The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-08-26

South Dakota Board of Railroad Com.
missicnere, has jus. returned from
Washington where he had confer.
ence with the Interstate Commerce
Commission regarding the require
ments OF this and neieaboring states
in respect to- car supply for moving
the present crop. Mr.. Murphy makes
the following statement of the condi-
tions:
The testimony presented developed
interesting information regarding the
car situation in the Northwest and in
the nation as whole. 1t clearly ap.
peared that there is a shortage of
equipment on all the railroads in the
United States. BY comparison with
other railroads in eastern and certain
other sections of the country, the
principal grain carrying roads in the
Northwest are not we'll supplied With
cars As an illustration the Chicago
4 Northwestern railroad owns approx
imately 80, 600 box cars, and had on
it's lines on August 1st 1O2 per cent
of that number. The Milwaukee rail.
road owns about like number and
had on the date mentioned the equiva-
lent Of 90 per cent of it's ownership.
The Great Northern, Northern Pacific,
and 500 Lines. also heavy grain car
rying roads Of the Northwest. were
not so well equipped. The available
records showed that on Auguet lst,
the Great Northern had on its own
lines the equivalent of ~ per cent of
it's ownership; the Northern Pacific
81 pc: cent; and the 500 Line about
II per cent. the average percentage
for all the grain carrying roads of the
Northwest being about sc per cent.
The percentage is verv low for this
season of the year as compared with
other years. For instance. in 1919
on the same date. the percentages
were as follows: Northwestern 1O4; !;
Milwaukee 1O3; Great Great Northern 70;
500 76; Northern Pacific 92;M. & St.
L. 90; Omaha 1O2,; Great Western
90.
An important factor which tends to
make the grain car situation more
serious this season than formerly, is
the fact that at this time, large
proportion of cars located on these
lines. by reason of their original con.
struction or subsequent lack of repair,
are unfit for grain loading. Thus
the actual percentage of cars availa.
BILE for use in moving the present
enormous crop is greatly reduced from
the, figure first shown above.
At the conference at Washington.
strong effort was made to induce the
Interstate Commerce Commission to in
crease the number of empty box cars
in this territory, in order that the
crop might be moved in season. the
western representatives emphasizing
strongly the necessity of prompt
movement and marketing of the prod
ucts of the farm and range, in order
to avert very serious commercial
and financial crisis.
The urgent need of more empty cars
in the grain producing sections was
apparently recognized by the Interstate
Commerce Commission, and subsequent
to the Washington conferences the
movement of empty box cars west
ward bound has very materially in
| creased. On July 31at 900 emptie.
were sent through the Chicago gate
way for the West end Northwest
This daily movement had been gradu
ally increased until on the sixth o.
August 1900 cars were sent to th'
western lines. The western repre-
sentatives were assured that it woul'
be the policy of the Interstate Com
merce Commission to continue this in
creased movement of empty cars west
bound until a full 100 per cent o
ownership was reached on the initia
grain carrying lines, and that ever,
effort would be made to maintain tina
percentage during the period of heav
lest grain shipments.
If this program is carried out, an
we secure ar equitable local distribu
tion. it would appear that the rail
roads operating in South Dakot
should bs able to handle this year
crop without unreasonable delay. al
though it is quite clear that there wi
be some inconxenlence and hardshi