The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-29
Unjust RATE TO
UTAH is CLAIMED

Unjust discrimination in freight rates
"l bananas that worked TO the INJURY on
~ fruit dealers and commission men or
e intcrmountain country and salt Lake
~ particularly, is declared 10 exist oN
..cal wholesale dealers. That at least
&C other city than Salt Lake City has u
o,nplaint is evident from the following,
Which was published under Los Ange-
les dateline, In a recent Issue OF Ihe
pscker," a trade journal;
Los Angeles banana jonbeTs are COM
planning OF eXtort!onate and discrimina-
tory charges by the several railroad COM
psnies and say u is practically Impossible
10 handle bananas al profit. Dealers OF
Los Angeles pay Tor The fun weight at
New Orleans and by the time these be-
nanes have ripcd in Los Angeles and are
ready to sell the original weight OF a
car. about 10000 pounds. has shrunk 10
5000 or 1900 pounds. Los Angeles Joo-
hers must pay SIPS n hundred pounds on
the fruit from New Orleans. The deal
ers say the injustice of this rate lies not
alone in its being high. but that IL is eN-
actly the same as the rate made to Fort
land. Or, about 1900 miles farther north
per pay the icing charges in summer
which amount 10 $50 10 $50 a car
One of the leading wholesale produce
dealers OF this city made the following
statement this morning:
"The wholesale men OF Los Angeles are
kicking on the ground that the rate TO
Portland from New orleans is the same
as il IS TO Los Angeles. or course TINS
ought TO be a reasonable ground on which
10 make a complsi Int but what about
Salt Lake City? The freight rate. $l.2o
per hundred on bananas, is the same 10
Salt Lake City as it Is 10 Los Angeles,
though the distance Is 100 miles shorter.
Worse than thRt' the rate OF sl.zo
hundred pounds on bananas which the
dealers OF Salt Lake City and Los AnSe-
les have TO pay is exactly the same rate
that the dealers in Portland. Or, Seattle,
Wash. Vancouver, 3. C, Butte. Mont.
and other cities 10 the extreme northwest
n
same, whether the destination be salt
Lake City or Portland, which is nearly
a thousand miles further from New Or
leans than is this city.
Water Competition Claimed,
II am not unmindful that tho railroad
people Will likely argue that Los Angeles.
Portland and Seattle, as well as San
Francisco, are coast cities and that they
have TO compete with the steamship bus
iness In this case. however, this argu-
'nent will hardly hold good. Practically
all OF the bananas which are handled by
the western and northern parts OF the
United States come through the New Or
leans port They arc shipped from that
port 10 the various cities Of the west,
northwest and the greater part OF the
southern states. The eastern states and
New England states receive their ba :
nanss from New York and one or two
other receiving points on the Atlantic
coast.
In our case there is no water competi-
tion. The bananas come by way OF New
Orleans. Why. then, should the people
OF Salt Lake City pay tho same freight
couver, 3. c.? Why should they pay the
same freight rate as do San francisco
and Los Angeles?
Big Shipping Point.
salt Lake City is the logical and big
gest shipping point Of a district covering
800 miles in every direction from this
city. II is the center OF the great inter
mountain country. It should and can b'
;he greatest city between the Missouri
river and the Pacific ocean. but it vii
never be what II should with such unjust
discrimination on the part Of the railroad
people.
these things and put Salt Lake CITY
where st should be In the matter o
freight rates Is hard question 10 an
sver. We made start on the matte
several months ago, but Il appears Il
have amounted to but little in securing
a reduction in freight rates,
II don't know what can be done. but
FOR one, feel that this city is not get
ting a square deal on the matter o
freight rates"
Another Wholesale dealer IN fruits de
cared that Denver merchants could shil
oranges and bananas 10 points in Wyo
ming and then 10 Denver and save none.
freight rate on A cal rload Of lemons from
southern California to Salt Lake City /
81 a hundred and that the rate for
carload OF lemons from Los Angeles L
New York City is exactly the same a
1t is TO this city despite dffcrenc
OF more Than 1000 miles In the haul
Oranges Are the Same.
This dealer also said that the freigh
rate on oranges from LOS Angeles to Sal
Lake City liz s1.15 hundred pounds; tina
tIe same rate applies to Missouri rive
points. and that the rate on oranges fror
southern California TO New York City
but 10 cents higher, or s1.25 a. hundred
than is the rate to this city,
III there is any reason why Snlt LAX
City should thus be Disseminated againa
/ would Ike 10 know it," said this mcr
chant.
Wholesale dealers in fruits declare tha
bananas have not been as scarce i
years as they arc at present The re