The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-02-20
WORRYING OVER THE RAILROAD
DEAL.
Thinks II Will be Reduced from
Terminal to a Way Port-What the
Argonaut Says.

San Francisco has had many things
In the course Of the past few years
which alarmed her for her commercial
supremacy of the Pacific coast. There
was a time when Los Angeles and San
Diego put up such claims as gave her
alarm Then the cities of the Puget
Sound region showed such boom quail
ties and proClivities for getting on"
that San Francisco felt some more
fears. Now the San Francisco Argo-
naut sees i'm the recent change of ow-
nership of the Southern Pacific another
danger. Here is what it says:
But behind the immediate improve
ment in operating and the immediate
lowering of freight and passenger rates
by the Vanderbilt Syndicate, what Is
to follow? AS we have said, it is In
possible to forecast. But it seems to us
that the operations of the transCon-
tinental roads will be determined by
considerations which are not interstate
or national, but rather International
This great syndicate mas steamship
lines both on the Atlantic and the Paci-
fc. Its transContinental railway is but
a ling in a line from Hamburg to Hong
Kong. San Francisco hitherto has
been terminal point She will soon
cease to be one.
Already the railroads announce
| lower freight rates from New York
through to Hong Kong than from San
Francisco to Hong Kong. The rates
from New York to San Francisco will
speadily be determined by factors with
| which San Francisco has nothing what
ever to do. The old Southern Pacific
management was greatly abused in its
day. There was this, however, to be
said of it: 1t was for the Southern Pa
ciflc first, last, and all the time next
to itself it was for San Francisco; next
to itself and San Francisco it was fol
o.
and California, 1t was for the rest OF
the country. When their interests wer,
identical it was for San Francisco. Il
held out in San Francisco's interests a!
long as it decently could against max
ing Los Angeles and other California
cities terminal points. When ST. Loui.
and other Western cities were tryinl
to get from the Interstate Commerce,
Commission a construction legalizinl
special rates enabling them to invad,
Pacific Coast territory, the Southern
Pacific Company, not being interested
in st. Louis, cast its influence with San
Francisco. 1t sent w. +. Herrin, tn,
chief of its law department and a corp
of able attorneys to aid the San Fran
cisco Board of Trade. In short. whel
the old Southern Pacific was no
against us 1t was always for us. l
. was never neutral
with the new ownership. condition
have changed. San Francisco will b
worth to it just what its trade is worth
California will be worth to it just wha
its traffic will bring. This does no
. mean that the State or city will b
Sighted, for they will not be. Tn
greater their prosperity, the greater tn
prosperity of the transcontinental rail
ways. But the new owners have abso
lutely no links or ties with Californi
other than the ties of possible futur
profit. May those ties be strong.
Some years ago the Interstate Com
:nerce Commission was called upon [
consider question of freight-rate dis
elimination that affected the Pacif
Coast but little while it aroused con
siderable excitement on the other sid
of the continent. The railroad line
were offering rates on farm product
shipped from the Mississippi Valley {
Europe that were less than those tina
could be obtained when the same pre-
ducts were shipped to the Atlantic sea
board and then trans-shipped acros
the ocean. New York in particula
protested against the discrimination
Now the same question has arise
again, but the parties to the contest al
. changed. The tranScOntinental railwa
companies have issued a new freigt
schedule for goods shipped from tn
Eastern States to the Asiatic countriC
that face upon the Pacific Ocean, an
!
the Eastern States to San Francisco
with the rate to the Orient from tn
city added. In some cases it is les
than the rate to this city alone. TT
result it that San Francisco is bein
ignored in this through trade. Easter
merchants are taking advantage of Il
new schedule, and, as result, whe
the Picking was about to sail for CHR
recently the local merchants were III
able to get any space, as all had bee
taken up by those in the East This
situation that is likely to increa!
in intensity unless efforts are made
stem the current at once. The tran
continental railways defend themselv
on the ground that If they do not off
these low rates the business will a
go from New York and other Atlant
: shipping points by way of the Su,
Canal. Thus the transportation pr
blem for this coast has changed from
- question of whether goods are to
shipped from the East across the co
tinent by rail, or around the contine
by sea, to one of whether they are
ha oh Cd hS,. 81 all