Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-04-16
HOW Conductors arc "spotted.0


detection than conductors on steam ran,
roads They receive n great deal OF
money. and must necessarily be LETT 10
render their own account of II, and the
correctness OF their returns consequently
depends in great degree upon their hon.
esty. The well.established weakness OF
human nature requires that some sort q
surveillance be exercised upon them, ana
this Is done by "spotters," detectives who
make "ruuning a railroad" a business,
and are extensively employed by the dit-
tcrent railroad companies.
ITO run n road" successfully requires
the outlay of considerable capital, as the
operation consumes from three weeks TO
three months, and requires the services OF
from six TO a dozen men, OF even more,
| according TO the length of the road ope-
rated upon, aud the number Of Its
| branches There must also be taken into
consideration the number OF trains run
daily to and from certain points, and the
| average number Of cars in train, as each
car has to be covered by certain number
| of operatives.
Upon starting out to run road each
| operative Is furnished with written in
| structiOns, printed blanks, which specify
the number of the run" the points to and
from, the time of departure aud arrival
Of the train, the car he is to enter, whether
| fh'eNhENAf huEkhkNs w oAlAhhhh NtsA hNo
location in the train. the seat he is to oc-
cupy, either right side or left, and its num-
hcr counting from the forward end of the
car, the end nearest the engine.
| Each operative Ia furnished with an
outfit of stationery, which includes report
and expense paper, blank cards, envelopes,
pens and lead pencils. Thus prepared,
the detectives leave their quarters for the
place agreed upon for starting point,
| 40, etprl.y I'D hrra ItHnranN
route, so rs not to excite suspicion. Upon
arriving at the train, each operative enters
the car and takes the seat assigned him in
his instructions. II he is late in reaching
the train, and finds the seat already occu-
pied, he takes the next nearest unoccupied
one and keeps 1t till he reaches his jour
news end, unless otherwise ordered.
. The least experienced "spotter" Is
|. placed in the forward part of the car,
about the fourth or fifth seat from the
=. front; the next most experienced is placed
on the opposite side in about the eighth
seat, while the most experienced one takes
, his seat IN the extreme end of the car.
! Neither of the operatives is expected to
make notes of fares other than those paid
by passengers occupying seats between
himself and the operative ahead Of him;
although 1t often occurs that the operative
In the forward part of the car will see a
|
/ plainly TO enable him to make a correct
report of IT, But an operative in trying to
s note fares paid by passengers in the rear
: Of him, must use extra care and caution,
c 50 that he does not excite the suspicion of
either the conductor or passengers, for
+ among the latter there may be friends of
' tho former who would not hesitate to put
4 him on his guard.
rhe operative, when making memor-
10 gNf Car Ne
p than two inches long, and has to write
f with it in his pocket on blank cards. a
package of which he carries in rubber
band. When he has noted down fare
II he draws out the card and drops il in his
= pocket, putting but one fare on each card.
= II is no easy matter to write well in ones
pocket while shaken by a railroad car
e going at the rate of 10 or 20 miles an hour,
81 and the specimens of handwriting exc
& cuted under such circumstances are very
apt to look more like Egyptian hierogly-
Is phcs than the style of penmanship in
e common use.
10 When making memoranda of fares paid
to the conductor, the following facts must
, be noted down The name of the station
,f at which the passenger got in; whether
Is alone, or with another person; the seat
H. he occupied, whether near the aisle or
n window the denomination, character
IN anu dluOuul Vi luOllCJ uduuCu W LnG COu-
- ductor T; also, the change received by the
70 passenger, if any, and any conversation
overheard between the conductor and
; passenger. The form of the memoranda
lc made by the operative when taking down
y fares, is about thus
y y NEwnuRmr-Young man in Gnh seat alone,
u gave conductor u. S; Treasury note, saying
BEDFORD and received some postal currency
:, and yellow check, which conductor tore from
- eheclt-boolS and wrote on with pencil; Went to
$ Bedford"
I'd The other operatives in the car who are
is so placed as to see this fare paid will also
lo make a note of it, although they may not
nc able to note all the particulars, such as
k the denomination of the bill or the exact
er amount paid. What they do see, however,
IL aud note down, gOes to corroborate the
C. report made by the operative who set
IN nearest the passenger and saw the whole
transaction.
II. Upon arriving at the station where the
M "run ceases each operative with valise
}. in hand, will wend his way to his hotel,
13 which has already been decided upon,
,e and the name and location of which arc
Ia down in his instructions. All the detec-
tives do not go to the same hotel, as /:
70 would he apt to excite suspicion. Two
,;r or three, at the most, put up at the same
~ house, each one dropping in singly and
,is engaging his room. While at the hotel
IuGy huSb NItdJ GdCu OlACT db eDIlTe
+ strangers, and are allowed to commune
cate only when in their private apart.
W, ments.
ea After each run, and after the operative
O. has reached his hotel, he sits down and
lg writes his report. When the reports are
lis finished the operatives assemble in the
us room and compare notes, beginning with
the first passenger car in the train. 1t is
es seldom that there is any great variance in
ed the reports. Sometimes there may be a
"a dispute as regards the amount of fare paid
5O in a particular instance, but when the
r. places the passenger got in and out at are
X. decided the account of fare paid is soon
in settled by q reference to the schedule OF
ed prices,
ed Beside the amount of fares paid, the re-
er- port of a "run" often contains descTip-
sc tion of the conductor, whether polite and
vn attentive to passengers whether the car
nd was crowded or otherwise; whether il
was well ventilated and the lamps lighted
Ia. also, if the conductor Cancelled all tickets
nm on presentation to him, and gave checks
ht for them; also, it there appeared to be
A.. any suspicion in his mind of being "test-
nd ed" In short, every thing that comes
"a under the observation of the detectives
that is likely to be of any interest to the
-, Company is reported
al From three to five "tests" are generally
10 sufficient to show the honesty or dishon-
% esty of conductor, but they cannot be
1i made daily, as 1t would excite his suspi-
lu cion to see the same faces in his car on
70 four or five runs in succession.
d. A great deal Of judgment and shrewd-
at ness are required to run road" success
or fully, and avoid being " dropped on" by
III the conductors, who, as class, are rather
ed knowing than otherwise, and are general
iy ly on the look out for "spotters. II is
lis therefore necessary for the detective hav-
w. inc the onaration in charge to ba we'll