New-York tribune., 1921-11-20

ASdtufe ABOUT LHe process oI uSIidtiOI
out this distinction.
A reduction Of freight rates Is one,
and not the most important one, of the
many manifestations Of railroad de-
f1ation; but it Is one which brings out
particularly clearly the difference be-
tween weak and strong roads. The
announcement of the cut Of 10 per cent
in rates on agricultural products, made
after the meeting of the railway execu-
tives last Wednesday, was actually
merely the calling of attention of the
already taken place. The phrase 40
per cent reduction in freight rates"
was simply the summing up Of a pro-
cess which had been going on and
which was completed by certain fur
ther reductions agreed to on Wednes-
day. Notwith standing this fact, how
ever, there were wide differences Of
opinion between the various executives
representing broadly the entire rail-
road milage of the United States.
Corner Turned
Discussion among railroad men be-
fore and after the executive sssocia-
tion meeting showed clearly that with
many Of the strong roads the corner
had definitely been turned, and that
rhase of defation which consisted of
reducing rates was not only not feared
as a dangerous experiment, but was
actually welcomed. All roads, weak
and strong, were agreed that anything
which would induce additional traffic to
move was highly desirable. But with
the weak roads there was strong feel
ing that no chances could be taken.
With the strong roads there was a feel
ing that whether or not this erperimen Mt
of rate reductions would result imme-
diately in increased traffic, it was not a
dangerous experiment, but rather q
common sense step in the direction of
restoring both railroad and industrial
conditions to normal.
Restoration of normal conditions has
consisted Of an increase in traffic, a
notable increase in the efficiency Of
labor, the purchase on fairly large
scale Of railway materials and re-
sumption Of efforts to induce traffic to
move, which would not without special
inducements come to the railroads.
Car Loading
The number Of cars loaded weekly
is the measure Of the volume Of rail
road traffic. These figures are COM
piled by the car service division of the
American Railway Association, which
Is located in Washington. Up to Oc
tober the average weekly loadings had
been far less than in 1918, 1919 or
1920. Two forces, however, operated
in October to drive the car-loading
figure up. One was the pressure
which bankers brought to bear on local
merchants, and through them On
farmers to move their crops and liqui-
dota ~ - I, --<1
credits. The peak of the load, which
nearly always comes in October, was,
for this reason, more quickly and
sharply reached than in average years.
The threat of q strike also caused ship
pers to make extraordinary efforts to
get their freight on board cars. The
result was that car-loading figures ran
up sharply and in the last full week
in October were greater than in 1918
Or 1919, and almost reached the high
figures of 1920. Ordinarily the sharp
drop off in car loading comes in the last
week Of October and is followed by
further long sharp drop in the first
week in November.
These car-loading figures have more
in November this year, but it was not
as sharp as the drop during the same
week of 1920. During the week ending
November s, S29, ,722 cars were loaded
on American railroads, or 1929 less
than in the previous week. This was
1898 cars more than were loaded in the
corresponding week of 1919, but was
85,893 cars less than in the correspond
ing week Of 1920. The principal reduc-
tions were in the loading of coal, mer-
chandise and miscellaneous freight.
These carloading figures have more
significance than is often attached to
them by men not particularly closely
connected with the railroad business.
The figures for the November S week
show fairly conclusively that the move
ment of traffic in 1921 has returned to
nearly the normal movement as shown
by car loading in 1918, 1919 and 1920.
1t has shown that of the various fac
tors making for a return to normal
car loadings in October, 1921, the arti-
ficial stimulus of early crop movem ent
and fear of strike were by no means
as important as the actual gain which
has been made in business activity.
Had the stimulous been largely arti-
fetal it would have exhausted itself
before November 1, and an abnormally
sharp reaction would have set In, with
falling off in car loading more sharp
than in pravious years