Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-24
GROWERS APPEAL
FOR PRYING Off
OF RATE CLUTCH
Commerce Commission
Listens to Charges of
r. r. Persecution
STATE is THROTTLED
Citrus Fruit RaiSers Are
AmazeS by Story of
Stolen Profits

CN rATISTICS submitted late yester
~ day afternoon to Interstate Com
~ merce Commissioners Franklin K
Lane and Charles A Prouty, sitting
in the first day of the hearing on thu
complaints of the Southern California
Fruit Growers exchanges against th'
Increased citrus fruit rates established
by the Southern Pacific, Santa Fe anC
connecting railroads, contained a sur
prising revelation of the manner II
which the railroads have throttlec
California's principal industry anc
robbed the citrus fruit growers OF
their profits.
SO astounding were the facts and
figures presented at the hearing yes
terday that wh(n the final witness OF
the days. Il. hampton, representing
the Corona frVt growers and snip
pers-presenteC his tabulation of data
relative to present and past conditions
of the Southern California citrus In
dustry Commissioner Prouty ex-
claimed, in substance:
at would apear from the statements
and figures which you have so far
given to us that the citrus fruit grow
ers are raising and marketing their
lemons at loss and supporting them
selves by other industries"
Mr. Hampton, who succeeded B. A.
Woodford general manager of the Cal
ifornia Fruit Growers exchange, which
controls about 60 per cent of the
states output, and who has charge
of the shipping of the association
products from Corona. gave some of
the most important testimony of the
day.
He stated. at the opening of his tes-
t.mony, that the average cost In
Southern California of citrus fruit land
per acre has averaged In the last
three years from $500 to $1,000 Ferti-
liZers he said. are shipped in from
South America and Europe. and the
cost of fertilization and maintenance,
including irrigation. spraying, pruning.
etc, has for three years averaged $l62
an acre. The average yield per acre
during the last three years has been
but ninety-seven boxes. The average
price per box, received in general east
crn markets the last three years, has
been about 81.
Profits Cut Down
Tn brief, the grower has sold his
product during the last three years
at an average of 1894 per acre, while
It has cost him 1852 an acre to grow
this product. exclusive Of picking,
packing. preceding, pre-icing, ship
ping, marketing, etc.
The testimony of Mr.. Woodford. a
few minutes before. indicated that the
average price received per box for
oranges last year, when the crop was
abnormally large, was but $1.52 f. o. b..
California. or 20 cents less than the
preceding year. He testified from eX-
pert knowledge gained during many
years of executive work I'm California
citrus fruit industries that 1t costs Z
cents a box to sell the fruit, cents
a box to pick It and 30 cents box to
pack it. leaving the grower but S.O1
- Co..
revelation. considered with the testi-
mony submitted to prove the unfair
ness of rates on lemons, caused the
railroad attorneys to appear as much
disconnected as at the subsequent dis
closure relative TO lemons.
The hearing convened at 10 o'clock
Yesterday morning in department one
of the supreme court. fifth floor of
the Bullard building, 1856 North Spring
street Commissioners Lane and Prouty
presiding. The railroads are repre-
sented by some of their ablest legal
talent, including c. w. Durbrow of
san Francisco for the Southern Pa
ciflc. T. j. Norton of Chicago and E.
w. Camp Of Los Angeles for the Santa |
Fe, and w. r. Kelley and A. S. Hal |
stead of Los Angeles for the Salt Lake. |
These attorneys also represent practi- |
cally all of the leading railroads of
the United States, which are defend |
ants i'm the fruit growers complaints.
The California fruit growers are rep
resented by A. f. and Joseph II. Call |
of Los Angeles and by F. r. Mathews |
of the firm of Mayer. Meyer, Austrian
and Platt of Chicago
Arraigns Railroads
In his opening statement. A. f. Call
drew attention to the four divisions of
the complaint, and said the citrus fruit |
growers would attempt to prove, first.
that the increase OF Is cents a hundred
pounds in the lemon freight rate, which
has been enjoined by the courts pend
ing a decision, has worked a hardship
on the citrus fruit growers, and will
result in inestimable damage to the
industry He stated that the lemon
acreage in California has been con-
siderably increased because there was
an understanding with the railroads
that the old rate of 81 was to remain
unchanged.
Second, Mr.. Call stated that the
growers would attempt to prove the
arbitrary additional charge of $50 a
car, when the shipper pre-cools and pre-
ices his own fruit is made without
the railroad company performing the
service In return, and should
therefore be discontinued.
Third, the growers would attempt to
prove that the orange rate is too high,
in view of the railroad service, to per-
nit the growers to broaden the market,
with Florida or other orange
countries; or. hence, to in
crease the consumption of that product,
as could be done under more reason
able freight rate.
Fourth they would try to show that
the charges of refrigeration are excess
sive and unjust, and that the shippers
can ice their own cars, If permitted to ,
do so, for $25 a car less than is charged
by the railroads.
'In other words" said Mr.. Call, 1--WE |
will prove to your honorable commits ,
sioners that the rairoads realize this;
that they have raised the rate on
lemons to prevent us from doing our {
own refrigeration, to compel us to !
patronize their preceding plant and /
icing stations, and as a death blow at
The preceding plants erected by the t
fruit growers of Redlands and Po- |
mona" t
Formerly the rate on lemons, he said, I
was $1.25 hundred pounds from Cali :
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