The morning call., 1894-11-21
GOING TO JAPAN.
Tom Mckay Takes a New
Position.
ANOTHER RAILROAD MOVE.
Working Against the Canadian
Pacific.
MOTHER RAILROAD MOVE.
BIG COMBINE LATELY EFFECTED.
Mckay Will Go to the Orient to
Build Up the Passenger Traffic
for His Lines.

On the LIST of December the resignation
Of T. D. Mckay as Pacific Coast passen-
ger agent OF lbe Burlington road will take
effect, and on December he will take the
steamer for the Orient, where he goes to
assume the duties of general passenger
agent of the Pacific Mail and the Occi-
dental and Oriental lines of steamships
and the Union Pacific and Chicago and
Northwestern railroads for India, China
and Japan. He will ia all probability
make his headquarters for the present in
Yokohama.
The causes which led up to this action of
the steamship and railroad lines date
back to the establishment of the Canadian
Pacific line with its three steamers-the
Empress of India, Empress of China and
Empress of Japan.
While the other transcontinental lines
were resting secure in the belief that they
held absolute control of the traffic from
the Orient, the Canadian Pacific managers
went to work with will and with de-
termination that a portion al least of this
desirable patronage should be diverted
from its old channel.
How well they succeeded has become
painfully manifest within the past year,
when The steamers of the Canadian Paci-
fc have been carrying, it is claimed, very
large bulk of the business. This very
naturally was not at all pleasing to the
other lines. which had SO long enjoyed a
mon Opoly OF The traffic. but yet they made
no decided or effective efforts to change
this status of affairs until the present step
was decided upon.
In 1888. or about that year, the Union
rhvua
Chicago and Alton roads made an agree
ment with the Oceanic or Spreckels line
of steamers by which their roads were to
handle all the business which came over
that line from Australia. This was made
effective by the manner of ticketing pas
sengers through from the starting point to
final destination, with stOp-over privileges,
and a such rates that II became an induce
ment for the traveller to buy his tickets in
that manner rather than to merely pur-
chase ticket to San Francisco by steamer
and then buy his railroad transportation
after he arrived here.
The present combine is said to be
formed on exactly the same lines and for
longer term of years, the contract spoken
of having been made for only ten years.
When the Canadian Pacific entered the
of the other lines in a systematic manner.
| Old and experienced men were stationed
at the various points Of depUrtalion, and
the advantages which the line offered were
| constantly and persstently pressed upon
| the attention of tourists. Personal atten.
ton was given to each prospective passen-
ger while the old lines depended in the
main upon their reputation and the effect
1T rrip tad
phrased posters. The more modern meth
DDS of soliciting and securing patronage
of course soon placed the Canadian Pacific
on an equality, to say the least, with the
other lines in regard to the number of its
patrons, while the tendency of affairs
seemed to indicate that unless radical
measures were adopted the Canadian Pa
cifc would ultimately have control of all
the business.
The Southern Pacific authorities are said
to have been the first IT, foresee the i'm
pending danger, or at least the first to adj
vocate measures to counterfeit the same.
That road is. with the Union Pacific,
joint owner IN the stock of the Occidental
ana Oriental line. each road owning 1000
shares. Is pecuniart interest in the fail
ure OF success of the steamship line thus
UecOlleS HdnlleSI. Iue CUcialS OF the
road could not see why the Canadian Pa
cifc should, all things being equal carry
off the bulk of the trade, or even a good
proportion of it. They argue that the
natural port of entry for all tourists from
Orient should be San Francisco and that if
such travel was enticed away it must be
done by effective agency work on the
ground from which the travellers started
1t might truthfully be said of Mr.
Mckay that he was brought up In the
railroad business Away back in the
early SOS he was "peanut butcher on
the old Mad River road (near the Big
FOur), which ran from Sandusky, Ohio, to
Springfield in the same State.
He had varied experience in number
of capacities with Eastern roads prior to
coming to this coast and since his resi-
dence here has built up a reputation as the
most effective hustler in passenger bust
ness on the coast.