, 1880-02-01
PACIFIC MAIL.

The Steamship Company Offering TO
Make Contracts for One Year at
Largely Reduced Rntes-A Bitter
War with the Railroads to BE Inau-
Eurated.
Special Dispatch to The Chicago Trtonne-
New YORK, Jan. 81.-The Pacific Mail
Steamship Companys Directors met to-day
and agreed upon the circular to be sent out
to shippers at once, saying that on and after
the 11th OF February the Company will be
prepared to name rates of freight from New
York to San Francisco, via the 18th
mus of Panama, and to contract
for the same with shippers for
term of twelve months from that date. No
defnft schedule of freight-rates was decided
upon, for the reason that the vessel sailing
the 10th inst. is already full. Between now
and the 11th another meeting will be
held. and the extent of the reduc-
ton contemplated be determined It was
decided, however, to cut down the rare
Of steerage passengers IS below the amount
previously stated. The rate will be S7o TOT
frst-class and S35 for steerage from here TO
San Francisco, and these go into effect at
once. The fact that the Company expresses
willingness to make contracts for twelve
months ahead was pointed to by one OF
the officers as proof Of the unalterable deter
mination to carry on to the bitter end the
war now inauguratcd with the railroad COM
pauies. The existence of such contracts
would, he said, leave no loophole for
compromise, and the merchants mlghS
therefore rest assured that the days OF e1-
tortion have passed forever. The Directors
were, he asserted, firmly convinced this was
the only remunerative course to pursue.
Under the old contract the steamship COM
pany was allowed 600 tons of freight per
vessel. To get around this, the railway
companies were in the habit Of sending
Lots of sc1ap-iron and other undesirable
stuff. and If the steamship company
refused to carry the material claim was
set up that it had violated the agreement,
and when 1t sought to get its money under
the stipulation it vas IefaSfd and tIpe
suit was that the Steamship Company
t Was eoagld gIdda get sa Wnder The Contract With
the Panama Railroad Company, the 5 steam, am,
ship Company pays the later tne nxea +11. suit
viii cost no more to transport across the
isthmus 100. 600 tons Of freight and an equal
humber Of passengers than it would
five tons Or five thpp passengers eeW order Raooo 81
things result IN largely-increased business,
tie Company has prepared to meet It BY en-
tering into a contract with John Roach g.
Son, Whereby these gentlemen agree to fur-
nish ali the first-c1ass yessels-equl in Size
and appointments to the City OF Para and Kio
de Janeiro-such increase may make reqMls1t.: J.
The a5 Company an las largely increased both ways,
total receipts we're SIS, 900, of which $4,000
were net profits. The Australian business S.
has also more than doubled, and the
indebtedness of the Company has decreased
so that it now amounts all told, to less than
ST 500, 600, OF which S., 400 600 are due to the
Panama Railroad Company. 4 proposition
is now under discussion to fund this lndebt-
property Of the Company given to the Pana-
ma Railroad Company at the time Of the purr-
chase Of the vessels of the Panama Transit
Company.