20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



November In. i;)17 



I "I Will the effect on iiel reveinies of illlTerent rates for dltreient liy railroads and arguments in favor of various jioints made in his 

 minima bo sue!) as to require n readjustment of base rates In order to report, toKotlier witli disi-ussions of many jioints. Mr. Eseh pre- 

 Insure earrlors their present net revenues from this traffic? ^p„,j, „ t^,j,p relative to agricultural imijiemcnt and vehicle mate- 

 As appendixes in addition to those mentioned by Mr. Esch in rial, showing the rate relationship to hiinber ami tin- values per 

 his statement above, lie couples with his report lumber lists ])roposed ton f. o. b. mill. 



Labor and Cars Menace in South i^vj 



The car situation at Memphis is stoadilv growing worse and 

 lumber interests realize that they are confronting conditions which 

 will tax their ingenuity and patience almost to the breaking point. 

 The movement of cotton is at its height and the quantit.v of freight 

 being handled by the railroads in connection with the military pro- 

 gram of the government is larger now than at an.v time since a state 

 of war vi-ith (iernianv was declared. The railroads are making 

 strenuous efforts to cope with the situation btit the.y franklv confess 

 that there is not enough etpiipment to take care of all the traffic 

 that is being offered bv the government and private industry. Gov- 

 ernment rei|uirements are receiving first consideration and jjrivate 

 industry is alread.v beginning to suffer seriously in a aumhcr of 

 instances. Lumber interests have been anticipating a renewal of 

 the car shortage of the summer and they are not surprised at the 

 develoimicut. But the.v arc suft'eriiig just the same as if thev had 

 not anticijiated it, and present indications are that matters will be- 

 come still worse before there is an.v relief forthcoming. At least 

 this is the view taken by J. H. Townshend and other officials of the 

 Southern Hardwood Traffic Association. 



There is alread.v a quite noteworthv shortage of flat cars for han- 

 dling logs to the mills. Complaints to this effect are coming in 

 from every part of the Mississipjii vallev territory. Some of the 

 mills in Memphis are on the edge of barely full operations right 

 now and a little longer continuance of the car shortage will mean 

 running on partial time so far as they are concerned. Practicall.v 

 all the mills not owning their own equipment, which operated night 

 and dav for (piite a uumber of weeks, have been forced to cut out 

 night shifts. Thev will be delighted if they are able to run one 

 full shift in tlie dav time. Some are not getting enough logs for 

 that and it is regarded as probable that quite a number will be 

 in that categorv in a ver.v short time. There are practicall.v no 

 reserve supplies of logs at the mills here or elsewhere in the vallev 

 region and the mills are therefore largelv dependent on their dail.v 

 receipts. The extent to wliicli the.v will be able to operate will 

 therefore be determined largely by the number of cars they are 

 able to secure for handling logs. A serious curtailment of produc- 

 tion of hardwood lumber is therefore regarded by the majorit.v as 

 virtuallv certain within the very near future. Reports from points 

 in Arkansas and Mississippi indicate a growing scarcit.v of cars and 

 a growing falling off in the (|uantit.v of lumber being produced. 

 Similar conditions doubtless obtain in all the remainder of the 

 southern hardwood manufacturing region. 



According to officials of the Southern Hardwood Traffic Associa- 

 tion, the Illinois Central and Yazoo & Mississippi Valle.v roads are 

 furnishing lumber interests at Memphis about 60 to 70 per cent of 

 their recjuiremeuts in the way of outbound ears. Other lines enter- 

 ing this city are furnishing considerably less. Reports from Arkan- 

 sas, Louisiana and Mississippi suggest that lumber manufacturers 

 and distributers are up against a real shortage of box cars and 

 other equipment for handling shipments of lumber and forest 

 products. Embargoes are added to other troubles of the lumber- 

 men though these are not quite so conspicuous now as they were at 

 times during the late spring and early summer. Box cars for ship- 

 ping high-grade oak and other lumber, as well as voiiecrs, are very 

 scarce and the movement of products of this character is being 

 verv decidedlv restricted. And, as is the case with gondolas and 

 other open equipment, it is the belief of the authorities that condi- 

 tions will become distinctlv worse before there is room for any 



improvement. The association is doing all it can but realizes that 

 chances of successful work in the direction of relief are anvthing 

 but encouraging at the moment. i 



The priority board has issued a ruling within the jiast few days 

 that will tend to hurt the lumber industry to an appreciable extent. 

 This ]ir(diibits the roads from furnishing gondola cars for the han- 

 dling of gravel, sand or any other material used in the building of 

 public highwa.vs and streets, houses of amusement, pleasure ve- 

 hicles and furniture. A considerable percentage of hardwood lum- 

 ber manufactured in the South goes into pleasure cars, into amuse- 

 ment houses and into furniture and this ruling of the board means 

 elimination of outlets, the loss of which means much to the lumber- 

 men. 



Practicall.v ideal weather has obtained reccntlv for work in the 

 woods, but this has been held in check b.v the pronounced shortage 

 of labor. Labor conditions are far worse, from the standpoint of 

 the lumber manufacturer, thau they have ever been, and, with more 

 men to be called to the colors under, the selective draft law, it is 

 anticipated that the.y must become much worse. Every industry 

 complains of the shortage of labor and the lumbermen are experi- 

 encing a scarcity which threatens to be a most conspicuous factor 

 in holding down both logging operations and lumber manufacture. 



Severe Test for Railroads 



Ou October 1 this year the uumber of unfilled requisitions for 

 vailwa.v cars exceeded the number of surplus cars at various points 

 in the countr.y by 70,380. "This figure," says the Railway Age 

 Gazette, ' ' is less than half as large as was the similar figure for 

 May i, but within the next few weeks the traffic undoubtedly will 

 greatly further increase, and as general transportation conditions 

 probablv will grow more and more unfavorable, it is evident that 

 the time has come when the Railroads' War Board, the manage- 

 ments of the individual railways, the railwav emplovees, the ship- 

 ping and receiving public and those having charge of shipments 

 for the government, must put forth an effort approaching the super- 

 human if the railways are to be enabled to handle all the traffic 

 available. ' ' 



Within the past eighteen months the railroads of the country 

 have increased their facilities to an extent which would have 

 been impossible a few years ago. Thev handled nearlv fifty ])er 

 cent more traffic with each ear and each locomotive than thev did 

 in an equal time two .years ago. 



But the unprecedented increase in traffic which began about two 

 years ago continues unabated. The roads are handling at the 

 present time not only a heavier ])assenger and freight traffic than 

 the.v ever did in any previous year, but also a much heavier total 

 traffic than the.v have at any previous time in 1917. Furthermore, the 

 movement of traffic in the fall and winter months is normally 

 heavier than at anv other time of the .vear, and the present year 

 promises to be no exception to the usual rule, if one may judge by 

 the manner in which the country 's transportation business is shaping 

 itself. 



This enormous strain has had its effect ou the rolling stock of 

 the railroads. The cars and engines are not in good condition gen- 

 erally, and the same might be said of tracks. The roads face a 

 supreme test and their ability to meet it will have much to do 

 with business success and the winning of the war. 



il 



