Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-06-09

cars and locomotives to be ordered
There are now oyer 100000
freight cars in use in the United
States. II we allow depreciation
OF only per cent year il would
require 125,00O new cars to take
the place OF this depreciation ana yet
we have ordered only 100, 600 cars.
The annual depreciation in locomo-
tives far exceeds the total order
which has been given by the govern
ment.
/ Under these conditionB"we cannot
look for any improved transportation
for freight traffic, and certainly not
| for passenger traffic, until The gov
ernment has built locomotives ana
cars in proportion to the number
| built by the railroads in their years
of prosperity running from 4,NiO
| Locomotives in 1901 to $3.50 in 1900,
! and from 1889 freight cars u
| 1901 40 34l,3l5 in 1905. The gov
ernment must match these figures
or It will prove that 1t does not pro-
/ pose to keep the railroad develop
ment up 10 the standard set by the
railroads prior to the time ten, years
ago when the collapse came by rea-
son, Of the death-b blows which had
been given to railroads by the inter
state commerce commission, by ma
| tioual and state legislation and by
ceaseless attacks by undertaking pa
pers and people.
The railroads are the very life OF
our trade. without adequate rail-
road facilities we cannot handle the
! traffic OF the country; we cannot
supply the coke and ore needed for
the iron and steel output; we cannot
supply the coal needed to run The IN
| dustries of the country and for do
nestle consumption, an d without
adequate freight facilities the build
! ing of ships will be seriously delayed.
/ our ability to send men and muni-
/ tons and foodstuffs abroad will be
steadily curtailed and we shall have
| growing congestion of traffic. grow
| ing disOrganlZation of all business OF
/ all kinds unless We build cars and
| locomotives under government aus
| plces as rapidly as they were built
ten years ago, when the railroads
were free and unfettered by legsla-
tive control.
The responsibility upon the rail-
road administration is fully as great
as the responsibility which rests up
on Mr.. Schwab and those associated
with him In the building OF ships to
do things on big broad scale not
yet In sight.
We have had a campaign through
out the country for the speeding up
| have gone up and down the land
proclaiming the need Of ships. CON
gressional invesugati tons have urged
Increased shipbuildinG Billions of
dollars have been freely voted for
the building OF ships. but nobody as
yet has iuaugurated a campaign of
| public speaking to tell the nation
that the need Of building cars and
| locomotives is as essential as the
building Of ships. Nobody has vet
gone before congress demanding bill
lions OF dollars for the railroad eX
pansion and for the building Of
cars and locomotives Until We throw
4 intrthe railroad situation the energy
which has been given Toy the ship
building program and uutil public
men everywhere, from the prCsil INT
down. and newspapers everywhere,
make known the facts in regard to
our railroad situation, we shall stag
lger along hampered and hating and
with the danger of a collapse facing
US.
The announcement sent out from
Washington that the railroads, un-
der government direction, will this
yeac spend $1,000, ,00O,O 900 for add
tional betterments and equipment
or approximately three times as
much as in any one of the last three
years, is misleading in the extreme.
1t is true that during the three
years prior TO 1918. the railroads,
hampered by increasing poverty, due
to unwise legislation and to the per-
sistent delays Of the Interstate COM
merce commission In protecting the
railroads, could not spend large sums
for prOvements, but 1t is wholly
unfair to the country to contrast tho
proposed expenditures this year with
the beggarly amount expended dur
ing the three wears of desperate pow
erty prior TO 1918.
1t would be falrer to the country to
go back to earlier years when the
| railroads spent far more than the
government is this year authorizing
them to spend and secured for the.
expenditure several times as much I'M
| betterments and rolling stocks as this
years expenditures win provide.
Unfortunately. the statement of the
government Is measuring the work
| by dollars when dollars count for
scarcely one-half as much In many
| lines of railroad work as in former
years.
The enormous Increase In the cost
of cars and locomotives and rails.
and the enormous advance in labor
will make an expenditure Of $1,000
000,0 900 this year secure very nlucn
less than one-half that amount
would have given to the railroads
three years ago,
The statement sent out from
Washington Is, therefore, misleading
TO the country and should not have
been sent in that form without an
adequate explanation. This state
ment is published in the daily pa
pers refers To the railroads having
neglected improvem and per
mitted their tracks TO run down"
Every intelligent man in the country
knew that condition, and time ana
time again the fact was driven home
to the Interstate commerce conf-
mission and TO tho administration
that the railroads were being starved
to death. The railroad people knew
full we'll the exact condition; tney
knew the noed of better tracks and
more rolling stock, but the nation
made 1t impossible for the railroads
to get the money for these much
needed improvements.
Ten years ago the Manufacturers
Record said that 1t would require at
least $4,000, 900, 900 to put the rail-
fYN Il.