Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-10-24
RUNNERS FOR STEAMSHIPS.


How Passengers Are baEheu.
Back and forth before the Offices OF the
/ big transatlantic steamship lines fronting
on Bowling green and In that vicinity
may, on almost any day, lie observed GER
tain men pacing the payements with a
hungry look In their eyes, eagerly scan
ming the face Of every person who APP
proaches, IL TINT person happens TO in
splre In the minds OF these watchers, from
the fact % his looking ~ the office signs,
from his appearance pronouncing him to
be u stranger, or from any other outward
indication, any remote hint that he might
be DESTROYS Of purchasing passage across
the ocean, he Is at once approached with
offers 10 assist him In his search. The
name OF the port To which he wants to &c
being elected, the runners" will at once
compete with each other for the honor OF
introducing him to the agent from whom
he can obtain ssthe best and cheapest pas
sage The man Ii at once dragged off,
perplexed, but somewhat tempted by the
offer Of "A cheaper fare than that which he
had been led TO expect, to the steamship
office where the runner" who has him In
charge can obtain the largest commission
upon the purchase OF his ticket.
There isn't half as much money In
this business now that there was few
years ago said a veteran runner recently.
Eve used TO get IS commission ON each
ticket across. Now the rates are down to
almost nothing, and the companies viii
allow ts only from So TO S.. Then when
several fellows get around man, Of
course the one who will offer the passen-
ger the most reduction of his ticket gets
him. but that reduction, of course, has 20
come out of our commission"
do you depend entirely upon chance
ia the passengers you catchtf
mot altogether. Some of us who have
made IA business of the thing have agents
Of our own in other cities and out west,
who advise us when party Is coming TO
New York To go across, Then we make
il point 10 meet the passengers and ar
range with them 10 buy their tickets"
''Iiow do You tell by the look of man
whether he may prove "A customer
SITS easy enough" said the veteran,
''to spot a stranger, and easier still to tell
whether he il German, Swedish or Irish.
Then If you can speak to him in his own
language the probability Is that you are
all right. II not, itseasy enough to back
out Sometimes I've spoken TO man
entirely on spec, and struck first class
| passenger. or course, the higher grade
/ passenger you get, the more commission
/ there is off hts ticket for YOU
/ A former runner, who IL now engaged
In other business, was asked IL the steam
ship companies gave special commissions
/ to favored men.
''0h, no." said he, s'any steamship com
pany will give You a commission il you
| take them passenger, il makes hardly
any difference who you are. sometimes
earn few dollars that way yet, and fire
quently oblige a friend by obtaining q
! ticket for him at the discount Of my com
mission. Last summer when | made q
| trip across myself, got another friend Il
buy my ticket and saved 50 ON IT,"
Another ex.runner said that there were
very few men who made a permanent
business Of picking up passengers now
| Like himself, a good many were on tn.
/ lookout for commissions when travel was
brisk as in the summer season, or wher
they hadn't anything else to do. But tn,
commissions were small now, the com
petition was keen, and those who hat
made business Of il had mostly sue
ceetled in establishing little Offices of thei
own.-New York Commercial Advertiser