Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-10-18
ROADS CAN MOVE ALL COAL.
Managers Say Shortage Will Not Be
Due to Lines.

Chicago, Oct. 1S.-Don't worry
about a coal shortage because OF the
Inability of railroads to move ceai.
This, briefly. is the epitome of
statements of executive heads OF
leading railroad terminals in Chicago.
The roads are improving their car
movement every day. it was an
nounced yesterday. The railroad men,
added that they were rapidly curing
the properties and personnel of the
"hookworm" ailments acquired dur
ing the period of federal control.
The first step taKA.. by railroad
heads after they got the properties
into their hands on March l was to
increase the miles per day Travelled
by each freight car. Altho the
average daily mileage for freight
car was about twenty-six miles when
government control came, the actiyi-
ty dropped to twenty-five miles per
car per day under the rule OF the
federal director general. This, the
railroad men point out. reduced the
hauling capacity of the lines hundreds
of thousands of. carloads a year.
The coal situation WAS cited as an
example. The railroads of the cour-
try own total of about $4,000 coal
cars, of which about 950.000 probably
are fit for use. The average load
figuring large and small capacity cars
lis about twenty-five tons.
Allowing for one half the coal car
rying equipment returning 10 loading
points empty thruout the entire year,
H., ,le, hi fn ,nXrn n
tons of coal twenty six miles day.
A reduction of the movement from
twenty-six miles day to twenty
two miles a day, such as occurred
under federal control, was eq1sssaaenfe
to depriving the railroads of the use.
Of almost 10000 cars.
This, railroad men point out was,
the situation in the period imme-
diately after March /. The cars were
not moving. Since the return of the
roads to private control the average
daily car mileage has been increased
to more than twenty-siN miles for the
entire country, and is much higher
on the coal hauling roads, railroad
men estimating the increase in daily
car mileage since the end of the
sMitchmen's strike as equivalent to
100000 additional cars.
Having increased the activity of
their rolling stock, the next step was
to get the rolling stock where 1t was
needed On March /, when railroad
executives checked up on rolling
stock, they found most of the coal
cars in the far west-where 10 coal
is mined-and most of the grain cars
in the Atlantic seaboard territory,
where they were used only to clutter
up sidetracks and terminals.
The railroads have made extraor-
dinary arrangements to expedite the
movements Of coal cars back to the
mines. In this they have been aided
by the interstate commerce commls-
sion, which has ordered that coal
cars be used for nothing but coal and
be returned to coal loading. lines as
fast as they are unloaded.
The effect of this order. is shown IN
the car supply Of the Rock Island
the Chicago and Alton, and the Bur
lington, all heavy coal leaders The
latest report showed the Rock island
had 1863 per cent Of it's car owner
ship-66.3 per cent more cars on It's
line than it owns. The Chicago ana
Alton has 1893 per cent, and the
BURLINGTON S9.2 per cent, which Is
considl red by railroad men to be
fair average for that road because or
its extensive connections.