The morning call., 1892-03-11
TURN THE OCEAN TO ACCOUNT.

Captain Merry says that the Straits Of
Magellan steamship line is not dead but
sleepeth. The public will be glad to hear
of its waking, for of ali the projects now be-
fore the public for the Acknowledgement of
the trade of San Francisco from the DONNA
ton Of the combine between the Southern
Pacific and the Pacific Mail that is the
most promising Freight steamships with
triple-expansion engines can now be built
for about SIS a ton displacement, and a
carrying capacity double their displace-
ment. They could make the voyage from
Liverpool or New York to San Francisco in
something Ike fifty days, and they could
carry such proportion Of the through
freight that the monopoly of the trans
continental railroads would be broken M.
in spite of the combine with the Pacific
Mail To put such company on its feet
about a million dollars would be needed 10
begin with. but considerable portion of
this stock could be placed with the builders
If the steamers; San Francisco would be
glad to take he rest.
The public would like to know what is
the reason a new line Of freight steamers
between San Francisco and New York could
not make the voyage by way of Panama. A
majority Of the stock in the Panama Rail-
road passed, many years ago, into the hands
OF the French canal company; what be-
came OF it when that corporation got into
difficulty? Has the Pacific Mail got such
an exclusive contract with the railroad that
the latter is debarred from carrying at
reasonable rates freight offered to it by an
other line of steamers plying between New
York and San Francisco? II not, if the
railroad is administered in the interest of
its owners, so that it is free to carry freight
for a new line on the same terms that it
carries freight for the Pacific Mail, it is not
easy to see why n new line should go to
Magellan Straits at all. And it, on the ether
hand, the Pacific Mail has concluded an
offensive and defensive combine with the
Panama Railroad, so as to shut out COMPETE
ton, the question Of law viii arise whether
line Of steamers, sailing under a United
States register. receiving a subsidy for
carrying the United States mails, and en-
j0yiDg all the privileges which enure to the
American mercantile navy. can use its op-
portunties in restraint of trade and in
opposition to the extension of the foreign
commerce OF the country.
The merchants Of San Francisco are on
the right track. Emancipation from rail-
road domination is to be secured by develop
ing orr maritime intercourse 1t can be
accomplished in no other way II we had a
dozen more railroads tomorrow they would
all become members Of the transcontinentai
pool. unless restrained By our Government,
and freights wonld be more likely to advance
than to fall. because there would be more
partners to divide the spots Of the business.
But railroads cannot go On buying up lines
of steamers indefinitely. If shipbuiiders
caught them at that game they would take
M In Aa.fc fufo
to be bought off. The sea is Tree to all and
there is no limit to the number of freight
steamers which can be built if they can be
made to pay.
Recentimprovements in naval architecture
point the way for San Franciscans to follow.
The rev freight steamers, with triples x-
pansion engines and enormous carving
eapaelty-with which England is covering
every ocean-are able to carry freight at
Dgnres which would have seemed incredible
twenty years ago. and yet which pay fair
dividend on the cost OF the vessels And.
strange to say, though the insurance COM
panies, which are almost exclusively Eng
lish, make such a wide difference i'm rates
between iron hulls and wooden bulls, there
is q decided revival in the wootien-shp
building industry in the East The new
ships built In 1891 in Maine had a ton
mage Of ~, 377, as against 4.4G6 tons 10 1890
(which was an exceptional year.. 80. SCI in
1899. f6.087 in 1888, &c. 54 in 1887 and Ii. COS
in 1856 The new feur-masters which are
being launched at Bath, Me-. are making
money; the Shenandoah is sailing full all
tie time; the Su-quebannah. now afloat.
and the Roanoke. which will come of the
ways this summer, have equal prospects of
doiIfs go simultaneously the Cramps say
tina; they ian build iron steamships as
ciiespiy as the. can be built on the Clyde.
: Usder the circumstances it will argue
singular apathy On tlle Sart Of our citizens