The morning call., 1892-08-17
The Hard Blow Dealt to the
Railroad.
1T LOSES SIXTY THOUSAND TONS.
The Merchants Ill Stand Together for
Low Rates.
Stubs Is a Suppliant Before the Trans
continental Association, Where lie
Used to Be Dictator.

Sixty thousand tons of freight are on the
way from the Atlantic seaboard to San
Francisco via Cape Horn.
This is an enormous tonnage.
1t is greater than any recorded since the
Southern Pacific Company established its
Sunset route.
The Sunset has carried more than 60 per
cent of the Atlantic seaboard freight to Cali
fornia for many years.
And now OF q sudden it loses large pro-
portion of the business.
The ocean route is getting IT, and 1t viii
keep II for a good while to come.
Sixty thousand tons of freight are 5000
carloads, If you count u tons to the car.
This is a dead loss to the Southern Pacific
Company.
What does 1t all mean?
Simply that the merchants have taken
the whip hand Of the railroad monopoly for
once in their lives and they say that they
mean TO keep 1t.
The community ought to pat them on the
back and say Good fellows" for they now
are doing something that will greatly benefit
San Francisco.
If the merchants can keep 60 600 tons of
freight On the water route every four
months that will be 10000 tons a year, or
say 5000 carloads.
Say that there has been an average OF 20
carloads Of through westbound freight day
coming into California from the East, or
about 5000 carloads q year. this would
take practically all the through westbound
freight away from the railroads.
OF course that cannot be done.
Nobody expects TO see the railroad lose
all their eastward through freight traffic,
but that there will be very big hole in it
is now plainly to be seen.
How has it all been brought about?
Simply enough.
The merchants have fought combination
with combination, just as THE CALL has
urged them to do from the start
Aud the result will be that one big combi-
nation of monopoly will soon be In very
bad way.
That is the Transeontinental AssocIa-
ton.
THE CALL has shown In previous articles
how that giant Of trafiic combinations has
ruled the transportation business across the
continent.
THE CALL has devoted column after
column TO showing bow the TranScontinen-
tai Association has combined with the Pa
cife Mall Steamship Company to keep up
rates.
THE CALL has laid particular stress on
the fact that over $500 600 has been paid
by the combined railroads now IN the
Transcoutinental Association to throttle
competition by sea. that amount going into
the Golfers of the Pacific Mail. which has
maintained tariff OF rates dictated By the
TranseOntinental Association. which in turn
has been dictated 10 by the Southern Pa
cific Company.
Up to a recert period the Southern Paci-
nc Company had Il all It's own way in the
pool.
If Stubs wanted any change In the tariff
TO favor the Standard Oil Company or any
other big shipper the other members always
gave way TO him.
They paid their pro rata of the steamship
b. subsidy without dissenting. because Stubbs
said they would have to 90 IL.
In fact, Stubbs was the big bashaW of the
pool, and among the members the Stubbs
rod was as terrible as was tie rod Of Jupiter
70 the ancient Greeks.
1t was amusing, too, to see the way
Stubbs pulled the wool over the eyes of
For instance, they wanted a reduction of
the rate on beans.
Il took the matter MP In the meeting of
the TranscOntiuental Association" Mr..
Stubbs would say, ''and | argued IN behalf
of the reduction, but when it came TO the
vote we lost II. and SO We can do nothing
for YOU"
Ii the actual record Of the meetings of the
Transcontinental Association could be held
up to the public gaze it is thought they
would shoH a different sort of argument
made by the Southern Pacific man. For it
Is known that In those association meet
ingS" Stubbs ruled the rOost.
But now a change has come.
The Union Pacific, the Northern Paci fc,
the Santa fe and the other companies ave
become dissenters from the Stubbs rule.
They have been reading the articles from
The CALL coll cted aud published under
the title of "Fettered Commerce"
Like man paying out small installments
from month to month, they have been led
TO see by THE CALL that they have been
drained OF an enormous sum in the course
of time-Sl5. .000, 000-aud it has all practic-
ally gone out to no purpose.
IL has been very expensive Yay of keen
Ing out competition.
Latterly. too the members Of the associa-
ton have seen that their $4,000 a month
mas, practically speaking, gone into Hunt
iDgton's safe, as he has been at the head Of
Pacific Mail affairs for some time.
Now, this sort OF thing was not to the
taste Of the Santa Fe and the other lines.
When complaint was made the Southern
Pacific people said: 1--WE pay our propor-
ton without grumbling. Why can't you
pay yours?"
YES" was the reply, I'VE see MIR. Hunt
fngtOn taking his subsidy money and put
ting it from one of his pockets into the
other. but we can't do that we have to
give to huntington"
And so at the next meeting of the associa-
ton, TO be held in New York on the oath
ins.., the members Will tell Mr. Stubbs that
they will discontinue the payment of the
subsidy.
In fact they have already done so. a vote
on the matter having been taken recently
by letter. and all except the Southern
Pacific voting for the discontinuance of the
subsidy.
At the coming meeting the old order of
things will be reversed.
Instead OF being naughty and dictatorial
TO set OF readily swayed railroad men Mr.
Stubos viii go as a supplcant for fayors
and the haughtiness and dlctatorialnesS will
be on the other side.
Meantime there is the other matter Of
freight rates TO consider. Unless a general
alf-Tound and very deep cut is made the
Duslr ess viii al 20 to the clipper ships.
Commodore Leeds has so willed it and the
merchants say that he is good man and
they will stick by him.
But Leeds IS nlso strongly fighting for the
reduction Of local rates
de is bound to have them cut down 10
per cent before he is through with them. go
be says. and the shippers have faith in him