The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-08-11
SLASHES THE RATES
Nippon Yusen Kaisha Begins
an Aggressive Warfare.
AN OFFICE IN SAN FRANCISCO
The New Line Quotes Passenger Rates
10 Per Cent Below the Present
Price-Jim Hill.s Plans.

e <Ne*-~1* AA~N A%SoI&&&E rates 4AVhFG STOW
an average reduction of 10 per cent. as
/ compared with the Pacific Mail Besides
| cutting passenger rates the company In
tends 10 make strong bid for freight
business In san Francisco.
/ Tbs way in which the advent of the
| Nippon fGsen kaisha is spreading Seat
/ tie tame throag hout the country is we'll
4 illustrated By the following special 10 the
/ Evansville, Ind. Tribune of August from
/ Duluth. In that paper IL Is given the hon.
{ or OF tie nrst place on the front page and
great big headline 10 boot 1t is writ
ten with unusual accuracy and clesrness
and is well worth reading The stat snlent
about Mr. Hiils arrangements tor secur-
ing return cargoes OF cotton is directly in
line with what that gentleman said 10 u
/ Post-Inteliigencer reporter while in this
city:
Duluth. Mimi, Aug. 1.-The first YES
sci or the new steamship line 10 Japan
In connection with the Great Northern
railroad will sail from Seattle on SeDtem-
+ Der or therea bouts, and regularly there
/ after at intervals OF three or four Weeks.
/ Mr. Whitney, the general passenger agent
OF the Great Northern. is now arranging
the schedules and getting his printed mat
ter ready for advertising the enterprise.
and the traffic department is making rp
( the freight rates. MIR. Iwanaga. tae gen
/ eral manager of the Nippon Iusen kaisaa
! line, and Mr.. Mcmillan. the Scotch gen.
eral superintendent are now maKirg
trip through the East bat VIII DE back
at Seattle in time 10 meet the first stea4E-
er when she arrives at this port She left
Yokohama several days ago. anu is ex-
pected TO make the voyage in fifteen or
sixteen days
The steamers that have been selected
for this route were purchased by the Mp
pom Yusen kaisha for the use OF the SOW
eminent during the recent war with chi
ma, and were in service as transports in
moving troops TO Korea. Liaotung and
1 Formosa. The most of them were built
on the Clyde. OF 4e1o and 5000 tons burden.
! and they are fitted up with al the COM
I forts and conveniences demanded by mod
J ern travel. The captains are usually Eng
/ lishmen or Scotchmen. although there ara
few Americans and Germans In the SER
( vice. The other officers and all the crews
are japanese. 1t is the policy OF the Yu-
! sen kaisha TO dispense with the services
/ OF foreigners as fast as possible and place
: natives In command OF their ships, but
/ they have found that a foreign captain
/ makes a vessel more popular with foreign
! travellers. and yield that concession for
/ business reasons.
Seattle viii be the headquarters of the
! new line, having been selected by Mr..
! Iwanaga and the other representatives or
! the company after an inspection of all
| the cities on the Coast, and the contract
| with the Great Northern railway extends
| over a long term of years. Mr.. Hill will,
| therefore, abandon his plan Of building
/ fleet of his own. There is likely to be an
| interesting controversy between the Pa
| cifc Mail and the Yusen kaisha over the
! termination of a contract which has ex-
! listed between the two companies for sew
| eral years. and l believe still has nine
! years 10 run. Under that contract the
| Yusen kaisha agrees to furnish the Pa
| cifc Mail all the freight and passengers
| IL can control from Japan China, Korea
| and Siberia for the Hawaiian islands and
! the United States. on the other hand, the
| Pacific Mail company agrees to 90 no
] coasting trade IA Japan, and turn over 10
| the Yusen Kaisha at Yokohama all freight
| and passengers IL brings from the United
! States for all the countries named except
| Hongkong. This new arrangement Will be
| a direct violation Of that agreement, and
| I understand that 1t is proposed TO send
| its steamers by way OF Honolulu, which
| viii invade the preserves OF the Paeihc
| Mail company still more There are
! great many japanese in the Hawaiian
| islands. They furnish large part OF the
! plantation labor there, and their govern
ment has been contemplating steamship
| service between the two countries for
| some years II has even been hoped that
the Hawaiian islands may be annexed to
| Japan in case the United States refuses
to receive them.
| las / stated in a recent letter the new
| steamship company Will be able 20 con-
| troll rates. as il receives an per cent.
| guaranty from the government OF Japan.
! The Great Northern company viii have a
| great advantage in the patriotic spirit OF
! the japanese. which viii lead them 10
! patronizc their own company in prefer
! ence TO al American or British. The Mp
| pou Yusen Kaisha Is practically a govern
naent concern. Ard even now L large part
| OF ths shares are supposed TO belong TO
! the emperor ard members OF the imperial
/ family. A prince was at one time presi-
/ dent OF the company. II has a monopoly
/ Of the coastIng trade, Il is exempt from
| all harbor dues. and has other valuable
| privileges in addition TO It's subsidy. An
/ other great advantage to the Great North
| ern company is that the japanese steam
I ers can DC operated for about half the cost
OF running an American ship. which, OF
I course has been taken into consi5erat ion
II making the traffic agreement.
! THE chief reason for establishing the
/ new service in addition 10 national pride.
! "a 10 import iron and cotton into Japan
direct from the United States. instead OF
| via England. or the $40 600 worth OF
raw cotton imported BY the mills Of Japan
/ nearly - per cent. comes from the United
/ States. but not pound Of Il appears IN
/ the statistics OF commerce between the
two countries. Il is shipped from Savan-
! nah. Charleston. Brunswick. Mobile AM
! New Orleans 10 Liverpool. consigned %
| British midilsmeu, who transship e 10
| Kobe and Osaka and charge a big margin.
| For some tnexplicable reason there has
/ never been a direct trade II IS a com
| rnerclai phenomenon. But nov. with the
new steamers, the Japan mills VIII be sup
| piled direct and they have already con-
| tracted with the Nippon Yusen KaIsha TO
! supply them with so mauy bales a year
Cor a teTn of years at price 50 much
above the regular market quotations as
{ TO cover transportation. insurance hand
lfug and other charges.
Therefore, the principal cargo west
I war1 wlII re cotton. and for that reason
/ the Nippon Yuss8 kaisha was for time
| negotiating with the Santa Fe read Tor
/ a connection at san Diego. Cal. Il IS a
! long and expensive haul for cotton from
/ ire gulf states 10 Puget sound bar l IN
/ de-stand that Mr. HW has made salts
/ factory traffic arrangements with the IiH-
no.s Eeatral railway and 8 line % Missis-
I SlppI river boats % deliver a certain guam
/ :4ty annually 20 his warehouses AZ s.
| PAU As most % the present business o.
the Great Northern IS east bound he can
! haul IL westward over his own line as
/ ehsaply IS empty ears.
/ Japan vants pig iron also, ans that
/ VII BE- shipped by the Great Northern
/ steamers from Er3e and Cleveland 20 Du-
/ iuth. Z has been Mr.. Hiirs intention fo~
several years 20 establish furnaces az
Fairh1Ve1 and other points Oh the PacIar
coast, ard ] believe a company fer thar
/ purpose was Termed about the time OF the
/ pazlc o. lSs1 On the Inc % MS road thera
re has plenty q ore. coal and limestone.
3 z14 taeSe three elements sFe living side