Broadly speaking, the alternatives were competition or agreement. In respect to the Pacific Mail, however, the situation was complicated by the fact that the relations between the railroads and the shipping lines were of two sorts: In the first place, the Pacific Mail served as a valuable connection for the transcontinental railroads on business originating in or destined to China and Japan. Tea and silk eastbound were usually delivered by the steamships to the rail lines at San Francisco. Westbound the higher classes of manufactured goods likewise moved part way by rail and part way by water haul. During the ten years ending in February, 1881, the Pacific roads carried 177,278,505 pounds of tea and other Asiatic goods, secured to them by the co-operation of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, resulting in earnings of $3,264,456.44.[345] On the other hand, the rail and water lines were competitors in important respects. Steamship Company Organized In 1874 the Huntington interests organized the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company and chartered three steamships to ply between San Francisco and the Far East. This was said to be the result of a decision of the Pacific Mail to make Panama the terminus of its transpacific route, relegating San Francisco to the secondary position of a port of call.[346] Huntington wrote to Colton, on November 9, 1874: I am surprised to learn that anyone should think it was for our interest to put on the China line seven steamers to start with. I think three is plenty, and we shall, no doubt, have such an opposition on the start that we shall have to run them at a loss, but with those three we can make the prices for the old line, and I think there is enough to break them with, unless the managers of that company are changed, and then we most likely can get their steamers.[347] Huntington intended to develop the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company as a permanent connection of the Central Pacific for Oriental business in competition with the Pacific Mail. At the time his decision was made he discussed with his associates the advisability of asking enough eastern lines to join with the Central Pacific to form a single transcontinental route from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts for export and import traffic, but decided against this project because it would make enemies of the railroads which were not included, and because also the admission of partners would make it impossible for the Central Pacific to control by itself a majority of the shares of the Occidental and Oriental Company. Huntington’s letter to Colton on this matter is a model of sound reasoning on a large question of policy: