The San Francisco call., 1909-02-19
BATES EXPLAINS
=HISINDFPENDFNT
STEAMSHIP PLAN
Shippers and Businessmen Hear
of a Proposed SIO,0OO,OOO
Company
Eastern Capitalist Desires to
Work in Harmony With
San Francisco Line


s1der plans for an independent line of
steamships. it was revealed that B. n
Baker, a Baltimore banker and multi
- millionaire. had in contemplation s1o.-
100000 corporation to operate boats by
way OF Panama between san Francisco
= and New York. Bakers plans have
nor yet taken definite form, but his
leeas were sketched yesterday by H S.
Bates, the local shipping man. who
. syath his partner. A. S. Chesebrough. is
=: AZ. fRe head Of the movement to estab-
%iSh. the Independent line.
IT appears that it is Bakers desire
: 70: work in harmony with Bates and
: CH6sebrough. He desires that they
establish the Independent line. which
may, at later date, become a part of
ll@s system. However, Bakers enter
prise as at present conceived, depends
upon federal action, and for this reason
the advocates Of the independent line
haTe gone forward with their plans
without relying upon Bakers assist
'ance.
SUPPORT Is NEEDED
Rates explained his ideas Yesterday
a1 SOME length before the gathering of
shippers and expressed the belief that
J. an Independent line could be main
tained If given support by the Cali
1f.l,nla merchants The matter was re-
.-ferred TO the traffic bureau OF the
. Merchants exchange. During the next
: Few days Bates viii make a more ex-
tended report 10 the bureau. and local
shippers VIII make known Just what
ql7a antilles Of freight they could route
oyer the proposed line. After these
issues have been fully Investigated, the
.1eas sibiiity Of the projected service will
s1g determined. and II it is regarded
a'slisH favor a means OF financing it will
= Pc adopted.
Bates Informed the shippers that dur
fns-> his trip in the east he had met
I5aSer. and had learned Of the latter's
70 form a S10,00O,oO0 corporation,
20 be known as the Atlantic and Pacific
=. ;lr-aRspOrt company. In fact, Baker has
already had the papers drawn up. Be
fore launching his enterprise he will
~ ask the government either TO purchase
: or guarantee his bonds, or falling in
tirar ne win await the passage of a
subsidy bill
SIX STEAMSHIPS TO START
/. Baker proposes. in case he launches
bis project, 10 build six stea mships
without delay. In case he decides to
l.-aerafe.- Bates and Chesebrough will
! ct. Is fhe Pacific coast representative
\ - lifeline.
=. f3aker is president OF the Baltimore
-.trlsst and guarantee company. He is
: an experienced steamship man and has
operated extensively on the Atlantic.
= e. rega rds the field here as a promis-
Ang one and viii come TO san Francisco
or March "a TO look over the situation.
A La Scott presided at yesterdays
3 meeting and 7. c Friedlander acted as
SECRETARY. Bates appeared neither a
-f,1T
aid. for his line He merely outlined
zhe possibilities Of the service and then
left the question with the shippers for
decision He referred TO the North
. american line which had been driven
out of business with loss of 5000. 600
and called attention TO the statement of
j. g. Stubs that it had cost the Pa
: -1cj5c, Mail S6.O00,o00 to force it out Of
the field.
=. The Pacific Mail took only as tons
81 freight out Of San Francisco" said
: Bates. when the Hawaiian
vessels were leaving with full corgoes
= ialgd' the Shawmut was loading 1t oc-
'1s1rs TO me that we could develop
trade which would not conflict with
she. American Hawaiian company. The
trade that suggests itself to me is that
OF the gulf and the south Atlantic
ports We have the matter up for con-
sideratiOn at the present time with the
f2oston fruit company 10 take our car
goes at Colon and distribute to the gulf
ports.
TRADE on THE ISTHMUS
=: THE next consideration is the trade
on the isthmus itself. in which we will
not. have to divide the tariff with the
Panama railroad company. There are
5000 people on the isthmus, all fed
from New York and New Orleans. Cali
fornia products go 10 New York by
rail and then 10 the isthmus by water.
La Boca and Colon will probably soon
become closed ports and only American
- essels viii then be allowed to carry
supplies there"
Bates expressed the belief that the
service could be begun with two steam
-ers OF 5000 tons that he knew to be
> available, which could be run at nine
knot speed. He figured that it would
require about 50 days for the round
trip and that the voyage down and
hack could be made with full cargoes
for s44. 600. On the so per cent division
with the government line he estimated
-that an average minimum rate Of 10
cents per 100 pounds would pay ex-
- penses.
-. Bates said that he thought the line
cOuld be made TO pay and that new and
modern vessels could be purchased in
two years so that with the opening of
the canal the company would be in a
position to operate on an equal basis
. with the strongest lines.
IT appeared to be the opinion OF a
number Of the shippers that the gulf
and south Atlantic business could be
made profitable. Bates made rough
estimate that the traffic TO these points
could be handled at 55 cents per 100
mounds Scott expressed the fear that
The railroads would cut their rates to
those points from the prevailing figure
of IS cents and thus take freight from
the proposed line IT was brought out
that cargOes could be distributed
throughout Texas and TO Mississippi
river points
Chesebrough made the point at this
iuncture that the way TO keep rates
down was to establish just such an in
-ependent line as had been proposed.
.'sOur idea is TO operate practically
at cost" said Chesebrough. Our rates
would keep rates down.
c. II. Bentley suggested that the
service could be built up and at the
same time competition with the Ameri-
-can-FIa waiian company avoided He
p said the proposed line could handle
the business 10 Panama and the gulf