The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-10-17
Grocers' Cars Sided.

The agreements Of the railroads with
their employees limited the amount OF
freight that could be unloaded from a
local freight train at one point. When
the freight for one station exceeded this
limit, he said, the packers cars were
always unloaded first, and the other
freight was either carried by or the
car would be set out to be unloaded by
the c agent, and the car picked up
the next day. Often a car would be set
out at severa stations, losing a day at
each place. while making one trip. The
railroads contracts with their employees
worked overtime to handle packers
shipments in refrigerator cars. 1t also
sometimes happens, he said, that a
train will have more cars than II can
haul, and will be compelled to set out
scne of the cars. In such instances,
refrigerator cars are never set out.
As to rates in Texas. he said, for a
shipment of 100 pounds for 100 miles
in peddler cars, such as were used by
the packers, the rate, was 80 cents,
while the rate for the same commodity
for the same haul by class rate, such as
applied to the wholesale grocers, was
% pep cent more.
Statesmen complained that they could
give their customers no assurance when
goods would be delivered, while the
statesmen for the packers could tell their
ShDNOiliSlo III pAhV AAOdl VI nv INV
they could insure delivery, subject only
to train wrecks or unavoidable delays.
Mr.. Jones made a valuable witness
for the complaints for the reason that
he had formerly been employed for 10
Years as a station agent for the Rock
Island railroad, and had also been m
ployed as a salesman for a packer, be-
fore becoming a salesman for a Mem
phis Wholesale grocer. As a salesman
for the packer, he said, one Of his most
effective arguments for selling to the
retail trade was the superior and ex-
pedited transportation the packers could
offer. In all his experience as a rail-
road man and a salesman, he said, he
had never known of a packers refris-
orator car being set out Of a train, I'M
less it was broken down.
Easy for Unloading.
Witnesses said that packers ship
ments received preferred treatment at
the railway stations after its arrival.
Through a system Of freight. billing
used by the packers, not available to
the wholesale groCers, he said, the con
signee could back his truck up to the
| packers cars and take 1t away imme-
diately, while shipments from whole
sale grocers must be unloaded at the
| stations and the Consignee was COM
| PEELED to wait from 80 minutes to an
hour for the agent to check the ship-
ment and make out the expense Dill.
In cross examination, the attorney for
| the packers attempted to bring out the
| fact that this superior billing arrange
ment was deu to the care which the
shipping departments of the packers
| took to avoid all unnecessary delay by
| attending to all the details Of the billing
in the office before the shipment start
| ed out, instead Of leaving the work to
the railroads to do after the shipment
had zone as was the practice of the
wholesale grOcers.
n explaining the rates as applying to
the packer and wholesale brocers, ship
ments in Texas, he said, 1t cost the
wholesale grocer 2S per cent more to
ship 100 pounds of lard compaund to
the same destination on one line, than It
cost the packer to ship in peddler cars
over two lines,
The testimony Friday afternoon per-
tanned largely to rates which is expected
to play a big part In the Chicago hear
ing.