Smyrna times., 1893-09-20
PEACH GROWERS ROBBED.

ton to excessive charges made by the
railroad company and the commission
merchants in handling peaches from
this peninsula. We have before us
several accounts of sales for peaches
shipped to Philadelphia, Boston and
Cleveland. The freight alone to Bos-
ton was 31c basket and Sc a basket
for carriage; to Cleveland the freight
was 30c basket; to Philadelphia the
freight was lie and carriage three and
a half cents basket. Thus to send a
basket of peaches to Philadelphia cost
the grower fourteen and a half cents
besides two and a half cents for his
basket, grand total of 17c. To this
must be added six cents for commission
(if the fruit brought 6Oc) making 23c
expenses on a single basket of peaches
sent say 60 miles to market. The
thing is enormous. 1t is simply an out
l'rage on the grower which ought to be
corrected by Congress or some other
power. The same basket of peaches
could have been sent to Baltimore bv
steamboat at cost of six cents and
the commission of u per cent for sell
ing the fruit, entirely too much, but
much smaller expense than the Phila-
delphia charges. In Baltimore the
| commission men meet at the wharf and
sell the fruit to the buyers, and there
is no charge for carting it away to some
warehouse. So it ought to be in Phil
adelphia. The commission men should
be compelled to meet the fruit at the
depot and sell it there, or if they want
to haul it they should do so at their
own expense, as it is for their conven-
ience and pleasure, and not the grow
ers'. The Congress could be very pro-
perly asked to regulate these interstate
charges and Outrages by the railroad
company and the commission mer-
chants, and the legislatures of the
states could be asked to look after and
regulate the charges within state lines.
There is no wonder that the railroads
and the commission men hail with de-
light the approach of a large peach
crop. 1t is to them the most profitable
season of the whole year In a few
weeks they reap a rich harvest from
the labor and industry and capital of
the poor peach grower who has labored
anxiously through the whole year to
raise crop of fruit for the railroad and
the commission men to rob him of in
the end. Relief from these excessive
charges is demanded and should be at
once granted. Farmers are in trouble
all over the country. They labor from
early morning until late at night in the
endeavor to provide comforts for their
families and to pay their debts, and
just as soon ar relief seems to be in
sight the railroad company and the
commission men commence a system of
robbery which not only deprives the
growers of what belongs to them, but
discOurages agriculture and drives the
youth of the land away from the farms
to seek employment where they can
lind better pay, ami less exposure to
the rough elements. This is a question
of vital importance to the whole coun-
try because it strikes directly at the
very industry upon which the whole
prosperity and progress of the country
depends. The silver bill, the fisheries
industry and tariff itself are insignif.
cant in comparison, and the very wis
est craftsmanship should be invoked
to devise measures for the relief of the
Industry which supports the country
aud to keep it from being crushed out
and ruined by the cormorants who run
railroads and harbor in the cities wait
ing to buncO poor fruit growers and
rob them of their hard earnings.-Cen-
treUiLLe Observer.