The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-09-18
HARTMAN AND THE
OCEANIC LINERS

The Chronicle of September has
the following:
OF greater import to San Francisco
interests than any of the other matters
discussed by E. II. Hartman and those
who were successfully admitted to his
room at the Fairmont Hotel yesterday
afternoon, is the arrangement for the
sale of the three steamships of the
Oceanic line to the Pacific Mail, to be
used in the Inauguration of an express
service between this port and Ancon,
in the Panama canal zone.
Since the resumption of work on the
eanar under the American government
the merchants of San Francisco have
fond themselves handicapped in bid.
ding on supplies for the Canal Commits
sion, owing to the fact that the steam
ship service on the Atlantic was so
much superior to that furnished by the
slower boats operated by the Pacific
Mail on this side Not only are these
boats incapable of making the speed
attained by the ships on the Atlantic
canal service, but owing to the fact
that they make many stops on the way
down the Mexican coast, they have
been unable, to land canal supplies at
Ancon in competition with the steamers
running from New York, and this in
spite of the fact that many articles
consumed ON the canal zone are pro.
duced in California and heretofore
shipped by the roundabout way of over
land freight to New York, and from
there to the isthmus by the Atlantic
steamers.
The first man of those waiting in the
lobby who was called to Hartman 4
room at the Fairmont yesterday after
noon was John d. Spreckels, and the
subject discussed between them was
the terms of the purchase of the three
ships. the Ventura, Sonoma and Sierra
which formerly constituted the service
from this port to Australia, with Homo
lulu as port of call, on the Oceanic
line. For nearly a year these ships
have been lying idle in Mission bay
and there have been many rumors as to
the ultimate use to which they would
be put. The Spreckels interests had
found the Oceanic service improbable
without the subsidy which the Ameri
can government refused to grant, ant
the three big steamships, which were
built in the East particularly for thii
line, had been lying idle for more thar
year.
But Hartman has work for idle Ship
to do, and yesterday afternoon he ex
planned his plan to put the Ventura
Sierra and Sonoma on the line t.
Panama, to furnish direct express
line from here to Ancon.
The price he drove was sharp one
| but Spreckeis left the conference~w
an expression of features that indi
Gated he was well pleased at his bar
gain.
There was more to the talk, too, thai
the mere purchase and sale of three biz
ocean steamships, for under the Pacifi
Mail house flag these boats are to b
| operated under an agreement with tn
government that amounts to a subsidy
and Hartman explained to Spreckel
something of his plans to revive tn
fight for subsidy bill in Congress mex
spring.
Hartman has not forgotten that 30
Evans pointed him out as the ma
most fitted to win for this country tn
mastery of the Pacific, and he is nc
daunted by the coming of the Japanes
turbine liners. Through his agents h
ido bttH III correspondence Wibh VI
japanese cabinet by cable, and HI
plans for the Pacific Mail do not en-
with the improvement of the line I
Panama. After the Inauguration
March, and when Congress convene
Hartman intimated yesterday that |
intended to go after ship subsidy this
would open the way for further extei
sions of the Pacific Mail service b
tween San Francisco and the Orien
During the day he was also in confe
enee with r. p. Schwerin and Manage
I Avery of the Japanese line, and i
made it plain that interstate commerC
regulations that have prevented the r.
batting by the railroads for Easter
freight shipped to San Francisco !
transit for the Orient might not pr,
vent the profitable operation of I'll
ocean line.
The demands of the army transpol
service for more steamships may |
met with an arrangement under whic
the Pacific Mail may be able to enlarQ
its fleet under subsidy and with a
agreement that the new boats may l
used for troops in the possible ever
of war.