CARRIAGE OF FRUIT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1615, 5 December 1912, Page 9

CARRIAGE OF FRUIT.

SYSTEM OF THROUGH BOOKING. THE GOVERNMENT AS AGENT. The outline of a new scheme Ijy which fruit may be carried over the Government railways and on steamers by a ithrouglibooking arrangement from any part of the Dominion to any other piirt, was given to a Dominion reporter by tho Hon. W. 11. Hemes, Minister for Haihvays, yesterday. "11l the hope of bringing the producer and consumer into direct touch wifh each other, and eo reducing the price of locallygrown fruit, vegetables, game, dead rabbits, fish, and A T cw Zealand-grown nuts, tho Government as far back as 1895 gazetted exceedingly low rates for the oonvcyance by rail of the articles mentioned,"- said "Mr. Merries. "The rates have been in operation for nearly 17 years, and the experience of the Department has been that, the''producer and consumer, lor whose benefit tho cheap rates wero primarily established, have not availed them-, selves* of the opportunities afforded to any considerable extent. The benefits of the cheap rates have therefore praotically gone to the middleman, so that while Che Department's revenue has suffered, the members of the community whom it was sought to benefit by tho. establishment of cheap rates have hot received the benefits they would have done had they availed themselves of the facilities at their disposal, and the price of fruit, vegetables, etc., has steadily increased, notwithstanding the low rates charged for transport of eame by rail. Prom 1883 to 1897 the Railway Department, in conjunction with the Union Steam Ship Company, had also _in operation, a system of through booking for goods between sections separated by fiea. This eystem, after being in operation for some li years, was abandoned for want of support. , "As there now appears to be some likelihood of a through-booking arrangement for fruit being availed of to some extent, tho Eailway Department has for some considerable time past been negotiating with the steamship companies with a view of making a satisfactory arrangement under which fruit may be booked from one portion of the Dominion to another where rail and sea journeys have to be made. The co-operation of the Postal Department has also been secured, and it is hoped that with'tho support of the Fruitgrowers' Association the sclieme of through booking, which will be brought into operation on January 1 next, will be the means of bringing the producer and consumer directly into touch with each other, and to a large extent obviate the necessity for the employment of the middleman, thus materially reducing the price of fruit to the consumer. "The arrangement will bo open for use by all sections of the public and by all fruitgrowers, irrespective of whether they are members of the Fruitgrowers' Association or not. "An essential part of the scheme is that the person ordering the fruit must prepay all charges at the time the order js given. This can be done by obtaining from the Postal Department special coupons that are being provided, and paying to the postal officer the full transport and delivery charges as well as the value of. the fruit ordered. The price to be paid for the fruit will be tho market rate ruling at tho time the order is given. Orders given, for fruit from specified, growers.will be placed accordingly, but for the purpose of ensuring the supplying of fruit ns promptly as possible, wherever the purchaser does not specify the vendor,, tho order will bo placed through the , Fruitgrowers' Association, and by them be allocated to the members of the association, who can'supply the fruit with the quickest dispatch."-