New Britain herald., 1918-10-22
HARb0R CONGESTION
 MADE IMPROBABLE
Facilities Along Atlantic Coast
 Doubled Within Seven Months

Washington, Oct. 22.--All menace of a break in the bridge to Pershing"
 through congestion in or lnadequacy
 of the North Atlantic ports has been
 removed, according to reports to the
 director general on conditions in New
 York harbor and the five other big
 ports on the Atlantic.
 These reports, compiled largely by A. H. Smith. regional director in New
 York, show that the freight capacity of the ports, so dangerously clogged last winter as to constitute a real menace, has been more than doubled in the last seven months and conges- ton of freight cut in half. All ob- structive congestion, particularly in New York, has been removed and supplies are flowing freely through that gateway in great volume.
 It was largely congestion in the eastern territory last winter that caused the choking of the rail lines. MT Smith says in his report:
 Congestion of the sea aports when the railroads passed under federal control last winter constituted a serious menace and hindrance to the whole war effort of the nation. Over crowding of terminals necessarily caused such inefficiency and restric- tion of the capacity of port facilities that at times operations were threat ened with virtual paralysis.
 The 44,S2O carloads, about 2,OOO,- 900 tons, of freight piled up at term inals wholly inadequate for the tre- mendously increased business, made a steady flow of traffic at high speed and full utilization of the facilities for transfer from rail to ship an
 impossibility. Yard tracks were oc- cupied to their extreme limit by the 12,5 freight cars being misused for storage and thereby being held out of
 needed moving service.
 Cars under load were backed up on sidetracks for miles inland until in desperation railroad officers arbitrar- fly dumped cars of non-perishable freight out upon the ground to re lease trackage space and rolling stock. In the harbor lighters were delayed for weeks at a. time with loads be- cause the congested conditions pre- vented the prompt making up of the composite cargoes.
 "On January there were 213 ocean going steamships lying idle in New York harbor awaiting either cargo or bunker coal for the trip to 1 Europe, although at this period short age of bottoms was acute and the U-boat menace at it's height.
 ''The records show that railroad facilities for export have not been forced to their extreme limit at any time in the last six months although the tonnage, except for August, has increased each month. Tn August there was 8 slight falling off from July due to reduced shipments of steel to supply increased demand for these materials in essential war industries at home and also because of diversions to South Atlantic and Gulf ports which shortened the rail haul on 1 lum Der, tobacco and other commodi- 1 ties.
 Excluding United States govern ment war freight, which under the new system introduced is accorded preference over all traffic and is exempt from the regulations imposed l upon other freight and excluding also ] bulk grain and coal, the railroads l deliveries of export in car loads at North Atlantic ports for the past six l months averaged daily 1,055 cars in April, 1,34S in May 1851 in Tune