284 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Report of the Transportation Committee 
A T the last meeting of the Association, the Transpor¬ 
tation Committee was instructed to take up with 
the Official Glassification Committee the question 
of having the fifth class rating covering trees in car lots 
restored, which had been changed to fourth class. 
The writer appeared before the sub-committee at Chi¬ 
cago, J uly 8th, at which time he presented the resolution 
of Mr. Kelsey as passed by the Association, and otherwise 
endeavored to have them restore the former rating. The 
matter of packing and the increased cost of same was 
gone into fully, and also ratings which were in effect in 
the Western and Southern Classification territories were 
referred to hut after the regular hearing, which followed 
in New York City, was advised that the Committee could 
not see its way clear to grant the request. Their letter 
of refusal is as follows: 
“At meeting of the Official Classification Committee in July, 
consideration was given to your letter of July 12th, following 
up your appearance before the Committee at Chicago on July 
8th and also to the resolutions adopted by the Convention at 
Detroit on June 23rd—25th:—The committee considering in 
general the ratings of the Official Classification coupled with 
minimums applied thereto, and having in view the situation 
outlined in your letter of April 24th to the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission in connection with the requested suspen¬ 
sion of the provision making the fourth class rating to apply 
on nursery or florists’ stock, did not feel warranted in recom¬ 
mending to the Official Classification lines any change in the 
carload conditions now in effect. It is felt that at lower than 
the fourth class carload rating, this traffic is not in reasonable 
adjustment with other items in the Classification and that at 
the fourth class rating the charges are not unjust nor un¬ 
reasonable.” 
It was further suggested that failing to secure the 
change with the Classification Committee the matter 
should be taken up with the Interstate Commerce Com¬ 
mission, hut the writer, after careful investigation and 
analysis of the rate, would advise against any such pro¬ 
cedure as he believes it would be a useless expenditure of 
money with no results accomplished. 
Your Committee endeavored to secure a compromise 
minimum of 18,000 pounds with fifth class rating, but the 
Classification people would not consider same, claiming 
it was out of line with the rating, but some of them in¬ 
timated that if the nursery people would be willing to ac¬ 
cept a 24,000 or 28,000-pound minimum the fifth class 
rating might be restored, but knowing this would not suit 
the nursery interests at all, and furthermore it being im¬ 
possible to load such minimum in the average cars, such 
suggestion was not considered. 
After the hearing the Executive Committee was advised 
of the results; also furnished some figures showing why 
it was not considered advisable to carry the matter before 
the Commission. Under the new rating, that is fourth 
class and 16,000 pound minimum, it figures from New 
York City to the Mississippi River 5%c per car, per mile, 
and six and nine-tenths mills per ton per mile. From 
Rochester and territory to the Mississippi River it figures 
five and forty-six hundreds cents per car per mile and six 
and eight tenths mills per ton per mile. From New York 
City to Rochester it figures seven and one-tenth cents per 
car per mile and 9 mills per ton per mile. 
In the testimony that was produced in the 5 per cent, 
case, of which no doubt most of you are somewhat fam¬ 
iliar, it showed that a large portion of traffic in many 
commodities was yielding less than 7 cents per loaded car 
mile, although the record shows that the railroad men or¬ 
dinarily consider the average earning per loaded car mile 
should be more than twice that amount. 
The expedited movement of freight is a part of the 
Transportation service. In the 5 per cent, case the inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission suggested to the railroads in 
Eastern territory that they should avoid traffic which is 
unprofitable. Your Committee hasn’t the space to cover 
all of the points and suggestions as outlined in the 5 per 
cent, case, but the Commission admitted that in the ad¬ 
justment of some of the rates it would mean increases on 
many commodities. 
Your Committee made a careful examination of the 
Official Classification and found that nursery stock at fifth 
class and 16,000-pound minimum was the only commod¬ 
ity with that rating in the Classification covering about 
16,000 different commodities. 
Going further, it was found that only about 40 com¬ 
modities had a minimum of 20,000 pounds, and fifth class, 
and from the list below you will readily see that most, if 
not all, of them are of low value and non-perishable: 
Christmas trees Excelsior Gn.ss 
Tow 
Fodder 
Hair (cattle-hog) 
Stalks 
Palm leaves 
Shredded wood Flax straw 
Hay Husks 
Portable Boilers Hemp and okra 
Rope Swings 
Bran Dusters Cotton Gins 
Cotton mill machinery 
Reels (centrifugal) 
Threshers 
Fan mills 
Kegs, wood 
Chaff-straw 
Corn stalks 
Wood swings 
Mining dump carts 
Washboards 
Punhers-middling Sumac leaves 
Textile machinery Moss 
Pulleys 
Band cutters 
Bristles 
Shavings 
Cotton motes 
Crushed cane sugar refuse 
Sugar cane 
Hair cloth clippings 
Factory sweepings 
Farm carts 
Barrows, furnace Some wagons & vehicles 
Sleds and sleighs 
Cotton waste 
From Vice President and General Counsel Traffic Ser¬ 
vice Rureau: 
“We can compile for you a statement of various analogous 
articles in the classification taking a minimum carload 
weight of 16,000 lbs., and show the rates applicable thereto. 
“However, as concrns the merits of the question, and the 
possibility of your securing a change in classification through 
formal proceedings before the Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion, we are rather reluctant to recommend your taking such 
steps. The average per ton per mile revenue of the carriers 
is a fraction over seven mills, and a revenue of nine mills or 
less on an article that is of a perishable nature, might not be 
considered unreasonable by the Commission. In addition, 
there are very few articles in the classification with a mini¬ 
mum as low as 16,000 pounds which have a rate better than 
third class and many of these articles are not perishabe in 
their nature- 
‘Possibly you might persuade the carriers to increase the 
minimum in as much as you say you can readily load as high 
as 22500 lbs. and thus obtain a concession on the rate by the 
carriers, so as to make the revenue per car about the same.” 
