The daily gazette., 1877-06-12
Letter from Samuel Townsend.
For the Gazette.

false and foolish, let who will assert IL.
It says hint has since been made that
the reason that the large growers with
the old system continued is that it gives
them an increase Q suppose he meant a
reduction,) in freight rates and three
cents commission when small growers
take part of the car for their consign-
ments. cannot let this lie coined out
Of the whole cloth go unanswered. The
railroad company know it to be,a lie, for
in their printed bargain they forbid any
person taking car at one price and let
ting 1t out to other parties at higher
price; and further, nine-tenths of all the
| cars that are chartered are by combina-
tons of small growers, (if you please to
call them so.) They form little compa-
nies or associations and arrange among
themselves how many each shall put in
each day or shipment. The cars have
| the names of one or two of the parties
| OF these little associations. In some cases
the commission men in New York ad-
vance the car hire and assign one or
more cars to station to accommodate
small growers who wish to ship to them,
and also to put any peaches in that these
commission men may buy. But it is
more than they dare do to charge any of
these men who ship with them one cent
more than the proportion of freight on
said car; for, as l said before, the railroad
company expressly forbids it, and would
take the car away from any party that
attempted it. l have in MY cars taken for
neighbors, and even for negro, as few
as two or three or five baskets and never
charged any more than what the same
number of my, baskets, cost; in fact
could not even If had felt inclined to do
SO. l could have refused to allow them
to be put in the cars chartered; but if l
only had part of load 1 would have to
pay full freight on the car. The growers
who have large or small orchards get
along harmoniously. The reason we
prefer chartering cars is because we then
feel certain of the transportation and can
Happily ourselves to picking, asserting and
loading our peaches and watch for the
return of the empty baskets to fill up aud
send again. One great advantage in
chartering cars is that we contract with
the head master of transportation, and
when the cars do not go or come back as
we think they ought to we make com
plant to the head master of freight and
then he has his subordinates overhauled
and makes them give an account of their
shortcomings. Now some new men who
have had but little experience in peach
growing and shipping propose to reverse
the order of sound business sense by 60
ing to the subordinates and begging up
through each grade to do so and so, or /
would be glad if you would do better.
q
ers' minds so eternally absorbed in secur-
ing cars that they could attend to nothing
else. Then suppose that some accident
had delayed the empty trains coming
down, and one hundred wagon loads Of
peaches were waiting, say at Middletown,
and about half as many cars come down
as were needed; there would be endless
cursing and swearing, fights, law suits,
and the depot would be converted into a
second handed hell during peach season
whereas, the present system of char
tering cars has for the LIST thirteen
years worked satisfactorily and harmo-
niously, for the reason that it was estab-
lished on sound principles, by dealing
with the head officers of the railroad and
holding them responsible for the acts of
their subordinates. And further, from
Dover up, crops of peaches can be mar
keted cheaper by baskets that any other
way, and the empty baskets can be re-
turned to the owner in his chartered cars,
Further down the road, where timber is
cheap and boxes can be made cheap, let
those who prefer it ship in boxes. And
as to the croaking of some down-country
and branch road shippers that the freight
might be reduced little if the empty
baskets were not returned.
Now, lower Delaware and branch rail-
road peach growers, could you even had
fitted up peach cars to carry your fruits,
or even branch roads, even if it had not
been for the peach growers above Sea-
ford who use baskets and put their capi-
tai and lands into growing peaches, and
building up business that you enjoy
with us. AS to this foolish clamor to
propose to give away baskets with the
peaches, taking Middletown as basis,
if there is anything like the crop that
some pretend, peaches probably will
not sell for an average in New York over
80 cents. The freight is II cents, hauling
over the river to Jersey City is 4 cents;
that makes 81 cents, new baskets 8 cents
that is Just 80 cents; now the commission
on 80 cents is 3 cents, picking and haul |
ing cents that makes 3S cents. Now
suppose the baskets rise up to IL cents
that is 2 cents higher that makes 40 cents
in other words II cents for freight; A cents
for hauling; cents commissian on 40 |
cents; II cents per basket; s cents for |
picking and hauling; al cents expenses;
say peaches 40 cents, cent loss. Sup
pose the peaches sold for 40 cents basket |
whereas if no new baskets was bought
peaches would clear 10 at 40 cents and
clear 40 cents if they sold for so and Al
cents If sold for IS.
But why should peach growers be fore
ed to pay railroad companies II cents
freight on an article that sells at 80, 40 |
or so cents. The p, W. q B. r. Il. Co., |
contracted 1 believe to carry corn to New |
York for IL cents per hundred pounds,
and baskets ofpeaches weighs 90pounds
and suppose they weigh 100 pounds that |
at corn rates, would be A cents per basket |
whereas they now charge II cents, a
little over four times as much as corn,
and their late proposition to bring back
empty baskets ct 2 cents piece, is just |
one cnnt n poupd for amntv haskats -