The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-09-18

eminent steamship line, connecting the
Panama canal zone Pacific port OF An
con and San Francisco. This almost
united sentiment that urges govern
mental infringement on the domains of
private business enterprise, has been
developed by condition of affairS pre-.
Ivailing throughout the last twenty
years, effectually depriving the western
territory of the inestimable benefit of
water competition, By way of the 18th.
mus Of Panama railroad, in all freight
traffic to the Atlantic seaboard.
For the period mentioned the steam.
ship service between San Francisco and
Panama has been under the practical
control of the transcontinental inter
ests. The corporations have naturally
and successfully aimed to eliminate
their coastwise line as a real factor in
the railroad freight tariffs to the East.
The through service to the Atlantic
states by way of the Panama railroad,
has been consistently discouraged.
Nothing is palmer to the shipping and
business interests of the West than the
fact that this we'll known and acknowi-
edged condition has retarded the
growth of San Francisco as a great
seaport and proved an obstacle to the
progressive expansion of commerce on
the Pacific Coast.
| While Secretary of War, Taft de-
elared that he considered the present
coastwise line-the Pacific Mail Steam.
ship Company-to be standing inn
pediment to the natural developments
of trade relations. This opinion of the
Secretary of War took tangible form
when he delegated Special Panama
Railroad Commissioner Joseph l.. Bris-
tow to investigate the conditions that
would surround the operation of a gov.
eminent steamship line on the western
coast of the country.
The line of freight and passenger
steamships now running under govern
ment control between Colon and New
York has proved satisfactory invest
ment and this successful experiment,
coupled with the governments investi-
cations of the possibilities in develop.
ing the now meager facilities on the
Pacific Coast, has led to the belief that
the transeontinental freight rates may
be controlled by actual water competi-
tion even before the Panama canal is
reality.
San Francisco is the terminal point
for prac tically all of the many products
of California. With reasonable freight
rates and regular sailings, it is esti,
mated that steamship line between
San Francisco and Panama wonld re-
ceive at least one-third and probably
one-half of the through freight ship,
ments that now go to the Atlantic
states by rail. But the effeetual method
adopted to prevent exporting shippers
from using the present sea service is
in the maintenance of rates that make
it Improbable to select the Panama
route in preference to the transconti
mental railroads. The lack of tonnage
in the San Francisco-P Panama service
and the delays at the isthmus, of which
Taft complained, with the absence of
a rate that offers an inducement to
shippers, all goes to give the great bulk
of the Pacific Coast freight to the
transcontinental railroads at their own
tariff schedules.
There is no doubt, in the minds of
its advocates, that a government steam.
ship line on the Pacific Coast with reg.
ular and frequent sailings, would de-
velop large and constantly increasing
volume of traffic. But to handle the
/ through freight business between the
: Atlantic and Pacific coasts the gov.
eminent line would have to give SER
vice at the sPacific ports between the
| two terminal points. The Mexican and
! Central American ports are intimately
connected with the through freight
. traffic, and the present complete ser
Twice of the Pacific Mail Company in
, this single connection would have I'd
be undertaken by the government yes
sells.
Until the last half of the year 1907
the Pacific Mail Company had the priv
ilege of making through bills of ladinl
between the Atlantic states and tn,
:. Pacific Coast. This gave the company
= ian advantage in through business owe
= foreign carriers, but the privilege wal
q later rescinded by the government. TIL,
q coffee carrying business from the ives
a coast of Central America to New Yorl
q is held as a practical monopoly by tn,
n Royal Mail Steam Packet Company,
! lsubsidized British company operating
9 with through billing privileges. TIL
( Atlas Steamship Company of New
l. York, a German company, has secure,
). some of the trade and with the Kos
/. mos Steamship Company, controlled b,
r the Hamburg American Packet Com
IT pany, has made large inroads in til,
o west coast business.
e 1t is evident that the interests o.
J. San Francisco are impaired by. foreigi
n vessels transporting freight that Shout,
n be directed to the through steamer
J. operating between San Francisco An,
o Panama. To pay, the government
steamers would have to be of larg
t capacity and the necessary stops tina
o would have to- be made at the man,
h Mexican and Central American port
Q would cause much delay to big freight
n ers. The hope of the Pacific Coas
Q exporter is increased accommodation
u for traffic and low freight rates. Witt
a rate of $500 or $3.50 per ton from
New York the government line woul,
also find that the Pacific Coast marke
: would give .abont all the freight tn
Q system could handle from New York I,
f San Francisco.
Q The isthmus of Tehuantcpec railroad
A owned and operated by the Mexican