THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 85 



the committee feels that this requirement is impossible of practical 

 observance without the installation of an adequate number- of re- 

 frigerator cars or the provision of a practical and efficient can jacket. 



The committee has had great difficulty in securing from the rail- 

 ways entering Washington any definite information which would 

 lead to a proper conclusion as to the practicability of providing the 

 necessary refrigerator-car service or some alternative means for 

 maintaining milk during transportation at a temperature below 

 50 F. The Pennsylvania and Southern Railways, and the New 

 York Central & Hudson River Railroad Co. were the only ones 

 to heed the request of the committee. President Brown, of the New 

 York Central lines, regrets that it is impossible to furnish compara- 

 tive figures, for the reason that the cost of refrigeration varies on 

 different parts of his lines, being governed, he says, by weather con- 

 ditions, the kind of container in which the product is shipped, the 

 length of haul, facilities for rapid handling at destination, etc. The 

 conditions in the District of Columbia are, furthermore, he maintains, 

 different from those in New York State. 



Mr. J. R. Wood, passenger traffic manager of the Pennsylvania 

 Railroad Co., has, through reference from President McCrea, fur- 

 nished the committee with certain data relating to the subject of its 

 inquiry. He explains that three factors enter into the cost of haul- 

 ing milk under refrigeration, namely, the length of the haul, the 

 temperature of the milk when placed in the car, and the circumstance 

 whether the cars are to be loaded all at one point or at intervals 

 between originating point and destination. If the class " Rf " 

 refrigerator car is to be used for the purpose proposed, the initial 

 icing would, he estimates, require 7,400 pounds. After precooling, 

 4,000 pounds would be sufficient to maintain the milk under a tem- 

 perature of 50 F. for a distance of 300 miles; that is to say, a 

 24-hour run. If, however, the car is to be opened at different points 

 to receive milk, the temperature will fluctuate according to outside 

 conditions. The cost for icing a car with 12,000 pounds of ice will 

 approximate $15 (that is on a basis of $2.50 per ton of ice, including 

 necessary labor). By using the same cars in this milk service, the 

 bunkers would retain a percentage of the ice from one trip until the 

 next, and the car would thus require on the same basis as above an 

 average of only about 3,000 pounds of ice at a cost of $4. The cost 

 per gallon for refrigerated milk will depend on the number of gal- 

 lons loaded in a car. The length of the haul, he states, would make 

 no material difference in the cost of refrigeration, due to the fact 

 that the requisite amount of ice and the necessary space for loading 

 would need to be provided from the starting point of the car to the 

 places of receiving and discharging its load. 



It is interesting in this connection to note the present cost per 

 gallon of milk shipped over the Pennsylvania lines from varying 

 distances to Washington, namely, less than 30 miles, 1J cents per 

 gallon ; between 30 and 60 miles, 2 cents per gallon ; over 60 and not 

 exceeding 90 miles, 2J cents per gallon. Double rates are charged 

 for the shipment of cream. 



It is contended by the officials of the railways transporting milk 

 into Washington that the length of the hauls and the aggregate 

 amount of shipments do not justify the expense of providing and 

 maintaining the necessary number of refrigerator cars for this serv- 



