Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-11-22

DOOOOOCOOOOO0O OOOOCOOOOOOC
Startling revelations, showing why
Maryland has not gone forward as
far as is its right as a fruit-producing
state, were submitted yesterday
morning by President +. p. Cohill, of
the State horticultural Society, at
ia Maryland Week exhibition in
Baltimore
A northern fruit grower can send
barrel of apples from Suspension
Bridge, n Y. 10 New Orleans for
50 cents. A Maryland grower has to
pay rs cents per barrel. A barrel OF
apples shipped from Elmira, N. W
to Charleston, S c., costs in freight
81 cents. From Maryland points to
the same city barrel of apples
means an outlay for freight of Az
cents.
A. this ratio it is figured that the
farther away the grower is from his
market the cheaper he can get his
goods there. and 1t has even been
suggested therefore, that If Ca
madam grower wanted TO send stuff
to New Orleans the railroads would
probably pay hi mfor the privilege
of carrying his freight
The only remedy suggested is or.
.ganized appeal on the part of Mary
land farmers and growers TO the In
terstate Commerce Commission and
Mr. Cohill holds out hope that the
men interested will come to the fore
in this respect. I'D
4 Wonderful Growth. "A
In his address lie said:
The growth OF and Improvement in
agriculture and horticulture in Mary
land during the past II years is won
derful This magnificent exhibition
of products from the farm. gardens,
florists and orchards is testimony
to the interest that has developed
along all agricultural and horticul-
tural lines.
Thanks to the good work of our
experiment station and agricultural
college alfalfa, the leader of agricul-
tural progress, is grown successfully |
in every county of our state. The
yellows of the peach trees and the
San Jose scale, the nightmare OF the
past. are fully under control and no
longer dreaded by the progressive
fruit grower
Yet there are vast tracts of unde-
veloped land to be found through
out the state, enoughif put under i'm
proved, up-to-date methods of cult
walton. to more than double the pres
ent production.
During all this time we have been /
carrying a heavy handicap OF freight
rate discrimination against the State /
OF Maryland by our railroads.
We are not opposed to increased /
rates of freight, If the present /
charges are found to be inadequate
to pay for carrying OF our products /
to market over well-equipped and
efficiently managed railways with a
liberal return to the investors in rail-
way securities. But the farmers of
Maryland, do protest most vigorously /
against being compelled to pay the
same, and in many instances great /
err freight than is charged our com
petitors OF New York and the states
of New England for haul through .
our state to the South and West.
Some Unjust Rates.
For instance. fruit growers in YER
mont and New York can ship apples
10 Southern and Western points for
a less rate than can the growers Of
Maryland to similar points, and |
have no doubt lhe same discrimina'
ton applies to many other products
Of Maryland farms. saw lettuce
in carloads in New Orleans that
came from Western New York. but
none from Maryland
1t would be difficult to estimate
the harm 10 Maryland agricultural
interests that this discrimination in
freight rates has done and is doing
do not wish to tire you with the
detail and statistics of this freight
discrimination, but will merely give
one or two instances out of the too.
numerous TO mention.
Must Help Ourselves.
We have the In crstate Commerce
Commissio to regulate such iue,
QUALITIES. Yes! But the Interstate