The Washington herald., 1918-02-03
CLAIM HEADS
OF RAILROADS
HANDICAP U. S.
Director General McAdoo
Gets Scores Of Letters
from Citizens.

Charges that railroad officials are
trying to make a failure of govern
ment operation of the railroads are
contained in scores of letters re-
ceived by william G. Mckdoo, Direc-
tor General Of Railroads.
Similar letters, it was learned last
night, have been received by MEM
bers of the House Interstate and
Foreign Commerce Committee, some
of whom have turned them over to
Mr.. McAdoo. :,
Charges Fuel Waste.
Typical letters follow: From a
business man of Sanborn, Iowa:
Il cannot say that 1 am an en-
thusiast for government operation
of all public utilities, but am in
terested in wartime efficiency, and
il I get the proper impression OF
your actions this accords with your
views. Being located in a railroad
division town. I hear a good deal OF
talk among railroad men. and it
seems that the general opinion Is
that those in charge of train opera
tion are seeking to discredit gov
ernment operation for the fear of
the future.
What is done with the railroads af-
ter the war does not interest me at
this time, but believe that men who
will stoop to such methods and there
by interfere with the moving of sup
plies (which may win or lose this con-
fiict are thereby endangering our ma
tional future, and Just as guilty as the
anti-American or i. w. w. who places
an obstruction on the track to wreck
a train.
AT the local shops engines are Or
dered and, after several tons Of coal
are consumed in getting them ready,
they are ordered cancelled. This is
hardly conservation of fuel. Equip
ment repaired stands on the track for
several days at a time because trains
have been abandoned or taken of en-
tirely. In the meantime it takes five
or six days to get freight only a few
miles.
Loss of revenue does not concern
them, as the government will take
care Of that"
Questions Car Shortage.
A business man of The DaIles,
Oregon:
IF high up railroad officials are
on your advisory board they will do
all in their power to make your
work a failure. so the people will
not want government ownership
after the war. / do not think there
was much car shortage. 1 have
been told by several persons that
the switch yards all over the coun-
try were full of empty cars all the
fall.
This town is 5000 population and
one man told me that he counted
500 empty cars in the yards here
at one time. 1t was only a scheme
for higher freight rates. But they
had held down business so long
things were sure in bad shape when
you took charge. But 1 know that
you will soon clear the way"
A banker Of McRae, Arkansas:
LAS a loyal American citizen, 1 be-
lieve it my duty to assist you in your
arduous duties in getting the very
best service out of the railroads al
the present time, so give you this bit
of information that you may use It
for what II is worth.
"A fireman on a Missouri line told
me last week that it looked as If the
heads of the railroad company were
trying to make a bad showing under
government control, and he said this
was the opinion OF the trainmen gen.
erally.'
Coal Tied Up.
A railroad man of Ambridge, Pa. {:
Am at present living within six
miles of the largest railroad yards
III the world, where I will saw there
are no less than 1900 cars of coal tied
up. This yard could be cleaned out
in less than a month with proper
handling and the empties sent back
to the mines. The railroad companies
own the mines. If there is a shortage
Of coal the price goes UP. They own
the cars. They have nothing to lose ;.
all to gain. I will cite one instance.
Every spring I put in my winters
coal. 1t takes about $50 bushels.
could not get it until last June Then
it was frozen in the bottom Of the
cars. This I can prove by the coal
dealer. The cars lay all winter in
the yards:
When protest was made, the freight
agent remarked:
Il can't help it. I'm under orders
Anyway, what can you expect from
government control?"
This, it was explained, was the tone
of several of the communications
But the officials said they had no
series of letters that would Indicate
that there was any organized effort to
discredit government operation, nor
was there any hint SO far of a propa-
ganda.