The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-02-04
CANAL SHIPMENT GETS
TO new YORK @. X.

According 10 a letter received last
week by II. F. Davidson from Wilmer
Sieg the 5. 5. 0hioan, which carried
the first Hood River apples to New
York by way of the Panama canal, had
arrived with fruit in the best of condi-
tion.
''The shipment included % carloads. -
said Mr.. Davidson, land Mr.. Sieg
writes me that the total freight saving
amounted TO about S2. 500.
The North Pacific Fruit Distribu-
tors took all available space on the
ships plying between North Pacific
ports and New York, the whole lot
amounting to some 60 carloads. 4"
The Packer of last Saturday gives
the following detailed facts relative to
the Ohioan shipment:
There is indeed some glad news for
the apple grower of the northwest and
1t comes just at the time when things
look blue and when some authorities
are predicting future enormous pro-
ductlon of box fruit with a subsequent
disaster of large financial proportions.
The first test of bringing fine box ap-
pies from northwestern producing sec
tions through the Panama canal to the
northeastern ports has proven a won
derful success. When the difference
between the cost of transportation by
boat is compared with that by rail is
considered, the man interested can only
look forward to sort of a revolution,
in the way of increased profits, for pro-
ducing the fruit. The 0hioan, the first
boat to come from the Pacific coast
ports through the canal to New York
with box apples, arrived January %.
The fruit was unloaded in the pink of
condition and most of it was exported.
The Ohioan left Portland, Ore, De-
cember II, with l3 cars of box apples.
She went to Seattle and picked up ten
cars more. Altogether, her perisbable
cargo was % cars of apples for the
North Pacific Fruit Distributors; ten
cars of Newton Pippins for Simon,
ShuttlewOrth & French Co., New York;
one car of box apples for Steinhardt &
Kelly. New York, and five cars of cell
cry for the California Vegetable Un-
ion. All of this stock showed up in
prime condition upon arrival. The boat
sailed from Portland without refrigera-
tion. Cold air was turned on Deem
Der IS, seven days after leaving Port
land, and on which date the boat sailed
for New York. From the time she left
Portland until she arrived in New
York, making the stop at Seattle, she
was out 40 days.
The freight on the % cars shipped by
the Distributors, including the cost of
transportation from inland points to
Pacific tidewater and thence to New
York by boat, including refrigeration,
was $1,000. The freight direct to New
York from shipping points on the %
cars, coming by rail, wonld have been
So, 800. The saving in transportation
charges on the % cars, according to the
figures of Wilmer Sieg, was 49, 200.
Mr.. Sieg figured out the difference be-
tween the boat rate and the rail rate
from two of the largest apple shipping
points in the northwest to New York.
BY shipping from Hood River to the
Pacific coast, then by boat through the
canal, the shipper is saved l6 cents per
box on ventilated service and q cents
per box on refrigerated service. The
saving on fruit from Yakima is 10 cents
and 2l cents per box. respectively.
There are now three boats on the way
through the canal to New York. The
Santa Clara, of the Grace line, has 10
cars of apples; the Montanan 10 cars
and the Panaman 20 cars. The last two
boats belong to the American Hawaiian
line. Most all Of the fruit that came
on the Ohioan was exported.
1t is to the large European markets
that the growers of fine northwestern
apples will in the future look for a
profitable outlet. At the present time,
the ocean freight rate is almost prohib-
itive-in fact, il is difficult matter
to get space. A great many of the
boats have been taken off. So far as
can be learned, there is not German
flag on the high seas. The English
have taken great many of their boats
to use as transports.
But the enormous amount of apples
which the English and neutral coun-
tries have taken from this country so
far this season is indicative of what
the demand will be for our fruit over
there under normal conditions. Up to
Saturday of last week, we had export
ed to these countries about | ,879, 1854
barrels and boxes against l,463,S41 bar
rels and boxes for the same time year
ago. This is about 100000 packages
more taken by England and one or.two
neutral countries as compared with all
of Europe last year.
At the present time, the freight rate,
both rail and ocean, from the northwest
to these countries, via New York, is
Sl.08 per box to London and 78 cents
per box at Liverpool. A rate of Sl.05
per boz would applY to Hamburg.