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$300 a car, especially when the business furnishes 8,000 cars in a season. 

 I cannot believe that there is no profit in taking such a train for $4,500, 

 which is nearly $1,000 a day, even if the cars must come back empty. 

 The ventilated car service offered to us now is a snare; it is of little 

 value to the industry, simply because the time is uncertain, and has 

 been displaced by the burdensome refrigerator service, which adds to 

 the profits of transportation and middle men, and leaves little for the 

 producer. The item of refrigeration also in our statements serves the 

 purpose of that much-abused item of sundries. It is a cloak to cover 

 up profits that should go to the grower. In straight cars by one 

 snipper this may not be easy, but in mixed cars by many shippers it is 

 quite simple. 



Mr. W. H. Mills stated in the State Board of Trade, when appealed to 

 to enlist the aid of his company in perfecting Dr. Perkins' system of 

 compressed air in lieu of ice, that he didn't see just why the railroad 

 company should aid in an effort to make two cars do the work of three 

 when they could get pay for three. Mr. Mills is too deeply and seri- 

 ously interested in the successful development of the fruit industry, and 

 besides is too patriotic, to mean what he said. And, in fact, I under- 

 stand his company is aiding not only that plan, but also the carbonic 

 acid gas system of fruit preservation. 



The truth is, and I speak it, hoping it may reach the eye of railroad 

 managers, that the existence of the fruit industry in this State lies with 

 them. Fruit growing is expensive; it is attended with many risks; the 

 market is far away; the transit is attended with new and still greater 

 risks than is the growing. But it is the one industry that is to populate 

 the State and make transportation lines profitable. The future of rail- 

 road profits lies in parallel lines with our profits. We have created for 

 the transportation companies in less than fifteen years over 40,000 car- 

 loads of freight annually, of which the railroads get over 34,000 carloads. 

 By the attractions and promised profits of fruit growing we have added 

 a quarter of a million of population who are now contributing to the 

 earnings of the railroads, through their increased passenger traffic and 

 their increased freights distributed to these people. 



This new T iy created freight traffic, bringing in eight or ten millions of" 

 dollars annually to the railroad companies, represents only a part of 

 the added traffic by reason of the fruit industry. Every consideration 

 of self-interest should lead these companies to help us in all possible 

 ways. They should come to us, rather than we go to them. Their 

 strongest and ablest men should be here to-day asking what they can 

 do to promote our success. There is no reason why these people should 

 deal with us at arm's length, or on the principle of driving hard bar- 

 gains and getting all out of the business possible. The Southern Pacific 

 Company has brought thousands of immigrants to this State to grow 

 fruit for profit. It has used our literature, and our experiences, and our 

 facts to induce them to come. In common honesty it should help to 

 make good its own representations. 



There is another thing about which I wish to speak plainly. We can- 

 not now ship green fruits except through some one of the half dozen 

 commission houses owning or controlling some one of the devices for 

 refrigeration. These firms I am told share the profits of the extra service 

 (I mean outside the* regular car rates) with the railroads. This is 

 w T rong in principle and gives the railroads a motive to force us to use 



