The San Francisco call., 1904-07-23
COMMERCIAL MEN ALARMED.
In Raiders Presence in Pacific They
See Menace TO Neutral Ships.

See Menace to Neutral Ships.
Somewhere out on the broad Pacific
the Vladivostok squadron sails, a men
ace to the commerce of the world. Here
in San Francisco the greatest interest
centers in the movements Of the evasive
Slav fleet. From here the trans Pacific
steamships start on their voyages to
the Orient with their neutral cargoes
destined to neutral ports and with their
cargoes of contraband billed to the bel
ligerents. Millions of American money
are invested in these ships and cargoes
and it is but natural that here anxiety
should be at the highest point.
The corporation most interested in
Admiral Bezobrazoff's activity is the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company. When
its officers learned that Bezobrazoff had
once more eluded Kamimura's watchful
fleet and had passed into the Pacific
the Mail company, through its Wash
ington representative, applied to this
Government for a ruling on two of the
most ambiguous of the Cars rules of
war, upon which ruling the financial
life of the steamship company might
depend.
AS the Pacific Mail is a large carrier
of foodstuffs the following rule of war.
contained in the proclamation of the
Car, was the one upon which the COM
pany sought ruling:
According to rule the following
will be regarded as contraband of
war: also rice. foodstuffs, etc.
Neutral ships with contraband of war
of any sort can, according to circum-
stances, not only be seized, but also
can be confiscated."
This Government, however, was not
willing to lay out a plan of operations
for the White Squadron based upon
! contingency and the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company was informed that
the Government would not attempt to
place construction upon the war rules
of the Gar until a specific case of
seizure of an American vessel made
such construction necessary. Notwith-
standing this fact, the Mail company
will continue to ship flour and food
stuffs from this port to the Orient:
At the offices of the Mail company
yesterday it was stated that, although
its vessels were carriers of large guam
titles of flour and other foodstuffs to
Japanese and other Oriental ports, the
same were shipped by neutral firms and
| consigned to neutral merchants. The
compaIly's ships are carrying no con-
! signments to either of the beIligerents,
nor are they carrying ammunition of
any kind to any one, the passenger
licenses prohibiting such shipments
Consequently the officers of the COM
| pany feel that in event of the seizure
of any of it's vessels they would be able
to secure its release without difficulty.
So sure of this are they that no war
insurance is carried covering the COM
pany's vessels that ply between here
and the Orient.
The steamships of the Pacific Mail
Company which are or may be within
the danger zone and receive the atten-
ton of the cruising squadrons of the
Car are the Mongolia, which will sail
| from this port on July %; the Korea,
which will leave here on September 81,
and the Siberia, which is due in San
Francisco on August 10 from China and
Japan and will sail on her return to
those ports on August 80. OF the. ORR
entail and Occidental line are the Doric,
which will sail from San Francisco on
August Z, and the Gaelic, on October 1.
The Coptic, now in japanese waters, is
due to arrive here on August 80.
Most unfortunate of the ships now
in this harbor is the America Maru,
the property of the Togo Kaisen Kali
sha Steamship Company the head of
fees Of which are in Toxic. Not only