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Show FOOD MD FUEL HAVE THE RIGHT Drastic Measures of Precaution Pre-caution Adopted by the Chief Railroads of the East to Meet Situation Caused by the Acute Shortage of Freight Cars. y ORDERS RUSHED TO ALL POINTS Interstate Commer c e Commission Co-operating With the Railroad Men; Indignation Is Stirred Up by Message From Chicago Board of Trade President. i TTASHIMITOX, Feb. 21. Drastic mea-sures of precaution were adopted H:oday by the chief railroads of the east " to meet varying emergency needs for coal and foodstuffs from the Missis-ppi Missis-ppi river to Maine, due to the acute shortage and congestion of freight cars. Chief of these measures was" the dispatch dis-patch of rush orders to all railroads concerned for the prompt transportation of gas, coal and coke to eighteen towns and cities in the middle westi where it was announced " possible interruption " of light, heat and power service would result unless the shortage was relieved! at once. j The shortage was said to be most j acute at Indianapolis, where the coal : supply for gas was reported to be only ; three days ahead of requirements. Chicago's Chi-cago's 100,000-ton emergency store of, gas coke has been cut to 23,000 tons,1 barely sufficient for three weeks' service, serv-ice, although Chicago was said to be better supplied than any other city on the list. Some Indignation. The interstate commerce commission id working to meet the situation in cooperation co-operation with the railroad men." A telegram from President Griffin of the Chicago Board of Trade, appealing for relief and asserting that riots would result unless an embargo were placed immediately on all products out of Chicago Chi-cago except fuel and foodstuffs, stirred up considerable indignation at the commission com-mission and drew a prompt reply. Assertions As-sertions in the message were declared "erroneous" by the commission in so far as they reflected upon the steps Sken by the commission to relieve the situation at Chicago. Commissioner McChord, replying to a. portion of the telegram not made public, pub-lic, which apparently charged that he had ruled Chicago could not expert relief re-lief from the commission, declared the telegram contained "many statements which are not true." Comment Withheld. That portion of the dispatch referring to possible food riots was not specifically specifical-ly answered,;, and officials declined to comment on. it. Members of the commission com-mission are 'understood, however, to regard re-gard the situation as depicted by Mr. Griffin as highly improbable. Commissioners Commis-sioners declined also to comment upon dispatches from Chicago indicating that the Chicago board of trade might request re-quest President Wilson a7id congress to ' take the entire -car shortage and congestion con-gestion situation out of the commissioners' commission-ers' hands. Statistics compiled by the American Railway association were made public, showing appreciable diminution at New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore Balti-more of the number oi cars of export freight on hand and the number of bushels bush-els of wheat held in elevatorw and cars awaiting ocean transportation. Officials of the association declared that the situation situa-tion had improved perceptibly within the last fortnight, and that while the pinch would probably be felt here and there in certain commodities, there was little likelihood like-lihood of a general foodstuffs or fuel shortage in the east. The car shortage is said to be less acute than Itwas a year ago. Faced Flour Famine. In this connection it became known that a week azo virtually everv town and city in New England faced a flour famine fam-ine and that livestock all through New England was starving for lark of grain and feed. Prompt action by the railroads rail-roads in shipping feed, flour and grain head of passenger trains from Minneap- ! f o!is has temporarily relieved the pinch. At that time, it was learned, the eom-w eom-w mission ordered the railroads to strain every effort to extricate the thousands (Continued on Page Three.) FOOD AI FUEL HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY (Continued from Page On of empty cars from their congested yards and rush them west for grain and flour to be brought east. New York, Philadelphia. Philadel-phia. Pittsburg and other cities were threatened by a serious flour short asre. One of the roads protested that the empties emp-ties were frozen to the rails and that It would be impossible to get thern out. and was told to use dnamite if necessary. Announcement that towns and cities In the middle west were threatened with a suspension of n peril tions of their liht, heat and power planus, be-au?e of a shui'tasta of real and coke, came with un-ep".'ted un-ep".'ted fnri-4 and surprise nt a time when th situation was apparently clearing clear-ing in the other rjuarters. Past the Crisis. The threatened foodstuffs shortajr In New F-Jn eland and the larger eastern 'it 4-s was believed sa ffy pa.t the crisis and the roads wro consent tailng their ef torts toward st ripptnj? ronestd yards Of empties, dispatching them West and otherwise reducing the congestion in tbe e,ist. "To relieve the critic al situation," reads t he aisociat ion't Htau-ment, "the associ-at associ-at inn, through it h commission on tar short.i t:e. has requested e 11 ra.il roads to take- euoh stops an may b necessary to fri.-iliute the prompt handling ol ship-mentH ship-mentH of pas coals for ue in sa- benches and generators tor jths companies serving serv-ing the public. Thev have been asked to give shipments consigned to tras companies com-panies preferred hand 11 n? where necessary neces-sary to maintain the service of such com- I panted, modifying any omhurgo tliat may be in effect to permit such shipments to go forward." Tantamount to Demand. As such a request in railroad circles is considered ta.nta mount to a demand, interstate in-terstate corn mere- commission officials relieve that the situation at the affected towns and cities" w il! be quickly relieved. If necessary, it Is understood, coal and coke shipments for s ma king will be :dven the riidit of way over passenger trains. Investigators of the commission have heen sent to virtually every railroad yard of any size In the east and middle west and are reporting dallv by telegraph the movement of car s. Several . instances ot unprecedented congestion are understood ro have been relieved by the investigators in co-opra tion with the roads. A notable no-table Instance of their work was at De-troir, De-troir, where a congestion of Ho.OOt) "ars of all descriptions was reduced to SOOO, Two Replies Sent. Two telegrams were snt in reply to the message received by the interstate commerce com-merce commission from President Griffin of the Chicago board of trade. At the same time, it was said at the commission commis-sion that only a portion of Mr. Griffin's telegram had been made public in Chicago. Chi-cago. The part which Mr. Griffin did not make publlo was withheld by the commission. com-mission. Commissioner MeChord replied to Mr. Griffin's telegram as follows: "Your telegram to Chairman Never today contains many statements which are not true. Please advise names of men who Informed you lhat I ruled that Chicago interests could not look to the car service committee for relief and that the commissioner had ordered eastern railroads not to offer equipment at Chicago Chi-cago for loading." Commission's Telegram. The commission sent this telegram: Your wire 21st. You are In error in stating that Commissioner Mo-Chord Mo-Chord has ruled t hat Chicago can only secure help by treating with Individ In-divid ua 1 railroads. Your representatives representa-tives were advised by Examiner Dow that they had properly brought their situation to the attention of the car servi'-e committee; also that the Minneapolis Min-neapolis arrangement for shipment. s of animal feed to New Kngland was made upon showing that an emergency emer-gency existed; also that a check was being made of grain shipments from all primary markets and that the interstate in-terstate commerce commission would not sanction a preference to any market; also that efforts to secure tralnload movement of 1 westbound empties would be continued. You arealso in error In stating that . Commissioner MeChord refused to consider Chicago necessities. Chicago Chi-cago was invited to attend conference, confer-ence, but was not represented. Entirely Erroneous. The statement that either car service ser-vice committee or this commission has ordered eastern railroads not to furnish box cars to Chicago or industries in-dustries on their lines is also entirely en-tirely erroneous. As evidence that efforts to secure train load movement empties westbound is accomplishing results. I quote following telegrams received today from Crowley, vice president New York Central: "Your telegram date, 1357 empties moved west from Syracuse eighteenth. Expect two trains empty box cars from Boston and Albany this afternoon, after-noon, which will be consolldntod in one train and run west from Albany this evening. Boston and Maine report re-port 42.") mixed box, refrigerator and slock cars. Kxpect to lake 100 of these cars from them tonight. In addition tu advioe alieady furnished, solid Uain of box cars for Chicago Wt Buffalo 9:30 and another 11:55 last night. Three Solid Trains. "One hundred box rars for Chicago left Buffalo during the niKht in three traJns made solid for Elkhart. Ind.. where the-,- 'will be switched for different dif-ferent connections at Chicago. Two F.lkhart trains, one with fifty-two box cars and another with sixty box cars, left De Witt this afternoon and will he run solid to Elkhart to be switched at that point. With further reference to your telegram twentieth, one train boxcars box-cars from Boston and Albany left West Albany 11:40 p. m.. twentieth; another solid train called to leave Syracuse 9:45 tills morninjr. Received one mixed train from Boston and Maine S:2& and another 9 o'clock this morning. ' We have consolidated at Rotterdam Junction and if sufficient box cars will make up solid train for west. Check received from Boston & Maine this momlne showing they have for delivery to New York Central Cen-tral 253 box cars. 153 refrigerators, 6S stock, 1069 coal and 391 not chocked. We have advised them we would accept ac-cept 400 empties In next twenty-four hours and have requested them to . give preference to delivery of box cars to us." , It was through the insistence of the commission through Commissioner MeChord that tralnloads nf empties were arranged to he sent by the carriers car-riers to Chicago and the west simnl-taneouslv simnl-taneouslv with the order as to deliveries deliv-eries from Minneapolis. The commission commis-sion 1b receiving daily wires from Crowler and from Its own inspectors a to the tralnloads and other movements move-ments for empties for Chios" and tl,e west. |
