Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-18
INDUSTRIES CLOSE,
MANY IDLE, AS JAM
OF FREIGHT GROWS
Miles of Cars Not UnIoaded,
Reports From IS Principal
Centers Show.
FARMERS COUNCIL URGES
POOLING OF EQUIPMENT

Warns That Tying Up of Grain
Discourages Production in Face
Of Food Shortage.
Miles of freight cars waiting to be
unloaded. warehouses piled high with
goods accommodating for weeks. indus
tries shutting donw. employees laid or.
| cities threatened with shortages of food
storage facilities taxed to capacity and
the crop movement about to start
Such is a situation already devel-
oped from a freight car jam which
must take months to untangle when
the process of breaking il begins.
Yshown in kilograms received today by
| The Star in response to inquiries
made in fifteen of the principal
freight t-handling cities of the country.
Reasons for Tie-Up.
| Labor trouble. a shortage of freight
cars and locomotives with which to
move them are given as causes by
The Stars correspondents. But were
the cars and locomotives available put
to use there would be no jam. 1t is a
case of idle cars, idle men, bringing
as result of more idleness, when he
roic work is the only solution, the re-
ports say.
Labor is experiencing a bareback.
The roads. demoralized by the switch
mems strike. find it difficult to get the
normal amount of work from those
who have returned. As a result in.
dustries which depend upon the rail-
| roads for the supply Of raw material
are closing. throwing thousands Of
| men dependent upon their employers
out of work.
J Wants Equipment Pooled.
| Warning that farmers are decreas.
| ing production although the threat.
| ened food shortage is the most seri.
GUS in the worlds history" the Farm.
ers' National Council today sent an
| appeal to the Interstate Commerce
Commission urging pooling' of equip.
ment or common use of terminals to
| help the situation.
The letter. in part. follows: 'The
/ car shortage has reached a dangerous
farming interests. but most Of the
| other business interests of the coun-
try. Vast quantities OF grain are
held in country elevators. and the
fact that cars cannot be secured to
move this grain is not only causing
the farmers serious immediate finan-
cial loss. but it is -dfscouraging them
from further production. although
the threatened food shortage is the
| most serious in the worlds history.
1--WE have received telegraphic re-
quests from officers of farmers organi-
cations united in the Farmers National
Council to request the Interstate Com
merce Commission promptly to order tho
pooling of the equipment of the railroads
and the joint or common use Of termi-
nails.
"In our judgment merely to issue
priority orders on freight will not meet
the situation. The car shortage is main-
ly due to the ending of unified opera
ton by the return of the railroads to
the owners. The pooling of equipment
and joint or common use of terminals
which we ask is merely measure Of
justice to the American people,"
Mark Time Today.
Railroad officials and the Interstate
Commerce Commission marked time
today while awaiting word from
agents of the commission as to actual
conditions in the freight gateways
and the result Of the action taken
said unofficially that no further ac-
tion is contemplated by the commits
sion until tomorrow or Thursday at
the latest. when sweeping orders
songestion probably will be issued.
At the same time priority orders for
food and necessities to sustain life
are expected.
Conditf0ns Alike mt Many Points.
Telegrams to The Star from central
shipping points show very similar con-
dition existent throughout the middle
west.
In Pittsburgh important industries
have enough supplies to keep the ma
jority in operation. But the congestion
of finished material is becoming eX-
tremely serious.
Nothing like it has ever been known
here" The Stars correspondent re-
ports. Warehouses are piled high to
the. roof with goods awaiting ship
ment. BY the use of volunteer crews
the railroads are managing to move
solid trains bringing foodstuffs into
the city. The greater bulk of the
goods manufactured in the last forty
days are awaiting shipment. There
is enough accumulated in that district
to keep the railroads. operating on
full capacity. busy for more than
three weeks. But if every man who
is on strike today should return to-
morrow it will be fall before the
roads can catch up with their ship
will be felt all over the nation. Not
only will steel and coal be cut short.
but the cars unloaded here will hold
up grain shipments from the west.
idle freight cars. thousands Of them
unloaded."
Many Mills Are Closed.
In the Pittsburgh district, compriS-
ing parts Of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
there is the larger percentage of mills
closed and mines idle. On coal ship
ments to the great lakes the district
is nearing 100000 tons behind sched-
ule, forecasting suffering for next
winter and industrial paralysis in the
northwest. Up to the present there
has appeared no remedy. it is stated.
The only remedy is for the men to
go back to work-and work hard.
Railroads in and around Chicago
claim to be moving freight up to 80
per cent efficient. But survey shows
it is nearer 60 per cent. The condi-
shortage and labor trouble. Though
the swtchmen's strike is virtually
broken, it is no secret that labor Is
only performing SO to 75 per cent OF
normal work, even at best" Grain
elevators are full of last seasons
crop. and the new wheat crop will
begin moving up from the southwest
in about six weeks.
There is no place to store il. There
are no cars to move ii. Banks, which
have been unable to realize on loans
advanced to finance the last crop are
refusing loans to move the new crops
until they see some way out OF the
dilemma Freight warehouses and
depots are crammed with goods that
should have been moved two or three
months ago. Railroad managers are
working day and night to relieve tho
situation. They are limited by lack OF
cars and the NstlesE attitude OF labor.
There seems nothing in the way of TO.
lief until the roads can secure new
,~A 0c man WHA