Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1914-02-26
,,u,pAy CANNING COMPANY
u FORCED TO REDUCE WORK.
r, r,epssiye Freight Rates Consume
' profits so That Plant Can't Com.
uete With Other ganneries.

nete With OtneF GanMerfeS.
pv reason of excessive freight rates
uhicb made it impossible for the 0tta-
Wv Canning company of Dana, Hem
,orson county, to compete with other
aonneries. this plant has been forced
- reduce it's operating capacity as
~osnIt of which the company, which
voc composed of Jonathan Case Capt.
n r Toms and son, Charles French
Toms. has dissolved.
While the impression has gone out
+hat the plant will discontinue, Mr.
Case who owns half interest and who
onerated it several years before be-
coming associated with Capt Toms and
son, states that he will continue to run
the cannery but on reduced scale.
Hc gives the farmers and truckers OF
Henderson county assurance that he
will handle all the products they wiz
furnish him. 1t will continue to man
ufacture canned beans, sweet potatoes,
tomatoes, apples, pumpkins. peaches
pears, fruit and vegetables, making
ielIies a speciality.
Mr.. Case states that he can afford to
operate the plant on a small scale and
supply the demands. of the home and
nearby markets but by reason of the
lower freight rates allowed other sec
tons having similar industries, it IS
out of the question to meet competi-
ten.
He states that the businesswould be
a profitable one and that operations
on an extensive scale viii be resumed
in case the freight rates are reduced
so as to justify running the plant.
Mr.. Case mentioned an instance
where he paid the farmers $3.50 -for
their products and after canning them
paid the railroad a similar afnoanE IN
freight to place them ON the market.
The owners of the Ottaray Canning
company have been working ON the
freight rates for two years in the hope
Of having them reduced 30 that the
local plant could compete with other
eanneries, but not succeeding, was
forced to reduce the production. The
Greater Hendersonville club also took
the matter up with the just Freight
Rate association but nothing so far
has been accomplished.
In order to show the injustice of
these excessive freight rates Mr.. Case
gives the following list of markets and
rates from competitive points:
From HendersonyiI1e to Chicago the
rate is 7S cents per hundred on car
loads of minimum of $4,000 pounds
when the cannery has sought to have
the minimum reduced to 10000, the
rate to Chicago from Winston Salem
being only so cents.
From Hendersonvil1e to Cincinnati
the rate is So cents while it is only 21
cents from Baltimore and only 80 cents
from Elkin, Hickory, Morganton, North
Wilkesboro and Winston Salem, which
points have large canneries.
Flom Hendersonvil1e to Atlanta the
rate is Al cents while it is only %
cents from Newport, Tenn, to Atlanta.
From Hendersonvil1e to Hartman,
Tenn, the rate is so cents while from
Newport to Hartman the rate is 20
cents.
From HendersonviIle to Charlotte
the rate is 35 cents while it is only %
cents from Newport. Tenn.j to Char
lotte
To Birmingham, Ala, from Hender-
soRville, the rate is 40 cents while
from Newport to Alabama the rate is
only 20 cents.
Mr.. Case states that he will continue
nammering away at officials on the In
justice of these rates as compared with
those from competitive points for he
IL hopeful of satisfactorily impressing
Them with the merits of his claims.
=.