The record-union., 1893-04-27
AGAINST THE INTERIOR.
The Milk in the San Francisco
Cocoanut.
The Stockton ''Mafl'' Makes the
Situation Very Clear TO Its
Readers.
AGAINST TIE INTERIOR.
From the Stockton Daily Mall ]


The San Francisco Bulletin as the organ
of the Traffic Association is sometimes
'real amusin'." Recently it has devoted
large portion of its superficial area to a
series of efforts designed TO show that
California is being ruined by excessive
railroad charges upon outgoing and in
coming business. The burden of the
complaint has been that, there being no
competition in transcontinental trans
portation, the railroad people. in pur-
suance of their policy of charging all the
traffic will bear, are sapping the life of
the State. This seemed rather plausible,
considering that the railroad people, the
same as the rest of US, are not averse to
accepting a situation that has money
in it.
Now comes the Bulletin, however, and
declares with scare headings that these
same railroad people have resolved to
ruin California with cheap rates. The
new schedule is TO 60 into effect to-mor-
row. How, II they were destroying our
prosperity with high rates, they are now
to ruin US completely with low rates. is
more than is permitted the average intel
Hgence to understand.
The fact is that the Bulletin and the
Traffic Association which il represents
are insincere in their pretended regard
for the interests OF California. They are
concerned only for the welfare OF San
Francisco as community of shopkeep-
ers, who are unwilling that there should
be any shopkeepers elsewhere in Cali
tornla not paying tribute to them.
The new navigation company operating
a line of vessels by the Isthmus route to
New York began by putting down rates,
whereat there was great JOY and clap
At
the Traffic Association, the Bulletin par
ticipating in the glee with its editorial
bass drum. 1t was indeed a signal event
for San francisco, as tending to restore to
that town its former position as controller
of the trade of the State. So long as
the San Francisco importer received his
goods by the 1Sthmus route at less
| freight charge than that involved in the
overland haul, he could compete success
fully with the interior importer. Freight
by rail reaches the latter as cheaply as
1t does the former, with the advantage
that the interior importer is not sub
jected to the back haul. To make this
clear, we may take the case of Hender-
son IL Son of tnis city, who are heavy
importers of Eastern vehicles. They can
supply the interior trade cheaper than
any san Francisco house can supply it,
for the reason that they pay the same
through rate and do not have to bear the
local rate from the metropolis back to the
point of final sale. This advantage has
been enjoyed by the merchants OF Stock
ton since this was made terminal point.
II, however, Henderson IL Son, IL. c.
Shaw or any OF the rest of our large i'm
porters of Eastern merchandise received
their freight by steamer from Panama
they would be deprived of the present ad
vantage OF escaping the back haul by the
purely geographical circumstance OF
operating nearer to the point Of consump-
ton. The natural position of this city as
the distributing center for the san Joa-
quin Valley and the mountains would
count for nothing as against the artificial
arrangement maintained by the Traffic
Association for the benefit of San Fran
cisco as the one single distributing center
for the entire northern half of the State.
This is the milk in the cocoanut. The
railroad people simply meet the cut in
freight rates by the Isthmus route, which
means that the trade centers of the in
terror shall be maintained, and that the
natural laws of commerce shall not be
abrogated in the interest ofan association
of metropolitan shop-keepers. Stockton
will continue to be the distributing point
which was ordained for her in the scheme
of things, and-and the Bulletin and its
Traffic Association will continue to OBJ
ject.
THE advertising of Hoods Sarsaparilla
is always substantiated by Endorsements
which in the financial world would be ac-