The San Francisco call., 1908-12-10
Gossip of RaiIwaymen

L. S. Peck of the Santa Fe is a tall
and stately gentleman of urbane man
ners, pleasing address and a knowledge
of the tariff that is truly formidable.
He can reel off rates like a phonograph
and tell the maximums and minimums
they carry better than the books them
selves.
Look here" he said to his corps of
stenographers, Il want at least one OF
you to be all attention to what I say.
Here am l confabbing with the big
gest merchants all day long and they
just beg me to call on them and ex-
plain the tariff. and you girls don't
seem to care whether I am alive or
not This is a fine sarcasm on the
railroad business. / am in demand by
all the great men in the city, but I
have to go down on my knees TO get
stenographer to take down dictation.
by the way, Miss Smart I always
do get muddled on those two words,
maximum and minimum; the first is
the greater, eh? oh, yes: I knew that.
1t just slipped my memory.
I'D like TO know one thing-why
that interstate commerce commission
when it was reforming the tariff did
not use language that everybody can
understand. That is one of my princi-
pal troubles, explaining the obsolete
phraseology OF the new tariff
William Berman and H Dodge. both
of the Santa Fe. have been patronizing
the Northwestern Pacific since Captain
Payson has been president. and Ber-
man has learned that there is no part
of the world where so much sport can
be had as along the line OF that rail-
way.
Ducks are so thick there cried
Berman. that even j. G. Donnelly
would be able to kill one"
Inspired by the utterances of Ber-
man, Dodge forsook the telegraph
room last Sunday and went up the
line to catch stee1heads.
They fished all day, and not a bite.
As they were leaving a man with
a great load Of the fish came up and
remarked
Guess you didn't get any of them
fish. did your
Well, no." admitted Berman.
You see you can't catch them in no
pond They are river fish, they are.
If you had gone a few feet farther
you'd have got some in the river"
Well. seeing you are so anxious
to get some III let you have these two
monsters for s5' and he pocketed the
coin and handed the two sportsmen
pTdCS Oh QlluluutlNe WndleS.
Up to date the eastward movement
of canned goods. dried fruit, hops and
lumber has not been such as to affect
the car situation seriously. The South
ern Pacific has notified all division SUI
perintendents that they should return
promptly equipment belonging east of
the Missouri river. and for that reason
to give cars the preference for eastern
IN
division have been given their full
supply. and the indications are that
there will be such an equal movement
of general tonnage eastward as to pre-
clude any possibility of either conges-
tion or car shortage
graduate of Pennsylvania col
lege who is in the department of posts
and communications of the Chinese
government says there are 5000 miles
of railway in China and the depart
ment has been instructed to build $50. =
600 miles of telegraph and railway. of
which 5000 miles are TO be built with
in a year. 1t has been arranged to use
electricity instead of steam. Facilities
for the construction of hydro-e electric
works are ample at points where low
cost power can be developed for the
operation of the proposed roads The
policy will be to build stated num-
ber of miles each year until about
$4,000 have been built
The Southern Pacific announces that
it will shorten the running time be-
tween Los Angeles and New Orleans
by one hour and a half. so that passen-
gers leaving here on the S p. m. train
will reach Los Angeles in time to catch
the east bound express.
The Southern Pacife's fleet of river
steamers will be increased March l by
the Navajo. which is to be put on the
Sacramento river run. It is much
larger vessel than those now plying on
the river, will be modern in its In
terror finishing and much speedier than
any at present in service.
J. W Walker, superintendent of the
Fresno division OF the Santa Fe. is in
the city on comQany business