The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-08-05

while the American Government has
opened wide a gate in a kind and neigh
borly way TO the forces that are reaching
for the Yukon trade of American ports.
The protest of American merchants is
only partly against the leyying OF duty
by Canada if it wants 10 do so, though the
collection of duty on miners beans Is
an original proceeding.
The protest is mainly al ainst cur own
Government assisting foreign competi-
ton, though there is a considerable cry
for retaliation.
To San Francisco the opening of Dyea
as SUPPORT of entry means taking 2
great amount OF business away from YES
wells of this port by Canadians, and IL also
means loss of trade to the extent that
trade accompanies transportation facili-
ties.
Edwin Goodall OF Goodall, Perkins d
Co. and the Pacific Coast steamship Com"
pany stated the situation in relation TO
San Francis co.'s shipping and business in
terests as follows:
Victoria will gain a large proportion
OF the business not alone because of the
tariff, but especially through the assist
ment in making Dyea sub port OF entry.
Heretofore all foreign vesse.s have had to
enter Juneau and discharge their cargo
there and pay duty there. By reason of
this favor granted by the Secretary of
the Treasury, foreign vessels can go right
TO Dyea and discharge freight and, as We
understand it, ship it across to Canada in
bond with no duty or impeachment of any
kind or description, while If they had to
land at Juneau the freight would have to
be reshipped to DYea, 100 miles away, in
American vessels. This would largely
offset tine duty onAmerican goods taken in.
"No~, the Cantd AIS lave all the ad-
vanlagas thu t the Amer ems have and b :
advan ag their duty besides In other
words, mis- couLtry has given them prac
j ally al. e Manages they could have
# they own, the country themselves,
and THIS viii q tuey have bcea using the
ereaus eff, IT'S 10 secure the country by
claiming that the bonn dar /, wrong.
But they needn't worry m ch about that
LOW. as they nave al the advanta; Is Of
owGers,i H. except the privilege OF the
coasting trade hat is, they can't trans
ort freight d pasSa' ars between two
Amerc n ports. Jurea and Dyea, for in
ance. But now nearly all The business
Is going direct from San Francisco, Puget
Sound or Victoria 10 Dy4a and Skagaway
without stopping 1T Juneau.
The most singular thing is that this
Government should grant this favor asked
when the very and cn,y object was to
take business from Americans and trans
fer it to British ships and British mer-
chants. No American except paid attor
neys or the Canadian Pacific Railroad
asked it, as lar as we are advised. All the
American concerned throughout the
country protested most vigorously. l be-
leve it was claimed at Washington that
it was done for diplomatic reasons.
ITO show the difference between Brit
ish and American policies, some years ago
the Canadian Government fined our COM
pany $500 for inadvertently carrying
passenger between two Canadian ports
NanaImo n Victoria. 1t was done by
the captain without knowled &c that he
was violating the law. We were fined
$1,000, but it was finally reduced to $500,
and we paid it.
Here is another illustration that should
be kept in mind since we are consid ering
the proposition OF stopping our steamers
on their trips at Port Simpson, B. c.,
which was then port of entry. The same
people which have now asked and secured
this concession from our Government then
used their influence to have Port Sim pson
closed as a port or entry for foreign ves-
sells that they might retain its carrying
business by preventing our calling there,
and it was quickly done by the Dominion
Government.
Il see no reason why they should not
i'm pose a duty On American goods if they
want to, but what seems singular is that
the American Government should help
transfer business from the American to
the British side.
Previous to this no English vessels at
all have gone there, except once some
years ago when the Islander went TO
juneau with excursionists. Now the
Islander and the Danube have sailed, or
are about to sail, on their first trips to
Alaska, and are doing big business.
Two or three vessels have sailed from
Victoria, and the Bristol, steamer
larger than the Willamette, capable of
carrying 1000 passengers, 500 horses and
5000 tons OF freight, is being prepared to
gofrom Victoria TO Dyea This has the
effect of helping greatly the British Co.
fumbia merchants to get the Quitting
business away from the merchants here
and at Seattle. Senator Perkins mad a
vigorous protest at Washington, but the
business men here have not yet displayed
any interest in the situation.
alt means great deal to the trade of
San Francisco. On account of the great
rush 1T is not felt as much Just now as il
otherwise would be, but the effect will be
ielt more and more in the future,
especially when the boom revives in the
spring. 1t, of course, takes large amount
OF passenger traffic away from American
shipping and in this line it affects not oniv
our vessels but all the other American
vessels that are being rushed into the
trade or being planned for it in the future.
1--WE think that the Alaskan trade is GO
ing 10 be great and permanent We have
great confidence in the richness of the
quartz mines along the southeastern coast
of Alaska and think that there will be
rapid and extensive development of them.
l think that in the Yukon country new
discoveries as rich as that of the Klon-