The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1920-04-15
ARENS SUGGESTS ?
SHIPMENTS BY WATER

The following isan interesting letter
received last week by r. +. Scott from
F. X. Arens, who is visiting cnt San
Diego:
Knowing how interested you are in
the general welfare of Hood River.
would ask you what you think of the
possibility of giving the subjoined pre-
sentation to the Hood River CONNER
cial Club:
The acute car shortage of last season
seems to be chronic state of affairs.
for | remember that we had similar
car shortage the preceding years. With
each wear a greater acreage of orch
ards is coming into bearing, which
means that the car shortage will be
me acute this <oming season than
ever. | have heard it stated by those
in authority that they had done every
thing under the SUI. to securesmore re.
frigerator cars, but all to nosavail. So
far as | can overlook the siteation,
there are not enough cars to go around.
While | believe that with the return OF
the railroads to private ownership, we
NAV get more efficient service, it is yet
quite evident that the railroads cannot
| furnish more cars than they have on
hand. Having taken the railroads
4 back only a few We eks ago, it is unfair
TO expect the railroad company to build
sufficient cars between now and next
October to meet the ever increasing
demand. If nothing is done IN the
premises this state of affairs Will re-
suit in thousands of dollars of damage,
not to mention loss of prestige, owing
to apples arriving in damaged state.
| believe. therefore, that steps should
be taken by the Commercial clubs of
Hood River, Mosier. White Salmon,
underwood, Yakima, Wenatchee, Med
ford. Salem and all other fruit pro.
ducing centers, looking to remedial
measures; and the only remedy in
sight is transportation by water. !
| believe that with the cooperation OF
the United States Shipping Board
enough cold storage plants could be in
stalled in the steamers plying OH the
Pacific to take the great bulk OF the
fruit via the Panama canal to all
points east and to Europe, incidentally
at greatly reduced cost of transporta-
tion.
Although a member of the fruit
growers association, | am not think
ing of this organization exclusively,
and | am therefore, not submitting
this to the association for consldera.
ton, afor the simple reason thit it will
take the combined action Of al the
fruit growers in the northwest to con-
vince the sshipping board, or private
steamship company, that the PROPOSE
tion is worth while looking into.
If the United States Shipping Board
will not, or cannot, do anything In the
matter, private steamship companies.
both American and foreign, should be
approached | am quite certain that
English or Scandinavian or Holland
steamship companies or perhaps even
japanese companies, could be induced
to thus take care of the crop of the
entire northwest.
/ met a wholesale dealer from Seat
tie the other day who told me that they
tried to do this last season, but that
the car shortage was so acute that the
railroad administration could not fur
nish enough refrigerator cars TO move
the apples from the Wenatchee and
Yakima to seaboard IN Seattle. ii
Hood River, Underwood, Medford and
White Salmon would ship their apples
to Portland by river boat, enough re
frigerator cars could be released to
take care of the Washington crop. This
" would Immediately induce the Washing
ton growers to cooperate in the grow
er's scheme of securing sufficient re-
frigerator space in trans-oceanic steam
ships.
| believe you are secretary of the
Commercial Club; but even if this be
a mistake, | am sure you retain suffi-
cient connection with that body to sub
nit this proposition to the club at it's
next meeting. 1t might also be well
to let the papers of the valley take this
matter up so as to create sentiment
with the growers. Needless to say, this
should be taken up Immediately. if at