The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-05-24

X ACRAMENTO, May 2S.-The State
convention of fruit growers
closed it's session tonight at the
~ Assembly chamber, after having
resolved upon forming a protect
i've organiza ton, to be known as the
Northern California Fruit Growers
Exchange The organization will op-
crate along the lines followed by the
Southern California Fruit Exchange.
Organization of the State convention
was effected this morning by the cleo
ton of Russ D. Stephens of Sacra-
mento as chairman and B. M. Lelong,
secretary Of the State Board of Horti-
culture, as secretary. There were in at
tendance about 100 Of the best known
orchardists of California north of the
Tehachapi.
The session. which resulted tonight
in such definite determination to or
ganize, opened inauspiciously this
morning When the long looked for
letter from the Southern Pacific Com
pany was read, to most of the dele
gates the subject of refrigeration, Of
which it treated, was no more glacial
than the tone of the communication
1t was polite enough, but the politeness
was of the shivery sort, reminiscent of
an undertaken in action, and the silence
which followed it's reading was pro-
foundly funereal. In effect it re-
preached the fruit growers for not ap-
preciating a good thing when it was
offered to them, and gave them slight
encouragement in their present pur-
pose to fight the refrigerator combina-
ton.
Chairman Stephens informed the
convention that he had written a let
ter to William Sproule, freight traffic
manager Of the Southern Pacific Com
pany, in which he asked these ques-
tons:
First-Is the Southern Pacific Company
prevented by any arrangements with the
Fruit Growers Express and the CONT
mental Fruit Express from permitting any
competing line of refrigerator cars enter
ing California and competing for ship
ments of green fruit, and. If not, will the
company extend to one or more Eastern
refrigerator lines the same facilities en-
joyed by the existing lines for getting
business in this territory?
Second-If the fruit growers of Califor-
MIA decide to establish an Independent car
line and perfect an organization for that
purpose, will the Southern Pacific haul
their cars, and on what terms and condi-
Third-WiH the Southern Pacific supply
a proper and sufficient equipment of ven
ulatOr cars?
ticient equipment of ventilator cars to
meet the wants of the growers, will it
build or convert cars for that purpose?
Fifth-If So how soon will the COM
pany, undertake TO furnish the cars re-
quired2
Sixth-What is the Southern Pacific
willing to do in the direction of inaugu-
rating an expedited ventilator train ser
vice through Ogden or more easterly
points?
-Seventh-Win the company haul and
give the same service and time to ventil-
ator cars that has been given to refrig-
orator cars?
In his reply, which Mr. Stephens
made public at the same time, Freight
Traffic Manager Sproule calls the at
tention of Mr.. Stephens to the fact
that his company could not be charged
with the introduction of the refrig-
orator plan of transportation, except
in so far as it had yielded to the rep
reservations of the shippers and grow
erS, accepting as a matter of course
their verdict in favor of the refriger-
ator system. The letter then reminds
the orchardists that
For several years the fruit moved in
ventilated fruit cars built by the carriers
especially for the traffic and furnished
without expense to those who desired TO
load them. Shippers were not satisfied
with the ventilated car, whether run on
regular freight trains or on special fast
trains, and insisted that only under re-
frtgeration could CALIFORNIA; fruit be sue
cessfully placed in Eastern markets Still
there were some who in convention and
in person expressed themselves as certain
that the transportation in ventilated cars
could be made successful and in express
compliance with these representations this
company added to its ventilator equip
ment 700 double-walled, paper-lined ven
tilated cars, which embodied all the val
liable points in construction and ventilat-
ing appliances developed by experience.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES