
developed
Under the new administration all
this is to be corrected Secretary Me-
Adoo and his railroad advisory coun-
Gil recognize that cars must be used
to carry loads both ways, and that
no section Of the country must suffer,
most especially that section which is
depended upon for important food
supplies.
The intention is to divert from the
congested northern ports, to the
southern ports much of the outbound
supplies, munitions and transports. It
was with this purpose in view that
Henry Ford counselled the shipping
board that the great government ship
yard must be located in the south
east
The railroads war board with the
approval of Secretary McAdoo, as
government railroad administrator, is
now going to kill two birds with one
stone by hauling the raw materials
for the shipbuilding and che supplies
going overseas to the southern ports
and will have the cars come back
north laden with the citrus fruits,
garden truck, castor beans, hogs and
other food supplies from Florida and
other, not-quite- so-far-south states.
This will, it is believed, not only
lessen the congestion at the northern
ports, but will bring to market the
produce OF the section best fitted for
varied agricultural production.