Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-10-24
SANTA FE TO
LIFT HAWAII
FREIGHT BAN
ScaIpers' Clique in Frisco That
Sideracked Oriental Freight
for reconsideration" ReSpon-
SibIe for Traffic Congestion

ONFIRMING the prediction of Fl.
r. Vernon, the Santa Fe agent,
- that the railroad embargo on Orl-
entail bound freight would not be CONT
nued on Honolulu freight, an Associat'
Cd Press despatch today states the en-
barge on Honolulu cargo has Deeh
lifted by the Santa Fe railway. IL IS
still i'm effect on Oriental freight.
What is taken as the cause for the
freight embargo Is contained in re-
port OF scalper's clique which has
been operating in San Francisco.
Operations OF the San Francisco
freight scalpers became so notorious
that the National Council Of Defense
issued a notice to Eastern shippers
explaining its operations.
The "hurry-up" war time operations
OF the freight scalpers is said to have
netted them 100000 within the past
eight months The national defense
council order to the Eastern shippers
having intended freight for transpacl'
fic shipment was that they should not
forward il until freight space reserva.
ton had been secured on certain
ships.
The congestion of Oriental bound
freight in San Francisco is said to be
entirely due to the operations OF the
freight scalpers, who were exacttng
n BROKERAGE fee for securing space for
the shipments of Eastern goods to the
Orient. F..
Attention of the National Council
of Defense was turned to the export.
ing situation in San Francisco by the
fact that freight has been constantly
accommodating in San Francisc :. while
at the same time some exporters ap'
peared always able to get their
freight away on the steamers. There
have been from $500 to 5000 cars OF
export freight tied up in the railroad
yards, while in July there were only
SEQ. One day recently the exact num-
Der was 2731 cars, holding consider
ably over 100000 tons of freight.
II was found by the National Coun
Gil of Defense, during its work of
fixing the causes of freight conges-
ton at San Francisco, that the freight
scalpers had operated by the simple
method of gaining control of freight
space in Oriental vessels through the
connivance of steamship employees
sidetracking Orient.bound shipments
through aid of railroad employees and
then selling the "cornered" freight
space to the embarrassed shipper at
a handsome advance over the regular
rates.
The big plum lay in the system of
differential freight rates maintained
by the Togo Kisen Kaisha, although
smaller hauls are said to have been
made through the Java Pacific and
other lines.
The Togo Kisen Kaisha operates
three steamers subsidized by the Japa-
nese government and many others
which are not subsidized. Compare
lively low rates are charged on the
Shinyo Maru, Korea Maru and Tenyo'
Maru, the subsidized vessels, but the
company has been sending other yes
sells here by the score, and these get
as high freight rates as possible.
The victim was the Eastern ship
per whose goods were "lost" until the
steamer on which they should have
been shipped was well out into the
Pacific. Having lost their booking
they had to take their chance with
the other 100000 tons of freight in
the railroad yards.
The big margin between the two
rates offered by the Togo Kisen Kai.I
sha gave ample elbow room for an
endless amount of "busi- ess" by the
insiders. To a less extent the plan
was worked on the Java Pacific line.
When cars loaded with export freight
for the Java steamers were lost" the
freight brokers" graciously found
cargo to fill the steamers, but the
pickings were small.