The Merchants Transportation Company was a shipping firm that operated on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

from 1905 to 1929. This company should not be confused with the similarly named Merchants Transportation Company of Olympia, formed in 1874 and a completely separate firm.

Organization

Merchants Transportation Company was formed in 1905 by F.H. Marvin, A.W. Sterrett, F.H. Wilhelmi, and Capt. Robert McCullough, of Tacoma, and in that year purchased the steam freighter T.W. Lake from Puget Sound Navigation Co. The company later acquired the passenger steamboat ''Sentinel'' and '' Anna E. Fay'', a former

Yukon River The Yukon River (Gwichʼin language, Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Central Alaskan Yup'ik language, Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq language, Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag language, Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän language, Hän: ''Tth'echù' ...

steam tug which the company had rebuilt into the freighter '' A.W. Sterrett''.Newell, ed. ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History'', at 111, 119, 132, 232, 244, 254, 297, 340, 343, 356, 373, 386, 392, 397, 425, 557, 567, and 579.

Course of business

The company was an early rival of the West Pass Transportation Company in competition for business along the route that ran from Tacoma to Seattle along a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

the west side of

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,6 ...

which was called the West Pass or

Colvos Passage The Colvos Passage is a tidal strait within Puget Sound in the American state of Washington running west of Vashon Island between the island and the Kitsap Peninsula. It lies just north of the Dalco Passage. Colvos Passage has a permanent pre ...

. This was called the West Pass route.

Labor unrest

In 1907 a union movement was growing among the crews of Puget Sound steam vessels, particularly among the engineers, who had formed the Marine Engineers Beneficial Organization. The shipping companies had scheduled a pay decrease to go into effect on January 10, 1907. The engineering association determined to fight this, and threatened to strike. In response, the shipping companies formed a formal association to negotiate with the engineers. F.H. Marvin was the delegate from the Merchants Transportation Company, and was on the board of the directors of the company association and also on the committee to negotiate with the engineers. Two days before the strike was to go into effect, an agreement was reached with the engineers to receive a 10% raise rather than a pay cut.

Ships owned by company

Vessels reported to have been owned by the company include '' A.W. Sterrett'', ''Albion'',U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Corporation, ''Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on Transportation by Water in the United States'', (1909)
(gives fleet compositions and corporate details. Pacific Coast inland companies start on page 236). ''Sentinel'' and '' T.W. Lake''

Close of business

In 1929, all Merchants Transportation Company boats went to

Puget Sound Freight Lines Puget may refer to: *Puget (surname) *Puget, Vaucluse, a commune in France *Puget, Washington, a community in the United States See also *Puget Creek *Puget Island *Puget Sound *Puget-Ville Puget-Ville (; oc, Puget Vila) is a commune in the Va ...

.Findlay and Paterson, ''Mosquito Fleet of Southern Puget Sound'', at 86.

Notes

References

* Findlay, Jean Cammon and Paterson, Robin, ''Mosquito Fleet of Southern Puget Sound'', (2008) Arcadia Publishing * Newell, Gordon, ed. ''H.W. McCurdy Maritime History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing 1966.
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Corporation, ''Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on Transportation by Water in the United States'', (1909)
(gives fleet compositions and corporate details, Pacific Coast inland companies start on page 236). {{Puget Sound steamboat lines Ferry companies based in Washington (state) Defunct shipping companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Washington (state) Steamboats of Washington (state) 1905 establishments in Washington (state) 1929 disestablishments in Washington (state)