Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-11-24
Extraordinary Counterfeiting.

Counterfeit railway tickets to the
amount of over 800, 900 have been honor
ed in the last four weeks by the Baltimore
and Ohio, Erie, Pittsburg and Western,
Nickel Plate and other roads. There was
absolutely nothing on the face OF the tick
cts to indicate they were counterfeit. They
were accepted without question by con-
ductors. passed readily by the ticket
counters and entered as Of legal issue by
the various ticket auditors. The latter
officials are as keen in detecting counter
felt tickets as bank tellers are in recogniz-
ing bad bills.
The tickets are the most perfect counter
feits of any kind ever issued. Their large
sale dwarfs in magnitude the operations OF
all other ticket counterfelters combined.
The first intimation of croOkedness cropped
ont in the auditors office of one of the vic
timized lines nearly three weeks ago. In
checking the used tickets from the original
record, two tickets Of the same form num-
Der were found. The numbering OF rail-
road tickets is fully as important and must
be as absolutely accurate as the numbering
of bank or government notes.
The auditor satisfied himself that both
tickets were genuine, and sent stinging
note to the printer, scoring him severely
for his carelessness. The printer appeared
In person with an indignant denial of the
charge. but when shown the two tickets OF
the same number, was compelled to ac-
knowledge that the error was made IN his
Office. The next day the ticket auditor dis
covered 81 duplicated tickets ID the collec-
iions. and sent a curt note to the printer
telling him that his services would never
again be needed. -,
There seemed no possibility of the tick
cts being counterfeit. They were exact
duplicates. The next day nearly 800 dupli
Gated tickets showed up in the collections
and a panic reigned in the auditing de-
partment. Each of the tickets read from
Chicago to New York. and was worth SIS.
The one days collections showed the com,
pany had honored at least 50, 400 worth oi
tickets Tor which it had not received'a-
cent of revenue.
Experts were Immediately called in, the
printer gladly agreeing to pay their bills II
il were proved the tickets came from ms
office. AT the end of three days, curing
which over 500 more duplicated tickets
piled up in the Auditors office, one OF the
experts declared the duplication was a
counterfeit. With the aid of powerful
microscope he had at last discovered
minute imperfection in small letter 90
which showed in just half the duplicated
tickets.
The imperfection was either in the cast
ing of the type. by which it was made
nearly 3-10, ,000ths of an inch longer than
the rest. or else particle of dust had rails
ed the type in the form used by the coun-
terfeiters. In all other respects the jobs
were exactly alike. The paper, ink, type
and press work could not have been nearer
the same if both jobs were printed con-
secutively with the same materials.
Meantime the other roads had been GO
ing through the same experience. In each
case the tickets were passed without
question by all the handlers, including the
auditors and not one was detected until
the duplicate numbering appeared. The
wording and form of the tickets were, of
course, different with each road, but in
each case the counterfeit was work of
art-practicaliy an exact copy OF the
original.
Each of the roads promptly issued minute
instructions to their conductors to take up
all the counterfeit tickets and enforce pay
ment of passage from persons holding them.
Each conductor was furnished means to
recognize the ccunterfeits, and the first
day the four roads named took up over 600
of them. The passengers were naturally
indignant, but each was compelled to &C
knowledge he had bought the ticket oil a
Chicago scalper. Nine out of ten OF the.
passengers who made written statements
of the circumstances declared they had
bought the tickets off a notorious ticket
scalper doing business on Clark street. The
rest were bought In various offices.
With the information thus obtained the
victimized roads engaged the services OF
prominent detective agency and large
iorce of operatives was put on the work OF
running down the counterfeiters. The
roads are in deadly earnest in bringing the
criminals to justice and are bearing the
cost jointly.
There is no means of knowing how many
tickets were sold by the counterfelters
The railroads now have in their possession
about 5000, 900 worth, more than half OF
which were honored for transportation. In
many cases the purchase of the tickets has
worked o great hardship to passengers. In
the majority of cases they did not have, or
claimed not to have, enough money to pay
the cash fares demanded by the conductors
when they took up the counterfeit tickets
On one train there were SO holders of the
counterfeit tickets and 81 were compelled
to leave the train for non-payment OF
passage.
The history Of ticket counterfeiting is
long and varied one, but it furnishes no
parallel to the one just narrated In almost
every case before there was question ot
disciplining conductors for accepting pal
pable counterfeits. In this case the high
est experts on the railroads passed the
tickets without question.