The San Francisco call., 1897-07-15
MANY LEAVE
MINUS BAGGAGE
Endeavorers' Trunks Still in
the Hands Of Transfer
Companies.
Confessions That the Rush of
Traffic Was Completely
Underestimated.
Numerous Packages Arrived That
Were Devoid Of Tags or Labels and
Cannot Now Be Identified.

| Pacific Transfer Company established a
| branch storeroom for the ommodation
| of surplus baggage that came here with
the recent invasion from the East, there
are somewhere in the neighbour ood OF 500
| trunks, bags, hampers and grips that the
| hapIess visitors never laid eyes upon dur
ing their stay here. They will consider
themselves fortunate, now, if they even
succeed in getting them in time to take
them home with them, much less enjoy a
change OF clothes while in San Francisco
Throughout yesterday crowds of badge
| hedecked Endeavorers wandered mourn
| fully among the great piles OF baggage in
the hope of sonlew recognizing their
! property. Some were successful. while
others were not. Many assigned their
checks AID receipts over to the Wells
| Fargo people, with instructions TO find
| the lost baggage If possible and ship il
| back East at their leisure. They would
| be we'll satisfied if they could just re-
| cover it.
Many reasons are given for this final
congestion of baggage. The most sensible
| one seems TO be that both the railroads
and .he transfer companies com pletely
| underestinated the amount of traffic they
| would be compelled to handle lost their
heads and permitted everything TO get
mixed up and clogged. The baggage was
| tum bled in upon the Southern Pacific
people so rapidly, in such tremendous
quantity and from SO many different
| sources that, despite the immense force OF
| men mployed to handle il. it was found
i'm possible to keep up with the rush ana
assert the freight rs it came in. Had
they been able, they say, to keep separate
the trunks that were received from the dif-
ferent Eastern railroad lines there would
not have been half of the confusion that
resulted. Bur this could not be accom-
plished. The Eastern lines had more
business than they could attend 10 them
selves and, their first thought being their
own comfort, shuffied the baggage off
upon the local company in any and every
way, just SO long as they got rid of it.
Then in many cases il has been found
that the visitors own thoughtlessness was
to blame for the mix-up. Hundreds OF
them forgot TO put their names on their
trunks or parcels, and now they cannot
recognize them.
"We have had an immense force of men
working night and day, but despite that
fact we found ourselves positively help
less when 1t came 10 keeping up with the
rush." said Joseph Cominsky, assistant
superintendent of the Pacific Transfer
Company Second-street storeroom, when
dShSu, lOr al ca piaUdtiOu Oi
the present state of affairs. I'VE are not
endeavoring to attribute all the blame to
the inefficIency of others. We appreciate
the fact that we are entitled to share OF
it ourselves-but not all OF it. l don t
think any body ever Anticipated that the
traffic would reach such tremendous pro-
portions | guess we were all caught
mapping TO certain extent. Our COM
pany handled over 5000 pieces of baggage
during the rush and made but few mis-
| takes. That's good showing, when you
step TO consider what we had TO contend
with.
"In the first place the railroad mixed
every thing up at the ferry. It could no
be helped, though, because of the scarcity
of room and other unforeseen obstacles. 1t
was most serious undertaking on our
part to pick out trunk or parcel in that
formidable pile That We succeeded as
well as we did is little less than miracle.
"The failure of many of the visitors to
properly abel their trunks is respon sible
for a great deal of the confusion. There
are no less than 200 unidentified trunks
here now. When their owners cannot rec
ognize them themselves what can we do :?
I Ca n say one thing for the Eadeavorers,
| however, and that is that they are the
most patient lot of people | ever dealt
with. Despite the serious and exasperat-
ing manner In which they have been in
convenienced by not being Bile to get at
their clothes very few OF them have been
at all bitter in their com plants, as they
had right to De. We are doing the best
we can to straig ghten ou. the muddle, and,
no doubt, will eventually succeed"