The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1922-10-14
CRYSTAL SPRINGS SHIPS
1893 CARS OF TRUCK
Mississippi Vegetable Center Reports
Increase Of 774 Loads Over
Business Of Last Year.


(By R. S. Brent, 1. c. R. R. Agent,
Crystal Springs, Miss.)
| Crystal Springs in the center Of
the Mississippi trucking belt on the
Illinois Central main line, has long
been noted for its heavy shipments
of fruits and vegetables. The farm
ers in this belt raise vegetables, hay,
corn, sweet potatoes and sugar cane
almost exclusively, there being little
| cotton planted.
The vegetable business is growing
rapidly, and within a few years
Crystal Springs is destined to be the
largest vegetable shipping point in
the south. Tomatoes and cabbage
are now being grown twenty miles
from town and are brought in to
the shipping point in trucks over a
fine system of grayeled roads.
Here is how the business is in
creasing:- Crystal Springs in 1919
shipped 1,341 cars of vegetables; in
1920, 1855 cars; in 1921, 1926 cars
and in 1922, the season just ended,
2,699 cars. We loaded in these g.
500 cars this season 4,298 hampers
of turnips, S4,S67 hampers of beets,
56,940 hampers of beans, 124,799
hampers of peas, 172,208 hampers of
carrots, 1S5,S6S crates of cabbage,
and 1,242,015 crates of tomatoes.
These vegetables brought to the
shippers around $2,000,00O gross.
REVENUE MORE THAN 100000.
This business produces splendid
revenue for the Illinois Central. The
earnings for Crystal Springs station
for April, May, and June, 1922
amounted to $703,169.98. The bulk
Of this enormous movement is han
died in six weeks. The car move
ment this season amounted to as
high as ninety-two cars in one day
and for more than a week, running
from eighty-five to ninety cars a
day.
Our vegetable train is scheduled
to leave Crystal Springs at 10 p. m.
daily, and in order to get everything
ready we require all bills of lading
to be in at 1880 p. m. Very few are
given in before this time.
1t is then that the station force
gets busy. The icing inspector must
inspect each car in order to make
record of how much ice is in the
bunkers when the cars are ready to
move. The loading inspector must
inspect the loading and see that
all cars are properly braced. Many
times we find cars that have to be
rebraced before moving. The venti-
lator clerk must check over each bill
of lading, make a record of the venti-
lating instructions and go over the
yard to adjust every ventilator as
per the bill of lading instructions
The seal clerk must see that every
car is properly sealed and that the
seals are recorded. The rate and bill
clerks must see that every shipment
is rated, billed and manifested. The
demurrage clerk must check each
bill of lading against demurrage
records to see whether any detention
or demurrage charge has accrued
to be billed against the shipment.
The yard clerk must make cards
from the bills of lading for every
car and see that they are properly
carded must make a switch list and
check all waybills against his list
for possible errors in car numbers
before handing it to the switch en-
gine crew. This crew, in turn, must
get the train lined up and ready for
movement at 10 o'clock With but
two or three exceptions, this train
was always ready to move on sche-
dule.
Perishable freight cannot be de-
layed. Delays cost money. In order
to handle this business without delay
and loss, our station force was keyed
to a high pitch of efficiency, team
work and enthusiasm. There is a
man for each line of work, and he
must be an expert in that line. We
do not believe that there is a more
efficient or enthusiastic force of
clerks anywhere than the one we
have at Crystal Springs, and it is
to this efficiency and team work
that we attribute our success in
handling the heavy movement this
year without dollars loss or a
claim SO far as our handling is con-
cerned.
Naturally there are hundreds of
divisions made in handling perish
ables, and 1t is necessary that we
have an expert reconsigning clerk
whose duty 1t is to see that recon-
signments, changes in icing or venti-
Iation instructions and requests for
disposition of refused cars are ham
died without minutes delay, for
sometimes even small delay in hand
49, S;,,ore;- -,,,c x,Yif1 naef tha carrier