The San Francisco call., 1905-05-07


WASHINGTON May 6.-Secretary
Taft has declared that the rates Of
the Panama Railroad shall be adjust
ed. The Government will not assume
the ownership of the steamship lines
plying between the isthmus and New
York and San Francisco and trans
continental lines have nothing to fear.
Notwithstanding the Secretary's
words of encouragement the railroads
are in very nervous frame of mind.
They profess to think still that the
lowering of Panama Railroad rates
will unsettle transcontinental traffic
and may in the long run mean a dis
astrous rate war. They have been dis
cussing at length in every railroad Of
fee Of the East the probable effect Of
the digging Of the Panama canal. and
strange to say the majority of the ar
gumentS presented are that San Fran
cisco will be sidetracked and will lose
its Oriental trade as soon as the Pan
anna canal shall have been completed.
The opening of the canal, 1t is said
will cause through lines of steamers to
be placed on the run from Oriental
ports and the Philippines direct to
New York and to Europe. There will
be no necessity of shipping freight
from Eastern points to be exported
from San Francisco to the Far East.
There will be no need for steamship
lines from the Pacific Coast to the lu-
crative trade marts of Asia, India and
Australia and the Golden Gate will
set the bars and her merchant marine
will rot in the Oakland estuary"
All this is discussed withsa serious
ness and resort to figures that at
first glance Jar on the sensibilities of
loyal San Franciscan, who has been
accustomed to Panama talk and lis
tened through many years to the pray
ers of California shippers for a canal
and competition. In theory the rail-
road people have advanced a good ar
gument, which many of the national
legislators have been inclined to swal-
low whole.
Those who favor the canal say that
nothing but benefit can come of the
undertaking so far as San Francisco
is concerned. Cheaper rates will give
impetus to California's markets and
even were the State to suffer loss of
some of her Oriental trade she would
more than make it up by being pro-
vided with far more extensive field
in the Eastern part of the United
States and in Europe. They say that
large percentage of the business
with the Orient and the United States,
through San Francisco, is with the
Middle West and that shipments of
flour, canned meats and other staple
products could not be sent to the At
lantic seaboard and trans-shipped to
China, Japan. Australia or the Phil
ippines as cheaply as IL sent direct to
the Pacific Coast and transferred to
steamers there.
California also ships of its own
products many tons of freight per
month, as also do Oregon and Wash
ington. This business is constantly
being stimulated and with the Middle
West shipments form the major part
of outbound cargoes. Atlantic sea-
board shipments to the Orient via
transcontinental lines, during time of
peace, have not been of sufficient i'm
portance to cut any great figure in the
business of the port of San Francisco.
Regarding the trade of Central and
South America, low Panama rates and
litC NOliplEtiOil VI tlC Cdudl Will StiECt
no doubt the shipments of coffee from
Central America and some shipments
to and from South America. South
America has not been a heavy pur-
chaser of California products other
than mining machinery, which business
can be held. Central America buys
mining machinery. powder, wines and
some food products from California,
but little else. The Germans have been
doing most of the heavy business with
Central America and have been able to
undersell all classes of American man
ufactures. The loss of the coffee trade
to California will not be very great, as
a large quantity of Central American
coffee is used west Of the Rocky Noun
tains and will always be distributed
from San Francisco. The coffee for
transshipment has been a source of
profit to the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company, but 1t has not been the
means of creating much labor and the
consequent distribution of money. 1t
is also very likely that the Southern
Pacific Company will adjust it's rates
on east-bound coffee If its steamship
connections demand it, so that it will
be just as cheap to handle it for distri-
button in Atlantic and Middle West
States through San Francisco as to
send it through the canal to the At
lantic ports.
The undoing of Senator John Mitch
ell and Congressman Binger Hermann
of Oregon by United States District
Attorney Heney Of San Francisco has
not created as much surprise here as
one would imagine. The truth In the
matter is, Mitchell and Hermann have
never been considered very heavy
weights, and the Oregon delegation is
said to have always been considered
''one of the weakest from the West"
to use the exact words of q man high
In Government authority. Oregon
should be well represented, it is de-
clared, and it is hoped that it's people
will use care in selecting their next
delegation. for practically no legisla-
ton of Importance has been accom-
plished for the splendid sister State Of
California during the MITCHELL Her
mann regime.
Heney has not unfolded the most