Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-23
FRUIT GROWERS
TO INVESTIGATE
FREIGHT RATES
COMMERCE COMMISSION TO
HEAR CHARGES
ALLEGE RAILROAD CONSPIRACY
TO KILL COMPETITION
Citrus Industry of California is vitality
Concerned in Case Coming
Up Before Government
lnquisiton

A conspiracy of the railroads to de-
troy competition and fix arbitrary and
unjust rates which seriously injure the
citrus fruit industry of California ana
deprive the fruit growers Of their just
profits, is one of the most important
of the charges which Will be lnNestl-
gated at the hearing before the inter
state commerce commission, Charles
A. Prouty presiding, to begin at 10
o'clock this morning in the supreme
court room at the Bullard block
The commission is asked by the fruit
growers and shippers, represented in
their fight by Joseph II. call attorney.
not only to decide what are just ana
reasonable rates for certain citrus fruit
shipments and icing, but also to issue
an order requiring and commanding
said defendants and each of them To
cease and desist from said violations OF
the act of congress entitled An act 10
regulate commerce. approved February
d. 1887, and the acts amendatory there
of and supplementary thereto
The action before the commerce
commission of course will have nothing
to do with criminal procedure. Prac-
tically every railroad in the United
States is a defendant in the action. 1t
is notorious that the railroads make
rates through their various assocla-
tions and bureaus and defend this
practice, insisting that it is not arbl-
trary, but that rates are decided only
in accordance with varying conditions.
The complaint of the fruit growers
and shippers cites that the increase
of freight rates for lemons was due
to concerted action and further as
serts:
All of said rates and said increased
rates have been put into effect and
maintained by concert among all OF
the said defendants; that, as your
complainants are informed and believe,
and therefore say, the said defendants
have cOnspired to destroy and termi-
nate all competition among them re
specting the transportation of lemons.
oranges, grapefruit, lines, mandarins
tangerines and citrOns. whether in
straight or mixed carloads, and re
specting the charges for refrigeration
and icing of such citrus fruits and
also to restrain trade and commerce
between certain states and to monop-
Olize such interstate commerce., and
also so to increase the tariff rates for
Transporting lemons and to maintain
the existing charges for the transpor-
tation of other citrus fruits and the
charges for refrigerating and icing the
same, and to so discriminte against
your complainants and the business
conducted by them as to make it un-
profitable for them to further continue
their said business; that said defend
ants caused a meeting of their traffic
managers to be held fer the purpose
of having all the defendants here to
come to a common understanding and
agreement to terminate all competition
between them, and to, as aforesaid, in
crease the tariff on lemons and TO SO
as aforesaid exact refrigeration and
icing charges on citrus fruits where
the same are pre-iced or preceded and
pre-iced by the shipper: that thercup-
on all of the defendants hereto agreed
in October, 1909, to cease all cOmpe-
tition between them on and after No
Vember 10, 1909, and December 6, 1909,
respectively, so far as pertains TO the
transportation of lemons, and for the
purposes aforesaid to uniformly adopt
and put in force from and after said
respective dates the excessive rates for
the transportation of lemons herein
referred to and complained Of"
There is in the body of the com
plant a long list of similar complaints.
for every citrus fruit exchange and
association in Southern california is