Evening star., 1922-12-27
RA|[R0ADSFAC|NG
HUGE 1928 TRAFFIC
Doubt Expressed if Carriers
Can Handle All Business
Sure to Be Offered.
BY J. &. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to Tho Star.

| Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK. December 21-Ths
! greatest volume of revenue freight and
| passenger traffic since the war is avail
| ing the steam carriers of the country in
| 1875. Doubt is freely expressed by come
| business men as to whether the rail
| roads can deliver the goods.
The shortage Of cars is decreasing
So is the total number of bad order
! cars. Railroads are buying new equip
| ment in large volume. But these meas
ures alone will not place them beyond
danger OF having to refuse revenu.
| freight.
| Close Competition Coming.
The coming year is going to be ono
of close competition in practically every
line OF commerce and industry Raw
materials are up. l'rices for finished
/ products have not kept pucc. Msnufac-
turers and merchants have carefully
| kept advances to the ultimate consumer
within bounds, in order not to check the
| Willingness 10 buy which has been III
| such inspiring evidence during the last
! three weeks. The dread OF ''runaway
| markets for commodities is only less
terrifying than that of duh and lif,-
| less markets
Consequently. merchants. mauufac-
turers an! even farmers will depend
On Noium" 1" keep their net income
accounts up To dividend requirement..
| IRE manufacturers for example. must
| sell two tires in 1923 L" WELD the
profit that resulted from the sale Of
one in come previous years. Volume
production is the watchword of the
! automobile trade il prepares for
the coming campaign.
steel Plant at Capacity.
Steel plants are running at rapac-
| ity in many instances at present anu
| must continue to do SO for months in
order to fill orders now on the books
| Farmers have planted "A tremendous
acreage to winter wheat and there ~
! no evidence of intent to curtaiI pro
duction in spring paintings OF aGri-
| cultural products. Every acre of cot
| ton that can he ra iSed VIII he RAISED
| Building operations give no signs
OF siackeninr. On the contrary. Their.
p: is evidence that they will continue at
d record rate for more than a year {,
| come.
All of this means that railroads viii
| nave to carry more raw material
| they VIII have TO transport more fin
ished products and will have I" carry
them faster than in 1922. Their pres
ent equipment. az il was handled tins
year, Will not enable them TO NEE:
these requirements. There is a limit
to the amount Of new equipment
| which can be delivered in the near fu-
| ture. and there also is the question of
financing purchases of new cars.
!! New Car Records Expected.
| Both carriers and manufacturers
! therefore are turning their attentiof
F.; toward efficient operation Of equip
ment and to more economical and ef-
| fective loading. cars probably VIII
| carry individually a greater tonnsp.
&, than ever before il present plans an
(. successful
| So far there has been little difficulty
| IN funding equipment purchase. and
! II Is proba Bile that the roads will con
| tinue to add to their rolling stock
| throughout the entire coming year
| The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
| for example. has just ordered sixty
| freight locomotives for delivery in
| the next three months.
| Roads are improving roadbeds ami
| lumber companies are being besieged
/ with orders for ties and heavy bride-
! timbers. The lumber requirements ..f
| new freight cars alone will be of huge
| proportions next year. Tie orders
| from English and East Indian roads
! also are piling up.
/ \ number of new cut offs and addi-
| tions Will be built by carriers before
| the new year is three months old In
dication of this activity is seen IT,
| The announcement that the Coiorad"
| Fuel and Iron Company will start up
| its rail mill. January l. AS well as
two additional blast furnaces. Heavr
! rail orders are pouring into the mid
die west steel plants.
Cattle Market Booming
FORT WORTH. December =. ,spe-
ciaD.-The demand for quality
goods which was so apparent here
| throughout the holiday season IS be-
ing maintained this week. Jobbers
are rushed to make distribution
/! throughout this territory. as many Of
the retail merchants ended the Christ
mas buying season with empty
shelves. which they are now replen-
ishing The market for Texas catil"
!across the Rio Grande. where they
are being bought to repopuiate thu
barren ranges of chihuahua and Goa
hula. has not fallen off and lar2a
herds are being driven across the bor-
der this week.
Big Increase In Freight.
ST. PAUL. December 27 Especial
The annaul report of the Minnesota
Transfer Company, the largest freight
Interchange plant of its Kind. shows
THAT shipments handled through the
Twin Cities in the last year were -
per cent larger than in 1921. There
was an increase of So per cent in car
iload reshipments. showing that Twin
Cities merchants bought and solA in
larger quantities. Less than carload
shipments increased per cent.
Fewer Real Estate Deals.
| PHILADELPHIA. December % tSpe-
ciaD.-Prices Of real estate and of
buildings are holding up well. al
though the number of sales recorded
this week indicates that dealings are
not SO heavy as month ago. The
recorders office is slowly catching up
, with the tremendous number or deeds
and mortgages for record. and II =
also now possible to put through
settlement within FIVE weeks after
sale has been made.
Mild Weather Hurts Trnde.
NEW ORLEANS. December % ,Spe-
ciaD D.-This city is in the midst or
department store clearance sales tEls
week and the splendid volume Of trad"
which made il evident in the pre- Christ
mas period is being well maintained
| Heavyweight clothing sales ar" lag
ginG somewhat still. due 10 tho in
fuence of the mild winter.
New Hotels Dot Florida.
JACKSONVILLE. Fla. December
: % (SpeciaD Florida lumber men es-
timated today building construction
lin this state in 1872. had exceeded
$50 000, 900. Tourist hotels costing
from soJ0.006 to S2.oh".opo haN'
sprung up almost overnight
ST. LOUIS. December - Especial
5 Parcel post and express shipments
lin the last two weeks have been eN-
reedingIy heavy III this section and
1.-The total far exceeds those of the
similar period of 1921. The shipments
severely taxed the facilities of the
midwest railroads.