The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-02-24
RUNNING DOWN PATRONS.
HOW SHREWD RAILWAY AGENTS MAN.
AGE TO SECURE PASSENGERS.
Persistent Methods to Get and Hold
Trade-How People at the Hotels Are
Misunderstanding Necessary Informa-
tfon of q Stranger-RcsuIts.


ton of ssranger-Rcsults.
People who travel much run up against
many strange experiences. Not the least Of
these are the curious ways adopted by the
trunk lines running west from this city to Sc
cure passengers 1t is an experience that one
has only in a very few other cities in the coun-
try. In Chicago, st. Louis and New Orleans
virtually the same methods are pursued, but
tina experience can be had in no other eastern
city than New Yerk- The strange experience
all comes about in this way: A resident Of
Chicago, for example, tired of the wheat
speculative business. and the continued swag-
ger about how much greater the Lake City is
than Is St Louis, decides to leave there and
come to New York to get some idea Of what
the great world is like, and what real bust
ness is,
THE TRAIN OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
He goes to local office of, say, the X. Y.
& z. road in that city and buys q ticket for
New York. He wonders, perhaps, why the
ticket agent is suave, why he Is SO anxious
about his patrons health, and why he asks so
politely his name, when he is to return west,
and perhaps at what hotel he is to stop when
in New York. He wouldn't wonder if he
knew all the inns and outs of the railway
passenger business. He learns something of
them before he gets back to Chicago. 1t is
learned by reason of a train circumstances
which he has unconsciously set in motion
when he talked to that suave ticket agent in
Chicago That ticket agent, having secured
the money for the passage east, wants
another whack at that pocketbook when the
passenger comes back home. So, in the case
cited, the ticket agent would sit down and
write to the local agent OF Y. Y. s. z. here,
Mr. James Buckley, something like this:
CHICAGO, Jan =. Joseph II. Thompson
left here to-day on ticket No 1877 ,429 over
our line. He is going to spend a week in
New York, and viii probably stop at the
Metropolitan hotel. Catch him for the return
trip. Travels first class and sleeper
"KETCHUa & SELLUM."
MIR. Thompson does arrive here, and one of
the y. Y. & z. S men who daily scans the list
of hotel arrivals for old patrons Of the road
finds that Mr.. Thompson is reported in the
daily hotel paper as guest at the Metropoh-
tan. Mr.. Thompson takes in the town in the
most approved style, perhaps, and finds out
that Chicago isn't much of a town after all.
Mr.. Thompson has about finished business or
sightseeing, when he is met either in the
lobby OF the hotel or the bar-room by spruce
yonng man who would be offended at being
called runner But he is a runner all the
same. The two fall into conversation natur-
ally, take drink or smoke together natur-
ally, and Thompson is led to tell the day on
which he is going to start home. This last is
done unwittingly. Then the young man asks
Thompson how he came cast, and Thompson
say he came by way of the " Y.&Z
And you are going back by the same route.
1 suppose, because they always treat one so
well on the X Y. & T." remarks the young
man casually.
He isn't stunned a particle when Thompson
replies: Il thought I'd try another road
going back so as to take in the scenery" The
runner had met such people before and mad
talked them out Of the scenery theory.
People who make such experiments usually
regret them, he remarks, because, You see
they miss the much more romantic scenery on
the X Y. & z. Take train back over the
same route, Thompson" he advises "and see
the country you missed seeing coming on
east. You see you were asleep when You
passed through the most picturesque territory
on the route. That's misfortune that east
bound passengers have to be subjected to-,
And the runner looks as if be actually be-
heved the fiction he relates, and signs over
what Thompson missed in the way of scenery
coming east. "And il costs $i5O more to 90
by way of the other route, too" adds the
spruce railroad man THAT pays for two
meals With this shot, which touches the
economical side of the wild westerner, who
feels that during his visit here he has "blown
in" little more money than he ought to have
done, the runner leaves him. The shot has
struck and the spruce young man goes his
way.
The next morning, when Thompson comes
down TO get his cocktail-so as to save 10
cent tip TO boy 10 bring it up to his room
he finds 4 letter in his box. That letter draws
attention to the fact that the " Y. & T.
road continues to be picturesque, continues to
be Sl.jO cheaper in its rate for tick, Is than
the other route, continues to furnish meals
for a. cents each-two meals for the 81. SO
saved-and continues to have sleeping coaches
and various other things for the comfort and
of its patrons. 1t also gently,
but firmly indicates that trains1eave accord
ing to the inclosed schedule, and that its Off
ces are plainly designated on that schedule.
Thompson always reads, commonly figures up
his finances, generally yields to the combined
and goes and buys n ticket home
by way of the Y. Y. z. road.
There are other ways in which these visit
ors east arc unconsciously roped in, SO to
speak, by the shrewd local agents or by the
"scaipers-" Passenger agents and ticket
brokers have men who daily visit the hotels.
find out about the arrivals, and follow care
fully with their circulars the list Of arrivals
as daily published. Hotel clerks are worked
to lind out about the movements of the
patrons of the house and drummers tell their
favorite ticket broker OF agent when mer-
chants have come to town and when they viii
retirn h''-c,e. Strangers here who float about
town in tic ening meet in all sorts Of places
agreeable young men who are during the day
employed in ticket offices, and who spend the |
evenings at hotels and other public resorts in |
the interest of their employers. They devote |
themselves to seeking out and becoming ac-
'iUa.-.te1 with strangers in town, and while |
buying them drinks or cigars give them their
card, which always-contain information that
the price of drinks or cigars is intended to
convey. That inform ',oi is either the adj
vantage of some pG...-ular route to their |
home, or the fact that ticket; can be BOUGHT |
ut Mr.. Someone's agency at less than schedule |
ratcs.-New York Times