The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-06-06
For the First Time in Their
Service the Cashier Slaves
Them Off.
C.p. HUNTINGTON SHORT OF CASH
1t Looks as Though the Great Rail-
road Monopoly Had Been Badly
Crippled by Sea COM
petition.

The biggest piece of local news this
morning is tho Southern Pacific's pass
ing of saIary-day at the Fourth and
Townsend street offices for whole
week. What does 1t mean? What can
it mean but that Huntington and his
partners are short of cash the
suit of strong competition of late by
land and sea?
rs c. P. huntington short of cash?" is
a question that has been asked many times
during the past week.
1t certainly looks that way.
Nowhere has the supposed sh0rtness of
Southern Pacific coin been mere severely
felt than among the array of clerks at
Fourth and Townsend streets.
Never in the history of the great rail-
road system has salary-day been passed
by the cashier so long as it was for the
month of May. The clerks waited and
waited for their pay, but it came not.
Owing TO strong competition by sea and
for various other reasons business has
been so slack with the Southern Pacific
Company that the corporation was a week
behind time in paying off its clerical force.
The fregnt-figurers and the ticket-counters
were grumbling about not getting their
money, ana declared that never before in
their term of service with the company
had it failed to pay on time.
This information taileS with the story
about the paycar that passed over the San
Joaquin division twice last week without
stopping to pay off the men working on
that section of the road. All the men,
other than the trainhands. quit work and
refused 10 return to labor until their
accounts with the monopoly were settled.
This threat had the desired effect.
T.ey got their money.
Railroad officials interviewed yesterday
professed to be ignorant of the fact that
the company was behind with lis payrolls,
but nevertheless such was the case.
The Southern Pacific has steadily been
losing ground. Shipments which the Pa
cifc Mail Company used to force to the
railroads are coming by sea, causing
clear loss of Thousands of dollars to the
Southern Pacific.
The Oregon Pacific has played havoc
with the monopoly IN the north. and the
Canadian Pacific lis making the Sunset
route look sick.
The total receipts of the Southern Pacific
system for May are stated on good author
ity to be about $S50,000, and its expenses
much in excess OF This amount.
1t is estimated that the North American
Navigation Company has already taken
several hundred thousands of dollars
worth of trade away from the railroad, and
Huntington is getting desperate. A we'll
defined rumor gained ground some days
ago that Pacific Mail stock was being un-
loaded in New York by c. P. Huntington.
There is no way of verifying this report,
but business men put considera bic trust in
its authenticity.
In connection with this matter Captain
Merry said some weeks ago that it was his
belief that Huntington was circulating
stories about a combination being effected
whereby the Pacific Mail was To gobble up
the opposition line, for the purpose of ef-
fecting Pacific Mail stock.
The latest rumor extant, undoubtedly
originating with the Huntington news
bureau in New York, is that an attempt is
being made to force combination be-
tween the shippers and ship-owners in
California for the purpose of controlling
the deep-sea traffic.
A careful canvass of leading ship-owners
here proves that this report is absurd, and
that it would be impossible to tie up the
American clipper ships. Interests in these
vessels are too numerous and varied to be
subjected to any centralized organization.
Even if such a combination were effected
American clipper ships could not control
the situation, as there are too many foreign
bottoms available.
The Sunsets new tariff, revised to Offset
the canadian Pacifc's cut, was supposed
to go into effect yesterday. but there is no
telling what day may bring forth.
Southern Pacific cuts now extend all
over its system. and Huntington is un-
doubtedly being squeezed pretty hard.
Traffic Manager Leeds says that the
money for the Stockton and Bakersfield
road will be raised in San francisco, and
that hard blow will soon be struck at the
old monopoly.
C. P. Huntington would have looked
very thoughtful had he stood on Lombard,
street pier yesterday morning.
A line of trucks, wagons and buggies.
two hundred men working like beavers, a
wharf trembling with the traffic of heavy
teams and groaning with thousands Of
tons of freight describes the scene.
The Keweenaw brought up the largest
through cargo on record. She smashed all
previous freighting records of the isthmus
1919 """ ~a"oNU '4ie iioiHs u"pSo VA luo
Pacific Mail Company to drop like ther-
mometer in an icechest.
The Keweenaw will take to Central
America on her next trip the largest con-
sigument of lumber ever carried on
passenger steamer TO that section. There
will be 200. 600 feet In all-enough to load
good-siZsd vessels.
Stops will be made on the. down trip at
Ocos, Champerico, Acajutls. San Jose de
Guatemala, Corinto and other ports be-
tween here and Panama
This is good news to shippers, and it has
been eabled to Central America. where
thousands of tons of freight are waiting
shipment to New York, preference being
given the new line
Ii Is said that the Pacific Mail steamer
Barracuda. which is emnloved exclnsivelv