The San Francisco call., 1895-12-23
FIGHT FOR IMMIGRANTS,
A Bitter Contest for Their Trans.
portation Now Being
Waged.
NO SETTLEMENT IN SIGHT.
The Southern Pacific Company Pitted
Against All the Other
Western Roads.
NO SETTLEMENT IN SIGHT

One of the most troublesome problems
that has agitated the Western Passenger
Association for many a month is the i'm
migration traffic from New York. The
disturbing factor is the Southern Pacific
Company. The difficulty has been mat
ter OF consideration for several weeks past,
but no adjustment has been possible owing
to the stand taken by the Kentucky corpo-
ration. 1t was expected that the Southern
Pacific would present its case several
weeks ago, but owing to Assistant General
| Traffic Manager E. Hawley being called
elsewhere on important business he was
unable to attend the meeting of the ad-
visory committee of the Western Immi-
grant Clearing g-house held at that time in
| Chicago.
AS the matter now stands, the Southern
Pacific is generally acknowledged to have
| the best of the situation, and it is the OBJ
Ject OF the advisory committee to so read
just matters that the Southern Pacific will
have no undue advantage over the other
members of the immigrant clearinghouse
maintained by the Western roads on Ellis
Island, N. Y. where the European immi-
grants are landed.
From week to wee k the Southern Pacific
officials have promised to meet the advis-
ory comm ittee, and TO-DAY was finally
fixed for the consideration of the question
at Chicago. But from the tenor of the
dispatch from Chicago published yester-
day in The CALL, it appears that the
Southern Pacific has again fought shy of
the issue.
At the last meeting of the advisory COM
Inlttee proposition was submitted which,
however, proved unsatisfactory to the
Southern Pacific, and it was expected that
1t would to-day submit counter PROPOSE
ton. On Saturday, however, word was
sent to the advisory committee that the
Southern Pacific was not ready to go into
the matter, and the Chicago meeting for
to-day was declared to be off.
This question is one of considerable i'm
portance to all the ROADS involved, as 1t
covers the transportation of every immi-
grant who lands at New York and desires
to settle in some other part of the United
StaJes.
Every big city in Europe is secured by
the Joint agents OF the transatlantic steam
ship companies and the railroads of the
United States, whose business it is to
secure Immigrants for this country. Their
compensation is a certain percentage of
the fares paid by the immigrants. Some
time ago 1T became noticeable that the
Southern Pacific was securing an ap-
parentlv undue proportion of this business,
and it was charged by the other mem bers
of the Ellis Island Clearing house with
paying extravagant commissions to its
European drummers. This charge, how
ever, Traffic Manager Stubbs SAYS was not
sustained. Then a new accusation was
brought, as claimed by Mr.. Stubs, in
order to secure an excuse for depriving the
Southern Pacific of a portion of this
business.
All the western roads except the South
ern Pacific maintain a joint agency on
Ellis Island, the duty of which is to route
the immigrant bound for points west of the
Missouri.
The Southern Pacific, however. keeps its
own agent there, and he was charged by
the rivals Of the Southern Pacific with
routing larger proportion of Pacific
Coast immigrants over the Southern Pa
cific Railroad than over the Central Pacific,
thus depriving the intermediate roads be-
tween New York and Ogden of their due
share of the traffic. But this allegation
was also shown to be unfounded, asserts
Mr.. Stubbs, it being proved that the South
ern Pacific's agent at Ellis Island divided
the business equally between the Southern
Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific
Railroad.
In speaking of the contentious now be-
ing made by the advisory committee Mr..
Stubbs became quite indignant over what
he considered the untenable stand being
taken against his company. His explana-
ton of the present situation is as follows:
1.-The advisory committee having failed |
to make its previous charges good and |
thus deprive US Of part of the immigrant |
traffic, has now raised an issue that we
propose to tight out with them. They |
claim that our agent at Ellis Island, who !
is paid by us alone and who is entirely in
lo,1@ I4,1 - l. 4. IL
to clear immigrants at Ellis Island for roads |
rot in territory reached by US. We claim |
he has, and that it is none of the concern
OF the other roads what our agent there !
does. | am certain they have no better |
ground to stand upon than they had in the
two previous cases.
Their sole object is to force US to be-
come member o. the advisory commit
tee, and to operate in conjunction with the |
other Western roads comprising that or
ganiZation. This would mean the aboli- ;
ton of our agent on Ellis Island and ell
tering into an agreement for the apportion- |
ing OF the immigrant traffic between the |
various roads represented in the commit |
tee. We are not adverse to joining, but |
we want certain percentage of the busi-
ness as our share, and this the others do |
not seem inclined to concede. The present !
arrangement suits US we'll enough and we |
are not anxious to com bine. Yet if they |
make us the right kind of concessions we |
will join them, simply to avoid friction"
On all other matters there is the greatest |
good feeling between all the Western |
roads, but it is not unlikely that this |
immigrant business may yet lead to serious
trouble. Just when the matter will come |
up for hearing is not known. AS the mat
ter now stands its settlement is prevented |
by the diIatory action of the Southern
Pacific.
No Divorce.