18 : REPORT OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD COMPANY. ~-

67, North River, and the pier at the foot of Twelfth Street, Hoboken,
N. J., to expire February 1, 1911. The board of directors, recog-
nizing the necessities of the company’s traffic, decided that a pier
terminal should be maintained on the New York City water front;
accordingly, the plan to transfer all of its business to the Hoboken
side of the river has been modified, and negotiations are pending for
a continuance of the sublease from Erie Railroad Co. of Pier (new) 67,
North River, because of inability to secure an entire pier elsewhere
on the water front. — Ss

While the vessels of the company have, as a rule, left the port of
New York with full cargoes, until recently they have returned with
comparatively light ones.

Because this company insisted that minimum rates in effect on
coastwise traffic be continued, Pacific Mail Steamship Co. declined
to continue through billing such cargo upon the established basis of
division of the through rates which could be changed only by mutual
consent; accordingly, as maintenance of the Panama route thus
threatened was imperative, new divisions were conceded, effective
_ November 1, 1909, that were of such benefit to the Pacific carriers
that its best efforts were employed to stimulate the movement of
coastwise cargo both ways, but especially east-bound, with the result
that our vessels now bring full homeward cargoes, which, however,
this company is obliged to transport from Panama to New York at
a rate that barely covers cost of handling. This step, which consti-
tutes a surrender of possible earnings, was taken advisedly by the
directors of the company in order to carry out the Government’s
policy to develop the capacity of the Panama route to its fullest
extent, in order to relieve, as far as consistently possible, the com-
mercial community of the west coast of the United States from
exorbitant rates by other routes.

Owing to a reduction in first cost and to a strict enforcement of
contract conditions as to quality, the total expense for the increased
— quantity of fuel required by the company’s augmented fleet was not
proportionately increased.

The quantity of cement to be carried to the Isthmus for account of
the commission by the company’s steamships Ancon and Cristobal
increased in volume beyond the capacity of those steamers, so that
it became necessary to make arrangements with other vessels to
transport the excess.

Canal construction has benefited by a reduction of the company’s
rate to approximately the rate charged by the extra vessels, the rates
being, respectively, $1.70 per gross ton by the foreign steamers against
$1.75 per net ton by the company’s steamers. |

The initial rate of 22 cents per ton for loading the company’s
cement ships during the first trial period of six months could not be
nintained, but a later arrangement that allowed the company’s
stevedore an increase of 4 cents per ton, and some other minor con-
cessions, contributed to greater rapidity and efficiency in their load-
ing, which has frequently been effected at the exceptional rate of
from 3,500 to 3,700 tons a day, contained partly in bags and partly
in barrels, so that we have been able to dispatch the vessels practi-
_ cally on a regular schedule. 7
- During the year cold-storage accommodations on all of the com-
pany’s vessels were enlarged so that they are now able to transport
all of the refrigerated stores required at the Isthmus.