Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-05-14
Rail Ration
Called Only
Scare Talk
More Cars Avail a b e
Than Are Needed
BY PAUL MALLON

BY PAUL MALLON
WASHINGTON, May l4.-Talk
w now is rising Of railroad
rationing 10 come this summer
or fall
Curtailment Of paSSc & @ r
facilities, elimination of stream
lined luxury trains. abandon
ment of vaCat ion rates and
excursions are among som G
methods being discussed.
No person who wants 10 win
this war will raise his voice IN
question of this, or any other
step which is needed, but some
government officials seem 10
enjoy discussing dire conSe-
quenceS without offering a rea-
Sonable necessity for them.
But the Association of Amer
lean Railroads says there is no
shortage of either locomotives
or cars now.
ONLY action taken by the rail-
" roads themselves so far has
been the diSContinuance of one
day excursions TO New Jersey
seaside resorts by the PcnnSyl-
vania and Reading Railroads.
Other steps have been in the
opposite direction.
Government officials In gen.
eral have been paying public
tribute to the roads for the ex-
pansion job they have been
doing.
The railroads are planning to
increase the volume of tank
car traffic beyond the already
achieved, incredible figure of
$4,000 barrels a day, moving
it up TO 100000 barrels a day
within few weeks. Tank cars
are being moved from short line
hauls.
But now that gasoline is ra-
toned in the East and supplies
are threatened elsewhere. people
are depending more and more
on railroad transportation.
If this, too, is to be rationed,
business will be further ham,
pered. Also the civilian and SOL
der who can get a holiday will
have to stay at home or camp.
and chew his finger-nails or buy
a pair of dice.
TIIE dual attack on transport
l. tation is heading into the va
cation period of the year, and
the effect on morale, as we'll as
on vacation businesses, may
prove to be important.
The human machine needs re-
taxation and diversion more in
wartime than in peace. Govern
ment officials know this.
Furthermore, the government
is fearing initiation because so
much money is in the hands of
the people and cannot be spent.
Holiday or vacation spending by
the people is one great means
of reducing the threat.
The official fear of initiation
could be dropped by whatever
degree this outlet of funds can
be opened, rather than closed, if
authorities will only strive for
that approach to the problem
instead of falling into the mega
tive one.
THE Nazi push TO clear the
l. Crimea could be a forerunner
of the Wanted spring attack,
but the big blow would hardly
come there.
Roads are now dry in the
Ukraine. just north of the Cri-
mea, where Hitler has been
massing his strength, but the
fields are still muddy and most
of the fighting these days must
be done in fields.
Therefore. Hitler may have
seized the first moment of bet
ter conditions around Sevasto-
pol and Kerch TO clear the Reds
out so they would not be in a
position to fall on his flank
when his for t h C omin big
Ukraine drive gets started.
If he were going to Caucasus
oil or attempting to encircle
Rostov, he would hardly go
through Kerch. The interven-
ing straits and mountains on the
other side make this approach
undesirable.
Where the big blow is sched-
uled 10 fall is in the Don River
basin. Churchill said no evil
dences that Hitler was maSSing
troops there had been discerned.
The British prime minister
meant the usual large con-
centration of reserves, ordi-
narily heralding an attack, have
not been noticed there.
But Hitler's forces on that
front, without extra large re-
serves. probably outnumber the
RUSSIANS.
At another point in his speech
Churchill indicated he never
thelesS expected an attack by
the Germans in the Ukraine, so
II all added up in the end TO the
accepted expectation here.
THE Hitler moves in Libya
Il probably can now be marked
down as a failure for the fight
ing season now drawing TO a