Cry Uncle

Though U.S. railroads are badly in need of new, modern coaches and freight cars, their dwindling revenues have forced them to cut back their buying orders. As a result, employment in the railroad car-building industry has fallen from 53,100 in February, 1949, to a current 27,200.

Alarmed, the C.I.O. Steelworkers union went before a congressional committee last week with a new variation of a familiar theme: let the U.S. Government support the industry, in the interests of national defense. Jack Steiber, union research man, proposed that the Government set a production goal of 160,000 freight cars yearly for the next three years, buy up as a “stockpile” any cars which the railroads themselves didn’t want. Snapped the Wall Street Journal: ‘If the Government were to go into the freight car owning business, a logical next tep would be the freight car manufactur-ng business. And a third likely move would be toward railroad ownership.”