The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-22
TRAFFIC IN FRUIT
Emerson's Report to the
Commission.
Conditions On Atlantic Coast Line Be.
fore Contract With Armours Lines
and The Situation as it is
Today.
(By WILLIAM WOLFF sMITH.)

(By WILLIAM WOLFF SMITH)
Washington, d. c., Oct 21.-An in
teresting document will be filed with
the Interstate Commerce Commission
by Mr.. H. M. Emerson, traffic man
ager of the Atlantic Coast Line Rail-
road. during the inquiry now in pro-
gress by the Interstate Commerce
Commission into the relations existing
between the private car lines and the
railroads over which they operate. In
his resume of the conditions prevail
ing on the Atlantic Coast Line Rail-
road prior to the making of the ex-
elusive contract between that railroad
and the Armour Car Lines, Mr.. Emer
will state that the shipment of
periShable goods, such as small fruits
and berries, vegetables, ETC., was be-
gun from Charleston. S. c., to New
York city, possibly as early as 1877.
These shipments consisted principally
of strawberries and were handled in
what were known as refrigerator
chests" furnished by the shippers.
"Some of these chests, says Mr..
Emerson, might properly have been
called refrigerator cars IS they were
mounted on wheels and pulled onto
fiat cars or in box cars: others were
much smaller and could be lifted or
moved on hand trucks. The ice box
was in the top and the chests were
iced before leaving Charleston and as
they passed Portsmouth, Va. the
movement being by steamers from
Portsmouth" At this time the freight
rates were determined by the size of
the refrigerator chests; later the rates
were made per hundrd pounds but
at all times the classification charges
covered only the transportation move
ment, the shippers making their own
@f,,srr ax.safs s<ra
this point Mr.. Emerson traced the
history of the refrigerator car on
Southern lines to show that from that
time to the present hereinafter OF re-
frigeration was always one with which
the shippers had to deal directly ana
never q business of the railroad it
self. About 1879 or 1880 Charleston.
S. c. shippers arranged to supply the
New York markets by securing some
six or eight cars from the Seaboard
Air Line and fitted these cars with
the necessary ice boxes at their own
expense The icing of these cars at
Charleston and the re-icing at VIII
mington, North Carolina, was done
under the direction and at the ex-
pense of the shippers, and at Ports
mouth the shipments were transferred
to refrigerators on the Old Dominion
steamers, supplied with ice at the ship
pers' expense. Nothing was collected
by the transportation lines for re-
frigeration. About 1889 or 1890 they
commenced growing Strawberries on
what was then known as the vii
mington and Weldon Railroad" the
berry section being limited to a few
sections between Goldsboro and Will
mington y. c. The California Fruit
TRANSPORTATION Company undertook 10
furnish refrigerator Gays and refriger-
alton for this traffic. The Shippers
paid the cost of the refrigeration and
the railroad participated in the agree
ment only far enough to collect the
refrigeration charges as an accommo-
dation to the shippers and the refrlg-
orator car company. Mr.. Emerson
filed a table showing that prior to
1894 the refrigeration charges were
sixty-four cents per crate. Ihls was
reduced by 1898 and 1899 to as low
as thirty-three cents per crate to
points south of New York city and
including New York city. In 1899 the
East Carolina Truck and Fruit Grow
ers' Association which includes about
ninety per cent of the fruit growers
in that section found the service was
unsatisfactory and asked for blds
from various car lines for this service.
Under these bids the Armour Car
Lines-Fruit Growers Express-sub-
mitted the lowest bid and as re-
suit the North Carolina Truck and
Fruit Growers Association requested
the Atlantic Coast Line to make
contract with the Armour Car Lines
which was done, and which is now III
force. Under this contract the cost
of refrigeration was reduced from
thirty-three cents to tWenty-one ana
half cents.
I'VE have at all times published
rates on strawberries and other highly
perishable freight when transporter
in ventilated cars, says Mr.. Emerson,
''said cars being owned and controlled
by our company. built and equipped
for the transportation of such freight.
We have never furnished refrigeration,
but the fruit. berry and vegetables
tariffs published by this company con-
tain the following notice: These rates
do not include cost of refrigeration.
If shipped in refrigerator cars, cars to
be furnished by shippers; ice to be
furnished by owners of cars and the
railroad companies to be in no wise
liable for any damage arising from de-
fectiye or insufficient icing of cars. .
Mr.. Emerson also filed a statement
showing that since 1897 the movement
of cars over his road had grown from
fo,1r hundred and twenty-five to one
tbousand nine hundred and seventy
fve cars in 1908. In 1905 crates We're
moved as follows: by express 66,O3e
crates: by ventilated cars 10
rates. nv refrigerator cars. 45S,121
crates showing that Notwithstanding
tho vo,y much greater cost of refrig-
Grafton more than five times as many
crates were shipped In refrigerator
cars as by express or in ventilated
cars.
Mr.. Emerson concludes: In hand
ling the berry crop it has been colslo-
cred essential to pack large num-
Der of cars at least week OF NOR
before the actual movement peeil9
AS IL vyo,,ld =, x.,nractipa bile to move