Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-21
RAILROAD PASSES.

Item," said pallid and lank young man
the other day as he threw down round
cornered, gilt edged visiting card on the
desk Of well known and popular passen-
ger agent in a railroad Office in this city.
"Ah Glad to see you"
"You extend oourtesies to the press? p
Always.
"Can you give me pass to Chicago :"
"Ah That's another matter that's
business"
Ittook the young man some time to un.
derstand that his relations as correspondent
to the engine of civilization did not entitle
him to ride free after the engine of dyna-
mic progress.
"We are not troubled so much as we
once were," the passenger agent said SUBJ
seauently. ss People who want passes live
mostly in the West. Our western agents
have their hands full answering such appli.
cations from newspaper men, who have no
real claim upon us clergymen, who ask
for passes on the ground that they repre-.
sent poor and worthy sect, and people
who simply haven't the means to travel
and want to go home very much. Our
theory is that there is no such thing as
complimentary pass. Ii we grant pass
we do it upon the consideration of some
favor or service done in the past or expected
in the future.
els there privileged class ?"
"No, not now. We used to grant half.
fare tickets to clergymen, but when it was
found that some of them abused the favor
they were cut off, There really does not
appear to be any reason why we should
give them passes, because they cannot re.
ciprocate, of course. The travel which
they direct is by another route, in fact,
and is all through travel to a point to
which we can't sell tickets. 1t was dis
covered some time ago that some persons
who secured passes on account of the cloth
used them in their secular capacity as
travelling agents for sewing machines, his.
tories of Jerusalem, and suchlike merchan.
disc Then, too, they loaned their certifi.
Gates to their friends, aud it was not ipfre.
quently the case that a conductor would
come upon parsons half fare ticket in the
hands of a most worldly and unregenerate
person."
"Don't you find out the unworthy
ones ?"
eyes, and we have black list of them.
Eli Perkins heads it. This list is kept by
all of the Western agents, and the causes
which lead to the placing of names upon it
are various.
In one instance, the passenger agent
said, pass for certain period had been
issued. When it was returned to be re-
newed it was discovered, upon holding it
to the light, that "and one" had been
written in after the name 10 which the
pass was out, and in the same way the
date of the pass had been extended. Both
of these alterations had been deity
stratched out before the pass was presented
to be renewed.
Recently young man threw down what
he called his credentials before a certain
passenger agent, and asked for a free pass
to Western city and return to New York.
While talking with the young man the
agent quietly wrote dispatch of inquiry
regarding the applicant, sent it, and re-
ceived a reply before the young man had
finished pressing his claims. Then the
agent, on the telegraphic information, de-
clinsd the pass, and the young man was
furious at what he considered as with
holding of his rights.
Sometimes the demands for passes from
persons who have some color of claim to
them are egregiously excessive. The editor
of weekly paper in New. York sent last
week for passes for himself and ten friends,
who desired to visit Niagara Falls. Ere
quently advertising agents and canvassers
of one sort and ano5her ask for free tickets
on general principles, and often they ask
for points aosurdly beyond the line Of the
road to which they apply Wel-known
anti monopolists are conspicuous amorg
those who frequently ask these favors of
the railroad.
The misuse OF railroad passes is eaid to
be very common. Legislative passes are
frequently met with in unauthorized hands
Another abuse lies in procuring passes and
selling them to scalpers. In recent in.
stance young man got pass to go West
and return, and letter from the agent here
to the agent of the railroad at the western
terminus. asking for passes to a point be-
yond. The return pass procured here he
sold to scalper, and with the letter he |
got half rate ticket over one road and |
pass over another He sold the pass to |
scalper Whenever such case is detected |
the name of the offender is added to the |
black list.
Theatrical advance agents travel on
passes usually, in consideration of the pa
tronage which they control. In these days |
of theatrical combinations the railroad |
rates are an important consideration to |
managers, while, on the other hand, the |
custom of these companies is sought for by |
the railroads, and in many places the RI |
valry between the roads has resulted in |
advantageous rates of fare. Therefore, to
win the favor of the advance agent, passes
are usually given to him. 1t is a notice
able fact that next to the bogus or ire
sponsible newspaper men who appear on
the black list of the Western Association |
of Railroad Managers come the names of
advance agents who have sold their passes
to scalpera New York Sun.