Show FREIGHT I IS S MOVING WITH INITH GREATER RAPIDITY Cars Make More Miles a af Day ODay f Day Than Ever Before e Officials Optimistic BY RUSS SIMONTON Newspaper Enterprise Association Staff Correspondent BUFFALO N N. Y Y Oct 9 9 The The railroads railroads rail rail- roads of the United States Stales are arc now movIng movIng moving ing freight more miles a day than ever before This Is the statement of the Railway Executives Executives' association The same re report report report re- re port adds The roads are reducing the number num ber of cars In bad order and they are not only getting heavier loading per perur car ur but are e ring through the cooperation of sh shippers quicker loadIng load load- Ing and unloading Now after ten da days s spent In the offices of one railway and aboard Its Us freight trains and in to its yards I can understand why the Nickel Plate Road Is one of the railways which the executives' executives as association u- u says is moving its freight rap rapIdly rap rap- lill Idly When hen Uncle Sam took his hand from the throttles of the nations nation's s locomotives he left the owners of the roads more troubles than the oldest railroader had known MANY OBSTACLES Regardless of the merits of federal control control control con con- no one seriously denies that when the railroads went back to private hands last March these were the conditions L 1 Thousands of freight cars and miles of or track out of repair 2 Labor slack slack and careless caNless 3 3 Congestion of freight and a lack of cooperation on the part of shippers Hardly had the roads begun their work i of reconstruction when the switchmen's switchmen s strike broke and the whole machinery of railroad operation was disorganized Now seven months of private ownership ownership ownership owner owner- ship with the Incentive of competition mild and nd the possibility of reward for efficiency and loyalty have resulted in the almost complete come come back back of Americas America's railways ALL ARE OPTIMISTIC From President J 3 J. J J 3 Bernet who gave me methe the letters which enabled me to ride the freight trains of oC the Nickel to the brakemen on the cars I found the I same spirit of oC optimism for the future Before I left the thel Stony Island terminal I yards of or the Nickel Plate at Chicago ona on ona a freight train trip to Buffalo I spent several days in a short kindergarten course in the great mystery of railroading railroadIng railroad railroad- Ing Ben Place a freight representative xv who ho tried to find a a. car for lor me and brother broth officials gave me their views Bad order terminal cars congestion tion and delay on the part of consignees con con- signee Is responsible for most freight delays they told me Things are better now than they were and we have cleared our own yards rather thoroughly It t Is hard bard to make some shippers unload unload unload un un- un- un load their cars and lift the bills of lading because of the money shortage Some of them have no storage room and would rather pay demurrage e on the cars than move the goods They The They're re better now but still we have trouble Bernet e told me ew that t tV the little shippers and consignees SI e w were re the greatest t de demurrage de demurrage offenders will Sometimes a huckster he said use our cr cpr Jor as his stor storeroom room and salesroom salesroom sales sales- room block a valuable track and keep the car out of service longer than he should NO IDLE TERM I found that that cooperation of f the shipper ship ship- shipper per is no Idle term or matter of theory Much of the railways' railways efficiency depends upon the shipper The interstate commerce commerce commerce com com- merce commission now advises that al aU all cars be loaded above their marked carrying carrying carrying car car- capacity That means that a wear car car stenciled 80 pounds shall be loaded to or even 90 pounds The same Is true and in the matter o of oC prompt loading and unloading and along the line I found many other matters welt well known to shippers in which they can assist as as- assist the road usually at little InconvenIence inconvenience lence to themselves |