The herald., 1898-07-06
NEWS OF THE RAILWAYS
NEW EAST BOUND TARIFF TO
GO INTO EFFECT
Instructions Given to Railway Agents
Relative to Stamps on Railway
Documents-Notes

The new eastbound freight tarin Will go
into effect on the 10th of this month, most
Of the changes in 1t being Increased over the
present rate. The more important articles
affected are baking powder, betting, anti
mony. bitters, blankets, coffee, extracts,
hair, infusorial earth, rubber, mustard
(eround). overalls, paper labels, tape,
pumps and pumping machinery, soda and
whisky.
| The rates and differences over the pres
ent rates were all published when the tariff
was adopted at the last meeting of the
| transcontinental freight bureau at Mi"au-
kee early in the spring.
The Railways and the Tax Stamps
The Santa Fee and Southern Pacific rail-
way companies have issued circulars to
agents regarding the payment of the stamp
tax required by the recent act OF congress
to provide war fund. The features OF
the order in brief are as follows: In the
case of bills of lading for goods for foreign
lands. the original bill alone is stamped
The companies are obliged to issue re-
ceipt for goods, and this will be stamped by
the company. All duplicates must be
stamped at the cost of the shipper, but the
railway companies will furnish the stamps
required.
Whenever bonds are required the shipper
will be required to pay the 5O-cent tax
stamp. The expediency of the payment OF
the "entry taxi by the company on goods
entered in any custom house for consump-
ton or warehousing will be considered very
carefully by the freight traffic managers
at the various agencies.
An order for ticket will not be stamped,
but where the Southern Pacific sells tick
cts, acting for itself or as the agent between
foreign and domestic ports, the ticket COW
ering the ocean service must also be
stamped Tickets for trans-Pacific ports
will be honored by the Pacific Mail Steam
ship company and the Occidental and ORR
entail Steamship company. AS the Canadian
Pacific Railway company Is exempt from
this tax, the Pacific Mail and the Occiden-
tai and Oriental companies will have to
pay it.
, When the Southern Pacific company or its
agents sell a ticket for a foreign port. on
an order, which order is to be changed by
the agent of the ocean carrier at the port
of embarkation for ticket, such order is
not subject to the tax.
The Santa FEES instructions vary a little
from those of the Southern Pacific in that
the former puts a stamp on every receipt
issued by its agents at its own expense;
this receipt may be at once exchanged for
bill of ladng, but this in turn will be
stamped by the company There are some
forms of receipts given which the Southern
Pacific does not hold needs a stamp, but
regarding which the Santa Fe holds the OPP
posite view These points of difference,
however, are very slight.
The result will be that shippers will large
ly cease the practice of demanding dupli-
Gates and duplicates of bills of lading and
will rely largely on the use of the original
bill.
Those San Diego Steamers
The Santa Fe-Pacific officials continue to
be very optimistic about the prospects Of
the much-talked-of steamship line from
San Diego to Asia, but when 1t comes to
the question of giving out any definite in
formation they cannot mention detail.
No one knows the name of the company
which is to operate the line, nor whether
it has secured any steamers. One of the
officials was quite frank in his statement.
THE fact is" he said, there is no one out
matter. Some one got a letter from Presi-
dent Ripley a short time ago, in which
he said that representative of the steam
ship company would soon be here to look
| the field over 1 am of the opinion, how
ever, that the war will delay the installa-
ton of the service, on account of the scare
ity of steamers fitted to such traffic. The
government has secured all 1t could get,
and is likely to take all that show up for
some time to come.
1.-THE contract calls for a frst-class line
of steamers but whether the company will
find it pays to cater much to the passenger
trade at first is a question that will have
to be decided by investigation of the pos
sibilities of the business"
Knocking the Sunset Monopoly
| The Santa Fe has completed the most eff
fective arrangement 1t has ever made, with
| the view of securing some of the very
profitable business heretofore monopoized
from this coast by the Sunset route, owing
to its water connection at New Orleans
with steamers for Europe.
General Passenger Agent J. J. Byrne of
the company states that the decker has been
completed with the H. Diedrichson Steam
| ship company of Galveston, by which a
mutual traffic arrangement is made with
the Santa Fee at Galveston, by which freight
can be taken by that line from ports on this
coast for direct shipment to European
| cities.
To better get hold Of the San Francisco
end of this lucrative business, the services
of E. Silverstone have been secured. Mr..
Silverstone has been for some years one
of the most prominent contracting agents
for the Southern Pacific in San Francisco,
and resigned his place to take charge of
this portion of the Santa FEES business in
that city. In accordance with its more ag-
gressive policy toward the Southern Pa
cific, the Santa Fe, in order to make Its
presence felt in the north, has opened very
extensive offices in San Francisco and will
make it's Galveston steamship connections
a large factor in cutting away business
from its esteemed contemporary.
Among many Of those who are informed
on such matters, these aggressive moves
on the part of the Santa Fe are taken to
mean that 1t is preparing for an arrange
ment with the Valley road to gain an en-
trance into San Francisco Independent O.
the Southern Pacific. 1t has certainly made
a radical change in It's demeanor toward it!
rival of late, and is making every effort Il
show the northern people that 1t is in TIL
state and intends to get their business I,
this connection, the approaching visi