Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-05-08
The Reduction ON Oranges.

river. That IS to say, the Los Angeles
orchardist can now ship his oranges toH
New York City at at an expense ~
eighty.one cents box--an exceedingly
fair and evcn generous rate. The corre'
spondcnce which brought about t'his re-
duction was begun by Mr. L. Germain,
a commission merchant Of this city, who,
on the 2lst Of February, addressed MIR.
Stubs communication in which tho
claim was advanced thYa a considerable
trade could be workeRup in small fruits
in Texas, but that the existing rates
were too high. p6r less than carload
lots the charg / that time was s4.54 a
hundred ps6fds. Mr.. Richard Gray,
the oenera1 freight Agent Of the Cen.
trail Pacific Railway, after giving the
matter considerable attention, replied by
suggestang rate of 1925 per 100 pounds
In cof.load lots, and $3.50 for lesser
auohtities. On April 4th, Mr.. Germain
Wrote Mr.. Gray that there were one
Hundred and fifty thousand boxes Of or.
anges in this county yet to be moved,
adding that unless lower rate could be
given 10 Eastern points the fruit would
remain on the trees and rot. He sug'
gests that II rate Of $3.50 per carload
to Chicago. st. Louis, Omaha, New
York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other
Eastern points, were announced, the
Los Angeles orchardists could dispose Of
all their fruit in the next two months.
Mr.. Germain enclosed, also, q letter from
Dallas, Texas, Commission Merchant,
the gist of which was that he had made
desperate efforts to sell Los Angeles
oranges TO arrive, but without
avail, owing to the fact that the
local rates from New Orleans
on fifty box lots were LES per 100 lbs,
against Si.5i from Los Angeles. He
also called attention to tho fact that
oranges just then were very low priced
In New Orleans. He says that they have
been unusually cheap there this year,
but would play out in about month.
A voluminous correspondence also took
place between Mr.. Gray and Mr.. Il.
Hawley, tho General Agent of the Gal
weston, Harrisburgh and San Antonio
Railway at New York City. Mr.. Haw.
ley gives details of thel freight rates on
foreign oranges from New York to in.
terror points. They range from 90 cents
per 100 lbs. from the sea.board to Chicago,
to 6S cents to Louisville and 35 cents to
Pittsburgh. He states that the New
York fruit dealers had formed an un.
favorable opinion of the Los Angeles
orange. Their judgment was that,
though of good size, they were pulpy,
thick of skin and of bad color. They
did not think they could compare with
the Messina orange, which is used largely
in New York; and which, at the date OF
writing (April l0th), were selling at from
g.. so to s2.75 for fruit ranging from l75
to 800 oranges to the box, at auction.
Tho fruit dealers further informed Mr.,
Hawley that the month of June would
be the best month to handle the staple
in New York, asat that time the foreign
fruit is scarce and high priced.
Mr.. Gray also wrote to Mr.. c. Z.
Gibbs the General Freight Agent of the
c., II. as. A. Railway at Houston, with
view to ascertaining the opening which
existed for Los Angeles deciduous and
semi.tropical fruits in the country which
aligned his railway system. Mr..
Gibbs replied that the supply OF
semi-tropical fruits at San An
tonic, which is the only point
Immediately on the line of his road
which received carload lots, came from
New Orleans, the freight rates being SO
cents per 100 lbs. for carload lots. As
to the deciduous fruits Of Southern Cali
fornia, he espresso the opiniond that
market may be found for them in many
portions of Texas. Very few pears are
grown in Texas, and apples are shipped
there in large quantities from Kansas
and other Eastern States. In a subse-
quent communication. he gives the quo
tations for carload lots of oranges as
81 .25 and $3.50 box.
The correspondence between the head
quarters of the company at San Fran
cisco and Mr.. Finlay, the former, and
Mr.. Mosher, the present Freight Agent,
at Los Angeles, is quite voluminous, but
shows thorough disposition on the part
of the Railway authorities to meet the
demands of the people. During the
course of it the fact was developed that
the carload of oranges upon which the
New York fruit dealers had formed an
unfavorable Judgment was one which
had suffered great deal from frost in
transita to that city.
We desire to indulge in brief men
ton Of one more incident of this eorre-
spondence. Mr.. A. b. Chapman, of the
San Gabriel, wrote TO Mr.. Gray COM
planning of the freight rate TO Benson.
He said that it would pay him to ship
oranges to Tombstone il rate OF $500
carload could be obtained. He added
that he has been habitually charged moro
freight per box for oranges than the
Sonora orange had been selling for in
that market. He suggests that, as the
Sonora oranges were then about out
(April l7th), he would like to have the
chance of making little money in that
section. He asks Col. Gray to take into
consideration the fact that Tombstone is
not so distant from San Gabriel as
Philadelphia or New York.
.is In reply Mr.. Gray says: "0ur rates
e. into the interior, such as, for instance,
zlSrom Los Angeles or San Gabriel to
'enson, are placed as low as we think
my, can afford to perform the service
" Still, when and where We meet
story npetition, we aim to haul that par
,Jular line OF business in which com
petition is met, trusting thus to develop
"other more profitable business. In the
':matter of Hermosillo oranges being
e marketed in Tombstone, it is truethey
"were, and to the exclusion, in meas
lure of the California fruit. Hermo-