The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-02-21
GREEN FRUIT SHIPMENTS.
Present Charges to Points in the
East.
The Southern Pacific Not Responsible
for High Refrigerator
Charges.
Following is the full text of the letter


latter gentleman by II. NJ. LaRue, Chair
man of the Railroad Commission, and
read at the meeting of the commission
in San Francisco on the 18th inst. 1t
gives very fully the status of the fruit
transportation question from the COM
pany's standpoint, and is doubtless in
tended to answer the suggestions con-
tanned within the Hatfield resolution as
to an investigation of the elements that
enter into the high fruit freight charges
paid by California shippers to get their
fruit in good condition to the Eastern
market:
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16, 1895.
". II. 1flLLS, Land Agent-DEAR SIR:
Referring to the letter addressed to you
by Commissioner II. NJ. LaRue under
date of February 18th, in which certain
information concerning rates on green
fruit to the East was asked for, l beg
leave to submit the following:
The through rates TOR green fruits in
carloads, minimum weight per car &c, 900
pounds for ventilated cars and 24,O00
pounds for refrigerator cars, are:
TO CHICAGO.
In ventilator cars.........$1 20 per 100 pounds
In refrigerator Cars. L % per 100 pounds
TO NEW YORK CITY, JERSEY CITY DELIVERY.
In Ventilator cars........S1 so per 100 pounds
IN refrigerator CARS. ! 90 per 100 pounds
The foregoing is for freight-train serv-
ice. The time from Sacramento to Chi
cago for ventilated cars five days; for
refrigerator cars eight days.
By passenger train the rates to Chicago
are: For venTilators, 81 % per 100 pounds;
Tor refrigerator cars s. so per 100 pounds,
The freight train to Chicago, which
above is placed at five days for ventilated
cars, is what we undertook to make dur
ing the season of 1894, but were inter-
rupted by the strike. The time made
ranged for both ventilators and refriger-
ators from eight to twelve days. We be-
Ieve, however, that five days schedule
fer yentilator cars can be accomplished
The eight days time for refrigerators is
all that is necessary, and the best that can
be done with such heavy cars required to
stop Ell route for icing. The attempted
discrimination in the matter of time in
favor OF VentllatOrS IS founded upon these
considerations: First. the ratio of dead
freight 80 paying freight carried by the
company when ventilatOr cars are used
is, upon the average, as $4,000 pounds.
average weight OF car, is to 10000 pounds,
minimum weight of load. For refriger-
ator cars the average is &c, $40 pounds,
average weight OF car and ice, to 24,O0O
pounds, minimum weight of load. The
average of dead weight of ventilator cars
Is from %, 800 pounds to IS, $50 pounds
with their loads OF ice, is from 10000 to
1000 pounds.
With the refrigeration the railroad COM
panIes have nothing whatever TO do,
Shippers contract with the owners or les
sees OF the refrigerator cars for this sery-
Ice, and the standard charge, as l am
informed, for this service which includes
the cost Of ice, has been as follows for
freight train service per car:
From To Chicago. To New York
Sacramento and
:, points East s125 s175
MA Pacific and
" estern Iivi-
Fresno and south
and MarySyllle
and north. $50 900
For refrigeration by passenger train an
additional charge of $50 per car is made.
The refrigerator cars are owned by pri-
yate parties and are used by the Southern
Pacific Company under contract with the
owners. They are run empty westbound.
ON TINS account and on account of their
excessive weight the Southern Pacific
Company pays no rental for their use
and charges the refrigerator car compan-
les % per cent. in addition to It's share of
the through rate in consideration of hauI-
ing the excess weight. This amounts to
III cents per hundred pounds for Chicago
destination.
The railroad companies favor the ven
til ator cars. Until within z favr
years refrigeration with ice was sunnosed
10 De unsuitable to the preservation of
Ifu4t. Nhen the proposition TO try re-
Irlgeratlon with Ice was first made the
consensus OF opinion among fruit-grow-
eFs ana irult-shlppers was that it would
be failure. The company hes
not undertaken the work and responsi-
plllLy Oh refrigeration because it is bust
ness peculiar to itself, requiring expert
knowledge and special care which the
organization OF railroad companies in no
wise hts them TO perform satisfactorily.
IL does not own refrigerator cars, for the
reason That II has believed, in the first
place that the kind of car and method of
refrigeration Is still matter of expert
ment, both as to whether ice is the hest
and cheapest method of preserving frnit
and as TO the kind of refrigerator car,
even II Ice be proven to be the best
method OF refrigeration, in respect TO the
KIND OF insulation and the weight of the
car. Few, If any, of the REFRIGERATOR cars
now IN use have been built with sDecial
reference to the frat business of CaIifor-
MIA, and none of them have fairly consir-
cred the ratio of dead weight to be hauled
10 the paying load. In the Judgment of
the officers OF this company The best car
IS yet to be built, and when constructed
we nave no doubt that it will greatly re-
a
shipper aud 10 the railroad company. the
latter by large reduction in the present
enormous weight of the car.
The railroad company has experimeut-
ed on Its own account with refrigeration
by building car designed to accompljsb
the necessary equable temperature With
out the use OF Ice, but by evaporation
This was unsatisfactory.
At present we believe that for the hardy
fruits, with a lve-day schedule to Chi
cago, Venulator cars offer the VERY chean-
est ana best method OF Transportation
ana our best endeavors Will be put forth
TO make the five day schedule For dali
cate and fully ripe fruits unquestionahIv
the experience OF the past proves that re-
migration by ice Is the best method so
far determined, but the latter is very
expensive both to the carrier and to the
supper. In our judgment the charpas
for refrigeration have been too great ar
1ording the refrigerator companies a
pront entirely out of proportion to the
investment and service, but this is simply
an opinion, and possibly does not take
into fuII consideration the interests of the
refrigerator car companies
Ii the refrigeration by compressed air
on INES similar 10 those of the Perkins
patent Is demonstrated TO be perfect.
next 10 the use OF yentilator cars that nm
oouDteuly promises the cheapest method
OF handling these fruits, provided the
cars used can be reduced so as not To e>-
ceed maximum OF 81, 900 pounds. which
IL is Delleved IS possible. The use of the
compressed air scheme in order To effect
the utmost economy, would REQUIRE shin
ments TO be made in trainloads. and it
would be necessary for all railroads haI,l-
ing the cars or trains TO eQuip their en-
glnes so as TO furnish the compressed air.
Inns couId probably be arranged for on
the main lines between Sacramento and
fDy-