The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-11-02
Pacific Mail Driven From Sea
-o W 20. gsS IL. TT 10
COMPANY HEAD REPLIES TO M'ADOOI
t'-@-sN Ir1-aTutW %, - !
BourbOnS Have Wrecked Trade

, FPIN 10 becIe'"iN ~ W" treasury NC
Adoo's criticism of the company for
| selling its vessels which heretofore
were engaged In the transpacific trade.
| Mr.. Kruttsehnitt said that the only
reason for disseminating the service
was the passage Of The Seamen : Act,
and he called attention to the tact
that representatiN es Of the Pacific Mail
Steamship COMPANY had for period
| of years advised Government officials,
including the President Of the United
States, that legislation Of the type of
the La Toilette bin wonld force the
discOntimianee OF American shipping
to the Orient.
Regarding the charge that the Pas
cifc Mail COMPANY had received more
for its FIVE ships than they were worth,
Mr.. Kruttschnitt said that before max.
ing the sale the company had received
offers from various foreign govern
ments and that there was more than
one prospective purchaser. The diree-.
tors, he said, were of the opinion that
the ships had been sold at too low a
price. .,
Reply To Secretary M'Adoo u.
President Kruttsrhmtt's statement
follows: .,
1.-THE newspaPcr reports of the
speech of Secretary of the Treasury
! McAdoo, made on October I3, before
the business men Of indianapolis, state
that the most remarkable feature Of
the speech was an attack upon the Of
ficials of the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company because Of the sale of its
ships heretofore engaged in Transpa-
cifc traffic. Mr.. McAloo is reported
as severely criticising The Pacific Mail
because Il sold its ships suddenly and
withdrew from the business of operat.
ing line of steamships across the Pas
ci6e without adequate. notice and with
indifference to the interests of this
country.
20 Il am told, so reads the report
of the address! that the Seamen =
Act was not the handspring for the
transfer of the Pacific Mail vessels.
The Panama Canal Act, which denied
railroads owning competitive steam,
ship lines the right to operate them
through the canal, and the present alb.
normal rates for cargo space on the
Atlantic, which made it possible to
sell the ships at more than their real
value, was, l understand, the true
canse of their sale
Ever since the destructive effect
| upon American shipping, especially on
the Pacific Ocean, Of the La Toilette
Seamen s Act has become manifest,
those likely to be held responsible for
that ill-cOnsideTed legislation have
been very reseptful against the vie
Tins of the law, Senator La Toilette
was moved byFdthe discontinnance or
the Pacific Mail and Dollar lines to
exclaim for. publication.
90 This, country is being made the
victim of a vicious and menacing con
spiracy. The shipping interest is put
ting forth every resource known to um-
scrupulous business to discredit the
Seafnen 8 law .tF.F
| Appeal Made TO Governmer.
''At times the action of the steam
shin lines in withdrawing from a bust
ness which they could not probably
! Continue under the terms of the law
is charged to be unpatriotic, or to evi
denee a selfish disregard Of the inter
| ests of the public, or again as dis
playing n reprehensible want of con.
fdence in the ability and willingness
of those charged with the enforcement
| of the law to cOnstrue away its bad
features They are blamed for not ap-
paiing from congress to the serrcta,y
| of commerce or Tor. not continuing
losing business in the hope that some
future congress might listen to the
protests which were disregarded by
the congress which passed the La Fol
lette bin and repeal the law. This
view of what the steamship companies
should have done is foreshadOwed in
the correspondence which took parr
last June between Secretary Redfirld
and the San Francisco Chamber of
| Commerce.
"On June II the San Francisco
Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter
to the Secretary of Commerce and re
ferring to the prospective withdrawal
of the Pacific Mails transpacifc line
as a result of the restrictions placed
by the Government upon American
shipping said that our merchants will
await with great interest such assur
ances as the Department of Commerce
can give that the prospective shortage
of tonnage will be rendered and
! why it was found desirable for the
Government to eliminate American
ships from the trade in question Mr.
Redfeld replied that be had received
no advice as to the contemplated with
drawal of the Pacific Mail steam.
ers, an referred them TO q copy at
tached of a letter of his to some mrr.
chants on the Coast containing the fol
lowing reference to the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company. .r4U"L
"This department has received no
notice to the effect that the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company intends to
Withdraw its China line, nor has there
come to MS any request for assistance
n aid from that company in any way
whatever. The Seamen s bill does not
become a law until November 4, ano
between that time and the present
there is room for many things to hap
pen.
"With ocean freight rates at their
present high level, greater demand
| Shn than tnStihp1 that Sha and I,l,,,,,,