TWEXTY-NIXTH FRUIT-GROWEES CONVEXTIOX. 



49 



the reason that he is a very careful business man. According to 

 Colonel Weinstock it cost $422 and some cents an acre, current 

 expenses alone — not including interest upon the capital requisite to buy 

 the land, to plant it, to build houses, and to get the things necessary to 

 have in order to live comfortably — for the year's expenses. This opened 

 my eyes. I didn't know, and I don't believe a man in the State of 

 California can tell, what it costs to produce each box of peaches, plums, 

 or pears, or anything else shipped, because the cost varies, and I have 

 endeavored to make an average estimate. I have added here the 

 increase of wages since 1901, and we all know that there has been a 

 material increase. I have also taken into consideration the cost of 

 renewals. No doubt Colonel Weinstock's figures are correct. I sup- 

 posed those figures referred to f. o. b. sales, and I said: ''Colonel, I 

 suppose the sales you refer to are f. o. b. sales?" "Oh, no," he said. 

 I then asked: "Where is your account of the cost of transportation, 

 your freight and your refrigeration, your loading charge, your commis- 

 sion, and so forth, where are they?" "Oh," he said, "I just take them 

 as they come to me from the jobber." Xow what he paid I don't know, 

 nobody knows. I do know, however, that he was president of the 

 Shippers' Association, and they might pay some regard to his being 

 president of that association, and his commission might not be so high, 

 his loading charge might not be so high, and other things might not be 

 so high. 



I don't want to detain you, but there are one or two things to which I 

 want to refer. If we have two railroads, enough money has to be made 

 to support them, and the producers of the country traversed by those 

 roads have to be given an opportunity to do something, to produce 

 something which the roads can haul and charge for, and the more roads 

 you get in the better your condition will be in regard to transportation 

 charges, as is evidenced by the whole country here excepting this terri- 

 tory from Tehachapi to the Siskiyou Mountains. Even in southern 

 California, according to a newspaper account, the orange-growers of 

 southern California boarded the private car of Mr. Harriman when he 

 was down there, and sought an interview with him, regarding time of 

 shipments in transit, etc. They were referred to certain other officials 

 of the road, to whom they refused to be referred, as they had talked 

 with them until they were satisfied that they could get no relief from 

 them, and therefore wanted to discuss the question with Mr. Harriman. 

 He agreed to consider it, and they then asked for a reduction in the 

 transportation rate. His answer was: "Xot until the courts compel 

 us to do so." They also said that they would ship all their oranges 

 over the Santa Fe, which was making better time than the Southern 

 Pacific, if they could; but here came in this combination which exists 

 regarding the shipping and marketing of citrus fruits, to divide the 



4 — F-GC 



