2 l8 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
‘‘The transportation from Florida is 
more than double what it is from Cali¬ 
fornia per mile, notwithstanding our roads 
are largely sustained by way of business, 
while the Pacific roads run hundreds of 
miles through an uninhabited waste, and 
over grades and curves that to our own 
coast lines are unknown. A man in Min¬ 
nesota can send a bushel of wheat to Liv¬ 
erpool, 4,500 miles, for less money than 
I can send a box of oranges to Jackson¬ 
ville. In a matter like this, where the suc¬ 
cess of a business depends on a fair di¬ 
vision of income, it ought to be amicably 
arranged, so that producer and carrier 
can each have a fair proportion. Much 
was hoped from our State railroad com¬ 
mission, but it proved such an abject fail¬ 
ure that the legislature legislated it out of 
existence, and very few tears have been 
shed over its grave. That same legisla¬ 
ture proved itself a flatter failure than the 
commission, by failing to enact something 
better in its place.” 
“If the fruit growers of the State have 
any influence, it should be steadily and 
actively exerted in favor of such legis¬ 
lation as will have the rates of transporta¬ 
tion -fixed by a competent and disinter¬ 
ested tribunal, which will deal fairly and 
justly with producer and carrier.” 
“One of the burning questions which 
confronts us is, how to sell our fruit. We 
have made perceptible progress in grow¬ 
ing fruit, but not in marketing it. It 
takes very little penetration to see that 
consigning our fruit to the tender mercies 
of the commission merchants, in distant 
markets, is a crude and unsatisfactory 
way, but' as yet we have found nothing 
better.” 
The following is an extract from the 
report of the Committee on Transporta¬ 
tion to the Florida State Horticultural 
Society at its Ormond Meeting (1892). 
The report is signed by C. A. Bacon, N, 
W. Woodworth, and E. J. Cox. 
“Assured that there are wrongs to be 
righted, there comes the all-important 
question: How may this be accom¬ 
plished ?” 
“I would first suggest a State Railroad 
Commission, with absolute power to make 
maximum rates, and power to enforce 
the same, and if the courts should over¬ 
rule such acts of commissioners, let the 
people nominate and elect court judges 
that will go on the principle that the gov¬ 
ernment is made for the people, and not 
the people for the government. Create a 
general Government Commission, who 
shall have absolute power to make and en¬ 
force interstate rates, from which there 
shall be no appeal. Third, the nationali¬ 
zation of railroads and use the same at 
absolute cost in the interest of the people 
and for the people.” 
* ^ ij? 
“It takes time to bring about these 
great reformations, and the dear people 
must be educated up to think and act for 
themselves and not allow a lot of politi¬ 
cians to think and act for them. And 
until these things can be done—allow me 
to make one more suggestion—let us, as 
fruit and vegetable growers, do a little 
transportation for ourselves.’' 
“Let us, as a company, raise $100,000, 
build three iron steamships of 1,000 tons 
