The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-10-08

 CAUSES STORM
Shippers Astonished at New Order By New Haven Road Charges of Inefhciency Assert ed Against Railroad Bardo Holds Back Facts.

News of the placing of new em- bargo on incoming freight to Bridge port and Connecticut points by the New Haven road was received 1n this city by shippers with aston1shment and has aroused a storm of discus sion and protest. Coming only three weeks after the lifting, for the first time of all embargoeS since the war, shippers are aroused and declare that the statement sent out by General Manager c. L. Bardo is propaganda and does not set forth the real facts of the situation. There is almost uni versal declaration among the ship pers that the New Haven road is not "toting' fair with Connecticut ship perS and cite many evidences in sup port of their contention.
 A little more than a month ago there was held in Bridgeport con ference between railroad officials and the traffic men of the city at which conference the New Haven road laid great stress upon the claim that they could not secure labor to complete the loading and handling of cars. ! They cited difficulties with the yard men at various transfer points and a shortage of freight handlers as the root of the difficulty and appealed to the local industries to help them solve the situation.
 To do this, the manufacturers and merchants of Bridgeport agreed to
  shortage of labor claimed by the aril- roads representatives. The under standing was at this time that as soon as possible the railroad would re- lieve the local people of this burden. Since that time the railroad has made no utterance on the situation and the local industries have gone patiently on doing the work of loading cars for the company. Now, with the strike of the switchmen and yardmen set tied, the local shippers feel that they should be relieved of their agreement With the shipping conditions throughout the United States greatly improved and with all roads rapidly cleaning up the congestion it appears upon the face of the reports of the Commerce Commission that the New Haven road has as steadily gone back wards instead of forward in solving | the freight situation and disposing O. | the accumulation of cars.
 ! The reason for this is declared b! ! local shippers to be the absolute in | efficiency displayed in handling car 1 local yards it often requiring as muc1 1 es a week to get car "Spotted'' fo | unloading. To this is laid the blam for cars not being un1oaded. Thel their unloading points the railroa' holds a stop watch on the shipper t nail him on demurrage charges.
 | Quoting from the Commerce Com l IllSSlOn 5 EeCeHl report, IL IS seen Una such railroads the Union Pacific l the Great Northern, the Northerl Pacific, Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul and Santa F'e lines, all trans l continental carriers with long haul have forged far ahead in both mile age and tonnage efficiency while tn New Haven road is estimated at a 4
 percent decrease in efficiency. I April 1920 the accumulation of car l was estimated at 2SS, S,000. On Sep tember IT, 1920 it was set down a 10000 cars. Some roads, notably tn Union Pacific had increased mileag per car from 47 miles to 6S mile and tonnage per car from approxi
 mately 750 to approximately 1,35
 tons. In other words the above men tiQned lines have returned to almos
 pre-war normal conditions while tn iCOnnecticut road has gone backward d
 to conditions fully as bad as at an time during the war.
 | The shippers side in the presen controversy is pretty we'll set fort . in the following communication ser to the Bridgeport Chamber of Com merce under date of Sept. 30 an shows that the shipper may not b ] altogether to blape for the tie-up ( freight cars in Bridgeport and in tn , yards of the New Haven lin throughout Connecticut:
 Sept. 30, 1920.
 Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce:
 The Other Side of the Railroad Situa
 ton.
 | Gentlemen-The New Haven roa l claims that fully so per cent. of tn i (Continued on Page 16)