The mirror., 1923-05-31
view published by Success, Mr.. Markham

California. We were in the midst of the
wine moving season and were having
trouble getting the dozen cars we needed
for certain shipment. The wine was
ready to be loaded and only eight of the
cars had come. The morning the men
started loading the eight cars, l walked
cut on the platform to watch them for a
moment, when suddenly l was struck by
loading the casks. Always up to that
time one layer of them had been put
across the bottom of the car; the remain
ing upper part, half of the total space
was left vacant. 1t had been generally
conceded that if another layer of barrels
was put on top of the first, they would
be knocked about and spilled =. . fig
ured a little and found that a second
deck of casks would leave plenty of mar
gin under the weight capacity of the car.
My next move was to call over some car
penters who were repairing the station
platform. | put the matter up to them
and they laid shelf over the first layer
of casks and then as the second layer was
put on built braces about the casks max
ing them perfectly safe. Before noon we
had the wine securely loaded in six cars
and two empty to spare"
Mr.. Markham then looked in the prob
lem of packing the sacked wheat of his
district. 1t was the same as the wine
problem only on larger scale.
The season before the new method
was started, said Mr.. Markham, the
wheat shipped from California had footed
up to just sixty-six per cent of the capac-
ity of the cars it was shipped in. After
the new method it amounted to ninety
nine per cent"
The railroads contend that if the ship
pers woul ID give more cooperation in
heavier loadings and prompter unload
ings and release of cars, the shipper would
gain equally as much, if not more than
the railroads. Nearly every day the ag-
gregate value of goods in transit on the
railroads Of the United States is $780,
100000 according to the Car Service Di-
visions reoprt. There would be a saw
ing of $1S,500,OO0 in interest annually
from saving just one days time in load
ing, moving, and unloading, the most cf
this time being under control of the shipper.
According to a statement given out by
Julius Kruttschnitt, chairman of the
Board of the Southern Pacific Company,
four times the number of traffic units were
handled in 1920 than were handled in
1890, and in two-thirds less train miles
than 1890 operating methods would have
required. There has been an equally
great saving each year, the cost of hand
ling the 1920 traffic. the greatest in the
nations history, being $6,742, 100000 less
than the cost of handling it under con-
ditions existing in 1890. In spite of the
high cost of material and wages this saw
ing was $653000,000 more than the entire
operating expenses of the roads in 1920.
To go further. the Car Service Division
informs us that in 1890 the railroads
hauled 9S3 tons of freight and 153 pas
sengers for every 500 invested in physi-
cal property. 1t had increased to 1858
tons and 206 passengers in 1914, and to-
day the figures are 2,100 tons and 239
passengers hauled one mile for every $1OO
invested in physical property. This state
ment seems to discredit the charge of the
die-hard advocates of government owner
ship that railroad valuation is based on
watercd stock. The charge of watered
stock is also denied by the Interstate Com
nerce Commission and other trustworthy
persons, who tell us that the railroads
have no guarantee and are prevented
from keeping for their own use, in any
year, net income equal to more than
five and threef fourths per cent of the
physical valuation of their property.