The San Francisco call., 1896-03-23

through the medium OF the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company, and from appear
ances it is one that is destined to win to
the injury of every merchant in the coun-
try who has any occasion to ship pound
of freight. In fact the victory of the Cali.
fornia railroad magnate will be cinch on
the whole country.
Ever since the contract between the Pa
ciic Mail Steamship Company and the
Panama Railroad Company was signed
last December, which provided for traffic
arrangement between the two carriers on
through freight between this City and
New York. c. P. Huntington has been cut
ting rates on the Southern Pacific Railroad
and using that line in such a way as to
prevent the contract between the comps
nies mentioned from being of any benefit
to the Panama Company. In other words,
he first placed the Panama road where it
could be held by his Pacific Mail Company
in helpless position while he proceeded
to give it metaphorical drubbing with
his Sunset road, until it was ready to
forego its much-vaunted Independent ce
and become party to any deal that might
be determined upon by the transconti-
mental lines for the purpose CT increasing
their revenues by a general advance in
rates.
From dispatches that have just come
from New York it appears that the PAN
anna Company has now become amenable
to the discipline of Mr. Huntington, and
is to enter into an arrangement whereby
it is to receive subsidy that will make its
dependence on the wnims of Huntington,
and the other railroad magnates bearable
and prove somewhat of compensation
for the loss of public confidence that is
certain to result from this proposed COM
bination.
According to one of the dispatches the
old Transcontinental Traffic Association is
about to be reorganized in New York and
is to become factor in the readjustment
OF freight rates on the 1st of April.
Among other things it is proposed to re-
store the old allowance of $72.5OO month
by the railroads to the Panama route car
riers. For this sum the steamers of the
Panama route are to reserve space for 600
tons of through freight on each voyage.
Under its contract with the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company the Panama
Railroad Company will receive 55 per cent
OF this proposed subsidy.
At the time when the agreement between
the Panama Railroad Company and the
Pacific Mail was first made public here E.
H. Hinton, representing the Panama peo-
pie in this City, in the course of an inter-
view in THE CALL, speaking in behalf of his
company, said:
l am aware that there is very general con-
viction among the merchants that the Panama
railroad has surrendered "horse foot and
dragons" to the transcontinental rail in.
terests, and that henceforward it will retire
from the carrying of any traffic in competition
with said lines. In view of the fact that
this conviction has absolutely nothing in
the actual conditions to sustain it. it seems
quite remarkable that it should be SO uniyer
sal. The Panama Railroad Company has no
intention of abandoning the coastwise traffic
between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the
United States, and there is nothing in the new
contract which can or will be permitted to in
terfere with its maintaining a close and active
identity with that traffic
"The Panama Railroad has not sold out nor
surrendered, and its interest in transconti-
mental traffic is not one whit less keen than it
h as been during the past three years. To quote
the language OF our president j. Edward
the Panama officials, in formulating
the contract, made it an indispensa-
BILE condition. that the Panama Railroad
should be kept open as an inde ependent
and active competitor of the transcontinental
lines One of the most marked features of the
new agreement is the strong guarantee it af-
foTds of the perfect independence of the Pan.