The morning call., 1892-08-28
HILL PUTS ON War PAINT
The Great Northern's Row
With the Pool.
STUBBS WORKS IN SECRET.
The Merchants AreNDisappointsd Because Of
the Lack Of Rate-Reduction Reports
From New York

why are the New York dispatches pur-
porting to contain an account OF the meet
ings of the Transeon tinentsl Association
so mesger and contain so little information
about what has been done?"
That is the question which the merchants
of this city desire 10 have answered.
When the Southern Pacific Company sent
MessEs Stubs. Smurr. Goodman and Mar
tin TO New York about week ego every
body here was led to expect great things
from the meeting.
For several days before his departure Mr..
Stubbs gave figures and talked about great
freight reductions he intended to force the
association 10 accept.
But it now looks as If the whole matter
had been quietly compromised. for there
has so far no dispatch been received here
bringing the joyful tidings of any transcOnti-
mental freight reductions.
Ii was on account of the clipper ship COM
petition and because the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe, the Union Pacific and other
lines were looming up as form liable rivals,
Mr.. Stubbs said before he went to New
York. that these freight rate reductions had
10 be made.
All this rivalry still exists to-day as it did
two weeks ago, but the only news that
comes over tile wires is to the effect that
there will be changes made more favorable
TO the northern lines on November /.
Sooner or later the truth will be known
and San Francisco will learn how Mr..
Stubbs and his associates worked their little
game. and then also, perhaps. the reasons
why the Pacific Mail subsidy Is TO be con-
tinued, and why all the talk about reducing
rates and fares has so suddenly been
dropped, viii come 10 light.
II certainly must have been a peculiar
kind of persuasion which enabled Stubbs
and company 10 make all the other railroad
men accept their terms.
Ine Great Northern, Jim HIPS road, is
the only one reported TO have Withdrawn
from the ass sCciatiOn.
This rs another peculiar circumstance in
The chain OF queer proceedings which have
characterized the New York conference.
Why should the Great Northern alone act
in opposition to Mr. Huntington's company ?
Is it because Hill Is in earnest and intends
to compete with the Southern Pacific?
IL so there are two ways open for him to
do so.
lie can ship transcontinental freight by
steamers from his Puget Sound terminals IS
| To San Francisco, or he can, as has often
been said to be his intention, build q COM
peting railroad from the Northwest to this
cltY.
As a matter of course the mercantile COM
munlty here hopes sincerely that Hill
means business and that he will at once
engage in war of rates with the Southern
Pacific; but until more is known about the
! proceedings OF the ITanscOntnental AssO-
citation meeting there are large number OF
skepties who consider tile Great NOTtheTn's S
withdrawal only n blind
AT any rate II is quite certain that a great
many people IN this community are sadly
disaD 0inted because they receive so little
information about matters which concern
them so closely.
1t is also equally sure that Mr.. Hunting
ton and his men are strongly suspected Of
being the people VINO are responsible for
the secrecy which has surrounded all the
proceedings Of what was considered one of
the most important railroad meetings ever
held in the United States.