Winter Meeting. 191 



his line transported 6000 cars of peaches out of Georgia this past year, 

 and in figuring these 6000 cars of peaches on a basis of the pubhshed 

 tariff of Armour & Co., produces the fact that for this service the 

 Armour car Hne took $396,000 out of the pockets of the growers of 

 peaches in the state of Georgia in one season." 



This is an awful lot of money for icing alone, and the question which 

 this statement naturally suggests to a thinking man is this, if Armour & 

 Co. got $396,000 out of the Georgia peach crop in one season, what did 

 the growers get ? P>om all that I have been able to find out, they simply 

 worked for Armour & Co. and the railroads, and got nothing for them- 

 selves. Those growers who were lucky enough to sell a few cars at load- 

 ing points made something, but entailed a loss on the commission mer- 

 chant who made the purchase. I can picture to myself that in conse- 

 quence of this sad state of affairs there will be no happiness on Christ- 

 mas day among the families of the Georgia peach growers. 



Therefore all that is needed is for the horticulturists of the country 

 to stand by the Commission Merchants' League and make proper efforts 

 to have such laws enacted by the national government that will forever 

 protect us from such unjust monopolistic greed. 



As we have arrived at a period when fruit is shipped almost alto- 

 gether by the car-load, the unreasonableness of the express companies is 

 less oppressive to us fruit growers than it used to be, and we can say 

 to them: The time has come for the "wicked to cease from troubling, 

 and for the weary to be at rest." As a rule the express officials are very 

 fine men, and I have the very highest regard for them personally, but 

 officially I don't like them. They want all the cream, and leave us the 

 skimmed milk. I am not an aristocrat like my friend Colonel Agee of 

 the Southern, but I want cream on my peaches and strawberries just as 

 much as he does. But I must do Colonel Agee justice. If he owned 

 the Southern Express Company himself (and I am sorry he doesn't), I 

 believe that he would give us rates over his line that would justify us 

 in giving him a large amount of business. 



I like to ship by express to markets that are easily glutted by car- 

 load shipments, and if rates were reasonable, it would be profitable to 

 do so. If we should have a good crop of peaches and other small fruits 

 next season, I suggest that a council of war be held between the fruit 

 growers and the express companies. Colonel Agee is a diplomat; and 

 maybe we can get him and his fellow conspirators to come down a peg 

 or two, by showing them our goose that may lay them golden eggs. 



But unless they do come down, and show a willingness to divide up 

 with the fruit growers, we will tell them that our goose hangs high, and 

 that they will get no golden eggs. 



