The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-20


which were justified.
Yet necessity forced the order, e
ing boards found they couldn't hant
was thrown on ODT, which had to j
situation In a short time, build up
a field organiza ton, get out forms
and bring truck operations under
control to save gas and to save rub
Der.
The order worked lot of in
equities, caused lot of confu-
sion. Many truck operators didn't
get as much was as they needed.
They had to file appeals-but that
is exactly the course to take
when one Of these war emer-
gency blanket orders covers a
case unjustly. Provision Is made
for such appeal and for correc-
ton of errors, and that is the out
for every distressed citizen on
whom some hardship has been
worked.
NO GAS RETURNED
Consider however, the cases Of
the truck operators who got too
much gas. Did they file appeals
to have their inequities cor
rected? Not on your life. Many
drew their excess gas, dumped it
on the black market, added to the
general confusion. ODTs field
force had to go look for those
cases, through the inspectors in
its 142 field offices.
ODT is encouraging and trying
to steer the shifting Of cargo from
rail to bus and to rail, rail freight
to truck and truck to rail freight,
rail to water and water to rail
wherever 1t thinks one system of
transportation better than an
other, to tighten each others
loads.
ALI such regulation is of course
an interference with the shippers
and the carriers customary free
dom of choice, and as such it is
bound to meet with opposition
even If it is recognized as war
necessity.
ODT expects good returns from
its forthcoming Share the Truck"
campaign, designed to get truck
shippers to pool loads and increase
cooperation among truck operators.
Joint action plans permitting
several competing truckers to pool
their operations also stretch the
transportation system.
BY orders such as these, with no
appreciate increase in the number
of vehicles on the road, truck mile
i,, Inn
cent over 1871, and truck traffic was
increased Is per cent.
Crux Of the entire defense trans
portation problem, as Eastman ex-
plains 1t, is the Tightening of loads
at peak periods of operation, and
giving the carriers more to haul in
their slack seasons.
For example, the peak of the rail
freight movement is additionally
October, when Fall farm crops move
to market and when the demand for
coal picks up. Licking that one calls
for a campaign of getting people to
buy their winters coal in the sum-
mer and storing it for winter, as
we'll as getting farmers to store
their grain for later movement. Last
year the railroads got a break that
way. and this year, with smaller
crops in sight the roads believe
they can get by again on equipment
existing and in sight.
MADE BIG GAINS
Stretching that equipment, max
ing it do more, is big part of the
problem. In that connection, two of
ODT's orders one requiring the fill
ing to capacity of car load ship
ments, the other doubling the re-
quired loading on less than car
load lots, had the effect of increas-
ing the number of freight cars by
10000.
There is. nevertheless. a crying
need for more equipment all the
time - trucks, buses, barges, loco
motives. cars and rails. Most
pressing need is for more new
rail for third tracking on the
heavy traffic runs and for replace
ment of worn equipment The old
track, by the way, goes right back
into service as sidings 'for war
plants. Only 1.8 million tons of new
trackage are being built, against de-
mands for five million tons.
In equipment, 5000 ffeight cars
are being built this year, against
demands for 10000 Nine hundred
new locomotives are being built, but
no new passenger cars, though pas
senger traffic rose from 80 billion
passenger miles in 1941 to nearly SIS
billion in 1912.
ODT is the claimant agency"
before the War Production Board
for materials going into this new
equipment. and must fight the
battles of the carriers to keep the
country rolling.
STANDEES CHEERFUL
The travelling public has sub
u1itted to the inconvenience of