Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1920-07-26
CAR SHORTAGE
IS WIDESPREAD
Makes Serious Interruptions
in Industrial Output
of the Coun-
try.
NEWS PRINT SHORTAGE
Government to Teach Agri-
culture to Regular
Army.
NEWS PRINT SHORTAGE
By !. E. Jones.

Washington, ID. c., July 26-There Is
no Disgusting the fact that the car
shortage is occasiOning serious inter-
ruptions to the normal industrial out
put Of the country. The Association
of Railway Executives have issued an
appeal to the public, IN which they
state that the cars and locomotives at
their command are inadequate to hand
lie the unusually large volume OF bust
ness offered, and they add that it will
be i'm possible to overcome immediate
ly this deficiency The executives
state that conditions require the most
intensive use Of the existing facilities.
To that end they have outlined plan
for securing the greatest possible eff
ticiency in the distribution and use OF
cars, and with the support and cooper
alton of the shippers they are in hopes
to prevent REPETITION of the condition
of congestion which marked the opera
ton Of the lines under government con
troll. During that historic epoch the
theory was quite similar to that used
by Oliver Wendall Holmes i'll describ-
ing his wonderful one boss shay and
had not private ownership been re-
stored to it's managerial rights we
would doubtless have found the lines
soon reduced TO the condition of the
SHAY which took on the appearance
OF "a general flavor of mild decay
But, in reality, upon the release of the
carriers from federal control, not only
were the cars and locomotives as 4
whole inadequate and in an impaired
state, but also the distribution OF the
cars as to ownership was in such a
condition as to prevent the greatest eff
ficiency in their use. Imagine what
would have been the dilema had the
government, in carrying out some Ot
Its war-eccentricitics, scrambled all
the farm machinery Of the country
wherever they happened to find binders,
reapers, or other machinery. That is
practically what happened to the rail
roads; and even today the first impress
sion anyone has who reads the names
Of the owners OH the cars of a passing
freight train is that, II didn't realize
that there were SO many different rail
roads in the country" The cOnstan mt
labor troubles have hindered to large
extent. the return Of the expected
equipment to their original owners
but the new wage award is expected to
help settle wage conditions and assist
In the relocation of cars.
With the harvest season at hand the
only relief from the difficult condition
with reference to the car shortage
rests in the more intensive use of the
existing equipment. The railroad pro
gram. for which public cooperation is
sought. contemplates the following
An average daily minimum movement
of freight cars of not less than thirty
miles a day; All average loading Of
thirty tons per car; reduction Ut Sad
order ears to maximum of four per
cent of total owned: early and sub
stantial reduction In the number of To-
Comotivcs now unfit for service more
effective efforts to bring about the re-
turn of cars to the owner roads. While
the car performance proposed has never
before been attained, it IL believed that
ii can be acquired. and that the whole
remedial plan can be carried out, if
the full cooperation of the public can
be secured.
The Interstate commerce commission
is in close touch with the railroad plan,
and Washington is rather optimistic
since it has found that there Is stern
determination among railroad opcrat-
ors throughout the country to mount
the difficulties that confront them.
Swords and Ploughshares.
When the Old Testament was written
there was passage Saying. they shall
DtHl tIlclT SWOTuS lutO piOuSuSIdTcS
aud their spears into pruning hooks"
aud while humanity is still talking
over this probability. and in order to
carry it into effect arranging Leagues
OF Nations, with and without reserva
tions-it remains for Uncle Sans war
office to devise plan to make swords
and plOughshares do effective service
while working hand in hand.
Because of the shortage Of farm la
Dor the war department has discOn-
tinued its recruiting work in rural
communities. and future armies are to
he given courses in agriculture. The
military camps are no longer to be
paced where the mind Of the soldier
is kept constantly upon the one subject
of shooting straight. riding hard.
throwing bombs. and similar activities.
1t has been noted that the regular
soldiers" in past years had nothing