The daily gazette., 1878-01-15
SECOND EDITION
For the GAZETTE.
LETTEB FROM sAMLIPwNsEND

Mr.. EDIToR:--l see in your paper the
yearly reportlof the Delaware Railroad
Company. One paragraph in your paper
says the report states that the fruit grow
ers along the road, had plantedmore peach
trees this year (meaning l suppose last
year. than at any previous year, show
ing that tue fruit growers along the road
were greatly encouraged by the result Of
last years crop. Now fruit growers of
Delaware and Maryland, read the above,
are you not astonished at such an asser-
ton of the Railroad Company? These
yarns in my opinion are got up and pub
ished for the Eastern Stockholders, and
to try to prove us peach growers grovel-
ing complaining set, when the exact OPP
posite is the case. We have planted years
ago tens of thousands of peach trees, and
fruit plants, and have been charged the
most enormous and outrageous treights,
which has caused us to hold meetings and
protest and some of these protests have
suppose, reached the ears of some of
these eastern stockholders, and the above
paragraph quoted, suppose, is to try 10
antidote what was said last year by the
peach growers. There was only shipped
by railroad a little over two million
baskets of peaches from the Delaware
railroad and all its branches, and they did
not clear on an average very little, if any,
over 2J cents basket, which would be
only about $500, 900 dollars for all the tens
Of thousands of acres Of peaches, which
really was no pay hardly at all. The char
tered car system was taken from us last
year, under the pretense that the COM
pany would he short of cars and could
manage better; both these assertions
proved groundless. The company had
miles of idle cars, and did not bring our
empty baskets back half as satisfactory as
they did before, although Superintendent
Jackson, at Jersey City, assured me, and
sent for his peach car manager, and told
Isaid manager in my presence, to have
enough men 10 load the empty baskets
every day in cars for the different stations
and despatch them every day. No cards
have they had in them; that whenever
the empty car or cars was run in for
empty baskets TO. hang UP q board on
each car with the name of the different
stations, and to put all baskets labelled
for station in said cars separate and to
themselves, and when the train was ready
each day to take the boards off, and hang
ON the next cars that was run in. The
| freight on peaches Is too high, and always
has been too high, and our own railroad
is to blame, fol-. they set a high rate and
other roads rate by ours. The idea of
charging IL to 20 cents freight ON a basket
| of peaches that only brings from % to 90
cents is outrageous. Now is the time this
winter to hold meeting, and am in favor
of holding the first one at Dover, on
Tuesday the 9th day of February, and
have plain fair understanding and ap.
point five men to go and see the z. w. Il
B. r.. Z. Co., and the p. g. X. X. Co., and
have plain fair understanding; state our
| grievances, and If these companies can.
not come down to satisfactory freight
| and furnish freight cars, and give them
the right to put their names on said cars
| to more. certainly bring back the empty
stuff; then see what reparation the new
line from Philadelphia to New York can
make if they can run down to the water
in Philadelphia Temporary broad docks
can be put on coal barges to load small
cars on, like the Camden and Amboy
used to do several years ago, holding
about 70 baskets each, so as to quickly
haul the small cars ON to platform cars OF
the new Philadelphia and New York
line, and then arrangements made by
water and reach the Philadelphia water
end of said New York line. But first cal
on the p. w. & B. r. X. Co. and the p. G
r.. X. Co., and be prepared to show then
a fair statement of our case, and ther
after hearing our honestly stated case, il
they refuse, they cannot blame us to ge,
up other lines. There has no doubt II
trees ceased bearing, or being pulled out
for every one tree planted in the last twC
years. | am getting old and do not wisl
to take an active part in this matter, but
Imay be of use in pointing out to younger
men what l think best to do in the peach
business. SAMUEL TOWNSEND.
/ Townsend, Jan. IA, 1873.