Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-08-13
Counting the Passengers.
tFrom the New York Tribune.l

tFrom the New York Tribunel
Two men were chatting on the upper
deck of one of the iron steamboats, the
other afternoon. The boat was nearing
Coney Island, and already the swarthv
Italians who made what they term, with
grim sarcasm, music were counting the
reluctant change extracted from the
tortured hearers. The boat was crowded
and their harvest probably was a fair
one, for their white teeth shone as thew
grlnned with delight. The two friends,
who were lazily discussing men and
manners in the shelter of the smoke
stack, had just turned their converse
ton to tie crowd on board, when a
short, thick-set man, with keen eyes and
a good-humored expression and fair
beard, paused to listen.
How many are there on board?"
queried the elder of the two friends.
well, great many too many. I be-
ieve they overcrowd these boats shame
fully. 1 believe the law only allows
them to carry about 1900, and there
must be nearly twice as many on this
boat"
well, that's coming it rather too
strong" said his friend. II guess $500
would be nearer the mark"
Il bet there are at least 3,0OO,"
answered his friend, sand this is the
last time I trust myself to an over
crowded boat like this"
"You are both wrong, gentlemen" re-
marked the quiet man with the fair
beard. "There are not 1900 on board"
Nonsense" said the first speaker.
9TH bet you $50 there are fully 3,OOO.'
"We1, l won't bet" said the quiet
man, "for I happen to know. Come
with me and I will show you some
thing"
The two friends followed the quiet
man to the shore side of the boat, for by
this time the mooring ropes were fast
and the gangway aboutto be lowered.
You see that man on the landing of
the pier" said the quiet man. "We1l,
notice the movement of his hand as the
people begin to pour out of the boat"
The friends looked, and the keener-
eyed one noticed as the people rushed
over the gang-plank an almost imper-
ceptible movement of the thumb of the
right hand, the hand being shut tightly
around some small object concealedin
it. The people poured out in a denser
stream, and the movement of the thumb
grew correspondinglyf faster.
"Now look at that man just below
you," said the quiet man.
Another blue-coated person was seen
standing at the side of the gangway
duplicating the movements of the man
on the pier.
"Wait Bit" said The quiet man in
answer to the questioning chances of the
two friends. The last passenger left
the boat and the gangway was clear.
Come up here" called the quiet man
to the man on the pier, who instantly
obeyed the summons and was soon along
side the trio on the upper deck. "Good-
day, Mr.. Loew," said he. "Good-day,
Jim" answered Mr.. Loew. "How many
on this trip?" Fourteen twenty nine"
answered the man. "Come up here,
Jack" shouted Mr.. Loew to the man on
board near the gangway. "How many
on this trip" he asked, when the man
appeared. Fourteen twenty-five, SIR"
was the answer. "There, gentlemen"
said Mr.. Loew, triumphantly. "This
boat has either 1,425 or 1929 passen-
gers on board. These men have each a
patent index worked by the pressure of
the thumb, and by this means they
check the numbers of the passengers on
every boat. AS soon as we get on shore,
to satisfy you further, will telegraph
to pier No. 1, North River, and learn
from there how many were counted in
the same manner entering the boat and
how many got on at Twenty third Street.
l shall also learn how many tickets
were sold and how many passes were
shown with the names of the holders on
them"
A few minutes suffced to prove the
truth of this. A telegraph instrument
on the pier licked out the statement:
Number of passengers, 1923; passes,
6; boat left Twenty third Street, 3:32;
pier No. 1, 4:01.
81 think I'll always travel on these
boats. after ALL" said the elder of the
two friends.
"My system is pretty perfect" said
Mr.. Loew. Cali my piers, including
that at Long Branch, are connected.
Wherever I am know just what is 60
ing on all over my routes. can tell
whether rough sea at the Branch will
prevent landing. I can tell whether
the crowd is so great that an extra boat
is needed at any pier and SO on. It has
taken much time to perfect this system,
but / think it is almost perfect now"