The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-09
SFUBBS REPLIES TO
THE Fruit MEN
He CLAIMS THEIR CHARGES HAVE
DONE THE STATE A GREAT
INJURY.
TALKS OF THEIR CONDITION.
He DRAWS A COMPARISON Be
TWEEN THEM AND THE EAST
ERN FARMERS.

J, c.. Stubs, third vice-presdent of the
Southern Pacific, has written lengthy
reply to the letter published in the CALL
recently from the committee on transpor-
tation appointed in the recena convention |
of fruit-growers.
In his preliminary remarks Mr.. Stubs
saws that he thinks the publication of the
statements made by the committee was
unwise and more calculated to retard than |
advance the prosperity of the fruit-grow-
ers, the transportation interests and the |
State. The letter is addressed to Frank |
III. Buck of Vacaville and others, and is as
follows:
For aught to the contrary contained therein the |
paper of your committee, when read by the SILVER
mo farmer in the Eastern States will picture the |
vast army of frut-growers in this State as on the
verge of financial ruin, and will bring to him the
the returns from his wheat marketed at from 1919 |
cents to 80 bushel, and found that the gross
product of his years labor ranges from IS TO $40 |
per acre cultivated Is il not certain that he will
at once dismiss all thoughts OF removal TO Callfor |
MIA for the purpose OF betterng his condition? Has
the State been benefited and the interests of the |
fruit-growers been promoted or injured by the dis |
seminaton through the press OF such statements? /
Is il not time for CafOrnians to cease belittling
their State and its resources? If little eoquence
was regarded necessary in presenting the state
ments submitted by the committee TO the railroad
company as facts was ii necessary wise to pub |
lish it so that it might go to the uninformed with
Upon what are these woeful conditions and dis
couraging apprehensions founded? Simply the ex-
perience of shippers of fruit to the Eastern States
| during 1898 and 1894 The previous years OF I'M
exampled prosperity and, in many instances, ex-
traordnary profits to the fruit growers of California
are utterly ignored and the future is measured by
the experience of the last two years which were OF
| unprecedented financial and commercial depres-
sion throughout the country, when armies OF men
| were without work and scarcely knew where to
| look for bread, and during which every employer
was under the utmost strain OF economy, the pres
sure being great that even men commonly re-
| garded as in good circumstances carried their
| economical measures into their personal habits,
| doing for themselves what they were accustomed
| to employ others TO do for them.
Our reports from the Notwithstanding centers of
| the Eastern States, Chicago and New York winch
| come from the merchants who distribute the fruits
10 the consumers, are uhl1orIn IN Statng that 1or
1898 the chief cause of low prices for fruit the
widespread economy or living forced upon the
masses of the people ana extending TO those in
what might be termed the middle class in point of
| means. To this was added plentiful supply OF
| the Eastern product For 1884 the Eastern prod
uct was not abundant, but the strain of economy
was bearing more hardly upon the of con-
sumers and was greatly increased by the paralyZa-
ton of trade during the midsummer months by the
almost universal inexcusable and destructive rail-
way strike.
Mr.. Stubs then goes on to give some
| figures which he claims set at naught the
statements of the committee. His remarks
refer to returns from certain shipments re-
ferred to by the committee.
We have carefully analysed those of the returns
submitted which are most nearly complete and for
the largest body OF shipments. They were sub
mitted representing that portion of the product
OF 800 acres fruit which shipped to the East
ern tates, los carloads, the return the grower
being $22755 So or at the rate OF $75 IS per acre
To ascertain the result to the grower, there is
charged against these returns the of picking
packing, boxes, paper ana loading into cars, at the
rate of 500 per which, not having any infor-
stated; and again this cost of pruning and cul-
tivatifg 300 acres S25 per acre. Assuming both
of these estimates to be fair your committee makes
showing OF net return TO the grower on 800 acres
from that portion OF the product which was mar
Rafn IN "a NJ a ar NJ h0 rata rs
SIS S5 per acre We find, however that in the
document entitled 1.-THE Resources Of California, -
carefully prepared by authority OF law, for distri-
button at the Worlds Fair at Chicago, the state
ment, made upon the authority OF A. T. Hatch,
represented 10 be one of The largest and most enter
, prsing fruitgrowers in the State, the cost of
2 pruning and cultivating fruit orchard for the
, at SO per acre.
we have also found, from the books carefully
and systematically kept for fruit ranch similarly
located to the one under analysis, the showing OF
actual cost for pruning and cultivating for the
fourth year 10 have been Sc 80 per acre. Accept
), | ing the average as being The mean between the
r estimate of SO wellknown and experienced a
+ grower Mr.. Hatch and the actual demonstration
by books kept for that purpose on an equally well
managed ranch, it would place the cost at 81 per
acre, a difference of $14 per acre between this
average and the estimate made in the showing
. presented by your committee. Adding this $l4
per acre TO the $l3 So net return to the grower
D have showing of net profit to the grower OF
- $27 S5 per acre, and this during the disastrous
' year of 1894 What producer in the Eastern
states, or in any OF the adjoining States and Terri
tories on the Pacific Coast, or merchant manu-
u facturer railroad company within the State
< 1892 4N'-' ''''''V ''-'"--e A'A 'l' eA'
i IL will be observed that there is no credit to the
ranch Tor other products or from sales OF fruit in
local markets. There may have been none, but
that would seem TO be unlikely, and in our judg
e ment thorough and complete analysis of the cost
c OF operating the ranch would show a net return
0 during the year 1894 OF somewhere in the neigh
e borhood of $50 per 1t would be far more
pleasing to the officers OF this company if thi.
o showing could be made to have been $500 per acre
net, and if it the charges for the transporta
ton of the fruit to the East would be increased
,, nor would the company cease its endeavors TO i'm
prove its service or in every reasonable way to ex
tend the facilities and cheaper the cost of market
8 ing California fruit in the Eastern States.
b We find that the 1Os.cars referred to were
marketed in the cities of Omaha, Minneapolis, Chi
n cago and New York, and one in the city o.
e Montreal; that in nearly every the content;
of a carload whatever the nature OF the fruit were
sold in several different lots and the prices differed
: with each lot sold. For one carload OF pears tc
j. New York City the prices ranged from 65 cents
/ to 81 go per box: for one carload sold in Omahs
It from ST. 05 TO 81 rs per box; for a carload o.
j. from rs to rs cents per box. The returns of sales
bear occasional Endorsements to the effect thai
J. goods in poor condition fruit dead ripe,
l. 'overripe' and in some cases ''boxes broken and
u mo good" but in the main there was an absence
4 OF these notatons so that il may be taken that
upon the whole the goods reached their destination
u in average condition.
It We cannot account for the Inference in theprices
except upon the theory OF difference in quality anC
l. internal condition of the fruit 1t certainly seem.
e fair 10 presume That the maximum price was oh
tanned for the goods of the finest quality and in tn,
y most nearly perfect condition, and that the owe
- prices attributable to inferior quality con
D diton, and that this difference in quality or condi
ton originated the ranch. Certainly for the
most part the price for the transportation of tn,
:. fruit and the manner in which 1t handled has
y nothing to do with the price obtained and it il
. equally evident, unless the supply was greater thai
u the market would take that had il all been of thu
i same quality and in the same condition as tina
4, which brought the maximum price the maxi
/, mum price would have been obtained for tn
y entire carload, which event O very handsome
increase would have been netted to the grower
e, Mr.. Stubs then enters general dis
claimer to the charge that the railroad
n company has been responsible in any man
k ner for the hard times which the fruit
growers have experienced, and then turn
81 his attention to freight charges:
1t is stated by your committee that there ha
ID been reduction in the freight charges on gree
q fruit in several years past. AS a matter OF fac
Of while may be said that there has not been ri
ducton in the of freight there has been yer
Z great increase in the amount and cost of the sci
d. vice performed by the railroad companies withou
any adequate increase in the charge. For example
when the 81 rs rate was adopted, the railroa
company felt and still feel, that they had reduce
2 their charges TO the minimum, because that rat,
taking Chicago basis. averaged but cent DE
To | ton per mile the load carried for a haul owe
of five ranges Of mountains, roads whose gradient
and curvatures exceed in difficulty and cost
IN operation those of any other roads in th
Nv United States, through sparseiy populate