The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-07-27
Uncle Sam Will Need
All Available.
SAN FRANCISCO THE PORT
Pacific Mail and Northern Pacific
Principal Lines TO Furnish
Ships.

! the Californian, With her e,teat cargo
| Of stores, sailed for the Orient, than
the work of preparing more troops!Ilpi
and animal transports was begin. The
| Hancock was pat on dry-dock ycster-
| day The work OF cleaning and scrap
| ing her will be finished today. After
| taking on coal she will return to the
| transport dock and be rea ~ for sea
The work of loading the big tramp
Strathgyle will begin this morning. She
has capacity of $500 tons. She Is 70
carry hay and grain and horses. The
| Aztec arrived yesterday from Nanaimc
with coal. AS soon as she Is discharged
she Will be prepared for voyage to
Nagasah. She will carry 462 horses to
China.
The transport Meade will sail on
August LIST, carrying the remaining two
! battalions of the Fifteenth Infantry.
The Hancock is to carry 500 marines
and four battalions of artillery
The Hamburg American line has the
contract for carrying 5000 horses that
were bought here for Germany, but
| that company as yet has been unab e
| to charter any vessels. The Pacific Mail
Company declined to convert their
steamers into horse transports. An at
| tempt has been made to get some OF
Rosenfelu golfers, but the United
States transport service had an option
on those which could be spared from
the coal carrying trade. In addition to
this, Uncle Sam is the highest bidder,
| and ship-owners are holding back to
do business with their own Govern
ment.
The War Department has been busy
| in the north, steadily absorbing al
available steamers for freight and
| transports. The Belgian King, PAX
Ling and Kin Tuck, as was stated il
the paper some time ago, will sail for
| the Orient from the Sound
The Navy Department Is looking for
sailing tonnage to carry coal to the
Orient. There Is plenty of coal in
Japan, but of a kind of which the navy
is not particularly fond. 1t requires
Comox coal to develop Oregon speed
in our boats in the Orient. There are
plenty of coasters that can be pressed
into service
SAN FRANCISCO, July 19-The Secre-
tary of War is inquiring for vessels to
take troops to China from San Fran
cisco, Tacoma and Seattle within the
next sixty days He has sent urgent
messages to the Northern Pacific Rail
road, President j. ]. Hill of the Great
Northern Railway and to C. p. Hun
tington and ]. c. Stubs of the South
ern Pacific and Pacific Mail.
Hill and his Great Northern Railway
syndicate have seven or eight steamers
running between the Orient and Seat
tie. The Northern Pacific has four or
five steamers in the Oriental trade.
Huntington and Stubs have at least
six vessels available for the War De-
partment.
General Shafter is communicating
with the above people on behalf of the
Secretary of War. At a late hour las.
night Shafter wired to Washington thai
the Pacific Mail and Northern Pacific
people could within a few days charter
to the Government nine vessels. These
are as follows:
Pacific Mail-China. 1850 troops: City
of Picking, 1,2O0 troops; City of Sydney
100 troops; Newport 500 troops; City
of Para, $50 troops Northern Pacific =
Glenogle, 900 troops; Tacoma, 500
troops; Victoria, $50 troops; Olympia
$50 troops,
The Northern Pacific Company sold
to the Government lately the steamer
Columbia, which has been taking troops
and supplies from Seattle to the Nom-
country. 1t is understood that this yes
sci will be used to take 500 troops to
China.
All of the above vessels were char
tered by the Government to take troops
to Manila in 1898. The City of Picking
took the flrst California Regiment to
the Philippines in May, 1898. The New.
port took General Merritt. General Otis
went on the Para.
Officials in steamship and overland
railroad circles have stated that tn
Government has made up its mind to
send 10000 troops to China via Pacific
Coast ports. Most of the troops will go
through San Francisco and Tacoma.
Just what vessels will be chartered
at Seattle from Hills Great Northern
Railway Is not known yet. 1t Is
thought, however, that two steamers.
having capacity of 1900 troops each.
Will be engaged. Most of the Hill
steamers belong to the Nippon Yusen
Kaisha, or Japanese Steamship Com
pany. The Japanese Government has
called all OF them In to take its troops
to China via Taku and Tien-tsin. Hill,
has so notified Shafter and the Wash
ington authorities.
If there is lack of vessels at Seattle
and Tacoma, il is n certainty that I'm
Gle sam can get an extra supply of
steamers at this port. The coffee ship
ping season In Central America is about
over and on that account the Pacific
Mail VIII be able to offer other YES
sells TO the Government as transports.
While the Government is deeply con-
cerned about transports from this
coast II IL at the same time dicker'
Ing for freight and passenger rates
from the East to this side OF the con-
tinent Three or four million dollars
IL involved In this matter and various
overland railroad officials are In COM
munication with the War Department
on the subject.
II is estimated that II win take TWEEN
ty-five trains with an aggregate OF $50
passenger cars To convey from the East
To this coast the 10000 troops IL Is pros
posed 20 send To China. The artillery.
equipment and supplies necessary for
such large body OF men will require
the services ~ many freight trains.
IL IL understood 10 be the purpose
OF the War Department To handle the
large volume Of freight for the troops
between Puget Sound and this
port ~ the same time In Its desire
10 expedite the movement ~ troops Il
VIII send most ~ them through San
Francisco. The faei ~ the Preside res
erYallon being here emphasizes that
fact.
The various railroad eompan iaa
Across the continent lave already
Ifafbed an understanding on that sub.
lael