The record-union., 1894-11-22


| flerS, and can assure them this COM
pany is fully alive to the urgencies of the
! business anu the fact that this tonnage
development Is OF very great importance
/ to the carriers interested in CaliiOrnias
welfare. II the fruit-growers cannot
handle their fruit at profit. 1ruit-grow-
| ing is likely to receive a serious set back;
II therefore, the carriers are negligent as
! to results to the fruit-growers, the policy
IN doing so Is simply suicidal one and
| must react on the transportation inter-
! ests. The narrow view with which the
! public journals sometimes credit the
railroads, viz: That of simply trying to
squeeze the present dollar out OF the
business without regard for the future, is
therefore simply absurd, for the carriers
interest III the prosperity Of fruit grow
ing and fruit culture is in the aggregate
much greater than the interest OF any in
diVIdual fruit-grower.
state the matter thus for the DurDNse
OF asking you to bear in MIND that any
theory Is false which assumes or pretends
to assume That the carriers are indifferent
10 the trult-groWers' welfare and regard
II as little or mono OF their business for
the interests are more mutual than the
casual observer perceive. This company
has so large Il mileage III the State OF Cali
lorna that whatever hurts the develop
| ment OF any industry OF the State hurts
the railroad. II the charges for the trans
poriatlon OF green fruit are higher than
warranted by the price the fruit Will
| fetch III the markets TO which trans
ported, that is an element which works
against this compauy's interests. This
company Is not unmlndful Of the posS-
| biiity OF this danger. How to remedy
the situation Is the grave problem. Those
not engaged III the business of truit-cult-
ure underestimate the anXietles, expense
and risk incident TO iruit-growing, which
Is evident almost any time, by the readi-
ness with which you can find people not
IN the fruit business taking piece of
paper and figuring out TO their own salts
faction the handsome returns that can
be secured from investments in fruit
lanes. In precisely the same way those
not engaged i'll the business OF trans
portatlou can promptly figure out vast
returns from present rates charged Tor
transportation OF fruit, drawing from the
hgureS so made the conclusion that these
rates could be greatly reduced and still
leave reasonable profit 10 the carrier.
Just as glowing profits Of frut-culture are
thus figured out readily III theory.
so 1t IS III figuring the carriers profit.
IL THIS company could reduce the cost of
transportation of green fruit to the East
ern market just one-half what it is to-
day there IS nothing that would DO more
entirely satisfactory to the COMPANY but
unfortunately the conditions under which
tie carriers operate in their business are
OF controlling force just as are the coudi-
TONS III other business when it proves
unwise 10 handle business below cost of
production and shipment. TO explain;
To ana including August 3lst last, 4, 30
carloads OF green fruit had been shipped
this season, practically ali being refriger-
ator cars; that is, 3,6Y5 Of them. The
average refrigerator weighs about - tons
! without It's load; into this refrigerator are
loaded II tons OF fruit and say tons of
Ice. Refrigerators during the green fruit
season cannot be held at Eastern points
for loading, because if they were so held
the refrigerator companies would run out
OF equipment 1T this end and shippers
would have no cars in which to forward
their fruit This may be summed up as
follows:
Refrigerator car, non-payng dead
weight East bound ........ . tons
Load OF green fruit in car East bound Is tons tons
Ice IN car 10 refrlgerate the fruit East
oouI4u tons
Total dead weight East bound.............3 IS tons
ReirIsei ator returning empty TO Cali
lorna, west % tons
Total dead tons
OF this there is but twelve tons Of
! freight TO pay the charges OF transpOrta-
ton. IL takes money to do business, and
1t Is not surprising that it proves difficult
| for shippers To derive profit for them
besides the cost Of hauling sixty tons OF
dead weight a distance OF from 24UO to
3,4OO miles. The marvel is that trans
port2tion arrangements have succeeded
III Carrying fruit these distances at any
rate that Will make the business Dossi BILE
| 1t never has been done before in the his
tory OF the world, and is now being done
at such unremunerative figures Tor the
carrier as to make greon fruit probably
the least desirable for transportation Of
any product OF the soil, If the profits from
transportation OF green fruit itself were
alone TO be taken into consideration. The
load Of fruit III 4 refrigerator car being
400 pounds, aud the freight rate for ex-
ample, from Winters to Chicago 81 81 per
100 pounds, the amount received by this
company for its service west of Ogden
out oil the rate named is Sl55 10, or on the
actual dead weight hauled, namely sixty
tons, is - 0o5 per ton, which for dis
lance OF Io9 miles equals less than one
! tnlrd OF cent for each tou of dead
weight hauled each mile over this dis
lance. l have figured out the proposition
III This manner in the hope of makin
clear the great dlsad Vautuges under which
the carrier IaborS in this business by rea-
son of~the unusual expense incident to
performing 1t. Tho weight OF the car
ordinarily used for tho transportation OF
such freight without refrigeration may,
however, be fairly deducted from This
carriers earnings. The result Will be as
follows:
Tons
Weight Of refrigerator car averages ......... %
Deduct average weight of ordinary fruit
c''' IL
Excessive weight of refrigerator East
@
Weight OF fruit East bound .... / >
weight OF ice rcirigeratng the fruit East
| Excessive weight OF refrigerator returning
W est G.
Total dead weight hauled, considering
only the excessive weight OF refrigerator
over ordinary fruit car............. ......... SO
Dividing which by the revenue west of
Ogden, namely, Sl55 l6, gives this COM
pany earnings OF but 81 81 per ton. or d
fraction less tnan five and q half mills
per ton per mile for the 7S9 miles hauled.
The published records Of the uited States
Government namely, page go, No. 1866
OF the statistics OF railways III the United
States for the year 1870, as compiled by
the Interstate Commerce Commission q
body whose record is generally conceded
by those most hostile To railroads to show
no partially towards Carriers, cites that
Oh the Southern Pacific Company's Pa
ellie system, OF which the Central Pacific
is part, the cost OF carrying one ton OF
freight one mile averages one cent and
twenty-iou r-thousandths, this figure COW
erlng merely actual operating expenses
ana emitting items of iXed charges inter-
est on bonds, taxes and similar charges
This is as close as The Government staJis-
ticians can get it, and as close as any man
can perceive the carriers in their efforts
at developing this rreer-frtIir buSiDess