The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-02-04


cause of the expense of getting their
apples to the Pacific coast ports
where they could be loaded.
at costs &c cents per hundred
pounds, or about 33 cents per box to
send apples by steamship from Seat
tie or Portland to New York, we have
ascertained. That includes merely
switching, dockage and unloading at
Seattle or Portland, freight and re-
frigeration to and lighterage at New
York and insurance. To this must be
added freight from the fruit district
in question to the Pacific coast ports
which varies from Az cents per box
in the case of Hood River to as much
as 1914 cents from some sections in
Southern Idaho, making the total cost
run from 371s to 66h cents.
What II Costs
"These ocean shipments, of course,
must be made under refrigeration,
passing as they do through the intense
heat of the torrid zone. On the other
hand, overland shipments, which are
almost uniformly made in ventilated
instead of refrigerated cars cost 30
cents per box from all Northwestern
districts to New York. There are a
few weeks during the early part Of
the season when railroad shipments
are made under refrigeration, and the
expense of sending apples overland
under those circumstances ranges
from So cents to Ga cents per box, the
cost from most of the districts being
81 cents. At that time practically all
of the districts except western Mon
tana, and the more distant points in
Southern Idaho could make substan-
tial savings by using the Panama Can
al.
Must Lower Rates
However, if the steamboat COM
panies expect to do any great amount
of business transporting apples
throughout the shipping season they
will have to put their rates down lower
than they are at the present time to
secure the support of the districts that
cannot now use the water route to adj
vantage.
"The most important consideration
in this whole question of Panama Cam
al shipments hinges upon the facilities
which the shipper has for handling
them on arrival. The er.-Hawaiian
and the Atlantic and Pacific lines,
which were the first to carry apples
from the Northwest and which the
Distributors have used, discharge
their cargoes in Brooylyn at the Bush
and the Atlantic terminals respective
ly, while the fruit markets of New
York are conferred in Manhattan at
the Erie and the New York Central
docks. Hundreds of thousands of dol
lars have been lost in past vain eff
forts to defect the trade away from
the Erie dock to some other place, but
dealers have their stores and ware
houses clustered around it and GUS
tom cuts mighty large figure.
cit would be very easy matter for
transfer and other handling charges
to more than eat up any saving made
by ocean shipments. If the fruit is
consigned or placed in the hands of
someone who has no direct personal
interest in it, the item of handling
charges could cover multitude of
sins of both commission and omission.
This situation virtually necessitates a
large organization with salaried rep
resentative in New York to take
charge of such shipments and dispose
of them at private sale.
Big Saving
"The Distributors first shipment
by way of the Panama Canal created
quite a sensation in New York. Twen-
ty-three carloads of apples arrived
there on the steamship Ohioan of the
American Hawaiian line last week.
Wilmer Sieg, the Distributors sales
manager in New York met the boat
and Immediately arranged for hand
ling the cargo. The chief engineer of
the line accompanied it to watch tenn
peratures and study the needs of such
shipments. Railroad men in New
York were naturally very much inter-
ested and tried to get on the dock, but
were not admitted by the steamship
company. The run occupied just rs
days and thorough examination Of
the apples right down to the lower
deck showed them to be in excellent
condition. We have estimated the
saving in transportation charges on
these % cars to be approximately
$2,500.00.
"This week the Santa Clara, of the
Atlantic and Pacific line is due to ar
rive in New York with eight more car
loads, and the Montanian of the Amer
ican-H Hawaiian line will follow several
days later with 16 carloads. We are