Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1897 — GREAT MOVEMENT OF GRAIN [ARTICLE]

GREAT MOVEMENT OF GRAIN

Causes a Tremendous Demand on the Western Railways. The following, compiled from figures given by representative railway officials in Chicago, shows the number of empty cars the Western trunk lines are hiring to carry the crops this fall: Railroad. Cars. Illinois Central, In Illinoisl2,ooo Northwestern, in Minnesota and Dakota 2,000 Northwestern, in lowa 2,000 Northwestern, in Nebraska2,ooo Rock Island 10,000 Alton 4,000 Santa Fe, in Kansas 7,000 St. Paul, in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 6,000 Chicago Great Western, In Missouri.. 8,000 Burlington, in lowa and Nebraska... .12,000 Total 69,000 Already the tide is setting eastward from the prairies of the West that promises to grow in volume until it fills every channel of trade, and packs the Eastern ports to overflowing. Railroad officials and persons interested in transportation the country over are making preparations to meet the demands to be made upon them. Empty cars are being collected from every possible quarter and sent as rapidly as possible toward the points in the West where they will be most readily available to receive cargoes of the bountiful crops and bear them toward the seaboard. Many of the greater roads are having new cars built as rapidly as possible, and others have borrowed large numbers from those roads which are likely to have less demand for them. But by whatever manner of means is necessary cars are being secured in every possible way to meet the emergency, which gives promise of being the most exacting the railroads have ever had to cope with. The tremendous figures given in the foregoing table—s9,ooo cars—are indicative of a great movement in grain, to which railroad men and shippers are looking forward with the most implicit confidence. At the same time, the terminal and intermediate stations are having all they can do to take care of the grain that is now coming in to them.