The daily gazette., 1877-02-13
Letter from Samuel Townsend,
For the Delaware Gazette.

meeting has been held at the Clayton
House, Wilmington, called Board of
Trade meeting, after talking of limited
partnerships, one person stated the usury
law was against 1t and he thought the
first point was the repeal of the usury
laws, another more sensible got up and
said he despaired of any Delaware Iegis-
lature ever repeating the usury laws
Now this was sensible for if ever a COM
munity need anything in money matters
it is statistics, and this six per cent. inter-
est in Delaware, has by all the different
partys and intelligent men of Delaware
TO the last hundred years been kept at
| tn anne figure per cent and to increase
it We .uld be like piling on mans head
who had already as much as he could
bear up under a soft piece of marsh,
but add few pounds more and down he
would go with groan. just so would
be the fate of many if the usury law was
repealed, the Shylocks by their cupidity
would unsettle all business and one gem
eral ruin would follow,
Next discussion followed trying to
point out what would bring new pros
perity to the State, and this ne plus ultra
was sugar beets. Now this sugar beet
business was agitated some forty years
ago. and passed through Delaware about
the same time as multicaulous, it was said
then sugar beets besides making sugar,
excelled all other roots for food for cows,
to make them give milk, raised some
and thought new revolution would be
made in the butter business, that butter
would be as plenty in the Winter as
Summer. had the beets cut up and put
in boxes for the cows, the said cows put
their noses in, they turned around and
looked at us as good as to say "are you
ljokiBg, or are you fools enough to think
we are going to eat this stuff" had
meal and salt brought and sprinkled all
over said cut up sugar beets, the cows
would lick the meal and salt off at once
then look around for more meal, / tried
it several times then dropped out from
the beet humbuggistS. In 1888 went to
the western country, in them times there
was no railroads west, we travelled in the
stage coaches, in the stage there was two
passengers who belonged in Illinois, who
were great advocates of sugar beets and
was growing them they said to make
sugar 1t has now been near 40 years, and
we have never heard of success in that
line anywhere on the rich western land
therefore it would be very foolish to ex
lpect it to pay on Delaware's poor land
then again what is conclusive there is
California with the richest land under the
sun, raising wheat whereas if this sugar
beet business would pay, California of all
other places should go into 1t, where she
has Cinnamon who can work all day or
half pint of rice and a half house rat
And as to that encouraging letter from
Isaac Hinckley, God help the Delaware
farmer that takes his gratuitous advice,
he says in his letter that the railroad
company has reduced charges one half or
peaches the last ten years. totally deny
this assertion, when Mr.. S. M. FeltoT
was President of the railroad, I was
charged six cents basket from Town
send to Broad and Prime and the com.
pany's books will show it, and further al
the end of the season, was allowed a
small draw back on that, and in 1875
after said Hinckley gave it out he would
Ipro rata with other railroads. Peaches
in many cases not selling for enough to
pay freight, some of us supposing the
Empire Transportation Company would
be treated by this Hinckley as railroad
bargained with the said Empire line they
the said Empire line, furnishing theil
own cars exclusively, we of course eX'
Ipected to have been treated same as If we
had shipped on the Pennsylvania Centra
railroad, Reading railroad, or Baltimore
and Ohio railroad cars, and draw back
paid to us, 1 shipped IS TO 20 cars by this
Empire line to Buffalo, the said Empire
line furnished the cars, and Hinckley's
road charged me thirty seven dollars q
car for pulling said cars from Townsend,
Delaware, to Gray's Ferry, and say 900
baskets in a car it was about seven and a
half cents per basket, to Gray's Ferry,
when Mr.. FELTON, thirteen or fourteen year,
before onlu charged me six cents in to BrOdd
and Prime and after the peach season was
over went up to Hinckley and asked
for a draw back on the thirty seven dol
lars on the Empire cars to Gray's Ferry
he few into passion and insulted me in
his office. He is the last man to talk to
Delaware farmers, did he not discrimi.
nate against Delaware farming peach
growers, by charging us FIVE dollars per
car more than cars of the Maryland
branch railroads. Is he not now carrying
corn as cheap from theMaryland branches
as on the Delaware railroad, but happily
he is on the record of our Peninsula
Fruit Growers Association. Volumes
are there set down giving the evidence OF
many committees Of intelligent men in
regard to Hinckley's actions, after killing
the goose that layed the golden egg
peach business-he talks of encouraging
the beet root sugar business, by carrying
materials free for five years. Burnt chill
dren dread the fire, and presume If any
person was disposed to try the beet root
sugar business they would establish their
factorys in our towns bordering on water
communi cation as sugar is not perish
able article it could not be railroad freight
| taxed as peaches nave Deeu. Iuo roul-
road company in 1875 had reason to be-
lieve that probably not over half the car
loads of peaches shipped paid freight:
Nevertheless they took their pound of
flesh. have no complaint to make of
the sub officers, Mr.. Kenney, Mr.. Ide
and Mr.. Mills. They had to obey orders.
When Mr.. S. NJ. FELTON, resigned the
Presidency of the p. w. 81 b. r. r., it
was q great loss to the Delaware farmers
aud fruit growers, and l propose to the
members of our Legislature that some
day when theyhave not much before them
that they send for Mr.. Fulton. of Dover,
our Secretary of the Peach Growers AS
sociation, and have him to read the Jour
nal of the Peach Growers Association. 1t
will think enfghten them onHinckley's
lliberality to Delaware farmers.
SAMUEL TOWNSEND.
Townsend Del, Feb. II, 1877.
p. ST. have thought it necessary since
1 wrote the above to state that when one
of the peach growers committee made a
bargain with Hinckley in regard to
through car loads of peaches to New
York, 10000 pounds was the standard
weight to constitute a car load ofpeaches.
4 II. a hot hnc nf