The daily gazette., 1879-02-05
Peaohdoln snd Its Interests,

Rditr0dd COnlniissiOners-A Good L0t
Of Peach Tdtk-Ihe GroUers Udrmo-
nious.
Special Correspondence ofthe GAZETTE.
DOVER, DEL, Feb. 9Th, 1S7S.-All
yesterday forenoon the town was full of
the leading peach growers Of the State,
and in the afternoon they held public
in the Chamber of Representa-
tives, at which an act was presented con-
cerning the railroad, and good bit was
said relating to reduction of freight.
In the morning the peach growers held
meeting at which the following COM
mittee was appointed to do the heavy
standing around In favor of an act that
was to be brought up at the afternoon
meeting Ex-Gov. Cochran, Samuel
Townsend, ID. j. Cummins, X. ii. Cum
Minis, n. Williams, William Green and
Ii. A. Nowland.
The afternoon meeting was called to
order by Catesby f. Rust, after the most
Of the growers had dropped into the lob
by and Hall Of Representatives
Among the prominent peach growers
that were present were X. ii. Cum
Minis, George w. Cummins, Nathaniel
Williams, VIM. Green, Samuel Town
send, Henry A. Nowland, VIM. X. Coch-
ran, ex-Gov. Cochran, Sewell G. Biggs,
S. +. Shallcross, A. ii. Hudson, Colonel
Douglass, Hon. Charles Brown, T. +.
Dilworth, Julian Cochran, Rich'd Town
send, j. Alexander Fulton, j. G. Van
dyke, G. Ferguson, Samuel Townsend,
Jr., Jacob Brown, John Hudson, aud
many others.
Mr.. William Green, of MiddletowD, on
the part Of the peach growers, presented
an act to the Legislative Committee on
Railroads, and in doing so said:
I shall take 1t for granted that you
know nothing Of the railroad matters az
they relate to the people Of our State 1
assume that you know that an excessive
freight is exacted wherever 1t is posi- bic
to lay it on. l assume that you know
that fruit culture generally has not been
highly profitable and In now utterly Una
BILE to bear the impositions. j propose
| to view the matter from a railroad stand.
point. l expect to show that the extreme
freight is not required either from speed
by which fruit trains are carried or Is moi
| necessary to the railroad from want Of
tax laws upon it to earn a fair return
| for the money invested in their property
The capital to the stock of the z. w
g. B. r. Il. is about $l1 200, 900. Their ne
earnings are at least 10 per cent. upor
thu property as it stands on the book
subject 10 no depreciation or actual valu
alton which has shown such shrinkag'
in other provisions. The estimated cal
culation to be made at the present scale
of the cost Of building equipping, lane
damages, &c, is much short ofthe amour
at which 1t Is usually marked. The prop
erty at their excessive figures stands at
reduction equal to a construction, &c, o
| 500, 900 per mile while perhaps one-thirt
| of the amount, certai nly one-half-woult
be- what the property could be duplicated
for and the earnings in the one case ar
80 per cent. in the other 20 per cent. II
present and actual value.
Can the people of Delaware allow sucl
a first lien upon their annual resource
from the property which has duplicated
80 per cent. and from which we glea
scarcely an existence. This corporatlo
is of NJ Massachusetts ownership. Sha
we not mete out a Massachusetts law
said to be well tried aud found and EN-
nently successful in practice. From til
report of the Massachusetts II. Il. Con
mission may be had the following statl:
tics:
Boston & Albany r. r. ia 20
miles long. Cost, equip
ment and real, estats...... $50 900, 90
Taxes. State and local. 355, 81
Percentage OF earnings on to-
II tai property...... ...... .o' per
/ Freight charge ON through or
fereign fruit per ton........ W ct
, Boston & Providence Il. r. "A
, miles, cost, &c............. %, ,4O4 ,32O
Taxes. IN
:. Charges on fruit per ton...... 23-l0 ct
The average weight of freight carrie
by the Mass. Railroads in a train of
cars Is 70 tons; the same for fruit is z
tons.
TO carry one ton of paving freights IL
Massachusetts roads carry over tons
dead freight made out by weights to ca
ry one ton of fruit 12 tons of dead freq
is carried.
AS to the question of remedies, evel
country protited by railroads has had
j., meet the problem of these evils.
In Belgium the government owns
y per cent of the railroads and run the
!, for the public advantage. France al
;, Prussia have a part ownership in
II roads and run them under strict COVE
mental surveillance, prescribe every ra
for freights and even schedule of time f
passenger trains
/ England has for 20 years been solvil
l. the problem varying in her plans FRO
State ownership to restrictive and reg
a. lative legislation. Some of her ralro
III charters containing 80 sections prescfl
ing the charges for all per mile even
"A uip or a calf. She has abandon