COAST HATE-CUTTINGr . AN INTERSTATE OFFICIAL CATCHES CATCH-ES FRISCO AGENTS NAPPING. ' lie Buys Transportation Under the ;uiHt of a Jeutnre Stranger A Cut In Bated Over Clipper I-iuew The Halt Lake A. Han Franrinco Railroad Aotcs and Personals. A case of rate-cutting between the Union Pacific railways on east-bound passenger rates Las been reportad. It has hitherto been presumed that nothing of this sort has been going on. But the report comes from Sau Francisco, and from what has been published about the niatter it would appear as if this business bud been goiug on a long time. Mo6t likely it will stop for awhile owing to the action of a United States official in the employ and under the direction of the Interstate Commerce Com-merce commission. The Chronicle relates the story thus: "Of course, rate-cutting on the sly is as constant as the sun. Six agents declared yesterday, "This office, sir, is the only one on the street that never cuts rates." These are dull times, and temptations are great when business is slow. On Wednesdav afternoon after-noon a man with a blue suit, a derby" hat. a gray mustache and a business .air w ent into the Denver iV Rio Grande Western office to get three first-class tickets to Chicago for himself and two ladies. He kicked at the regular rate, Intimated that he could do bet- ter across the street, and finally, so the story goes, got a cut of $12 on the three tickets which he bought. A half hour later he stood before TickeUeller White, in the Missouri Mis-souri Pacific office, making the same protests pro-tests against paying the regular rates, and finally he negotiated a cut of $18 on three tickets. Mr. White stepped down to the Denver & Rio Grande Western office to get the tickets over that connecting line, and while he was gone Mr. Welch, the street agent of the Missouri Pacific and Texas Pacific, Pa-cific, came in and engaged the waiting buyer In conversation. No, the buyer didn't want Pullman car accommodations, lie didn't know just when he would go, as one of the ladies was sick, and so on. Welch grew suspicious and skipped down to the Denver & Rio Grande otliee to stop the sale. He heard about the same sort of a fellow buving there, and the clerk that sold them went back with Welch and White. He winked his identification, and the buyer was told how sorry Mr. Welch was that the tickets could not be had just then. It was not long before it was heard that the gray-mustached man had patronized the Lnion Pacific office, and the rumor wassoou generally, accepted that he was a detective in the employ of the Interstate Commerce commission. One or two of the agents had received tips a few weeks ago that such a fellow was drifting westward, and now the agents are all surelhat he hag a gray mustache. mus-tache. Some suspicious purchases in two or three other offices are heard of and connected con-nected with the quiet business boom the man with the gray mustache got up. .If that is the man's business here he will soon tile with the Interstate Commerce com- I mission some evidence that the law is being j violated in San Francisco. Nobody could get a cut of 25 cents yesterday, and the agents arts likely to remain good for some time. Of course no one will even intimate that such naughty proceedings were ever indulged in-dulged in by the agents iu Salt Lake. CLIfPKKS COMPETE WITH RAILROADS. If the new railroad from Salt Lake to San Francisco was only in operation it is possible possi-ble freight rates from New York City and other eastern points to this inter-mountain metropolis would be much lower than now. The coast people have wearied of the exorbitant exorbi-tant tiirures on their way-bills and, as foreshadowed fore-shadowed in these columns a few days ago, are aiding in every w ay possible the lines of clipper ships that make the trip around the lioiti. A committee of the San Francisco Trallic association met a day or two ago and decided to encourage clipper lines to the extent ex-tent of iheir ability. A San Fraucisco paper frays: "Every effort will be made to increase the number of wholesale merchants joining in the agreement to ship all goods possible by the clipper lines aud subscribing to a guar-nntee guar-nntee fund to make good any losses incurred l:i the operation of both lines. Thirty-five prominent merchants are in the syndicate that is backing the Grace & Co. line, and the guarantee fund they have subscribed amounts to f 85,(X0, of which the Traffic association as-sociation subscribed 10,(XX). AA'ith the number num-ber of merchants joining in the movement largely increased and the agreements made binding for one year, the clipper ships will sail the seas undisturbed by any competition competi-tion or warlike moves by rival lines or the Southern Pacific company. "The future still threatens a general war and smashing of rates, the nature and end of which cannot be foretold, but amid all the uncertainty of the near future the chief certainty cer-tainty that remains appears to be the fact that the clipper lines will keep right on providing pro-viding sea transportation at little more than cost to the San Francisco merchants who choose to vail themselves of it. The next best certainty is that the competition of the sea now eetablished will produce a lasting reduction of through rail rates. Jt may also be taken as a certainty, if the statements of Southern Pacific officials may be relied Upon, that the railroad compauy will soon begin a vigorous war against the new carriers car-riers to retiin the business. "What will be the outcome of the Southern South-ern Pacitic's threats must remain a matter mat-ter of speculation for some time. Should the company cut loose from both the Transcontinental Trans-continental association and the AVestern Traffic association," said W. A. Bisscll, general freight and passenger agent at the Atlantic and Pacific yesterday, '"there would be a general demoralization of all railroad business. There would be absolutely nothing noth-ing to maintain rates but the interstate com meree law, and I do not think the Southern Pacific wants such a condition of affairs. The ocean is hero and we can't wipe it out and we cannot prevent ocean competition. All we can do Is to neutralize it as well as we can, and one way to do. it is to make lower rates." THAT SAX FRAXCISCO L1XE. The new road from San Francisco to Salt Lake is already regarded as an assured fact. It is attracting much attention in the East. A recent issue of the Chicago Herald says: "The proposed new railway line between San Francisco and Ogden will be called the San Francisco A Great Salt Lake railroad. The -directorate has been increased to fifty members, holding office until the preliminary prelimin-ary work is completed. The road will be tH)0 miles lone. The financing was greatly hindered by Southern Pacific officials, who offered large concessions in the sale of Southern Pacific securities to capitalists who had agreed to put money into the new line. In some cases the offers were accepted, but members of the directorate claim there will be nd further delay in securing money for construction. NEW ROUTE TO THE COAST. The latest news anent the proposed San Francisco & Salt Lake railroad comes from Chicago, by the telegraph route, a dispatch received in this city yesterday giving the gist of a private letter from a Sun Francisco to a railroad man in the Windy City, as follows: fol-lows: "The people of San Francisco are called upon only to subscribe for enough of the securities to show that they mean business. They are assured that enough money will be forthcoming to build the line. Matters nave ironc fu f:r that officials have already fccen chosen. Mr. Leeds will be either president pres-ident or traffic manage r, and at least two officials from Chicago lines and one from St. Louis will become officials of the San Francisco &. Salt Lake railroad. Gould himself him-self has been in Colorado and Oregon for the last month. His health was ostensibly the object of his visit, but he is known to ba in almost constant consultation with financial finan-cial iiien from SanHFraneisco and the East. It would surprise but few prominent railroad rail-road officials if Gould's apparent Inaction of the past two years has been taken up in work which will end in the completion of a brand-new transcontinental line closely allied with his own. In .no other way, either, could he so completely pay off the accumulation of grudges ho has against President Huntington of the Southern Pacific."