The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-09

here today. 1t is claimed tldt the
congestion on the Washington South
ern Railway, between Washington
and Quantico, has caused the delay
of the Armour cars. The people here
are almost frantic, for all depends ON
getting their crops to the market at
the proper time. Merchants. bankers.
truckers and buying agents look blue,
their faces could not be longer If they
were attending the funerals of their
best friends.
100000 Loss So Far.
The indications are now that the
loss in this immediate vicinity Will
not fall short of 100000. 1t was re-
ported this morning that an embargo
had been declared south of Richmond.
This, of course, means that the res
frigerator cars cannot get here. Moth
ing less than the wholesale loss of
life could be more unfortunate than
what | have seen here today The
fortunes of hundreds of men and wo-
men are tied up in the strawberry
crop that is now rotting before their
very eyes Not matter where the re-
sponsibiity lies, the fact remains the
same The Atlantic Coast Line Rail-
way is trying to relieve the situation
and the Armour car concern may be
doing the same, but the congestion is
playing havoc with the earnings of
the Woodworking tillers of the soil. As
/ sit here in the hotel and look out
across the railroad track, | see pile
upon pile of crates filled with baskets
of most delicious Strawberries with
juice trickling from their sides and
smoke steaming from their tops. The
fruit is fermenting, decaying and
wasting in the sun for the lack Of re-
frigerator cars. On every road that
leads to the country stand wagons,
loaded with berries ready for ship
ment and far out in every field
swarms of men, women and children
are STOPPING and crawling and pick
ing the berries from the plant. This.
is the sight that greets the eye of
the spectator.
Season Began Well.
The berry season began here on
the 22nd of April The market open
cd very well and buyers took the
crates eagerly at "a apiece. The sell
ing continued six days before the car
panic developed on Monday. and since
that time everything has been de-
moralized. The demands this week
were enormous and if the cars could
have been had 10 a day would have
been left here. The growers have
kept picking and rendering to the
Coast Line Company, but not more
than 80 cars day have been shipped.
The total number of cars sent away
reached 75O Commission men have
come here with 100000 in hand to
buy for the markets, but they have
loafed about the streets waiting for
refrigerator cars.
100000 Hands At Work.
! Ten thousand hands have been inn
ported here to pick the berries, and
they are at work receiving on an av-
erage 81 per day. Crates to the
number of 100000 are already in the
hands of the growers. The panic de-
veloped and the demand ceased and
the actual loss of berries will be about
1,1S0 cars or 100000 crates, which
would have brought $237000. The
break came and a dire calamity has
followed. The Bank of Chadbourn
took in 100000 last year during the
first 70 days of it's existence, which
included the berry season, but this
year the farmers have not yet re-
ceived enough money to pay off one
half of their Indebtedness on the CROP
now being harvested,
Like Mining Town.
The little village of Chadbourn pre-
sents the appearance of a. new min
ing town with all SOftS ana cOnultloHS
of men. Well-dressed commission
men from the North are here and
they fill the hotels and boarding
houses. Their pockets are full of
money that they would like to invest
in berries if they had way to send
them to market. Legions of negroes
have thronged here to pick and handle
the crop, but the general depression
among growers, buyers and mer-
chants has dulled their zeal. Every
train carries away dozens of buying
agents and droves of pickers. The
decaying berries smell to heaven and
the railroad company, keeps hauling
them away to prevent sickness.
Everywhere one goes he finds straw
berries. They are in the street, on
the sidewalks, in the field corners
and everywhere else Old men who
have been going about the country
buying berries for many years claim
that they never before saw the like
of the waste here. it is sad to think
that SO much valuable truck should
perish in this way, but there does
not seem to be any remedy for it now.
The express peopleDcannot handle the
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