Line, Mr. Pearson advises that they endeavor
to maintain a minimum stock which, how-
ever, is sufficient at all times to meet their re-
quirements.
Tae Dreraware ano Hupson Company
Mr. L. F. Loree, president of The Dela
ware and Hudson Company, is of the opinion
that “the policy of ‘hand-to-mouth’ buying
seems to be hung entirely upon the present
expeditious handling of trafic by the steam
carriers.” He adds a note of warning, how-
ever, by commenting upon the fact that “it
ought not to be forgotten that this is a reed
upon which it might perhaps be dangerous
to lean.” Expanding upon this thought he
points out that “the growth of railway
freight trafhc is such (I figure it is likely to
double in about twelve years) and the roads
are finding it so hard to find capital for ex-
pansion of their facilities that we may wake
up some day to find that our machinery is en-
tirely inadequate to serve our needs. Such
an embarrassment might be hastened by an
interruption in trafic due to a washout simi-
lar to that which occurred in Ohio in 1913,
or a low barometer with heavy snowfall. as in
the winter of 1917-18.”
THE DEraware, LAcCKAWANNA AND
WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY
Mr.J.M.Davis, president of the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western Railroad Com-
pany, is of the opinion that the very prompt
movement of freight on all the railroads of the
country is the cause of “hand-to-mouth” buy-
ing. He states that he believes if the inven-
tories carried in this country were to be
measured; today, as against those of pre-war
days, in quantity instead of in price it would
be found that the railroads and the manu
facturers generally were operating on smaller
inventories in comparison with the business
they are doing than ever before. And the
continuation and perhaps the improvement of
this condition, he believes, can be maintained
if the transportation companies are kept in a
healthy state. Although he is of the opinion
that in this country we are past the time
when either railroads or manufacturers will
maintain large inventories in anticipation of
use or sale, he points out that there may, of
course, be exceptions in the case of manu-
facturers who would make up inventories
during a dull period in order to keep their
organization together and make goods at a
little lower cost during such times.
Mr. Davis points out that a few years ago
the average movement per freight car per day
was 22 or 23 miles. There are today, he
states, approximately 2,500,000 freight cars
in the country, which make a little over 30
miles per day average. “But if,” Mr. Davis
says, “you increase the mileage one mile per
day it would be equivalent to adding 2,200
cars to the total in service.”
Tre Reaping Company
Mr. AeNew T. Dice, president of the
Reading Company, believes that “hand-to-
mouth” buying is a problem that will have to
be worked out between the seller and the
buyer and that what is done to rectify the
situation will have to be accomplished
through the medium of trade activities
Tae BartiMore anp OnHIO RAiLroap
COMPANY
Mr. Danier WiLLArD, president of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, be-
lieves that undoubtedly it is a fact that the
railroads today as a whole are giving more
prompt and dependable service than ever be-
‘ore, which has made it possible for pur
chasers and users of materials to change their
methods of buying. But with respect to this
situation he observes that the railroads have
only done what the public has the right to
expect them to do and what they will, of
course, continue to do as far as possible.
Given a dependable and adequate transporta-
tion system, Mr. Willard raises the question
whether or not it is advisable or desirable
that purchases should be made on the basis
of existing or short-time anticipated require
ments, or whether they should be made in
long-time anticipation of expected require-
ments, as was necessary during the period
when transportation was inadequate and un-
dependable. He is inclined to think that the
