The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-29
ALONG THE WATER FRONT.
A Competing Steamer and
Rail Line to San Jose an
Assured Fact.
VESSELS GIVEN UP FOR LOST.
A Heavy Rate of Reinsurance Paid
in Each Instance News
From the Belgic.

The competing line between Santa Clara
Valley and Alvlso, and thence by steamer
to San Francisco, seems to be an assured
| fact r. J. r. Alden and H. w. GoodalI, OF
! Piper, Alden, Goodall & Co., who are
engineering the new road, returned from
San Jose yesterday, and said that eight
OF the ten miles of right of way have been
secured, and that work will begin at once
Some difficulty has been experienced in
purchasing terminus at Alviso, but that
will be overcome.
''The road is now an assured fact" said
Harry Goodall yesterday. 'The Southern
Pacific has attempted to block us at every
turn, but we have overcome every obsta-
Gle, and now we can see daylight ahead.
James Phelan has also opposed us, but in
spite of all their efforts the Santa Clara
Valley Railroad shall be built, and before
| long you will see the products of the val
ley coming into San Francisco by steamer
from Alviso."
| Messrs. Alden and GoodaIl are very SAN
guine. and plans for stern-wheel steamers
| to accommodate the traffic are now being
prepared
Fears for the safety of the British ships
Spencer prevail in mercantile circles.
Lloyds has posted them as missing, and as
much as 80 guineas per cent is offered to re-
insure The Lord Spencer sailed from San
Francisco for Queenstown last April. An
| advance of 40 per cent is offered on her
reinsurance. The Star of Austria is from
Santa Rosalia for Falmouth and the Lord
Downshire from Caleta Buena for Ham
burg. For the former IS per cent and the
latter 80 per cent reinsurance is offered.
Captain Willis of the Star of Austria and
Captain Davies of the Lord Spencer were
both we'll known IN San Francisco.
The Occidental end Oriental Company
steamer Belgic is still hard and fast on the
beach near Yokohama. A letter received
by Harbor Commissioner Colnon yester-
day from DR.. F. w. Dudley of the stranded
steamer states that the remains of Second
Officer Beckman have been embalmed and
will be sent to San Francisco on the next
steamer. Beckman was drowned in the
surf
The following notice in regard to Cooks
Inlet, Alaska, has been issued by the Hy-
geographic Office
Captain R. Salvesen OF the steamer Jennie
reports having sounded on small pinnacle
rock with but three feet of.water OH it at low
water spring tides, and four fathoms close
alongside, lying with Kussiof cannery bearing
south 40 deg. east true (E. Sc. a E. mag.), dis
tant nearly six miles.
The captain also reports that the four-fathom
shoal shown on the charts about five miles
southeastward from Chisick Island does not
exist. He has steamed over the charted posi-
ton of the shoal ffty-six times this summer
and on one occasion searched two hours for
the shoal. He reports the depth in that local
ny 10 De seventeen to nineteen fathoms, and
that there are no such depths as twenty-five
and twenty-eight fathoms, as marked on the
charts outside the shoal.
Also, that he sounded over the fve-fathom
shoal laid down about six miles south from the