The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-03-24
"THIS MUST BE REMEDIED."

"THIS MUST B
the rates charged on the Panama route to
and from this city are higher than they are
for the haul clear across the Pacific, over
twice the distance.
The subsidy matter has been treated with
due attention.
The Panama Railroad contract has been
made conspicuous.
But this IS not all, nor the worst Of It.
Attention will now be called to some very
important facts with relation 10 west-b0und
trans-isthmian and trans-Pacifc traffic. On
this THE CALL will not elaborate. 1t is
not necessary. The bare facts are sufficient
Anybody can point the moral.
China uses American cottOn-thousaud
of bales of IL There is nothing strange
about that. 1t is only natural The
Chinese, while very quick to initiate the
white man in ether fields of industry, have
not yet learned TO mill cotton to an advan-
tage. Cotton grown In China and manu-
factured there is vastly inferior to the
material from and manufactured elsewhere
For many years after England opened up
the seaport trade Of China TO the world
Europe controlled the cotton trade of East
ern Asia. A great deal of the cotton used
blythe Chinese was shipped from America
ia 4 raw state, manufacture in England,
France or Germany. aud sent to HonR-Kong.
Canton or Shanghai around the Cape of
Good Hope, or, later, through the. Suez
Canal
Our diplomatists. legislators and other
encouragers Of commerce had TO almost
move heaven and earth to Induce the
Chinese merchants to order their cotton
shipped to Houg-Kong via San Francisco.
At last, when 1t seemed as II the
Ia
custom of the backs of the ASiatics was a
hopeless one, succes5 crowned the efforts
of the agtators on behalf of San Fran cisco.
The Chinese cotton trade-a gOody por-
ton of it, at least--was finally started by
way of the Isthmus Of Panama and San
Francisco.
The cotton came from the Southern States.
What was sen. by way of this port to
Shanghai, Hong-K Kong, Canton and other
Chinese cities kept several mills running in
Georgia.
81 have seen as many as 80 tons of cot
ton come UP on the Panama steamer" said
gentleman yesterday. 81 was in the steam
ship business myself, AMI used to notice all
the freight that came into and went out of
this port. The docks used to be piled high
with the bales, and their presence there
used to be the means Of giving employment
to good many freight-handlers. l think
that during the shipping season the cotton
used to come in at the rate of 100. tons a
month. 1t remained here until the steamer
sailed for China, and then 1t went on its
way"
That was in the days when the Pacific
Mail had the trans-Pacfc trade all its own
way. Now. there is a competitor in the
field. Being heavily subsidized the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company does not care to
make rates to keep business away from
competing lines. 1t has let this cotton trade
slip away from il, and now 1t is lost to San
When the Canadian Pacific opened its
through route from New York to Japan and
China, via Vancouver, 1t made strong bid
for the cotton business, along with the
other traffic. Listlessly the Mail Company
looked on and saw the trade leaving
IL. II made no move 10 prevent
this great loss. Any other line, steamship
or railway, would have reduced Its rates
and put them on basis that was calcu-
lated to control the traffic. Any other line
would have made it matter Of pride t2
have kept that cotton trade. even though
there had been a very small profit In the
hauling of it, There are transportation
companies that would even have carried
that cotton at a loss rather than have seen 1t
gone over te a competitor.
But the Pacific Mail is an uncommon
carrier 1t permitted a common carrier,
from it and to keep it.
If the Pacific Mail had had the interests
OF San Francisco at heart in the least way
II would not have done this. Ii would
have held on to that cotton.
"San Francisco has lost the Chinese cot
ton trade because Of high rates of freight"
said a traffic authority yesterday. "The
reason for its disinclinatiol to reduce the
rates and keep the business Is that the high
rates main tained by the Mall Company on
the Panama line would be affected by the
cutting down OF the tariff in the case OF any
commodity carried"
Viee-President }. B. Houston IF the Pa
cihc Mail, who Is located in New York does
not like the way The CALI has been letting
the sunlight into the dark and secret places
which bis company does not want 10 have
people peer into.
In recent interview with n New York
reporter Mr.. Houston said that the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company had done all that
IL could, without sacrificing its own inter-
ests, to build up the San Francisco trade.
"There is no reason why we should carry
freight anywhere else than San Francisco"
said he, 'and we have endeavored TO favor
that place. In our January schedule both
freight and passenger rates between San
Francisco and Central and South American
points were reduced In order that San Fran
cisco might keep that South Pacific coast
trade as against the competition OF the Ger
man and British steamship lines which run
through the Straits Of Magellan"
All this sounds well. San Francisco be-
lieves about as much Of it as she believes Of
the Book Of Mormon"
Tell US about that subsidy. Mr.. Houston.
Give us the actual figures of the amount
your company receives from the railroads to
"hold up San Francisco as stagecoach is
"held up" on the public highway
BY the way, Mr.. Houston, how much does
the Central Pacific Railroad Company,
sinely. alone. nobody included, pay the
Pacific Mail part of this commerce.
sitting proceeding?
Give us those fSures-those actual figures
representing the amount of that subsidy
that has come from the Central Pacific
alone for the past eight years, and we will