The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-11-10
AND PREMATURELY ANNOUNCED
Inside History of Victory Wrested
by the City From an Over
Astute Corporation.

The inside history as to the action of
the Market-street Railway Company in
lowering the fare 10 the Cliff House is
likely to all come to the surface from pres
ent indications. That there was some nj
terror object actuating this move every one
who is at all familiar with the methods of
the big corporation will readily admit. but
lust what the motive was in giving pub
licity to the reduction at the particular
time the action was taken yet remains to
be explained.
The railroad officials are not disposed to
discuss the matter. but it is readily to be
seen that if the action was intended as
political move it was disastrous failure
IF that was politics, it was blanked poor
politics." said one of them in speaking of
tine matter. land L discovered it the very
morning it was published. When [ came
down to breakfast my boy met me in the
dinng-room with the remark, We'll, the
railroad company has been whipped, l
see, and it Immediately occurred to my
mind that if that was the light in which
the boy looked at it, the possibility was
that the public would view it the SAM
way"
But there are several railroad people vito
current history of the Market-street cor
poration who are not at all backward in
offering an explanation of the manner in
which the new rate of fare came to be
made. One of these gentlemen said
yesterday:
THE first and principal result the rail-
road company desired to secure was a
cessation OF work on the Sutro road. and
h.. =.
done was found to be a troublesome one
when the officials came to its cOnsidera-
ton. MIR. Sutro met all propositions made
him by the firm statement that he would
enter Into 10 further negotiations until the
scent fare had been established, and the
correspondence up to this point was carried
on several weeks prior to the election; in
fact, since active work was begun on the
SutrO road no correspondence Dor con-
ferences have been held. and the Market
street people finally resolved upon a bold
move
They all along entertained the opinion
that Sutro would undoubtedly be defeated
that is up to several days before the
election. when the alleged deal was made
to throw the influence of the corporation
in favor of O'DOnnel, it being deemed i'm
probable that Ebert could succeed, O'Don-
nell being man whom the railroad would
much prefer to Sutro.
Now. some of the railroad people fig
ured that after his supposed defeat If the
reduced rate was announced without any
ostentation and a statement made that it
was because of Mr.. Sutro's again giving
free ingress To his property and of other
changed conditions, the gentleman referred
to would cease active operations Some OF
Mr.. SutrO's friends, in fac, gave the rail-
road people assurances of this kind with
out consulting that gentleman.
But a misunderstanding at this iuucture
placed the railroad in ridiculous posi-
tiOn and gave the reduction a prominence
the company did not desire aud resulted
in constructions being placed upon the act
not at all favorable to the corporation or
calculated to advance its interests. The
misunderstanding was between the gen.
tlemen who run the political end of the
corporation and concerned the time
at which the announcement was to be
made. The older politicians foresaw the
runous result of an ante-election an
nouncement. but the Younger element did
not, and thus the blunder was made.
Since the day the news was first pub
lished the heads of departments have been
Intellectually endeavorlng 10 figure out just
where the railroad corporation stands"