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Show BIDS TIDIED mm Business of Rail System Now Heavier Than at Any Time in History of Normal Years. )irector General Hines Analyzes Conditions; Making Effort to Meet All Pressing Demands. i pedal to The Tribune. CHICAGO. Oct. 12. Walker D. Hlnes, Jriclor general of railroads, today au-icrlzed au-icrlzed the following statement: "The railroads of the country are now Bins a her.vler business for the present Lison of the year than was ever done I the history of the railroads In normal ara and practically as heavy business I was done at this season in 1918, which peoded all previous records. They have lore cars in actual service, after exclud-ig exclud-ig cars held out of service for repairs, lan in 1917 or 1918. While the bad order, ir situation wa3 greatly embarrassed by :tens!ve strikes amonp shopmen In Au-t, Au-t, the percentage of bad order cars is iw rapidly improving. f'There was an increase of 52.45G cars i serviceable condition between August and October 12; 110 of this increase tre added in the week ending October 4. lille the freight business is practically I heavy as this time last year, the rail-ad rail-ad administration in performing that isiness Is unavoidably deprived of many ;ceeJlngIy Important aids which it was lie to utilize last year. One of these is zoning of coal, which last ' year com-tiled com-tiled consumers to take their, coal from !ar-by mines and thereby greatly ln-ease ln-ease the efficiency of coal transporta- m ADVANTAGE OST TO SYSTEMS. f'Thls advantage has now necessarily icn lost because the coal zoning was rminated last winter. Another Is that Bt year there was much heavier load-K load-K of many Important commodities than, has been possible to secure this year, id the result is that under existing con-tlons con-tlons more cars have to be used for the ;me amount of traffic than were used t year. (The fact that there is still a shortage ;rall transportation is due to the condi-)n condi-)n that the amount of business offered j'ar in excess of the transportation fa-lltles fa-lltles of the country. This always has n true in this country, in times of h5' business In the autumn months, It last year, when the matter could I and was controlled with an iron hand lUi a view solely to war necessities. .. :"At the same time, railroad facilities 've not expanded to the extent required ;'he public interest. Even prior to the r. railroad facilities were not equal to demands. During the war the ad- ' n facilities was greatly re-icttd re-icttd by scarcity of material and la-L la-L , lnce the war It has been lmpos-n.i. lmpos-n.i. cn,er upon or carr' out a"y ex-rarie ex-rarie program for enlargement of rail-f" rail-f" capacity because of the uncertainty l tie status of railroads. XPANSION HAS NOT EPT EVEN PACE. ovkwirai!r,oa1 administration was not It o-Tlth mo"y and therefore could am, tS6 orncar"7 out any such pro- the, railroad companies. In view e the rn,alnty,nere """"""S Pro- Iroad tZm??- T.he res,,lt ls tnat the Civ h2 '" of the country are de-' de-' h leSSW,h'i,at traff,c demands. t haSL-' the, m"ll"mi traffic is be-or;?l' be-or;?l' thls !einK done with ' ItMf ? ransl,lortatlon than manl- "l'"r I ? ,V,meMln t-he prewar Perlod-e Perlod-e r'.lli , altentlon is being paid by Selnr? a,"ml"lttlon to fu.-nI8nlng " ro "rn! for the transporta-l.j transporta-l.j ,2'fJ Kraln. It was de-ttherL",I,t?m,,cr de-ttherL",I,t?m,,cr that order It would heqU'renle"t8 of the c""-M c""-M to n ov noc,0:;sary '" 'he rall- f hi umlt" mln m"'U Of 11,000,000 endefl i , 0al a weelt- For the " trSnsno.T1'", 3' "M-f00 tons 'id fcV ,d , tons were transport -6Wrofd Tfk enf,ed September 27, Tted. y n.5'5.000 tons were trans- TI'ATION PRESENTED ;cGRAL DISTRICTS. MMt"2,.h"e developed which have luaon inec"sar' to handle the wheat "loh his h" emere!lcy wa5-- Thl" slt-nt slt-nt man- of 1 cor!,pllca,ed tKe fact heen l'"8 teleYato" are full, and !Llacttcal to move additional ' (0oml'waori7 2, Column Z.) ' ROADS TAXED BY EI10US BUSINESS (Continued From Page One.) wheat to points where the elevators are full because to do so would cause large number? of railroad cars to be filled with grain which could not be disposed of at destination, and this would result In prac- ; tically taking such cars out of the trans- : porta t ion service and using them for storage. The railroad administration is : following this matter very vigorously in consultation with the grain corporation, and the director general will consider the matter personally at a meeting of Interested Inter-ested r ml road officers, representatives of the grain corporation and others, to be held at Chicago this week. "As to the situation in Texas, where the wheat conditions are practically acute because the crop ia approximately 25,000.-000 25,000.-000 bushels larger than Inst year, and where there is a scarcity of local storage facilities, arrangements are being made through the grain corporation for the sending of additional cargo vesyols to Galveston, Gal-veston, and arrangement have already been made for increasing the number of permits for carloads of wheat into Galveston Gal-veston from fifty to one hundred per day. Particular efforts are being made to move wheat which is on the ground and ia thus exposed to the weather." |