The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-03-01
The RATE WAR CONTINUES
Both Railroads Deny They Are
Doing Any Cutting
PASSENGERS KNOW BETTER
The Office Boy of the Opposition Line
Talks About II
he Tells How and Why the Rate War Was
Commenced, and for Youngster
Gets Near the Facts

NOmmcnCcu, anu tut u rouuSotSh
Gets Near the Facts
The constant denials OF the railroad
companies, both Southern Pacific and
Santa F., that there is cut rate war on
passenger business from the East, is
simply buncombe. The Southern Pacific
and Santa Fe companies are fighting
The winter in the South has been unusually
severe; smallpox has broken out in Hot
Springs, Arkansas, and at other resorts,
and three thousand invalds left the
former place in one day this week. All
the Eastern people who wanted warm
weather in winter and went to some OF
the so-called winter" resorts in Deem
Der or January, have been driven back
home by the cold or disease and have in
consequence turned their faces toward
California for sunshine and health. AS
everyone knows who has lived in the
East, the cold March winds with their
driving storms of sleet are more dreaded
with bronchial or lung trouble or the
rheumatic than the weather of any other
month in the year.
They had already spent considerable
money in going to their accustomed re-
sorts and hence when they came to make
change they hadn't the money to spare
to pay high fares to California. Constant
inquiries by would-be passengers for
rates to California resorts at the various
railway offices in Chicago and elsewhere
East, who found the rates too high and
hence refused to go, caused the passenger
agents to put on their thinking caps.
Here were thousands of dollars worth of
business slipping through their fingers
and coaches and sleepers running half full
from Chicago to Los Angeles or San Fran
cisco. 1t does not cost penny more to
haul $50 passengers in a car across the
continent than it does to haul $50 passen-
gers. The railroad lines, that have offices
in Chicago and book people to California
soon found that cut in rates had to be
made il they wanted to send people west.
Any railroad line can make any sort
of rate from and to any point in the
country, providing the line making the
rate gives the Interstate Commerce Com
mission three days notice. In other
words the Burlington, Chicago and
Alton, Illinois Central, Santa Fe or any
other road could and can make a rate
from Chicago to Los Angeles of 81 for the
round-trip, if they choose, by giving the
proper authorities due three days notice.
What the roads making the rate loses on
the trip of the passenger to whom they
sell the cut-rate ticket, they mnst pay to
the connecting lines over which he nor
she travels. For instance, if road con-
Meeting with the Southern Pacific line
should make 81 rate and the through
rate was $50, of which the Southern Pa
cifc received $45 then the connecting
line would pay to the Southern Pacific
$45, for that passenger, the loss going to
its own line, which would be $40.
The Santa Fe having it's own line into
Chicago, can take people at 81 from that
city to Los Angeles if it chooses to do so
and pocket its loss, whatever it may be,
instead of the connectingb line pocket
ing it,
Georgia, Florida, New Orleans, Hot
Springs, Ark, and elsewhere and asking
what does it cost to go to Los Angeles
where the frost comes not and the ewinter
winds never blow" high priced rates
were quoted at first and they started to
60 away. Then the passenger agent called
them back, cut the rate, gave them a re-
bate check and thus started the war. The
Office boy knows all about it, and yester-
day he talked
II see dat Santa Fe Office boy has been
unloadin' hisself on de cut-rate war
Mercury who dusts the desks and
smokes the passenger agents cigars.
He's pretty fly kid, but if he thinks he's
the only mig dat catches on to what's flyin',
he's dead off. Come round here when de
old man won't drop on to me spillin' to
you, and I'll give you proper steer.
THE reporter suggested that he would
stand package of cigarettes for Mercn-
ry and take beer himself, and in that
way a private room could be secured.
'Wot's de matter wild me havin'
schooner? I don't smoke killers any
more; dey spoils de taste of de Aristo
cratcas de boss smokes.
TLo 1aa xxvac nrda &c
schooner the Office boy said Now,
Gully, dis is low down, or it'll cost me
my Job. De Santa Fe has got its own
road into Chicago, yeh know and don t
hat to ask around for business from con-
Meeting lines. But the Southern Pacific
has got dozen connectin' lines that
wheel their passengers to Kansas City
and dump them into its lap, and don't
you forget it. Now, havin its own lines
de Santa Fe is scrappin' about cuttin'
rates in Chicago, and sayin' the South
ern Pacific is dom it. Dey amt onto
derselves. Der connectin' lines does de
cuttn' of rates and de S. P. Jest pays de
rebate out here and charges it up to de
feeder wot made de cut. See? No? Youse
amt been round with general managers
much has youse? Well, I'll spread it
thin for you den you'll see, and order
ing another round of beer on his own
hook and producing two imported cigars,
LIIc OlllCe UOy plOCctutu W eHllSnIen the
gloom into which the reporters "grey
matter was supposed to be plunged.
IBIS here scrap wots on now, he con-
tinued, after refreshing himself, 'wos
started by a connectin line wild a party
of tenderfeet who come from Florida
froze to death and wanted to get thawed.
Dey hit a connecting line, then de Santa
Fe then de connecting line and so on
until finally they coined out over the s. 2.
on a cut rate. Dat started de trouble.
Now, pardner, dere's goin' to be a war,
an nothin' can stop it, | don't say, mind
you dat de S. p. are goin, to cut rates
any more, but when de Santa Fe cut
off dat $3.50 slice de old man stomped
around bit, den hustled de typewriters
on kilograms and made me skin gettin'
'em in as rush messages. Bye and bve,
de answers coined back and de old man
clawed around and cussed and finally said
DANNY, let it come. We can stand it if
they can Then he wrote lots of letters
to the connecters, anu in my opinion,
told em to cut. Now, | don't say read
de letters l carried, see? But | do saw,
pardner, dat de war is on and dat Santa
Fe kid wants to stay on his own side of
the street, you hear me, or de war IL be
local"
The Office boy is right; the war is on
and both the roads are rebating from the
East. AS yet it is a bushwhacking war,
but it is bound to grow, and the quicker
the better for Los Angeles.