The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-08-04
CONTRACTS
ARE ISSUED
At PANAMA
Washington Reports
Say Commission
VIII Act.
Government Has Only Small
Minority ID Railway
Directory.
--
LhrOgsiOn Of Pacific Mail Steamship
Contract Is Now Matter Of
Leading Importance.

With only three Government directors
sut OF total OF thirteen directors Of
the Panama Railway, although the
United States owns sixty nine-seven-
.tietbs Of the stock Of the Panama Rail
way Company. it is announced in a
. dispatch received by The Call from its
special correspondent at Washington
Thai the Panama Railway directors
may take up the matter of the renewal
ef contracts with the Pacific Mail
- 'Steamship Company and other special
contracts, during the visit OF the canal
board TO the isthmus- The canal COM
D.. r-lissiouers are at Panama and viii
leave for home about September 1.
Three Of them are directors Of the Pan
azila. Railway.
- This news wiz undoubtedly excite
arear interest il san FrauciscO and at
as -seaports on the Pacific Coast To
=: a. wed vote taken on the Contracts that
lrlp-y's so much 10 the people Of the Pa
c-le Coast while the Government
s.aet. majority interest Of sixty-nine-
'seg-entieths OF the stock is represented
Ly = minority in the board Of directors
- ~: the Panama Railroad Company may
mean that for years to come the COM
ulerCe. between the Pacific and Atlantic
o s.t1oard VIII be tied up to the interests
.eEc:Isjvely OF the transcontinental
roads The present contract between
the. Panama Railway and the Pacific
Man Steamship Company makes ii
. posi- bic for the tranScOntinental rail-
ways to force freights TO move by the
expensive land routes and not by sea-
Il Is 10 the interest Of the transcon-
tineutaf railways 10 continue this con-
. oltlon Of affairs as long as possible
A strong pressure VIII undoubtedly be
.eEeEcised by the railway people TO pre-
vent the throwing open Of the Panama
Railway to all carriers ~ sea.
AVOIDING PUBLICITY.
Coupled with this news from Wash
-t1grOn comes . well-authenticated re-
port that the railway attorneys and
lobbyists in the East have recently
3. been active. A small article that was
published some weeks ago in a San
= FRANCISCO paper touching on the Pan
ANA Railway was the source Of con-
sternatiOn among the people connected
with the Hartman interests. Dis
patches were sent promptly from the
East 70 business men in this city ask
ing them to refrain from discussing
the. Panama Railway and its contract
with the Pacific Mail Steamship Com
pauy through the agency Of the news
papers.
soon after that q secret conference
was arranged 10 take place in this city
between the executive committee Of the
Pacific Coast Manufacturers and Job
bers Association, representing COM
merciaI interests of the Pacific Coast,
ard J c Stubs and William Sproule
Of the Southern Pacific Company and
r p. Schwerin Of the Pacific Mail
steamship Company. The parties came
together in San Francisco and were
- conferring as secretly as possible when
The can published the facts, creating
thereby no little sensation among the
conferees- Since then, although various
assertions have been made regarding
the railway situation on the isthuus
and the moves Of the representatives.
OF Hartman. no response has been
made Nothing has been said by in
terested parties concerning the fact
that the Panama boards representation
IN. the Panama Railway directory is
but three out OF thirteen. The trans
continental railway people have no rea-
son for forcing. that significant fact
upon the attention Of the public.
Involved in the opening Of the Pana-
RIA Railway 10 all carriers by sea is the
entire rate situation on freights in and
out OF the port Of San Francisco. This
IS clearly comprehended b. the trans
centinental railways that devised the
present artificial system TO tie up COM
merce by sea and TO secure for them
selves the Tong haul" indefinitely
THE MINORITY INTEREST.
While there is no exact knowledge
REGARDING the present ownership OF OLE
seventeen Of the -anama Railway
stock that carries thirteen directors as
against the three directors selected
from the United States Panama Canal
Commission To represent the interests
n the people q the United States. the
voting value Of that one-seventieth of
the outstanding stock TO the transcon-
tfnental people is an interesting cir
cumstance. These few facts when
they are understood by the people gen
orally, may cause the lime light of
publicity "a be turned strongly upon all
Panama incidents until the question Of
contracts between the Panama Rail-
way and other lines in restraint of
commerce and trade is finally settled
WANTS OPEN ROAD.
Concerning the communication that
President Roosevelt sent to the Pana-