Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-03
sPoTTeRs AND CONDUCTORS


The Difference Between Eastern and WesS
ern Roads-A New Scheme.
There is graduation of success in the life
of O spotter He may come to have place
Is clerk in the railroad Offices and work up;
he may drift into the ticket scalping business.
or be may be discharged for working in with
the dishonest conductors There is no special
reason why a spotter is more honest by
nature than conductor, and it is no in
frequent thing for spotter to be discovered
in crookedness They get from IS to IS @ day
and their necessary expenses while employed,
and if the job were steady they would have
pretty good thing But they are not always
on duty, and their jobs are precarious, as
suspicion that they are in with conductors
causes their dismissal, while a conductor Is
seldom discharged until something is proved
against him
On western, and southern roads the con-
ductor is bigger man than in the east. and
a latitude is given to him that on an eastern
road would enable conductor to accumulate
wealth. A large percentage Of western travel
ers go long distances, and tho use OF long
coupon tickets, excursion tickets, mileage
books, and interchangeable tickets is much
more frequent west. A straight ticket on
some trains is rarity 1t is possible TO
travel through every western city, buying
new ticket at each without meeting regular
ticket Office or buying straight ticket. The
result of competition IS to allow the passenger
greater freedom.
With all these precautions more instances
of petty dishonesty are found on eastern than
western roads, if an old spotter who has re-
tired to become Broadway ticket scalper is
to be believed The local travel is great on
the eastern roads, especially roads like the
Harlem, New Haven and Jersey roads A
large part of the business is from commuters,
with all of whom the conductor becomes per-
soually acquainted What is easier than for
them to commute with him instead Of with
the company. He Is their regular conductor
day after day, and there is no check on him
It is next to impossible for O spotter to detect
this without weeks of hard labor. To break
up this practice of some conductors, some rail-
road companies have made rule that ticket
must be torn out Of the book every trip, and
if tho commuter has not his book he must
paw cash fare With this rule the spoilers
work is simplifed, though at the cost OF
trouble to the passengers.
Out west such possibilities are few. The
cash fares are q small part of the total. The
conductors can make money by allowing
second class passenger to go in first class
c4rs or to so in the sleeping car, but the pas
senger would have TO be fixing 50 many con-
ductors, not to speak Of the discomfort Of
trying at times to fix an untixable conductor,
that, except in the sleeping cars, there is not
much money in it for conductors When
western conductor wishes to be dishonest he
goes into it big. The simplest plan is to ar
range with steady passengers to take them
the whole division fer part OF the fare,
though he would have to get down pretty
low in his figures sometimes to beat the
scalper's rates.
Three or four southern and western roads
have devised q scheme to prevent the con
ductors keeping tickets and reseiling them,
which is worse than the bell punch. A strap
goes over the conductors neck and shoulders
with large bill hook. As he takes a coupon
or ticket he must stick 1t on this bill hook IN
the presence of the passenger. He accurnu-
Iates q mass of tickets several inches thick,
each of which has been punched and torn by
Che bill hook. He looks like a walking file or
travelling ticket agent with his wares e1.
oosed-New York Sun.