The daily sentinel., 1913-12-09
REVOLUTION IN
HANDLING FRUIT
BY PARCELS POST
Grand Junction Will Become
Center Of Entire Mountain
Region.
NEW RATES HELP GROWERS

The marketing Of the Grand valley
fruit crop will be revolutionized by
the new parcels post rates which be-
come effective the first OF the year,
according to officers OF the various
associations, Postmaster Price and
fruit growers who have been careful
~ studying the situation.
President A. Z. johnson of the
Grand Junction association has al
ready been discussing with the di-
rectors plans for purchasing large
quantities of small wooden boxes for
next season. in order to be able to
ship twenty-pound packages to the
mountain trade, but the new order
for January l, increasing the limit
to fifty pounds makes this unneces-
sary.
The new postal rates will be
cheaper than either express or freight
in the towns within the second zone
which are off the railroads. Under
the new arrangement 1t Will be pos
Bible to send fruit in the Moffat
road territory, into the Uintah ter
ritory. Leadville points. and prob
ably hundred or more small towns
which can be reached only by stage
for fifty-four cents, whereas the ex-
press or freight rate is now about
dollar per box.
Ii will be even cheaper to ship to
railroad points by mail than by eX-
press. east of GlenwoCd Springs. The
express rate ebeyond Glenwood is
S1,25 per hundred, where as under
the new arrangement the mail rate
Will be sl.0S per hundred, or fifty
four cents per box. The minimum
express rate on apples now is sixty
five cents beyond Glenwood Springs.
The new rate will allow the ship
ment of fruit and all merchandise
within the three hundred mile zone,
at a lower rate thanlis now enjoyed
from the express companies said
Postmaster Price this morning II
look for a big increase in business in
this respect. not only in the handling
of fruit and vegetables, hut also in
broadening the trade territory for
Grand Junction merchants"
Over 1000 boxes of peaches were
shipped by mail from Palisade the
past season, and according to Presi-
dent Johnson the Grand Junction as
ISOLATION next year will handle a
considerable portion of its nearby
town busineas by parcels post. The
new rate will allow shipments into
all the western slope mining towns
at lower rate than is now enjoyed,
and efforts will be made to extend
the business into Utah within the
three hundred mile zone.
Under the new rate there will be
no difficulty in handling peaches,
which in their present manner of
boxing, are slightly over twenty
pounds in weight. The shipments
beyond the second zone will not be
affected to any great extent, as the
rates are still higher than the ex-
press charges, beyond the 300-mile
limit.
II is probable that when the ex-
press companies put their new rate
into effect in February, decided de-
creases will be shown in the charges
for handling fruit.
Postmaster Price is of the opin-
lon that the new rates will help ma
terially in building up Grand juno
ton as a jobbing center. Grand
Junction is more highly favored. he
said, than any other city in this
section, because 1t opens new ter
ritory which 1t was impossible to
reach because Of the high charges,
due to combination express and stage
charges. Many OF our merchants
and jobbers are taking advantage
now of the parcels post, and the bus
mess here Is growing by leaps and
bounds"
The new parcels post order makes
no change in the first and second
zone aside from increasing the
weight limit to fifty pounds. On 9TH
er zones 1t makes the limit twenty
pounds. The rate in the third zone
is reduced to six and two cents,
fourth zone to seven and four. fifth
zone eight and six cents. and sixth
zone to nine and eight cents.
t. K:11a1 bv