Arizona republican., 1905-05-29
PRIVATE GAR LINES
Witnesses Before Inter- state Commerce Committee
The Shippers Themselves Admit That They Have Little Fault to Find With the Present Arrangement.

George c. Mead, president of the Ma
 tional League of Commission Mer-
 chants, is one of the witnesses before
 the senate committe on interstate com
 merce. Several of his statements were
 challenged by the members of the | committee and by later witnesses. MT. | Mead complained that the commission merchants were damaged by the oper- | ations of the private car lines. At | first, he stated that the alleged ex- cessive rates for icing were paid by | the consumer, namely, the party pur- chasing and eating the fruits and ber- | ries; later he testified that the grow 1 CTS were the parties principally in jured as they paid the alleged excess 1 i've charges; however, when asked to explain the interests of the commission merchants in the proposition, he said ! they had to sustain the loss. Later Charles M. Brown. of Redlands, Cali fornia, manager of the Redlands Or ange association, probably the largest shipper of fruit from California, stat ed that he did not see where the com mission merchants whom Mr. Mead claimed to represent have anything to do with the matter of refrigeration ] charges. as the shippers paid them, and so long as the shippers were sat isfied he could not see where it was any business of the commission ner- chants
 MT. Mead made the broad general charge that the private car lines were engaged in giving rebates and dis eliminating between shippers. He sup ported his testimony by a statement that a railroad man named Leeds. connected with the Santa Fe railroad, ha ha I-a road had paid rebates. You never received any rebates from the Armour car lines did you2" asked Senator CulIom. No. sir was the reply. Did you ever hear of anyone else getting rebates from them?" NO sir. never did"
 MT. Mead suggested the committee should call H. Streyckmans, former employe of Armour and company, who stole their telegra phic code book and sold it to a San Francisco newspaper. Senator Foraker wished to identify Streyckmans, and asked if he had not admitted stealing a code and other records and papers from his employ CTS. "This information" said he will enable us to know how much credence to give his testimony should he happen to testify Mir. Mead replied that Streyckmans had to admit the charge of stealing the records. He could nos get away from it." he said; the evil dence was too plain" He stated the commission merchants had no com plaint to make about the service given by the Armour car lines. Then the service is all right enough" said Sen atOr Cullom. "Oh, yes, sir" MT. Mead thought that the railroads should be compelled to furnish all the refrigera- tor cars and all the refrigerator ne- cessary when the same was demanded by the shipper. Senator EIkins asked if this rule should also apply to coal and iron, and added "my state doesn't produce any strawberries but it does produce coal and iron, and if the rail- roads are compelled to furnish refrig- orator cars for strawberries shall ob- ject unless they are also compelled to furnish cars for the transportation of coal and iron.
 J. H. Call, an attorney of Los An geles, California, representing the ci- trus fruit growers of that state spoke at considerable length. He thought the freight rate for the transportation of oranges and other California fruits was too high but admitted the inter state commerce commission had found after voluminous hearings that the re- frigeration rates were not unreasona- bIe.
 David A. Wilbart of Pittsburg, a member of the Pennsylvania state sen ate, testified that he was a fruit deal CT. and handled many cars of fruit yearly. He had no complaint to make either as to the service or the charges of the Armour car lines. He would pre- fer that the charges should be reduc- ed, but in view of the satisfactory ser vice he did not think they were un- reasonable. The shippers of fruit and the growers, he said, preferred the Ar mour cars at their rates to those of any other company, and consequently whenever they could, shipped in those cars. He had had several cases where he thought he was entitled to damage from the Armour lines because of in sufficient service; his claims had al- ways been settled promptly and sat isfactorily.
 At the conclusion of the hearing, MT. Brown testified that he had been in the California fruit business for 21 years. All that the fruit growers that he represented asked for was that con- gress should help them to obtain re- lief when it was decided by a compe- tent commission that the rates were excessive. He stated that they had eX- cellent service in the refrigeration of fruits from California. "I don't know why the jobbers complain,' he said, ''as we pay the freight. There is no question that the Armour lines pub fish their tariffs. I have them tackled up in my office. and consult them al- most every time I make shipment. The jobbers don't pay any freight and do not need the tariffs.
 ''I have no complaint to make what ever, as to the service given me by the private car lines. I located my packing house on the Southern Pacific railroad so I could get the advantage of the Armour refrigerator cars. AS soon as I can do so I will put up an other packing house on the same line and for the same reason" In reriy to questions from Senator CuIlom, MT.