The San Francisco call., 1908-04-12
Gossip of RaiIwaymen

The interstate commerce commission
has passed a rule recently which will
not be welcome news to commercial
travellers Hitherto the railroad COM
panies have permitted drummers to ride
on freight trains for short runs wnen
the regular trains are not convenient.
II often happens that a drummer can
work several towns in this way with
out loss Of time to himself or to the
house he represents. Now comes the
commission and declares this to be
Illegal, for II makes the drummer and
the commercial traveller belong to the
privileged class" and II the drummer
can ride on a freight train the same
privilege must be extended to any one
else demanding permission to travel IN
p caboose. AS the railroads Will not
sanction this the drummer and the
commercial man must wait for regular
trains to pursue their Journeys. AS yet
the railroads have not heard rrom the
drummer as to his opinion Of the new
ruling.
So numerous have been the cases of
robbery on Pullman cars recently that
the Pullman company has ueen com
PEELED to place detectives on rneir cars
20 protect their patrons from the ac-
tions Of the light fingered gentry who
are Fastening to the coast to helm the
circulated that a wealthy family from
the east lost a large sum in cash and
also considerable jewelry on the cars.
i is said that these operators are espe-
cially busy on the run between Salt
Lake City and San Francisco and that
they are also operating on the run to
Los Angeles. Travellers are warned TO
exercise greater caution in f-uiImans-
for these cases of robbery are fre-
quently due to their own carelessness
in exposing their valuables
The restriction which the California
lines have been enforcing ever since the
building of cars in excess of az rect
whereby such cars would be reeefved
only upon payment of a penalty OF %
per cent additional freight rate has
been removed. and there is now no limit
70 the length of the car which may
come west at the established minimums
without any penalty. This will be big
card for those eastern lines which
happen TO be well equipped with SO foot
cars.
The Southern Pacific has instructed
r. H. Countiss of the transcontfnentaI
freight bureau to reduce the present
rate Of 81 on alcohol, hign vines and
pure spirit to S5 cents per 100 pounds
in carload lots.
Thomas Jefferson Wyche, engineer OF
the Salt Lake division OF the Western
Pacific, is expected in the city shortly.
Effective Wednesday. April Ia tho
railroads will abandon the last of their
short haul, second class service he
tween San Francisco bay points and
the interior. A few years ago rates
and service were discontinued on the
direct Sacramento route and since that
time the only interior city of import
ance having any second class rates to
San Francisco has been Stockton A
few points north of there have had
such rates through the combination of
their first class locals with the Stock
Ton second class rates The second
class service was established many
years ago when there was large i'm
migration OF Chinese to San Francisco.
who moved in large bodies TO the in
terror. The Southern Pacific accord
ingly purchased second class cars with
wooden seats adapted TO this class of
traffic. OF late years, however. the
Chinese movement out of San Fran
cisco TO nearby points is small and
no new second class cars have been
purchased. but only first class, vesti-
buled. gas lighted equipment.
For 90 years these tickets were
good only on one slow train each way
every day. and could only be used in
the second class cars. but during the
. last few years. owing to the scarcity