Evening journal., 1905-08-11

IS EXPENSIVE
Gold Storage Car Lines
Often Meet With Many
Difficulties
SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES
IL Wnllam woIn $50.

Washington. ID. c., Aug. l0-Every
now and then a commission merchant
with a statistical turn Of mind takes
pencil and does some figuring on the
cost Of getting a car Of peaches. canta-
.ioupes or oranges from the grower TO
the market. BE estimates 81 takes 50
many tons of Ice 20 properly reirigcr-
ate the cars; ice costs so much per ton
at the icing points delivered Ga tn.
bunlzers Of the carr 80 many tons ai
so much per ton amount TO certain
sum per car He compares this amount
with the charges made for refrigeration
and IS 1stounded to find that the latter
IS. perhaps. almost double the cost of
the service as he has calculated it,.
An ag0nizcd shrek against the eXac-
tiOns of the Refrigerator car companies
IS the natural sequence.
some interest therefore may be eX-
cited by Information recently received
from INSIDE Sources" rs to the opar-
ations OF the refrigerator ear lines OF
the country during the present season,
which tend to cast some light on the
situation as viewed by the car come
pany. There IS but one great come
lpany. as everybody who reads the
magazines knows. which makes "a
speciality Of this business and that is
1.-THE Armour Refrigerator Cur Lines,
with some six thousand refrigVrator
lcars designed for ana exclusively en-
gagged I'm the transportation of huh.
1t has plenty Of competition. but be-
ing the largest OF au It may be property
termed an octopus and il its teniacles
should be injured who would care2
Z IIHf al d. H.. d HHHH j. nj.
ITO note few of the difficulties il has
encountered this season.
Some years ago the Armour lines, in
common with everyone else, anticipate
a large crop of Georgia peaehes Ice
was stored in great quantities in houses
conveniently located 90 be used in re-
frigeratins the fruit in transit The
lcrOp failed ana the ice mc,ted under the
summer sun. The car Line pockctod the
lloss and rohlled the houses. Another
lseason, probably The next. several of
1.-THE ice-houses burned. II was "a critical
ltime for the s~ae1,n Nls adv7rced ana
i've must be hsc at any cost or the
fruit being sSinpsd would be ruin d
/ and under Ia contracts with the ral-
irolds. the c1r-uany would be resp1n-
aihie FOR all DANA gcs. At such time
desperate measures were res7rted 90
land ten trains fun loaded with ice were
brushed at express speed from the laI
TO tho ell-f and what ice did not meli
3n transit preserved the fruit ON ts
ino,thwald journey. Tho fruit was
Saved. the changes We're the s1me as
ever. and the car company charged ua
the additional expense to profit and
loss.
Flouida is now raising early lettuce
and it is 10 the interest Of The reiris-
orator car company To cooperate WIN
the grower on the rrinc.ple that better
rates and facilities means the radsins
Of more lettuce and more shpnC PCS
/ for the cars BY this corporation a
/ pretty little business has been buat ur
IN certain sections TO the mutual pronl
Of rhe company and the s N
While Congrcss had the matter oi rali-
road rate lcgislat.on before it lst sas-
lrlon they were sAippius tweaty-tNe
Tears Of Florid. lettuce rcr diem. ona
might the Florida thermcmctrs drop
ped below freezing and the next day
the shipments ceased. lrtl they Weif
lresumed some three weeks later, tnS
refrigerator cars rested qrio-ly I'D raii-
ilcad yards. earning nothing. twenty
five carloads Of shipments per dag
means at least two hundred cars m
lmcsion. 50 the loss was not small.
In the spring the strawberry growers
of North Cafc,ina, according to the re-
ports. were "rr'rad' because tle ear
company did not supply sufficient cars
for the crop AS a matter Of fast th'
company had the cars but the rairo71i
were consssted with freleht and the9
/ ould not be moved sumcioly fast
/ ttundre1s of cars Of berries were
-hrc7n away and a tremendous loss
was incurred. Under its contrasts WIZ