The herald., 1894-11-22
1t AbsOrbs All the Profits CT
the Products of the
Orchard
THE TRANSPORTATION EVIL
Southern Pacific Representatives. Give
Their Side of the Controversy.
The Fruit Growers
Convention.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
SACRAMENTO Nov. 21.-At the opening
of the morning ssssen Of the Fruit
Growers convention, Edward Berwick
read paper on the question OF trSns-
portation. He began by saying that
competition was failure. Thirty-four
years ago nj. Roseir of Belgium declared
that the government should be allowed
to monopolize the railroads. The poll
ticians fooled the people all the time az
to the real issues. and at the last con-
ventions they pinned the voters By
pledge to vote for party candidates
whom they had never seen.
The president interrupted the speaker
at this point by suggesting that he
should refrain from making illusions to
political matters.
he had been informed that fresh fruit
had been shipped from Portland to Min
neapolis at much less rate than that
charged by the railroad from California
points.
Mr.. Kellogg said the rate on fresh
fruits from Portland to Minneapolis was
|
and the charges for refrigeration were
less.
Prof. T. D. Fowler, in an impassioned
speech, complained that the railroad
required from two to four days to bring
carload of fresh fruit from Fresno to
/ Sacramento. He said:
"It is a material injury to furit and
we cannot expect, under the conditions,
| to put our fruit into eastern markets in
good condition. He have. in addition.
excessive rates OF transportation on fruit.
This year in Fresno our mules are sue.
cessfully competing with the railroad.
The railroad rate on lumber from Butler
station, five miles from Fresno, is $5 per
car, and the rate on green fruit Ia $6 per
car, went to Division Superintendent
Fraser to complain about it and was in
formed that nv request for a reduction
of the rate on fresh fruit could not be
allowed. ! wrote to Agent Smurr at
headquarters and Smurr replied that it
could not be done, because it would
interfere with the rate on green fruit
elsewhere. Since that time 800 tons of
fruit have been handled from that
station to Fresno by mule team and not
one pound by rail. [Applause.
The railroad company should be forced
to bear its share of the responsibility for
fruit ruined by delays and accidents
while en- route. AS it is now. the pro-
ducer must foot the whole loss and he
can get no redress"
Mr.. Brickford of Placer county spoke
about a neighbor who had not been able
to pay advances made him by the chip.
per, nor the interest, nor the money
borrowed to pay his hired help, because
he he lad not been able to realize enough
on his fruit to pay his expenses.
Mr.. Wilcox of Santa Clara believed
that the remedy was in the producers
hands.
He said: SIT is true that you can send
from Minneapolis to Seattle, Tacoma
and Portland cheaper than they can be
sold in San Francisco, because of the
cheaper rates OF transportation. Ten
years ago the railroad charged $500 pei
carload for fruit to the east, and Abram
Block of Santa Clara made more money
then at that rate than he can now at
lesser rate, because his fruit brought
higher prices. Since that time the rail.
road company, by its high rates in Cali.
fornia, has built up the Puget sound
country as against the interests of the
state OF California.
Mr.. Berwick offered resolution urging
upon congress the Importance OF the
speedy completion of the Nicaragua
canal.
G. F. Smurr, agent of the Southern
Pacific, was then introduced and ad-
dressed the convention. He began by
saying that the railroad had as vital an
interest in this question of profitable
market for green fruits as the producers
themselves. 1t has regarded the fruit
industry of California in the same light
as it regards the iron industry of Penn
sylvania. 1t had been asserted, he said,
that the fruit grower OF California has
made plenty of money in the past. He
believed that that might be said truly
OF each and every industry OF California
the wool, lumber and other industries
along the railroads of the state.
I'm my capacity as freight AGENT"
continued Mr.. Smurr. 'there is not
single day that passes that am not in
terviewed by some representative OF
some of these industries, urging upon
us the consideration of the depressed
state Of industry. Intelligent market
ing and distribution OF your fruit strikes
me as being much more important than
the question Of freight"
The speaker denied that the Southern
Pacific mad ever charged $40 ton on
wheat from San Luis Obispo to San