The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1904-10-20
CONTROLS FRUIT TRADE
Fruit Men Declare That Armour's
Grasp of the business Is
Almost Complete.

Almost Complete.
Chicago, Oct. 17.-Business methodl
OF the Armour car lines were given q
tscathing arraignment by witnesses be-
fore the interstate commerce commits
sion yesterday, who declared that
aside from exorbitant rates charged Tor
fruit transportation, excessive addi-
tions were made for icing cars, and
hat the line has practically demorai~
lied the fruit trade in the east.
Commission men told the commission
ers that they We're subjected to a dis
cipline in accounts which would pun
anyone out of business, and that agents
of the had gone even so far
as to tell commission merchants that
they would nave to get out of business
or pay the excessive bills rendered.
Besides aid one, their cars on
the Pere Marquette system, at least,
are now more fit for carrying rags ana
bones thar fruit
Armour Said to Be Supreme.
Another said that since the Armour
has had exclusive contracts
with the Pere Marquette for cars the
rates have been increased 4l6 - per
cent. Armour regulates the Michigan
fruit business to suit himself, without
regard to commercial or market con-
ditions. The shippers there are abso-
lutelS IN MS power, ana .tliSy SitiS1
pay the unreasonable prices demanded
by Armour or let their fruit rot"
1t was said further that the Armour
in the east frequently SOLD
| out commission men by running a car
of fruit in ahead of a car consigned 70
a merchant, thereby selling the market
from under him.
Oppression was the cry OF all the
commission men, and they claimed that
they were regularly charged excessive
rates, and then, in case they refused 10
pay them, We're refused service on con-
slgnments and consequently put out OF
| business.
; George f. Need, vice president Of the
National Association Of Commission
Men of Boston, t~estifies as to methods
in business.
Says Business is DemoraIized.
armour & Co. have practically de-
1noralized the fruit business in the
east he said. mot only do they charge
iexorbitant prices for icing cars con-
tanning deciduous fruits, but have IN
dermined the market as well. For in
stance they know through private
sources that q car OF fruit is to be.
shipped to Hartford on a certain day.,
and having, say, W cars at spring
field, they run one of them down to
h Hartford and when the car of the local
commission man arrives the market IS
closed to his consignment.
"Their methods of handling and
rendering bills are often fearful, ana
we ave no way of telling whether
they are correct or not. The service IS
bad, and I hav not heard of an I'M
proVement of their equipment FOR ten
years"
e. G. Davies, a local commission man..
Their testified. Il received letters from
former customers south of Cairo said
he, "in which they said they could ship
- $50 ,.a nrp J,1aa i,aro JISnE A rr,1H1lr9
& Co. had notified them that they
would receive no more c~onsignments
unless I paid all charges in advance.
Later an agent. of Armour called on
me, asked me out of my private oftlce
and delivered practically IN oral re-
quest for me to go out of business. [
replied that I would not be coerced and
would mandamus the railroads to COM
pei them to receive shipments for me.
One reason Armour took the stand
against me was because | had refused
to pay certain unreasonable icing
charges, which q court mao refused 70
affirm.
Complains of Icing Charges.
"From Milan, Tenn, to Chicago is
) $50 miles, and the Armour icing charge
is $45, while the icing charge by the
i Santa Fe from Kansas City, the same
distance, is $40. I would like to relate a
special instance of where SOS was
charged for icing a car from Jonesboro
! Ill. $50 miles, and the shipment was a
!, day and a half late. Armour & co
= charge $35 for icing from Illinois points
;. while cars can be iced from MISSISSIPPI
v points for SCI. 80"
General Manager Leeds of the Santt
Fe refrigerator line, who admitted tina
he was paying SIS rebates, announces
t. to the commission that he proposed =
T. continue doing SO, as the private ca
n not being a common carrier
d was not within the jurisdiction OF tn
g interstate commission.
a A.. L.. Somers, a South Water stree
commission man, told the commission
to ers of exorbitant rates charged him X
rs car-icing told of bills rendere
err which were not properly itemized ar
ID, which he had refused to pay.
Retort Made by Company.
!. Attorney Urion appeared for the cor
-, pany with accounts of sales II quot
-. a bin for $23 drayage on a certa
car of fruit.
81 w have nothing to do with thai
a. shouted the commission a "Ihc
~ ~ rates are fixed by the teamsters' uni
~ and we have no control over them.
a. YOU expect co justify your outlandi
.e-1 charges by such an item as that? l
~ had demolished that a OF thrown
into the Chicago river 1t would ha
ast no bearing on your charge.
90 Other witnesses called were: n.
Ellis. j. S. Iced, II. e. FELTON, n Q
~ ers. After the last witness was hea
=, the commission adjourned and
~, nounced the investigation at TINS Pc
tha suspended.