The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-19
PAYING UP LOSSES
One Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Dollars.
Armours Have Admitted Claims to
This Amount and Settled For Part.
Other Claims to Be Adjusted
Later.
Especial to News and observer)

Especial to News and Observer
Wilmington, n. c., May 18.-Attor-
neys for both the Armour Refrigera
tor Car Line and the Truckers Asso
citation went up the Wilmington &
Weldon Railroad today to begin the
adjustment of losses in that section b.
reason of the shortage in cars during
the recent heavy shipments of straw
berries when thousands of crates were
dumped as SO much garbage. Claims
of over $150,000 for the loss of four
GAYS shipments in the Chadbourn sec
ton have already been admitted by
the Armour people and many of them
have been paid. While the loss in the
Wilmington S& Weldon section will not
be so heavy in the aggregate it is not
inconsiderable. Settlement for late
deliveries and fruit which spoiled on
the northern markets will be adjust
ed when all the admitted claims are
out of the way The damage in the
trucking belt of eastern Carolina may
reach a million dollars before all the
claims and suits are in. Thus far the
Armour people seem to appreciate that
at this particular time tey channot
stand gtoo much resort to court and
have been very liberal with the ship
pers.
Mr.. George f. Mead of Boston,
president OF the National League of
Commission Merchants of the Uni
ted States, was the principal Witness
yesterday before the Senate Inter
State Commerce committee, which is
investigating the railroad rate prob
lem. Mr.. Mead has devoted a large
amount of study to the business of
the private car lines-from the ship
per's and commission mans stand
point
Mr. Mead spoke at some length of
the failure OF Armour & Co. to have
sufficient cars in North Carolina for
the present strawberry season. He
read from a North Carolina paper to
show that $780, 900 worth of strawber
ries had been spoiled owing to the
lack of cars and had been dumped
into the river. He thought Armour &
Co. had had plenty of warning and
should have been able to get the cars
to the berry districts on time.
Mr.. Mead said the interests he rep
resented We're particularly aggrieved
by the Armour car line business, for
the reason that the exclusive con-
tract applied to their line of business
only. and that the commission men
were the people who suffered to pay
the enormous dividends of the private
car lines.
Mr.. Mead claimed that the exclusive
contracts between the railroads and
the Armour Car Line Company gave
the latter concern a practical monopo-
ly of the fruit and berry business in
certain localities, ana that enormously
excessive charges We're i'm conse-
quence demanded. The charges made
by the Armour company for private
ear service in localities where the
exclusive contracts existed were 200
and 800 per cent higher. he said, than
was the case before the exclusive con-
tracts went into effect. He gave sew
eral specific instances in support of
this assertion.
During the investigation Senator
Elkins, in sepalSing TO President RIB
bins, of the Armour Car Lines Com
pany, remarked: .tIt would appear
that you have al of the advantages
and none of the responsibilities of
common carriers