The San Francisco call., 1908-09-02
Gossip of Railwaymen


Some men are somewhat .brusque in
asking questions" remarked j: L. VIII.
cutt, secretary of the leased lines of
the Southern Pacific, to group Of old
railroadmen yesterday, but there is
no necessity of adopting the same
method in replying.
Il remember years ago a reporter
calling on me and insisting on being
told whether the old Markat street
railway had bought the North Beach
line. 1t was inconvenient TO let the
news be made public, so / talked. all
around the subject. :.
Mr. willcutt' said the reporter. as
he left, L am infinitely Obliged to you
for your kindness. 1 appreciate it very
much, indeed, and 1 only hope L shall
be able to be of use TO you some day.
Il thanked him and he withdrew and
I was well pleased to have. made
friend of a man when e-could easily
have been converted into an enemy A
few minutes after he was back again
q L say, Mr.. Willcutt, you have been
awfuIly nice to me and all that, but
looking over my notes L find you have
not given me bit of information.
Il started in again when he cut me
short, saying:
"'Oh, thanks, you are very nice, and
1 can't help comparing your way of
treating me to that of the president
OF the North Beach line.
What did he say?' L asked
He told me it was none of my
blessed business
"'You did the same thing. did you
not% inquired C. H. Redington.
Yes, but in a very different way
laughed Willcutt, and 1 made godd
friend of the man."
BY special permission from the inter-
fofo 81 int
mediate class and commodity rates as
published in the east and west bound
transcontinental tariffs will apply to
and from all points on the Northwest
ern Pacific railroad south of Sherwood
and Cazadero effective September Is.
Prior to this ruling the rates were.
made by using the sums of locals. and
the new rate will greatly benefit the
producers along the line of the road.
placing them on an equality with the
producers on the line of the Santa Fe
and the Southern Pacific. This is the
result of the absorption OF a small
line by two transcontinental lines.
.'Trust Pete Kelley again." shouted
NJ. E. Clute. ''Never-at least not with
dog.
Now if Kelley would forget politics
as easily as he forgets dogs put in his
care he might be a shining ornament
in society. But now" and Clute shook
his head mournfully.
'If there is anything I love it is. .
dog. And 1 am not given much to low
ing any way That dog is one of the
most beautiful animals in the state
and as for intelligence, WELL I won't
be personal but if Pete-wen, never
mind.
My family was going away and L
was breaking up house. Pete saw my
1axr
"'Clute,' he says. it's a shame to
leave that dog to the care OF hired
people. What that dog needs is a low
ing home. A home. Clute. such as I
could give him. He wants a SYM
pathetic soul near him. believe
dogs have souls. Don't your
He talked just like a book of moral
maxims and 1 trusted him with that
dog. Yes, trusted him when L ought
to have known better seeing he was
only a bachelor and had a love for
talking politics.
I'm never again trust a bachelor
who likes politics with a dog. He
took that dog. saying he was going to
put it up at the Elkhorn club. He gets
starts in on politics. Now, Pete has
to use all his hands when he gets
oratorical. and so he ties that dog to
a telegraph pole and forgets all about
him.
IF 1t weren't for the fact that the
dog was so smart as to lick the oil that
dropped from the locomotives he would
have starved to death.
What did Pete say? Well, as I did
all the talking Pete had not a chance
to get word in. and besides he didn't
want to- l was doing the cussing."
Reports of travel from different
points on the Hartman lines show