The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1947-08-08
Handling OF Nation S Record Wheat Crop
Is Railroads Biggest Transport Problem
BY CLARKE BEACH

Washington-On an obscure
Santa Fe Railroad siding in
Iiamlin, Texas, sweating farm
hands on Lay % loaded the
nations first car OF the new
winter wheat crop.
1t was the starting trickle
which NAV grow into a disas-
trous flood in the months to
come. Moving the wheat crop
is always the railroads great
est single transport problem,
and this year if VIII be the
toughest they have ever en-
countered.
Despite the chronic shortage
Of box cars. the roads will have
to move more wheat than one
nation ever before grew in the
history of the world, and they
will probably have to move it
a longer distance, since much
of it is to be exported. The
long haul to seapotts uses up
more box ears than short do
nestle shipments.
Record Crop
The Agriculture Department
estimates that the wheat crop
will total l,409, 900, 900 bushels,
which is $4,000, 900 bushels
more than last years record
crop.
1t will come chiefly from
Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Neb-
raska and Colorado. The flood
of grain, starting in Texas, will
sweep northward month after
month until it begins to pour
out of Canada in September.
Remembering the consider
able spoilage OF wheat which
the railroads could not move
last year, farmers are appre-
hensive. But Spokesman for the
Association of American Rail
roads are confident the job can
be done without losing any
large amount of wheat for lack
of transportation.
+ G.. Gurley, president of
the Santa Fe, which will carry
much Of the load, says he is
confident the job will be done
to nearly everybody's salts
faction, but he admits he ex-
oects to see grain being stor-
"a on the ground in the Wheat
belt this crop year" Testify
.ng before a congressional
group, Gurley added, "Natur-
ally it shouldn't stay there too
but the mere fact that
t Is stored on the ground is
not within itself evidence of
a national or local cal
amity."
Freight Volume UP
On the dark side of the pic.
ture are the freight loadings,
which have been 1872 percent
heavier this year than last
even before the wheat harvest
began; and the export freight
volume, which in April was
50 percent above that of April,
946.
The expectation of grain
alone in April was 1870 percent
above April, 1916. This figure
ominous, for railroad men
say the amount of grain which
they must haul to the dock
side is the key to the prob
lem.
On the bright side is the fact
that grain elevators are not
as overloaded as they were last
year, thus providing space in
which grain can be quickly UNI
loaded, Also the roads have
been able to store about l.l00
box cars in the wheat areas in
anticipation of the rush: but
this is not too impressive, when
one considers that the Santa
Fe alone had $l7,595 cars stor-
ed in advance Of the harvest
in 1881.
Speedup Sought
The Association of Amer
lean Railroads bases its main
hopes on the system of handl-
ing box cars which il perfect
eds during the war-never let
ting a a stand idle longer
than necessary, rushing cars to
places where they are needed
even though freight revenues
are thereby diminished, load
ing more heavily than in nor
nal times. increasing the aver
age speed of movement of
freight trains, building more
efficient types of cars.
So successful have the rail
road men been in improving
the efficiency of their freight
handling that although be-
tween 1918 and 1916 the num-
Der of freight cars was reduc-
ed almost IS percent, they in
creased the revenue ton miles
OF freight moved nearly fifty
percent.
Fewer Cars
The box car shortage is, of
course, the fundamental diff
Guilty, as it has been for the
past seven II eight years.
When war production began
to multiply the railroads bur