The Lamar register., 1915-10-13
Pacific Mail Ceases Operations

ed some months ago that the Pacific
Mail Steamship company was going
out of business because of the La Fol-
lette Seamen's law passed b. the last
democratic congress, to take effect
November 4th, next, certain ah:ninis-
tration officials declared this was 4
huge bluff on the part of that com
pany, intended solely for political ef-
feet.
A report of Consu! General George
L. Anderson, HoEeHong, China. re-
Gently made public, indicates that the
Pacific Mail company was in deadly
earnest. The five American vessels
known as the trans-Pacific feet, have
been disposed Of. Their tonnage ag
gregates { t.ifle over 100000, which
Secretary Redfeld should deduct fron
his next report on the growth of the
American .n.rnham. marine, ii he does
not wish to distort the truth.
General Anderson goes on to say:
"The sale of the vessels of the Pacific
Mail Steamship Co., engaged in the
a crisis in the carrying trade of the
far east as related to trans-Pacific
service which is of the greatest pos
sible practical Importance to American
exporters and importers interested in
far eastern trade. The personnel of
the staffs in various offices have Deen
given notice of unemployment and
the Americans employed in various Of
fees have been given similar notice,
with an indication of what steamers
they are to take for their return to
the United States and notice of no
employment when they reach the
United States. In Hongkong the Of
fees Of the company are to be closed
and the lease of an exceptionally fav-
orable office location has been taken
over by the Nippon Yusen Kaisht, a
competing Japanese company. The
business of the company, in short, is
being wound up Immediately" Does
that look like bluff?
, Mr.. Anderson evidently realizes how
distasteful the subject is to Secretary
Redfield, when he states: while it
is not competent to discuss in con-
sular report the causes or circum
stances in the United States which
have brought about the winding up of
the business of this company on the
Pacific, there are certain practical
and immediate results of the change
which must be taken into considera-
tion by American business men in
terested in the trade in the Orient in
any way or to any degree, and, in
deed, by all interests concerned in
American trade abroad in general" !"
The Consul General names three
Japanese lines, all heavily subsidized
by their government, which are max
ing every effort to seize the trade
of this American company as it re-
linquishes its business. He calls at
tention to the fact that the Robert
Dollar line has given up the run from
the United States to China, and the
routing of the one vessel operated by
the Great Northern Co., has been
changed to Canada. He then recalls
the fact that during the acute ton
mage shortage of last spring the Jap
anese government ordered the Japan
ese lines (all subsidized) to take
freight during certain months from
Japanese ports only, thus serving Jap
anese industries and Japanese ship
pers in preference to other shippers
in the far east, and, of course, with
out any reference to American inter
ests in the premises, and remarks
that "if, when the strain on freight
facilities actually is realized this aut-
umn, the Japanese government adopts
the same policy with respect to Jap
anese cargo and Japanese products it
adopted the past spring and summer,
namely, to confine the cargo space of
ferings in all ships of Japanese lines
to Japanese ports until such ports are
fully served, there will be no cargo
whatever taken to the west coast of
the United States from Hongkong and
South China generally, from the Phil
ippines, North China, or from India
and the East Indies by usual trans
sbinp,apt at HonpkonP" And our