586 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



October, 1918 



SO SEEIOUS a freight-rate situation is 

 threatening honey interests, as a result of 

 losses in transit 

 Warning of a due to careless 

 Serious packing, that a 



Matter. most earnest warn- 



ing is in order. 

 That our readers may be entirely assured 

 that such warning is Ijased on facts and ex- 

 perience, we have called upon the A. I. Eoot 

 Co.'s traffic manager, H. H. Hartzog, to 

 state the present freight situation as re- 

 gards honey. Mr. Hartzog has spent many 

 years of his life as a railroad traffic man, 

 and speaks out of a ripe experience. Here 

 is what he has to say to Gleanings readers: 



In the August issue of Gleanings, page 

 465, there was printed an article by H. H. 

 Eoot entitled ' ' A Needless Loss of Honey. ' ' 

 On pages 466 and 467 were photographs of 

 honey-containers taken on arrival in Me- 

 dina, showing large losses of honey due to 

 improper packing. 



The A. I. Eoot Co. and other large buyers 

 of honey are now confronted with even 

 more serious conditions than prevailed two 

 months ago. Consignment after consignment 

 is arriving in bad shape, resulting in enor- 

 mous losses and many claims entirely out 

 of proportion to the size of shipments. 

 Seventy-five per cent of these must 'be 

 charged to poor packing. If for no other 

 than patriotic reasons, all this honey should 

 have been properly protected by good, sub- 

 stantial containers before having been of- 

 fered for shipment. 



While it is true that the railroads will 

 have to pay for all loss while in transit, 

 yet, Mr. Shipper of Honey, did you ever 

 stop to think that needless waste is one of 

 the large factors that help to make the 

 high cost of living, and that in the end you 

 are paying dearly for your carelessness? It 

 makes no difference what the commodity 

 may be, freight rates are based on the value 

 of the article, and a certain profit to the 

 railroad has to be realized. If loss in transit 

 is such that the commodity can not be han- 

 dled at a profit at the rate in force, then a 

 raise in rates results. Every claim present- 

 ed on any certain commodity is charged by 

 the railroad company against that commodi- 

 ty's earning, and tends to raise its freight 

 rate. Who, then, pays the loss in the endf 

 The shipper does. 



The unexpected visit of an inpector to 

 the Eoot company's office a day or so ago 

 impressed upon us the fact that the enor- 

 mous increase in claims being presented to 

 the carriers the last few weeks will force 

 the railroads to take new measures. The 

 information obtained by this inspector from 

 personal inspection here of many lots of 

 honey recently received, particularly ship- 

 ments from the South, will have much to 

 do with determining a higher freight re- 

 classification in that territory in the near 

 future. 



The A. I. Eoot Co. can truthfully say that 

 it has long since passed the experimental 



stage in packing or preparing merchandise 

 for shipment, and has found that cheap con- 

 tainers are a failure, and expensive in the 

 end. In reviewing our own shipping rec- 

 ords we find claims chargeable to poor pack- 

 ing have been reduced 50 per cent; also, 

 that goods reaching their destination in 

 first-class condition result in a pleased cus- 

 tomer. We are alive to the fact that well- 

 packed and prepared shipments are given a 

 severe test while in the hands of the rail- 

 roads, and that a large per cent of loss and 

 damage is chargeable to them; but we must 

 remember the railroads ' trials are many at 

 the present time, and that their facilities 

 are taxed to the limit. With all the faults 

 of the railroads, there is no excuse for fail- 

 ure on the part of the shipper to lend every 

 assistance possible to avoid loss. 



Don 't ship honey worth 20 cents a pound 

 in old hat-boxes, just because they can be 

 had for nothing. Don 't pick up an old pine 

 barrel that some one has discarded, with 

 only one hoop at either end (this has been 

 done), and load it up with a hundred dol- 

 lars' worth of lioney, when you must know 

 that it is likely to go to staves long before 

 it reaches its destination. Spend a little 

 more money and time in preparing shipment. 

 Secure the best case or barrel to be had (all 

 barrels should have eight hoops, four at 

 each end), so you will not have to drive at 

 a snail 's pace on your way to the railway 

 station and hold your breath in mortal fear 

 lest the barrel go to pieces before the rail- 

 road agent gives you a bill of lading. 



Mr. Careless Indifferent Shij^per, in addi- 

 tion to a 25-per-cent raise in freight rates, 

 which was effective June 25, 10 per cent of 

 which statisticians tell us was directly 

 chargeable to you, there is now pending a 

 change in classification on honey, brought 

 about by enormous losses largely due to 

 poor packing, which will further increase 

 rates 12 to 18 per cent. 



These considerations of increased freight 

 rates on honey due to improper packing 

 should serve to reform the practices of hon- 

 ey-shippers generally. 



THE GOVEENMENT'S policy of conserva- 

 tion, looking to the elimination of every pos- 

 sible waste, has now 

 No More reached all publishers. 



Free Gleanings. demanding the use of 



the very least amount 

 of paper possible in their business. Accord- 

 ingly, Gleanings has received express or- 

 ders to discontinue all complimentary copies 

 and all copies sent to exchanges, and to 

 print no more copies than are strictly neces- 

 sary to supply its paid subscribers and ac- 

 tive correspondents . Even sample copies 

 of our journal are forbidden. So a consider- 

 able number of our friends to whom we have 

 been under obligation and so have been 

 glad to send them Gleanings free heretofore, 

 will understand why it cannot be sent free 

 to them after this date. 



