The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-05-19

Armour contracts, but made ship
ments over other lines. A shipment
, of peaches was made by us September
20, 1902, to NJ. N. Walker at Dubuque,
Iowa, over Illinois Central, and the
icing charge was $50"
He introduced bills showing that
three shipments had been made to the
same party during September, 1902,
over the Illinois Central and Santa Fe,
and that the icing charges had been
SIS, Sl5.75 and SIS, respectively. The
Armour charges, he said, were SS7. 50
for the same shipment.
TELLS OF COST OF ICE.
Joseph Horner of the Consumers
Ice Co., Grand Rapids, Mich, gave
some interesting testimony Thursday
10 establish the cost of ice in his ter
ritory. He furnishes the ice for the
Pere Marquette, and until recently
furnished ice for the Armour car line.
He said he furnished ice to the Armour
car line at - a ton for dairy ship
ments and charged $3.50 a ton for
! ice TO be used in fruit cars. He also
1 stated that he made a charge of = a
ton for delivering ice in wagons on
track TO be loaded into the cars, and
sometimes sent part of the ice over
trestle, when he got S1.65 ton in
lieu of the wagon rate.
y. ]. Brown, large seed dealer and
fruit grower of Grand Rapids, Mich,
was before the commission Thursday.
He testified that in 1902 he provided
his own icing for shipments of peaches
and that the average cost per car for
icing was not over 100, after paying
-. 50 for the ice. During that season,
he stated, he shipped 272 cars of fruit.
Since that year, he said, he had done
but little business in shipping fruit,
partly because the crops had not been
large enough. and partly because of
the excessive charges made by the
Armour car line.
MANAGER PATRIARCHE QUESTIONED.
After General Traffic Manager a.
Patriarche of the Pere Marquette rail
way had finished explaining to the
inter state commerce commission
Thursday afternoon how pleased fruit
shippers of Michigan generally were
with the service of his road in connec-
ton with the Armour refrigerator
cars, +. q. Davies, fruit shipper
from Grand Rapids, Mich, took him
in hand.
you say, Mr.. Patriarche, that you
have been travelling through the fruit
belt, and that the shippers say they
will be satisfied with 10 per cent re-
duction in the Armour icing charges
of last year," asked Davies.
Yes, sir; that is the impression I
got, replied the witness.
"Who told you that" continued
Davies.
WELL I only saw our agents in
that district, but that seemed to be
the impression they had, ;" replied Pa
triarche.
Isn't it fact that you had many
complaints about your service last
year? Didn't complain to you my
self, and isn't it a further fact that
the Pere Marquette has not had new
ventilator car for seven years, and
those which they have been in the
habit of furnishing fruit growers
wouldn't stand loading with more
than 5000 pounds? That's the reason
we had to ask for Armour cars, isn't |
it?' said Davies.
Mr.. Patriarche looked panied. but |
he had nothing more 20 say. His testi- |
mony concluded the hearing of the |
charges of the Michigan fruit ship
pers against the Armour lines and the
.~1, 4
railroads. Neither the Armours nor |
the railroads presented any witnesses |
TO refute the statements put in by the |
prosecution, and they will content |
themselves with fling briefs and argu-
ing the case orally before the COM
mission in Washington on June l.
Unless the fruit growers are repre-
scented at the Washington meeting, |
there is great danger that the good |
work done at Chicago will so for
naught, and some measures should be |
taken to see that this matter Of freight |
rates is settled satisfactorily to the |
growers and shippers.
1t is not a matter Of concern to them
alone, butall are interested. Unless this |
rate can be made low enough TO COM
pete with the towns on the Michigan |
Central railroad, Paw Paw and all the |
towns on the Pere Marquette system
will suffer greatly, and the trade that
will surely come during the shipping |
season will be diverted TO other points. |
This hearing has developed the fact |
that Paw Paw, as we'll as many other |
places, has paid eXorbitant prices for
icing cars and, in some instances, |
prices have been charged that practi-
cally prohibited shipments. The Ar
mour people are willing to reduce
charges from 10 TO 80 per cent from |
last years rates, but when the testi-
mony given is considered and a show
ing made that the raise is from 100 TO |
800 per cent, the proposition is farcica1.
Send representatives TO Washing
ton.
Warning.