The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-08-28
TALKS ON
MOVING CROPS
IN NORTHWEST
Car Shortage and Traffic
Delays Guarded
Against

Transportation preparedness TO,
handling 1923 crops in the North
west was analysed today by J. M
Rapelje, vice president of thu
Northern Pacific Railway, insofar
as his company is concerned, in
a detailed statement issued to Oh.
Grating employees.
Mr.. Rapelje's statement says:
"Our new crop is now begin.
ming to move and it is natural to
look around and see just how
much we have accomplished in pre-
pairing ourselves b handle this
crop.
This year sees the completion
of our automatic block signals
from the. Twin Cities to Puget
Sound. This work started some
years ago, has cost the company
approximately four million dollars,
but it has increased our capacity
for moving business and most inn
portant of all it makes our rail-
road very safe railroad to travel
and work on. Incidentally, we can
not help but feel some pride in
the fact that our line is the first
northwestern line to complete its
automatic signalling to the coast.
Il want to emphasize the fact
that we have been spending this
year, as you know, much more
money than our revenues have
warranted, all with the idea of
securing for ourselves, very
strong, well ballasted railway for
moving this years business. My
recent trip to the coast convinces
me that, on the completion of the
work now under way, we will have
no weak spots that will slow up
traffic nor cause derailments this
fall or winter.
Locomotives are an essential
item in moving crops. On our
locomotives. as with our track and
our cars, we have been spending
far more money than our income
warrants, but all with the idea of
taking care Of the people who de-
pend on us to move what they raise
and what they will need to buy
during the coming fall and win
ter. Then also, it sometimes
seems uneconomical to purchase a
lot of new locomotives, when we
will actually need them for only
about three months in the fall and
that instead, we should get along
with those we have, even if a little
delay to traffic resulted. But we
have not looked at it this way
and, consequently, are now receiv-
ing AZ new modern locomotives
which will cost US nearly three and
q half million dollars.
eve own at present 45,989 cars.
Last fall and winter you will re-
call some serious trouble because
large proportion of our cars
were tied up in congestion in the
east, as, for example, November,
when we had only $4,000 cars in
GLIDING foreign cars on our line
or about 1880 short on our own
ership.
81 come now to the purpose of
this letter. Our crops will be tax
ed to their limit. Then our en-
tire staff must, in a personal way,
beg for the cooperation of pa
irons to load cars to capacity, re-
duce time Of loading and unload
ing, in addition to making maxi
mum miles per day for every car
in transit. At that time, or at
any time, in fact, our line officers
with above facts in mind, are in
a position to state, convincingly
and positively, that we, as a rail
way, have done everything which
money and energy can do to pro-
vide our patrons with good safe
track and ample cars and locomo-
tives and that we can consistent
ly urge our patrons to do their
share"