The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-21
RED LIGHTS ON THE RAIL.
Danger Signals Ahead of the
Local Railway Agents
Association.
Rumors of Cut Rates and Commits
slonS That Vex the Souls of
All the VirtuOus.

The local association of railway ticket
agents, formed largely for mutual agree
ment and admiration, is again in distress.
There are danger signals on its track, and
a smash-up is looked for any day.
It's the same old grievance-paying COM
missions. The awkward thing about il
now is that with the association formed
purposely to break up commission paying
the practice continues to flourish like a
whole grove of green bay trees. In other
words while every agent is taxed to sup
port the association somebody continues
to draw down commissions and draw in
business as serenely as a third-house legis-
lator.
There was fiery oratory and much of it
at a special meeting OF the association in
the rooms of the Mills building yesterday.
Chauncey Depew Mccall was there. while
Cicero Sanborn, Daniel Webster Hitch
cock and Demosthenes Garfield added
spirit to the occasion.
Connor of the Oregon Railway and Navi-
cation Company, who has worn the asso-
citation tiara for the past two months, pre-
sided with his usual Berkeley dignity,
while Factotum Smith acted as minute
clerk and lord high prosecutor.
The special object of the meeting was to
consider charges brought against Mr.. Ca
pelle of the North German LLOYD Steam
ship Company. His heinous offense, &C
cording to the bundle of atfidavits held by
Mr.. Smith, was chopping SIS off the $67 SO
second-class rate to New York. As Mr..
Capelle does most of his business with the
Union Pacific office, Mr.. Hitchcock of that
line was assumed to be shipmate in Mr..
Capelle's boat.
The enormity of the offense consisted, in
the minds of some of the agents, in the
size of the commission Mr.. Capelle was &C
cused OF paying, rather than simple trans
gression of the compact. Mr.. Capelle did
officially, because he did not have oppor-
tunity. The secretary explained that
things were not in proper shape to proceed
with the trial. and he asked for further
time in which to dig up evidence. There
was a flood of oratory at this, but it was
finally agreed to, and the present under
standing is that next Tuesday the perform
ance will go on or else money will be re-
funded.
Agent Stern of the Canadian Pacific was
appointed a committee of one to prey on
the sensibilities of all steamship men in
general, and Mr.. FugaZi of the French line
steamers in particular. Mr.. Stern's pleas
ant duty is to convince Fugazi that paying
a $14 commission on a $67 ticket is not
only d mysterious DuI very nearly sinful
proceeding. If the steamship men persist
in the evil of their ways they will be asked
TO tell how they are able to do it.
AS nearly as the agents not in the COM
bine are able to figure it, the steamship
men have only $12 margin to go on legiti-
mately. There's one line between here
and Chicago that pays S. commission;
one between Chicago and New York that
pays an equal amount, and each steamship
company pays 81. If an agent is foolish
enough to forfeit all this profit for the
sake of getting business nothing can be
done, but to go beyond this $12 figure, and
to apparently pay cash for trade suggests
to the average agent the need of rest at
Agnews.
Although the charges involving Mr.. Ca
pelle are not proved, just the rumor of
them, as we'll as few similar tales that
have their rise and fall on Montgomery
street, near Suffer, have made all agents
restless. A half dozen had nice type
written notices of withdrawal all ready in
their pockets at the meeting to-day. A
notice of withdrawal means secession and
war. If one goes a dozen will, and then
the much nourished association will COL
lapse like fireworks balloon. 1t has now
been running about six months, which is a
reasonably long life. If war comes it Will
not mean very much to the general public,
except that until the association is again
organized prospective traveller can Ego
shopping" for overland tickets much more
successfully than he can at present