Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-04
The Elevated Railway Ticket-Roxc,

From the New York Times
Man may be excused for losing his portapls
property under some circumstances but there
would seem to be very little defense for him
who throws away effects which he is desiroua
OF keeping. Yet one need not watch the ticket
boxes ofthe elevated railroad stations very long
without being convinced that the human animal
is extremely subject TO this form OF idiocy. and
visit to the ticket-agent of the elevated roads
shows that the articles other than tickets de-
posted in the boxes are enough to make q small
museum. One gateman said that ladies very
frequently throw their purses into the box py
mistake. Lifting the handle OF the box drops
the ticket into the cancelling machine and con-
seQuently, to let the purse through would be to
ruin 1t. Information of the catastrophe ia
therefore. telegraphed at once to the general
manager Office, and carpenter is sent up to
rescue the article by unscrewing the glass ton
from the box. In commission hours. when 4
crowd is constantly rushing by the boxes
on to the platform, is the time when
most OF the mistakes are made. for a confusion
or ideas is not unnatural when pas
senger is IN hurry and SO used to
travelling on the elevated roads that he deposits
his ticket mechanically. There are thrown into
the boxes combs, knives button-hooks other
railroad tickets. toOthpicks, sleeve-buttons
watch-keys. matches. latch-keys tracts PAM
phlets and even lighted cigars. III a person 40
cidentally throws the right change into a bog
in place of his ticket. he is usually allowed to
keep the ticket and go on his way. Moro
mistakes were made at the boxes before
May. 1881. when the change in the system
of depositing was inaugurated. The pas
senger formerly deposited his ticket when
he got off the train. As general
thing he had carried it in his pocket, and in
searching hurrledly for IL as he got of the
train was very apt to draw out ANYTHING Of .
similar kind and deposit il In place OF the
ticket. Under the present system the distance
from the ticket-seller's desk to the box ia 90
short that the passenger carries the ticket I'm
his hand to the place where he deposits IL. and
can only make a mistake when his wits are
wool-gathering and he has another article IN
hand The ticket-boxes at the principal stations
are emptied every day, and at the smaller sta
tions once In every two days. They can hold
10000 tickets each. When the gateman lifts tn
handle Of the box and lets the tickets fall out of
sight they are received between two sets of iron
teeth and Cancelled before falling to the bottom
OF the box. The collector who takes up the
Cancelled tickets is not allowed to handle them
but empties the box into a sack. Each COX n
thus kept separate, and any articles which are
found among the tickets are held, to be returned
TO their owners when the sacks are emptied at
the Office OF the general ticket agent.
The tickets are printed at the establishment Of
the American bank-note company, and ere re-
ceived by the general ticket agent of the ele-
waited railroads In packages Of 500, which are
separately designated for each station. For in
buys at the up" station at Park place IN the
daytime, he will find printed across one END
the letters SO p. p. l." which cipher signilea.
:" Sixth avenue, Park place. up track, dsy-timc.s
The first figure represents the number OF the
road. counting from the West Side. and num-
berng the Ninth avenue road 1. Sixth avenue
2, Third avenue 3, and Second avenue l. Next
comes the number or name OF the street. and
afterward figure, which in the case in point
means that the ticket was sold at the .sup .
station by the man on day duty, the odd num-
bers meaning "up track" and the figures 1 and
2 standing for day, and and 4 for night. A
ticket bought at the same station at night
would be marked 50 p. p. g." The accounts e
the day and night forces on the elevated ROADS
are kept separate from one another, and each h
treated dstinctyely and by itself. The ticket
sellers at the different stations have the tickets
brought to them in packages OF 50. and each
man gives receipt FOR those he receives and y
held rigidly to account for al which pass through
his hands.