The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-22
SOUTHERN TRANsCONTINENTA
LINES WOULD LIKE sOME OF
THE TEA BUSINESS.
so MUsH COMES THIS way
THNK THEY WANT sOAfE
OF 1T.
BROKERS GET LITTLE COMFORT
Out of the Workings of the New
Mileage Observation-Disclosures Pa
cific Express Annual.

The attempt being made by the San
Francisco trans-continental lines to
break into the tea exporting trade
tributary to ST. Paul, as stated in re-
cent press dispatches, appears to give
the local railroads no great cause for
worry. st. Paul has the call on the
business, and is liable to hold 1t
against all corners, although San Fran
cisco would like a fat slice off the vol
umn of traffic which passes through,
and stops in the Twin Cities. This is
not the first time the San Francisco
lines have tried to steal the tea i'm
porting trade, but, Notwithstanding
their efforts, the st. Paul business has
been increasing steadily from year to
year. The volume of Asiatic business
coming into ST. Paul over the North
ern Pacific alone is astonishing. The
competition with the trans-Pa-
cific and overland lines of this
company has had to meet, is the d.
rect sailing of steamships from China
and japan to New York and other At
lanttc ports, via the Suez canal, and
Notwithstanding this competition, fixed
rates have been established at New
York as maximum. 1t has been the
policy Of the Northern Pacific to give
the importer in st. Paul the benefit
OF the low rates to the coast of the
Atlantic, and to make the same rate
to points west of the eastern seaboard
The effect of this has been to build
UP large traffic in imports In the
that the San Francisco lines want.
M1rnH Nf
through Chicago and eastern points,
and as the jobbers at the latter points
secure as low rates as those of east
ern cities, it naturally gives the west
ern territory the best Of it. st. Paul
having as low rates as Chicago, can
distribute teas to all points to better
advantage than to cities to which the
Chicago and st. Paul rates are equal
ST. Paul therefore has a decided ad-
vantage over competitors in the west
ern territory. The San Francisco lines
have reduced the rate on car load con-
signments from $3.50 to 81, and on less
than car load consignments from So
to $1.50. This was, of course, for the
purpose Of diverting from the st. Paul
lines the very large share of Asiatic
traffic which was coming to this city.
Before the Northern Pacific inaugu-
rated it's trans-Pacific service, by
putting on sailing vessels between
Japanese ports and Tacoma, to run in
connection with it's lines, all of the tea
trade coming to the United States and
not handled through New York. was
handled through San Francisco. Much
of the tea was consigned to importers
i IA 4
afterward distributed by them through
the eastern territory. The first break
in this method of importation was in
the sailing vessels from Kobe and
Yokohama which were chartered in the
the interests Of the Northern Pacific
For several years prior to 1892, the
Northern Pacific had several sailing
vessels plying between Tacoma and
Japan during the tea season. The
Northern Pacific road did not inau-
gurate it's steamship service until 1892,
when a start was made with two
steamers, the Tacoma" and the "Vic-
toria," with an extra in case of a sud-
den rush in business. The company
now has in regular service four regu-
lar steamers, and occasionally one or
two extras. The volumn of business
in teas alone is extraordinary. 1t
stamps the American public as a tea
drinking people. During the past
twelve months the Northern Pacific
alone has transported to and through
st. Paul more than 100000 pounds Of
tea. or equivalent to 1900 car loads
The Northern Pacific claim this Is as
much tea as was transported by any
two other transcontinenta1 lines. The
motive of the San Francisco lines in
cutting the rate On tea can be readily
understood in view of the immense
volumn of traffic from Asia which Is
now solely tributary to ST. Paul and
contiguous territory.