Omaha daily bee., 1907-09-08
FRUIT JOBBERS WAR
Western Association Charges Rail.
roads with Gross Discrimination.
WILL FILE FORMAL COMPLAINT
Decides to Appeal to the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
ACTION COVERS WHOLE COUNTRY
Calculated to Tear to Shreds Entire
Rate Fabric.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETS
President Jones Says Railroads Force
Defense by Imposing IntoIerabIe
Injustices on Members OF
Association.
Decides to Appeal to the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
CT1oN COVERS WHOLE COUNTRY
Calculated to Tear to Shreds Entire
Rate Fabric.
xECUTIvE COMMITTEE MEETS

Alleging gross discrimination In freight
rates against fruit and vegetable growers
and dealers. the Western Fruit Jobbers'
association will bring formal complaint
against the railroads before the Interstate
Commerce commission. insuring an investi-
cation far wider in its scope than any
yet undertaken by the commission.
The cNecutice committee Of the associa-
tion met yesterday at the office OF Secre-
tary f. B. Branch and laid plans for ac-
tion. There were present President II. NJ
Jones of Sioux City. r. A. Gamble Of Min
neapolis. ]. w. Howard of Denver. T. d.
Turner of Oklahoma city members OF the
committee also Secretary Branch OF
Omaha and John Lang OF Sioux City, chair
man of the board of directors. They rep
resent several hundred fruit jobbers from
Chicago to the Pacific coast, comprising
the largest and most influential organiza-
tion Of its kind in the country.
All Rates Are Involved.
All rates on vegetables and fruit from
Maine to Oregon and from Canada to Mex
leo are involved The work of the COM
mission on grain rates or on coal rates is
but a drop in the bucket to the work that
will be asked of it in the fruit investiga-
tion.
II the contentious of the association are
sustained the entire rate fabric of the
United States will be torn TO shreds
Novelty is presented i'm the complaint of
the jobbers. Instead of raising the COM
mon clamor that discriminatory rates are
made in favor of certain fruit markets they
say the railroads discriminate against the
entire fruit and vegetable trade In favor of
other lines of business. In other words,
rates are reduced from time to time on
meat, grain, creamery products and other
difference with oXorhitant tribute
Railroads Are Evening Up.
Great corporations like the Beef trust
have forced rates down on their products
and the railroads have to even UP their
revenues by putting the screws on the
unorganized sources of business" says
President Jones. They charge $50 for
icing car Of fruit or vegetables from
Los Angeles to Chicago and only SIS for
the same service on car of meat much
more valuable product from Chicago to
Los Angeles. One is moved as quickly as
the other, the preference. II any, being
given to the meat.
THE freight a car of melons from
Texas to Omaha far exceeds the amount
paid for the melons at the Texas markets.
"A shipment of Nebraska grapes from
Omaha to Chicago must pay 45 cents per
the South Omaha packing houses pays only
20 cents per 100 pounds.
'These are not exceptional instances.
The same conditions prevail all over the
United States and rates are higher every
where on fruits and vegetables than on
any other merchandise of like value.
Rank Cnse at Hand.
Here is another strange thing. A jobber
in Omaha is required to pay precisely as
much freight on oranges from California
as a jobber in Liverpool pays.
THE railroads have always been free to
impose on the growers and jobbers of fruit
because the latter have not been banded
together in organizations powerful enough
to resist them. They are becoming edu-
Gated now and realize the necessity OF
united action to protect themselves our
organization is composed of jobbers but we
will endeavor to enlist the active support
of every grower in the United States"
Secretary Branch says it will require sew
eral months to prepare the case for tho
complaint and several months more work
after the complaint is made.
The association now has one case before
the commission, but IT was brought up in
a different way. The association COM
planned to congress that the express COM
panies were buying and selling fruit and
produce; congress ordered an investigation
by the commission.
1t is expected that a hearing on the ex-
press matter will be held in Omaha in
October The hearing on the new grtev-
ance of the fruit men probably Will not be
had until late in the winter.