The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-03-30


| four foreign vessels would not take the
| business away from American ships
Previous to annexation the foreign and
American ships were IN open competI-
ton fer All Hawaiian business; but
even then when they had the privilege
Of carrying freight as well as passen-
gers. the foreign lines We're never able
to hold more than their own share of
the business. In regard to the Matson
line. | would say that two years ago,
when this proposition was before your
committee. and more particularly when
il was before the house, my good friend
from California grew very eloquent
over the steamship Lurline, which was
going to be put in commission by the
Natson company to relieve this situa-
tion. The steamer Lurline was put in
commission and was found to possess
total of twenty cabins.
Mr.. Kahn. Accommodation for six
" passengers.
Mr.. Mcclellan. Accommodations. as
the gentleman SAYS, for sixty. although
everyone at this table knows that a
vessel with twenty cabins will never
be able to carry sixty passengers, be
cause of the fact that many cabins
are occupied by married couples. The
Lurhne has run almost continuously for
those two years without fixed sched-
ule, so the passengers have not been
able to know when she sails In one
case she was used as tOWbOat to tow
an oil barge from San Francisco to Ho-
nolulu, and passengers had to spend
nearly nine days on that voyage. That
is the sort of accommodations we were
told would serve the purpose of reliev-
ing Hawaii. Since that time the Mat
son line has put on a new steamer
having fifty cabins. with theoretical
capacity of 80 passengers. the best
shin they have on their line, which
Will be a very welcome aid to our local
feet; but the capacity of the two steam
ers which have been put on since two
years ago is not equal to the natural
growth in travel so that our situation
today. with those two vessels added
is worse than it was two wears ago
Let me say further, gentlemen, that
when [ was in Honolulu last September
I made a personal investigation of this
question and endeavored to get some
sort of promise from the Matson PEG
pie that additional boats would be
put on and. would be contract
ed for to follow the new WiIhelmina.
The local people offered to subscribe
a substantial part of the capital re-
CURED to build that boat, and some of
them personally urged Captain Matson
to proceed AT once TO build another
boat, which would, of course, require
year to construct. But Captain Mat
son refused to do that, and said he did
not propose 10 build any more until it
is demonstrated that the present boats
Will have a sufficient profit.
While the San Francisco shipping in
terests have opposed this measure, a
recent event has shown how quick that
community IS to ask for a suspension
of the coastwise law when it interferes
with their business in any way.
The German steamship Cleveland sail
ed from New York last year with a
party Of American tourists to circle The
globe. When they reached Honolulu on
the return voyage, all passengers were
forbidden to stop over at that port IN
der penalty of a fine Of 5000 each. As
the ship carried Goo passengers. the total
fine for landing them at San Francisco
would have been $4,000. When the
steamship company announced its in
tention Of landing the party at a Can
adam port, the san Francisco people al
once brought pressure on the treasury
department, and the result was the
Cleveland was allowed to land all those
passenger, at san Francisco with a
fine of only $1,000 for the ship, with
the understanding that the company
would contest even that in The courts.
NJ. Barchteld. That IS a North Ger
man LlOvd steamer?
Mr.. Mcclellan. Yes.
Mr.. Barchfeld. Named in honor Of
The former President, Grover CIeve-
land?
Mr.. Mcclellan. Yes. This case of
the Cleveland is u very interesting one,
because it shows the result of an ex-
treme technical application of the coast
wise law. Nobody ever intended, take
if. when the coastwise laws were APP
piled, that a vessel leaving one side Of
the United States and encirclng the
globe and coming back to land its pas
sengers at another American port should
be subject to the coastwISe laws; but
neverth eless, technically, II is just as
much subject to them as Is boat land
ing passengers in San Francisco from
Hawaii As soon as there was a posi-
biIitv of divertiug the tleV Gland to a
Canadian port the people of San Fran
cisco. who wanted The profit of handling
the incoming passengers and Of reftting
the vessel, rise up and ask immediately
for a suspension Of the coastWise hw,
and pet it, too.
Mr.. Hardy. Where ara those passen-
gers 10 and trom2
Mr.. Met leIlan From New York back