The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-03-21
LESS FOR EXPRESS
SUeSTANTlAN REDUCTION CON.
cEDED IN RATE ON FRUITS
AND VEGETABLES.
Result is elimination Of Long Fight
Waged by PuyalIup and Sumner
Fruit Growers Association - Over
Four Hundred Stations on Hill Roads
Are Affeeted-Same Rates Either
Way.

Are Affected-same Rates Either
Way.
Olympia, March 14.-Reductions of
from Is to Al per cent between local
points in the state of Washington on
fruits and vegetables were conceded
Thursday by officials of the Northern
Express Company at the hearing be-
fore the railroad commission. APP
Piled to the Puyallup valley fruit ship
ments it is practically equivalent to a
restoration of the rat, in effect prior
to the time the company raised rates
without warning by increasing the
weight per case on berries from twen-
ty-five to thirty pounds.
Sumner-SeattIe Rate Held Up.
A determination is yet to be reached
relative to demand made by w. H.
Paulhamus for a rate of 20 cents a
crate from Puyallup and Sumner to
Seattle is no delivery is made or Is
cents If delivered. The rate has been
80 and 35 cents. Officials of the COM
pany here declared that the concession
OF such rate was beyond their juris-
| dictiOn and would have to be taken
up with President Hannaford and the
directors, although it's justice in line
with other reductions was practically
conceded. 1t is expected a rate sub
stantially the same as that will be Sc
cured.
Four hundred and twenty stations
on the line of the Hill roads will be
affected and it is expected that other
express companies will be forced to
make similar concessions. The new
tariff sheets making the change will
be published May 10.
The hearing was attended by high
| officials of the express company, in
Guiding M. E. Hill, superintendent at
Portland; Edward Bennett, secretary
to President j. M. Hannaford and act
ing practically as his traffic manager,
and c. B. Cooper, general superinten-
dent at st. Paul.
Rate Same Either Way.
| One of the most important features
Of the proposed new schedule is the
distance tariff scheme and the equal
ization of the rates both ways between
stations. Under existing rates, some
of which have never Been changed
since the railroads were opened
through, big stretches of fifty or hun
dred miles of more are given the same
| 70 ~ CHI ,%c
eastward are at different charges to
stations within those limits, usually at
from two to three times the rate the
other way. The old rates all read
from zone point" to another. The new
schedules will read between" giving
the same rate both ways.
One striking instance of the Unequal
ity of the charges is shown by the
rates between the sound and Ellens-
burg and Kennewick. When the road
was opened the whole section from
Kennewick to Ellensburg was given
the rate of IS cents per hundred to
Seattle or Tacoma on fruits and vege-
tables, which rate has never been
changed.
New Schedule of Rates.
| The distance between Kennewick
and Ellensburg is 125 miles. This
lays the rate open to the objection
that if IS cents is fair rate from Ken
newick, it is much too high from FL
lensburg to the sound. On the other
hand, the rate from the sound to FL
lensburg is $1.05 and to Kennewick
$2.75. It is now proposed to give 81
rate between the sound and Kenne-
wick both ways, and also the present
IS cent rate to Spokane, which has be-
come the market for that section of
the country.
The new rate schedule fixes 80 cents
as the minimum charge for distances
up to twenty miles. For every addi-
tional ten miles up to 100 miles cents
is to be added to the rate, and for dis
lance beyond 100 miles cents for
every twenty miles additional. The
present minimum rate is 30 cents.
| The new rate to Ellensburg, 127
miles, would be Is cents, as against
$1.O5; to North Yakima, 165 miles, IS
/ C0uLS, W WdlId w dAcS, O6H AAAAAOo, pAs1Op
and to Spokane, 400 miles, $1.40.
| Result Of Long Eighty
| The wholesale reduction of rates
Twill be of great benefit to the fruit
growers and truck farmers Of the state,
and comes as the elimination of long
drawn fight waged by the Puyallup and
Sumner Fruit Growers Association,
headed by Senator Paulhamus, presi-
dent and manager Of the association.
The fruit growing industry Of the state
practically had its genesis in the Puy-
allup valley and, as 1t grew from year
to year, occasional concessions were
obtained in the way OF express rates.
Complaints against the railroads for
the improper handling of fruit resulted
i is a suit instituted by Senator Paul