The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1920-04-16
DEFERRED WORK ADDS
TO RAILROADS. TASK
Large Capital Expenditures Re.
quired, Says Hines-Impos-
sibIe to Do All Now.

In order to keep pace with the
growth of business and production in
this country and the demand for in.
creased transportation facilities al
enormous amount of railroad work
must be done in the next few years
which will require the investment of
billions OF dollars of new money. This
Is essential not only to maintain the
railways at their normal high standard
of service and efficiency, but also to
make up for ordinary expansion and
improvement needs on existing lines
which were interrupted by the war
and to a large extent deferred alto
gether.
Railroad managers realize that even
II the necessary new capital was avail
able ii would be practically a physical
impossibility for the railroads to ac-
complish any large part of this de-
layed and accumulated work during
the present year. Consequently the
most vital needs of the railroads will
receive first consideration i'm the plans
for the immediate future so that the
public demands in the months of heavi-
est traffic may be served as efficiently
as possible.
Vast Amount of Work to Be Done.
Walker ID. Hines, Director General
Of Railroads under government con-
troll, emphasized this task facing the
railroads after their return to private
operation in letter to Senator Albert
B. Cummins, chairman of Senate Inter-
state Commerce Committee, and Rep
resentative John ]. Esch, chairman Of
the House Committee on Interstate and
Foreign Commerce. Mr.. Hines pre-
scented this phase Of the railroad prob
lem to them in urging the necessity
for pressing the railroad legislation
and to point out that delay would "se-
riously impair the. public service by
virtually suspending improvements and
the acquisition of equipment"
''In order to keep abreast of the
growth of business in this country"
wrote Mr.. Hines, "it is indispensable
that railroads should continue to spend
large sums in the acquisition of new
equipment, the enlargement and unifica-
ton of terminals and the construction
of additional and the enlargement of
existing shops, engine houses, turn
tables, ETC., and in the carrying for
ward Of normal programs for the revi-
sion of grades, construction of addi-
tional main line tracks, longer and
more numerous passing tracks, etc.
x...x ,o.n,..k - ,.&sl< ..n,., -
mains to be DONE" he added, (which
the Intervention of the war has neces-
sarily delayed and accumulated, and
the result is that during the year 1920
very large capital expenditures ought
to be made to make up for the inter-
ruptions inevitably due to the war and
to prepare the railroads to serve ade-
quately the increased traffic throughout
the country.
"In the year or two prior to the be-
ginning of federal control this work
was largely arrested by the difficulties
of securing materials and labor and
also by the difficulty of securing new
capital. During the year 1918 this
work was largely restricted to things
which could be promptly done and
which would have q relation to win
ming the war and also restricted by
the scarcity Of materials. The result
was that comprehensive programs for
developing the railroads were largely
interrupted.
"During the calendar year 1919 there
has been unavoidably an almost COM
plete stoppage of all these matters be-
cause Of the prospect Of early terminal
tion of federal control and the result.
ing indispcsition OF the part of Con-
gress to make appropriations"