The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-12-09
BIG APPETITES.
Great Capacity of the Local
Agents for Commissions.
a Letter From the Southern Pacific Con-
pany's Passenger Department to Eastern
Railway Managers.

The following is copy Of communion
tion recently addressed by General Passen
ger Agent Goodman Of the Southern Pacifi
TO the 6 eneral Managers of all roads com
peting for ticket business out of San Fran
cisco. In several cases these letters have
been returned from Eastern leadquarter
to agents in this city, presumably for tn
purpose Of making the local agents nc
| Quainted with tie estimation in which the.
| are held by the Southern Pacific PaSsenge
| De partment.
The letter will explain itself and is inter
esting in view of the late order abolishini
| all commissions to agents. also in the Ugh
OF more recent communication probabl.
| from the same source, published in morn
Ing PAPER, enumerating the great wealth
anassed by several of the Pacific Coas
! agents of Eastern roads in the ticket bust
ness in this city. The letter reads as fol
| lows:
| sELF-INTERESTED AGENTS.
For years past Eastern railway agents at thi
| point have been accustomed TO buy tickets O
| our issue at our Offices and to deliver them Il
/ passengers at their own Offices or elsewhere frs
taking lie passengers Signature TO The contract
While Working IN The Interest OF their em
| ployeis, these agents have not been unmndfu
| of their own interests. They have sought and
| obtained commissions from the other roads III
| teieSled IN the tickets they have bought AT our
offices. These commissions are believed to have
amounted in Individual cases to quite large
| sums OF money.
| Many of these agents have maintained Offices
| here with quite Il stan OF employees. Ii Is gener-
| ally Believed. II not known. that The expenses oil
| Offices and employees are met and paid, In some
| cases, not by the companies represented but by
| the agents themselves out OF commissions OBJ
| tanned.
The agents, not content to work for their own
! companies Only, have endeaYoIed constantly 10
corral IN their Offices all lie tatic possible, even
| though their own roads might be interested III
| but portion thereof. AS tRey have been al
| lowed 10 buy through tickets 10 any point over
| the road, some Of them have come To look upon
their right 10 do so as absolute and beyond ques-
| lion As they could buy and procure tickets over
| olher roads than their own. they have increased
The sum total OF commissions received from con
meeting roads. their appeItes for commissions
being catered to has increased and they have
! played one road against another for SUCH an III
crease, and 100 often successfully.
DIVIDING COMMISSIONS.
At times, to receive traffic, these agents have
| been perfectly willing TO divide and have di-
| vlded their commission with passengers, the re-
| SUIT being more or less frequent cutting OF
share I'D The payment OF commissions on tickets
| Eastward. II may be said, then, 10 have
| little interest III the matter. We have, however,
| great interest IN II as Tar as II concerns
| The maintenance OF rates and Tie proper
conduct of business. We have endeayOred II ON
| time 10 time to induce Eastern RAILWAY agents
here 10 become parties To agreements lIieI-
beis of associations which could control the
| matter. Success cannot be said 10 have followed
the efforts In this direction, either on our own
| port or The part OF others. With view TO a
| proper conduct OF the business ana to prevent
such evils as are herein specified We recently
issued an order, under Instructions from our
| Third Vlce-PresideDi, forbddng our ticket
sellers to deliver ticket OF our issue 10 all East
| ern railway agent Tor delivery 10 passenger,
unless his road was interested in tie ticket a
| carrier. AT the same time eacn agent coucei ned
was notified personally thai II he desired TO buy
| ticket over another road than his own he must
| take The passenger into our Office, where The
| passenger could cali for aud sign tue ticket, or
he must take The passenger into tile office OF an
| agent OF road over which The tic et would
| cover passage; that agent 10 buy the ticket al
our office and to deliver 1t 10 The passenger in his
own Office.
| SOME ARE DISSATISFIED.
We have reason 10 believe that some Eastern
| agents are dissatisfied with The oruer and thai
some oil them propose 10 beat IL, II they can and
| others TO reIalaIe upon US for lis issuance.
| Having thus told you of the situat on here and
! OF this recent order, we respectfully request you
TO instruct such agents as you have In California
10 hereafter devote ITEMS ewes 10 your business,
or, III oiher words, 10 the business IN which your
| company Is Concerned, aud to cease TO act as
Ticket brokers or 10 influence any passenger
| business III Which your company Is not Coli
cerned
We believe you viii look upon this request as
| a reasona bic one and that YOU Will comply viii
II, thus seconding our efforts toward a main.
tenanee OF rates. This much is certain, that II
You are not positively benefited there, y you VIII
result 10 others equaiiy interested.
Inc iaygI of AN early reply Will be appreciated.
Respectfully you're, L. Ii. GOODMAN.
HEAVY LAND SALES.
In the first six days Of December the
Southern Pacific Company disposed OF
1851 As acres of land, from which $685.
COZ rs was received. For the corresponding
period last year the receipts for land sales
amounted to 500, the price of so acres. The
heavy sales for the present month ale due to
the fact that the company has recently put
On the market a 500,000-acr tract in the
southwestern part of Fresno County. stu
ated on tie Huron branch of the Southern
Paeifi which runs through Hanfurd and
Lemoore to Acalde.
For lack of patronage the Colorado Mid
land sleeper. which leaves here on the Z
o'clock overland, has been withdrawn. 1t
will be run on the Denver and Rio Grande
for both east and west bound business.
Tom Mckay of the Burlington leaves to-
| night for Washington in charge of recent
Capture In the shape OF party OF ten tray
elerS, including General Benjaman Molina
GuIrola, the newly appointed Minister from
Salvador, who arrived here a few days since
en- route to the national capital.
l.. Is. Wallace, formerly Of the Passenger
Department OF the Atlantic and Pacific in
this city, has been appointed General Pas
Senger Agent OF the Gulf, Colorado and
SGnta Fee with headquarters at Galveston,
Tex.
Grading on the San Ramon Valley line
has been completed as far as Concord.
The force ON the Los Banos eXtens on has
been increased and work is being pushed at
the rate OF one and half miles per day.
on THE RETIRED LIST.
Local agents have received notice that A.
'. ii. Carpenter, for thirty years General
Passenger Agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee
and st. Paul Railway, has been placed on
the retired list at his own request. For a
| year past he has been almost totally blind.
| In laying down his life-work Mr.. Carpenter
| took occasion to send TO all the employees OF
| the passenger service a circular of a vale
| dlctory character, closing with commencing
| to them his successor in Office, George Ii.
Heatfoid. for some time his assistant.
No. Is, the Los Angeles express, arriving
| here at 1915 o'clock in the morning, has
| been changed to leave Los Angeles forty
| five minutes later than formerly, to accom-
MEDIATE San Diego passengers north bound
The change, however, will not affect the ar
! irving time of this train in San Francisco.
Z. Il. Bray OF the Northern Pacific has re-
turned from trip East with his wife.
The Railroad Commissioners have de-
| cided that III the case of II. G. Sheath vs.
| The Southern Pacific Company the company
Is not discriminating against Sheath; that
the rates charged him were those fixed by the
| commission, and that ali interests being con-
| sidered 1t was unable to determine upon a
| more equitable tariff than the existing one
| Mir. Sneath'S chief complaint filled April,
$780, related to excessive hay rates between
San Jose and San Bruno
w. FL. Snedaker, General Agent OF the
Denver and Rio Grande Western, has re-
turned from Los Angeles.
r. ). Baker, civil engineer, formerly
with the Santa Fe, sailed on the steamer
San Jose Sunday for the United States Of
Colombia. where he is to assume charge Of
an important railway project, designed to
form Colomba's link in the proposed chain
OF Pan-AHerican railways. About 1900
miles of road are projected
General Freight Agent Smurr of the
Southern Pacific Company will arrive here
to-day from Chicago.
Traffic Manager Gray is due on Thursday.
A Suit From Japau