Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr - June 1951)

Association of American Railroads TRANSPORTATION BUILDING Washington 6, D. C. WILLIAM T. FAR ICY PRESIDENT June 12, 1951 To the PRESS and RADIO: Subject: RAILROADS ARE A DEFENSE INDUSTRY This nation can have no more of anything than it can haul — no more guns, no more tanks, no more planes, no more ammunition, no more food, no more building materials. The great bulk of this hauling is done by the railroads, which move more tons of freight more miles than all other forms of intercity commercial transportation combined. That is why our railroads are a defense industry — not simply an industry related to defense. Consequently, the production of freight cars and locomotives is a vital part of our present rearmament program, and a part just as essential as the production of the military freight they carry. The only difference is that military equipment is ordered and paid for by the government, while railroad equipment is ordered and paid for by the railroads. As at the time of World War II, our railroads today are expected to move the great bulk of those things essential to national defense, and at the same time to continue to perform the largest part of all the transportation service it takes to keep the nation fed, clothed and at work. It follows, then, that if the railroads are to be able to meet all the transportation needs of the armed forces and the civilian economy, the necessary requirements of the railroads likewise must be met. The railroads must be permitted to obtain the steel and other scarce materials they need to do their important job — and there is no way in which these materials can be used to better advantage in increasing the transportation capacity of the nation. Sincerely yours, BROADCASTING • Telecasting June 18, 1951 • Page 39