Smyrna times., 1931-08-19
OPPOSE RATE INCREASE
Feel That Railroad Rate Boost at
This Time Would Be Hardship

reel Inat hdIlrOaG RATE BOOST at
This Time Would Be Hardship
Growers and shippers of produce
in Delaware, Maryland and the
Eastern Shore of Virginia are
aroused over the petition of rail-
roads serving these states for per-
mission to increase present freight
rates by Is per cent. The petition
now being made to the Interstate
Commerce Commission, is regard
ed by growers as harmful to the
fruit and vegetable industry on the
Peninsula, since it will affect every
grower and shipper of any import
ance throughout these states.
These opinions, gathered by ]. R.
Van Arnum, traffic manager for
the National League of Commits
sion Merchants are among other
data submitted by Mr.. Van Arnum
to the Interstate Commerce Com
mission in an effort to convince the
Commission that such an increase
would be harmful to the fruit and
vegetable industry. Mr. Van Ar
mum, collecting information on the
transportation for the Joint Coun-
Gil of the International Apple As
sociation, the Western Fruit Job
bers and National League of Com
mission Merchants, is to appear
before the I. c. c. on August 18th
in Washington. The Joint Council
through its general counsel, ,Fayette
B. Dow, is opposing the railroad S
petition for the Is per cent rate in
crease. In an effort to counteract
the proposed rate increase, several
large exchanges on the Eastern
Shore, according to Mr.. Van Ar
mum, have drawn up contracts
with various trucking companies
for the movement of perishable
fruits and produce. This step is
regarded as drastic, for even
though trucks haul a large part Of
the products grown on the PENN
sula, the service is not satisfactory
as to distant points, which cannot
be reached in time to allow the
growers and buyers to realize on
their investments. Truck trans
portation, at one time regarded as
the salvation of the industry, is
now considered by prominent COM
mission men as being the underly
ing cause of the present low scale
of prices. Since the trucks, trav-
cling faster and directly, flood all
nearby markets with produce and
force the growers to accept prices
which formerly was considerably
higher in every season. Mr.. Van
Arnum, in commenting on his trip
of investigation up and down the
Eastern Shore, where he interview
ed the most prominent growers and
shippers and secured their opin-
ions, said: There is a peculiar sit
uation in the Del-mar-ia Peninsula
districts which bids fair to determ-
inc the future status of trucks
versus railroads here. Many of the
growers and shippers are shipping
by rail when they could save
freight money by truck, but lose
out in the end because of flooded
nearby markets and also because
they feel that railroads are an in
tregal part of every community.
The opinion is general throughout
these growing districts that, even
on the basis of present freight
rates, the solution of present traf-
fic problems is truck transporta-
tion. This opinion is held mainly
because growers and shippers op-
pose so strenuously the Is per cent
increase, and believe that the in
crease wound so accelerate the use
of motor trucks in the Peninsula
that the branch and main line rail
roads serving the district would
get only negligible tonnage. Ev-
ening Journal, Wilmington.