Milford chronicle., 1934-06-22
Interstate Commerce
Commission Will GiUe
Decision Shortly On
Discrimination In The
Shipping OF Butter,
Eggs And Poultry

Commission and is being closel
watched by the farmers OF the Mid
die West and West
Because of having most at stalk
the issue is practically COOPERATIVE
Marketing vs.. THE Big Four" Chi
cago meat packers. There are sew
eral hundred thousand farmer
members in the interested cooper
ating marketing groups, now threat
ened with an overflow of their en-
tire method of shipping dairy pro
ducts-which, they claim, is thu
most efficient and economical tina
can be devised.
II is now solely and wholly up Il
the Commerce Commission to de
termine which should be favored
On one side, vigorously opposing
any change are these farmer coop
erative marketing organizations
and also the Independent shippers
and maTketers, 'creameries, produce
dealers and even the small meat
packing plants and some Gamers.
On the other side. hoping to get
control of this freight movement
and some additional profits are, in
addition. to the big Four" the
railroad owned refrigerator car
lines and a company which leases
refrigerator equipment to other
railroads.
Il all revolves around the right
to use private refrigerator cars. AS
matters now stand, almost anyone
with shipments large enough to
warrant their use, may lease and
keep under their control these pri-
vate refrigerator cars, which offer
many advantages. Most of the far
mer cOoperatives and other inter
ests handling butter, eggs and pOul-
try are using them, and have, for
many years.
Most of the smaller packers like
wise lease refrigerator cars. so that
a curious contradiction results. The
rule originally provided that all
packers might use private refriger-
ator cars.
Then along came the Examiner
for the commission and after his
hearings were concluded it was
found that the small packer had
been bracketed with the dairy peo-
pie. The report, in effect. declared
that It would be all right for the
big Four" to use private refriger-
ator cars, but their smaller broth
ers in the same business, and with
identical interests, could not have
this privilege.
The entire intent of the proceed
ing, in fact. is to confine the right
to use private refrigerator cars al
most wholly to the big Four"
who have 1877 plants devoted ex-
clusively to the handling of dairy
products in the Middle West and
West. Over a year ago, through the
American Railway Association
which, presumably, was prompted
by the railroad owned refrigerator
lines-a rule was published, provid-
ing that the only ones who could
continue using private refrigerator
cars were the big Four" and a J
couple of lesser packers. Anyone |
else needing refrigerator cars would /
have to get them from the railroad. |
although 1t was apparent that the |
railroads most concerned have vir- !
tually none of these cars and could
only offer the poorest of substitutes.
This adroit move was almost sue
cessful until the shippers organized
and got the western railroads into
the fight on their side. These roads
owned very few refrigerator cars,
whereas the interested transconti-
mental lines controlled large fleets
of them. They would get no advan-
tage, but on the other hand, might
lose big freight tonnage to the
truck and water routes.
AS a result of this organized OPP
position, the rule was suspended
and hearings were instituted by the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
The newly-formed Shippers Private
Car Protective Association, fighting
the Farmers battle, went before
the commission and pointed out all
the disadvantages of such a plan.
They pointed out that the rail-
roads were not in position to fur
nish the type of cars they required.
that produce would be reaching !
in poor condition and /
therefore sold at lower prices. that |
loss and damage claims would be |
that slower movement {
would result, that costs would go up [
because If improper or excessive '
cling, and particularly that the big q
Four" packers would be able to take q
financial advantage thus gained. All I
hese, 1t was stated. would result If I
he shippers we're deprived of the I
ype of service rendered them a
through leasing of private refriger- '
ltor cars. and which. 1t was con- v
ended. the railroads cannot pos I
IDLY meet.
. Twenty-eight railroads, most of :
hem in western trunk line territory
md including such lines as the t
Worth Western. st. Paul and Rock :
sland, as well as two eastern roads v
the Lehigh Valley and Lackawan- o
up the shippers. These 6
Dads told the commission that they L
riginated nearly 80 per cent of the v
reight affected by the rule and 3
hat they had every right to oppose o
he American Railway Association n
4 it's attempted grab. 3
In a brief filed with the Commits e
lon these twenty-eight railroads n
ublicly declared that the proposed
lle was "Uunduly and unjustly dis 81
ambiguous and open a
They centered their II
around this point set Il
nth in their brief: u
-. Il