Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-13
IN THE TOLLS.
SANTA FE FREIGHT CONDUCTORS
VIOLATE THE INTERSTATE
COMMERCE LAW.
The Company Objects and Devises New
Punishments for Dishonest Employees
Uncle Sam Says it is as Much
Crime to Steal Fare from the
Railroad as to Steal .
Cent from Citizen.

For some time there has been sus-
| picion that more or less crooked work was
being done by some of the freight conduc-
tors of the Santa Fe down in the territory.
| The matter was examined into some time
ago but nothing definite could be devel-
! oped. So when the L. S. court convened
in this city it was considered good oppor-
tunity to get at the depth of the matter.
a skillful special agent of the Santa Fe
! has, with this object in view, spent the
last ten days in the city checking the pas
| sengers coming over the road from Pur-
cell, /. T., TO attend the L. S. court. In
this manner rather startling and inter
esting state of affairs was developed. He
| discovered that out of the large number Of
| passengers from the Indian Territory but
comparatively few came up on the regular
| passenger trains. most Of them arriving at
Arkansas City by the freight trains. This
| fact led to another, and that was
that the freight conductors were cut
ting the rates and making big stake by
announcing rate of 81 from Purcell to
Arkansas City, the regular rate being for
this distance $3.50. The next thing vas to
discover who were the guilty men, and
from the passengers it was soon learned
that they were Conductors MCGEE and
Ruggles. These two men, it appeared, had
been reaping rich harvest while the com
pany contributed by paying the running
expense of the road. Their desire and
anxiety to make big haul during the ses-
sion of the court was carried SO far that
they even went to such extremes as to COM
pete with one another in the securing of
passengers. One of the conductors, Nc
Gee, it is said at first sent out an agent
saying that he would carry all passengers
for &. 50 allowing commission of 90 cents.
kuggles turned around went him one bet
ter and said he would take the passengers
for s. head, having sent his brakeman
out to do the solicitation-which he could
would well afford as the company paid his
agent. As a result of this reduced rate by
the time that Ruggles had
reached Oklahoma there was such
a crowd of passengers upon his train that
he became frightened and having collected
no fare up to this point, endeavOred TO put
them off The crowd, however, refused to
be fired and so there was nothing left
for him to do but to collect the fare and
bring his passengers on to Arkansas City
as he had agreed to do. He running an
extra and having no right to carry pass
engers under any circumstances, he dare
not report, and carrying at such low rates
could not make up the necessary de-
ficiency He had thus staring him in the
face punishment for larceny on one hand
and dismissal from the service on the
other.
With this evidence in hand the special
agent went before the L. S. Grand jury
and asked that they investigate. They
took the matter up and called in witnesses
as furnished by the special agent. AS the
result of their investigation the above
facts were brought out and an Indictment
found charging the conductors with
larceny under the United States
statutes and capias issued and
placed in the hands of the marshal. Prob
ably at this writing the arrest of the two
men has been made
The Santa Re has heretofore punished
by dismissal from service dishonest en-
ployes. This not seeming to have the de-
sired effect an investigation found that
under the United States statute that what
is professionally known as knocking
down." and from long custom has almost
commenced to be considered by conductors
as legitimate, is under the statutes called
Stealing" which differs from the,.state law
in this that there is no petty larceny; the
stealing of one dollar or more constituting
high crime and punishable in the peni
Tertiary for term of one year or more.
This penalty they are determined in the
future to enforce and TO prosecute vigor
ously in addition to dismissal from SER
vice.
1.-The conductors of the Santa Fe system
as class" said the gentleman giving the
information, condemn acts of this kind
on the part of their associates, and do all
in their power to see dishonesty weeded out
of their ranks, many of them and large
majority, too, are honest, honorable gen
tlemen and are striving to raise their or
der to that high moral standard which
should distinguish men given such respon
sibilities and trusts. All railroad compa-
MES, more particularly the Santa Fe,
whose policy it has been to study the well
fare of their employees advance ability and
reward honesty in all its departments. At
the same time under this new plan of pun
ishment, they will most vigorously punish
ali violations of trust"
go INGRASSHOPPFR