The morning call., 1892-07-20
FARES AND FREIGHTS.
The Troubles of the Transcontinental
Ticket Agents.

Ticket Agents.
Champagne and truffies are now being re-
placed by steam beer and pretZels by the
dapper railroad ticket agents along Mont
gomery and Market streets. Some Of them
even begin 10 look seedy.
Imagine the representative OF 1.-The best
equipped and most picturesque scenic line"
walking around looking for "angels" or
tieket-tuyers in a last years suit of clothes,
whose trousers not only bag at the knee,
but are crawling up bis shapeiy leg. The
fact of the matter is the agents, scalpers
ana cappeTs are having A hard time OF II
just now. There is no travel and grass Is
short. OF course the salaried agent is all
right as far as 1t goes. But the others are
suffering. and It is all on account Of the
commission system.
Every one of the Eastern roads allows its
agents here commissions for all the people
they may send over the road. These COM
missions vary very much according to the
roads and The standing OF the man who Is
the recipient Of them.
OF course there is regular tariff which
regulates the fares to Eastern cities, ard
there Is only one way open for the various
agents by which they are able 10 compete
with each other and that is by sacri hcing
portions or all Of these commissions. For
instance, "a man wants "a 90 TO New York
and Is told the fare Is $50. II be avs thai
price the agent viii probably make from SIS
20 $40 commission.
But he rarely will pay it, because he has
been around other Offices and has learned
that bv driving a bargain be can travel
cheaper. Therefore the agent has 10 hold
ont inducements by Offering to send the
man 10 New Ork Tor $50. or probably for
$50, when leaves him with either one half
Of his commission or, in some cases, with
none al all
Bargains of this kind are being made
every day and that is the reason why tick
els are being sold TO points east Of tue Mis-
souri, al all kinds OF prices.
That is also the reason why the bar
rooms on UPPER Montgomery street com
plain Of bad sbusne IS, and why the smiles
which tighten up the c0untenanee OF the
general special aud travelling agents as they
sun themselves In front of the offices are
forced and do not look natural.
". X. Vice. the Pacific Coast passenger
agent Of the Union Pacific Railroad, re-
turned yesterday from Denver, Colo. Mr..
ice travelled west on one OF the new and
unique palace cars recently built by the
Pu,lmans for the Northern Pacific. The
car is now on exhibition at the Oakland
mole and Is said t. be the perfection of
modern invention IN the line Of providing
comfort and luxury for travellers. The
kikhorn Is the name Of this palace on wheels,
which has draWing room at one end and
q staterOOm with most luxurious smoking
room AT the other, while the center is occu-
pied by 10 beTths.
Nj Vice said yesteEd " that during bis
brief STAY in Salt Lake City he learned that
the people Of the Mormon capital were as
eager 10 have a competing line from there
IL san Francisco butt as the merchants of
this city are.
There is now q rapid transit electric road
being built from Salt Lake City 10 place
south Of Garfield Beach,. said Mr Vice.
~ Inch is being much talked about there as
being the eastern end Of a great railway
from San Francisco. | looked up that road
and found that the eight miles or there
a00uts Of track that have been laid are built
If iron as heavy and solid as any transcOn-
unental line In the United States uses, and
that, together with what | heard people say,
lends much truth TO tie rumOrs | mem
toned"
{. j. Huntington. the Southern Pacifc's
president having purchased the Cotton
mansion on California street for $3.50, 900, it
Is expected that he Will arrive here within
month 10 take up his residence in this city.
The officials at Fourth and Townsend
streets. who stand close 10 Mr.. Huntington,
hope and say that the latter will spend at
least six months of every year here and
that he will devote his time 70 a personal
supervision Of all Of the Southern Iacfc's
affairs exclusively.
Yesterdays dispatches of TEE CALL an
nounced that the first through shipment Of
CdilIpi MA run 10 EISlduu Ndu bcen Mdue
on Sunday night from Sacramento. This
news was confirmed yesterday.
a L. Hatch, prominent lruit-gTOwer OF
Colusa, SAID that II is expected that the fruit
will reach Liverpool In 16 days time, " hich
is about the same period a. it formerly took
to send fruit 10 Boston or New York.
The cost Of shipping IS $1,000 per car to
Liverpool for freight alone, and it is ex-
peeted that If the fruit arrives in good
shape big prices Will be obtained for II.
Why the fT0it-grOwers here ara so con-
ideni that California fruits should be con-
sidered Of high values In England at a time
when the European fruit season is at its
highest has not been explained, but the re-
suit Of this experimental train viii show
whether permanent trade in that line can
be established