All these details come under the jurisdiction of that urbane general passenger agent. He supervises, in another department, the making and the readjustment of rates--this last a seemingly endless task. To make up rate-sheets, either in the freight or in the passenger department, requires expert work. The fare between the same points on competitive railroads must, in the present order of things, remain equal. To cite an interesting instance: The A---- railroad long ago established $6.00 as its passenger charge from N---- to S----. The B---- railroad, although charging a higher rate per mile over its line, is obliged to meet this rate of $6.00 in order to secure business from N---- to S----, even though that makes many perplexing problems in its local rates. The B----railroad mileage from N---- to S----, up its main line, is 288 miles--practically the same as that of its competitor. For the 146-mile ride to G----, the first large way-station, it charges $4.50, for the 208-mile ride to M----, the next, $5.00. If a man were to go over its line to S---- and stop off at G---- and M---- his fare from N---- to S----would be $8.80. That is a typical case, and one that is repeated in every corner of the country. Where a road comes into competitive territory its rates must adjust themselves to those of its lowest-priced rival, otherwise it could hardly hope for a fair share of the business. So the rates must shade here and there; the rate-clerk must take good care to see that wherever it is in any way possible, no combination of tickets can be formed that will sell at less rate than a through ticket. When the rate-sheet is completed and copies of it forwarded to the railroad commission, it is, indeed, a sensitive organization. But no sooner will the cumbersome rate-sheet be completed, before some little road off in a distant corner of the country will send a printed announcement of some slight change in its passenger charges. In an instant, the whole mighty fabric of the rate-sheet must be torn apart and reconstructed. If the St. Louis Southwestern, by reason of a single change in the rates of the little Blissville, Bulgetown and Beyond (with which it connects) is enabled to charge a few cents less than the rival Transcontinental, its rate-sheet must be torn asunder and a new one adopted. * * * * * Beyond the long desks where the rate-clerks keep at their tedious jobs of constant readjustment of local and through rates, the passenger department has located its ticket redemption bureau. It announces publicly its willingness to redeem unused portions of its tickets, and the work of figuring out the amount due on a ticket, sometimes half or three-quarters used, requires a rate-clerk of ability and patience. The redemption clerk holds a ticket up to the light for your inspection.