The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-10-06
CAR SHORTAGE
CHIEF WORRY
SHIPPERS APPEAL L OFFICIALS
Valley Now Needs 20 i EerS Per Day,
Il ~
in Order to Move : image
TO Markl-

The most serious " 2 v of growers
and apple shippers here :, the present
time results from the tage of re-
frigeratOr cars. The h z est is in full
swing and full picking Jraws are en-
gagged IN tracts of all Upper and Lower
| Valley districts. Weather conditions
are perfect, and the movement of fruit
to eastern points of storage or to des-
tlnation of purchasers would begin at
once in heavy volume were rolling
stock available.
Saturday. shippers were frantically
seeking refrigerators, and but one
REFER was available in the local yards.
! Fruit shipping concerns joined in a tel
| egraph of appeal to high authorities of
the Union Pacific System and the Pa
ctic Fruit Express Co. An investiga-
! tion of the apportionment of refTigera-
tor cars showed that but so were at
| that time rolling between Huntington
and Hood River. Shippers say that
| they will be in position Immediately to
| load out 20 cars of apples per day.
! With the harvest earlier than usual, an
ideal weather conditions obtaining for
picking and packing the crop, growers
were never in more ideal shape to get
! their apples moved off safely. With
the car shortage impending, the fear
| is expressed that a severe freeze later
on might catch many apples in unpro-
tected buildings. Still the valley, hav-
| ing been taught the need of frost pro-
lection in 1919, is probably better
equipped to care for its apple tonnage
than any other Northwestern district.
M. r. Whitehead, general agent OF
the Pacific Refrigerator Co., who was
here last week, stated that he thought
cars would be in plentiful supply as
soon as the California crop of grapes
| is moved.
Speaking of the above car shortage,
j. II. Fredricy says:
| 81 am at loss to understand why
| shippers have worried these officials
about cars after the explanation |
made them regarding the matter, stat
ing positively that every official of
the Union Pacific System from the
president down to the car distributors
was alive to the situation and was
doing everything IN their power to get
refrigerators out into this territory.
every shipper in the Northwest
knows that every season there is
Temporary shortage of this equipment
shortage when it is taken into consid-
GRAFTON that California, Colorado, Utah
and Idaho shipments are from one to
| two weeks in advance of our shiDuients
and that an immense number of refrig
orators are required to move the per-
ishables from those states to eastern
and southern destinations. 1t takes
about 10 days for the loaded car to
reach its destination, one to two days
for placement and unloading, and
about 10 days for the empty to get
back to the Northwest. During the in
terval we have been short of cars
every year, but have always taken
care of the shippers at the earliest
date physically possible.
''lt appeals to me that our shippers
should have exhibited a little more pa
tience in view of the fact that their
wants had been supplied up to Thurs
day and they were advised that the
situation would without doubt loosen
up by the fore part of this week. 1t
| is absolutely impractical to have all
the refrigerators to supply all the de-
mands at one time"
The following letter is self.explana-
tory:
Portland, Ore, Oct /, 1921.
j. II. Fredricy, Agent,
Hood River. Ore.
Have telegram from Apple Growers
Association, Kelly Bros. and seven
others, each dated Hood River, Octo-
Der /, regarding refrigerator car sup
ply.
1t is difficult Estate what the situ-
alton will be from day to day, but |
am much encouraged in the belief that
material Improvement will be manifest
| in next two weeks. Will you please
advise each of the interested shippers.
particlarly those signing the telegram
referred to above, that the Union Pa.
cific has heen alive to situation as 1t
exists in all of the territory it serves,
and that everything possible has been
done to secure refrigerator cars from
other railroads, with substantial favor
able results.
The short crop of fruit and vege-
l tables in the eastern parts Of the
| United States has resulted IN extraor-
/ diparv demand and high prices for the
products of the territory we serve, and
almost doubled the demands upon US
for refrigerator cars and service, not
Withstanding which, we expect to
satisfaction of the shippers.
1t is very important that cars be
| loaded to their maximum capacity.
The records indicate that the average
loading per car is less than heretofore,
and | am wondering if that is true
with respect to the Hood River dis
trict.
The statement has been made that
California is being preferred in the
furnishing of refrigerator cars, but
that statement is entirely untrue.
There is a shortage there as well, and
the available refrigcrators are being
distributed on a prO-rata basis fair to
all the shippers we serve.
We expect to have good movement
Of refrigerator cars through Hunting
ton this afternoon and tonight, and
am very much in hopes that some Of
them will reach you Monday morning.
II. NJ Adams,
Vice-Presi6ent.