The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1919-10-15
Do
ing Heavy
Business
Says Director-General Hines
in Statement Issued to
the Press.

n General Oh hatirOauS. mas uu
q ,horized the following. The
4 railroads of the country are
q now doing II heavier business
81 for the present season Of the
i wear than was ever done III the
4 history of railroads in normal
Il Years and practically as heavy
Il business as was done at this
season in 1918 which exceeded
all previous records. They
have more cars in actual scr
vice after excluding cars held
ont OF service for repairs, than
in 1917 or 1918. While the bad
/ order cars situation was great
/ " embarrassed by the extern
sive strikes, among shop men
in August the percentage of
! had order cars is now rapidly
4 Improving. There was an in
crease of 52,l56 cars in service
able condition between August
4 18TH and October 4th, 10, ITO Of
this increase were added in the
one week ending October 4th.
While the freight business is
practically as heavy as at this
time last year, the Railroad Ad.
ministratlon, is performing that
business, is unavoidablv de-.
prived Of many exceedingly inn
portant acids which it was able
! to utilize las; year. One of these
! i: the coming of coal which last
year compelled consumers to
take their coal from nearby
mines and thereby greatly in
creased the efficiency of coal
transportation. This advantage
has necessarily been lost be
cause the coal coming was ter
minated last winter, another is
that, last year there was much
heavier loading of many i'm
portant commodities than il
has been possible to secure this
year and the result is that under
existing conditions more cars
have TO be used for the same
smount of traffic, than were
used last year. There are va,
nous other important respects
IN which traffic was controlled
in the interest of the war last
year so as TO get the maximum
results out of rail transporta
ton and with the return Of
peace conditions and the result
ING instance Of public senti
ment upon release from war
time restrictions these advant-
ages have been lost. The fact
that there is still shortage in
railroad transportation is due
10 The condition that the amount
OF business offering is far in ex.
Cess OF the transportation facil-
llles of the country. This has
always been true in this coun-
Try IN times of heavy business
10 the autumn months except
last year when the matter could
De and was controlled by an
iFon hand with a view solely TO
war necessities. At the same
lime railroad facilities have not
expanded to the extent required
IN the public interest even prior
10 the war railroad facilities
We're not equal to the demands.
Dnring the war the addition of
new facilities was greatly re-
aricted by scarcity of material
anu labor since the warit has
been impossible to enter upon
OF carry out any such program.
Inc railroad companies in view
|i the uncertainty were unwill-
ing to provide the money. The
result is that tho railroad faciii
'ies of the country are decided.
" below what the traffic de-
mands. Nevertheless the max
mum traffic is being handled
ana this Is being done with less
shortage of transportation than
lnanifesteditself at timesin the
pre- war period. Particular at
.sntion ia being paid by the
Italiroad administration to the
furnishing of necessary equip.
mem ,aent for the transportation of
coal and of grain it was decided
early IN September that in order
~ meet the coal requirements
" the country it would be neces-
sary for the railroads to move a
minimum of 100000 tons of