The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-25
PACIFIC MAILS FLAG
IN ATLANTIC AGAIN
Service Between Baltimore and
San Francisco Will Be
Established.

For the first time In many years the
nag of the Pacific Mail Steamship Com
pany Is to return to the Atlantic Ocean.
the company announcing yesterday
through George ]. Baldwin, its president,
that 1t will establish Immediately a SER
vice between San Francisco and Balti-
more by way of the Panama Canal. The
company. the oldest in the United States.
has purchased from the United States
Shipping Board the new steel freight
steamships Point Lobos, Point Adams,
Point Bonita and Point Judith.
Beginning next month sailings will
take place from Baltimore every three
weeks, calling at Havana, Puerto Co
lombia, Cristobal and Balboa. Corinto,
Acajutla. San Jose, San Pedro, one of
the California ports, Los Angeles or San
Francisco, with return sailings. The
service IL designed to utilize the Panama
Canal water route between the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts, which was aban-
doned in 1915, partly on account OF war
conditions and partly because the COM
pany then was controlled h, the South
ern Pacific Railroad, whose ships were
prevented by law from using the canal
The majority interest in the company
Is now owned by the American Interna-
| tional Corporation and w. r. Grace &
Co. The present control. Independent Of
| railroad interests, permits the vessels to
traverse the canal and gives to the Ca
: ribbean and Central American markets
| the all water service under the American
| flag they have SO long desired.
The new service will extend the opera
| tons Of the Pacific Mail considerably
more than half around tho globe, for the
| company now maintains one line from
! San Francisco TO Hawaii, Japan, China
, and the Philippines, another from San
Francisco direct to Manila, Singapore,
| Calcutta and Colombo. and a third from
| San Francisco southwark via Central
| American ports to Panama. all under the
| United States flag.
| The new line will give a direct outlet
| for manufacturers of the South and mid
die Atlantic States and merchants Of the
Pacific coast for shipments to West In
| dian and Central American markets. The
| company will be enabled to give through
bills Of lading from the principal Orien-
tai ports to all American and West In
dian ports touched by 1t and thence to
the United Kingdom and Continental Eu-
rope over connecting lines.
The water route from coast to coast
via Panama was first established by
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
as far back az 1s4s. Large cargoes
were transshipped across the isthmui
first by trail, and after 1855 by the
Panama Railroad. a double steamship
service from New York to Colon and
from Panama to San Francisco was
maintained for many years.
To-day the Panama Canal makes II
possible readily to give a steamship ser
vice from Atlantic and Pacific ports tc
Central America and the West Indies
without transshipment.
! Tn 1Q1b the interests in control of thu
Pacific Mail, complaining that 1t was IN
possible successfully to operate Vesseli
under the American flag with the drastic
provisions of the La Toilette seamen'i
act in force, announced their attention
of liquidating the company and with
drawing its fine fleet OF steamships from
the ocean. This threat was soon mad
good.
Tho aro splendid American mail an'
passenger steamships Mongolia, Man
! churia. Siberia, Korea and China tina
: piled between San Francisco and tn
: orient were sold for what they woul,
/ bring. A contract was entered into 10
{ the disposition of the smaller vessels o
. the coastwise line, and it looked as
/ the entire Pacific Mail feet would b
l scattered irrevocably to the four quar-
/ chant marine had reached Its loves
. ebb.
At this critical moment the America
: International Corporation and w. F
Grace Co. stepped In. maJorit
interest In the company was Dough
and the sale of the remaining steamship
was rescinded. The transpacihc flee
was gone and II was difficult to fin
steamships to replace them, especial
as submarine warfare was increasin
7 in intensity, resulting in scarcity G
tonnage and consequent almost prohib
! tive prices
However, the new directors wer
finally able TO obtain three passenge
steamships which had just been CON
0 pleted in the Netherlands, though at
heavy cost. These were the Columbi'
Venezuela and Ecuador. These vessel
were remodelled SO as to burn oil fue
and late In 1915 the San Francisco
orient line was resumed. The Unite
states flag was put back on the Pacif
and now has returned to the Atlantic.