New-York tribune., 1918-04-26
Freight Car Shortages
And Credit Starvation
Mr.. Sisson Says ''Failure'' of the
Railroads Was Due Primarily
to Government Interference

Financial Editor of The Tribune:
Sir: Recent comment in your column
concerning the question of car shortage
me to lead to some inaccurate conclu-
sions, which l am sure was not your
intention.
That anybody can, under present con-
ditions, question whether or not facili-
ties are, or for over two years have
been, adequate illustrates the tempta
ton to make conclusions first and try
to get facts to support them afterward.
1t can be shown that during most of
the capacity of the railroads exceeded
the demands made upon them. In
other words, during most Of this time
net surpluses of freight cars were re-
ported, and on many dates they were
very large. In March. 1916, however. a
car shortage was reported. 1t dis
appeared, but returned on September l Z,
1916, and in all the twenty months
since then net car shortages have been
minimum Of $4,000 to a maximum of
$4,000 cars. During the first seven
months of this twenty consecutive
months Of car shortage the country
was at peace, while in the last thirteen
months of it the country has been at
war.
What Car Shortage Means
In other words, while our entrance
into the war has intensified the car
shortage it did not produce it. Now
| if car shortage of such magnitude
| for twenty months does not demon
~&~ 4,
I do not know how many months of
car shortage would be required to de-
monstrate it. What does net car short
age mean? 1t means simply that the
railways are Unable to furnish to the
shippers the means of transporting all
the freight which the shippers asked
them to transport. I cannot conceive
Of any more tangible and conclusive
evidence Of the inadcquacy Of fatii-
ties than that.
1t is entirely true that the operat
ing efficiency Of the railroads, owing
largely to the restrictions put upon
them by state and Federal laws, was
not as great as it has been under
centralized government regulation in
which these laws and rules have been
disregarded. 1t is true likewise that
the average car loading rises under the
pressure brought to bear on shippers
and carriers alike; and it is obviously
true that the chaos precipitated by
government priority orders hopclcssly
entangled the government transporta-
tion service and contributed an i'm
portant part to the congestion Of las,
winter.
These facts, however, should not
blind us to others equally true. In
quacy OF transportation the question is
not whether the carriers have been
able to handle an increasing amour,
of traffic, but whether they have beer
able to handle all Of the traffic offered
to them. This was true in the years
!o14 and 1915, but since the fall Of 1916
It has not been true, and tho disparity
between the amount Of transportation
service available and the amount de-
mandcd has increased with fluctuations
since that time. This was due, as
have attempted to point out, fundament
ally to the failure of railroad credit
to meet tho demands of transporta
tion requirements. A shortage of cars
motive power, shop equipment, ter.
minals and trackage, all contributed tc
this end. Moreover the effect of these
shortages was inevitably to prcven,
mines. factories and industrial con.
eerns from operating to their full ca
pacity, 30 that not only was transpor.
tation unable to meet the freight al
ready offered, but its shortage pre-
vented much freight from being
cannot believe that you would
seriously maintain tho position that
mere Is no shortage Of cars" as stated
IN your request for greater efficiency
and movement lii car loading. Tho
statement IN this connection that the
average freight car moves less than
one-half ful! is most inaccurate. About
one-tnird OF tho cars moved on the rail-
wnys move empty because on every rail
- much heavier than that moving In
the other Therefore, tho most i'm