To all the necessities of the wartime effort of the railroads--the enormously increased quantities of freight that had to be moved expeditiously and the transportation of troops--was added a considerable increase in the ordinary passenger traffic. Notwithstanding the earnest and repeated requests of the Railroad Administration that only necessary journeys should be taken by civilians, a request that was, indeed, very generally heeded, and the increase in passenger rates, the passenger traffic all over the country was much heavier than in any previous year, the increase amounting in the region east of Chicago to twenty-five per cent. The efficient handling of all this enormous freight and passenger traffic was made possible by the policies that were adopted. The handling of the whole vast network of railroads as one system eliminated competition and the wasteful use of time, effort and equipment. The previous usage of the roads in accepting freight at the convenience of the consignor without regard to the ability of the consignee to receive it had resulted in the appalling congestion of terminals and lines in the autumn of 1917. The Railroad Administration based its policy upon the principle that the consignee must be considered first and that if he could not receive the freight it was worse than useless to fill up switches and yards with loaded cars. In order thus to control traffic at its source a permit system was adopted which prevented the loading of traffic unless there was assurance that it could be disposed of at its destination. This policy proved to be the chief factor in the ability of the transportation system to meet the enormous demands upon it. Modification of demurrage rules and regulations induced more rapid unloading of cars and their quicker return to active use. Consolidation of terminals, both freight and passenger, greatly facilitated the handling of cars. Locomotives that could be spared were transferred from all parts of the country to the congested eastern region. Coördination of shop work increased the amount of repairs upon equipment that could be done and kept locomotives and cars in better condition while new ones were ordered and work upon them speeded. Rolling stock and motive power were economized by doing away with circuitous routing of freight and sending it instead by routes as short and direct as possible, a policy which saved almost 17,000,000 car miles in the Eastern and Northeastern Region.