The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-01-17
THe srRssr oAR sporrsn.


lie Keeps Tab ON thc Conductor bv Moan
Ola Pocket Register.
There arc mcn who hahltunllv atand on
she rear platform % street cars. Tint 1.
the spoilers position. Professional spo..
tiers never give themselves awnyn by
counting passengers. The spottcr carries
q small noiseless register In one 81 the
pockets 81 bis oYcrcoat. lie Is most likely
60 appear ON a ear that Is 20 carry biz
load. lie takes his place ON the rear plat.
form aud always appears 60 be the most
unconccrned man ON the car. The first
thing he does is 20 glance at the register in
the front OF the car. lie makes mental
noteof the number of fares that have been
rung up. Every time passenger gets on
/ he presses the button 81 the little register
/ IN his pocket lie never appears 70 be
/ watching the persons who are getting In
| .he car, but he must be careful not to miss
one. lie rides on the platform until the
fares Of all the persons who have got on
the car sincu he took his position have
been collected. His last act before getting
OIL il the mental registration OF the mum
hero fares indicated by the register Ia the
car II he has another test 60 make before
making his report, he will probably stop
under the first electric light, write down
on the blank furnished him the number Of
fares registered when he got on the car
and the number registered when he got
OF He subtracts one from the other aud
has before him the number Of fares the
conductor should have registered. Then
he looks at his indicator. and II there Is a
discrepancy between his count and the
count the conductor registered he reports
the fact TO the company.
A conductor who is discharged Is never
accused Of having stolen money from the
company. The charge is Improperly
collecting fares IL is not often that a
conductor is discharged the first time il is
reported 20 the company that he is "im-
properly collecting fares" The test is APP
piled 70 him frequently, and If Il IS found
that he is habitually not ringing mp fares
for all the persons who take passage on
his car he is dismissed. Conductors be
lieve that the means employed by spoilers
are unfair. They say that it Is often inn
possible for any man 70 get all the fares
ON car; that it Is an easy matter 20 get
all the fares when IA car is not crowded.
but when so or 90 persons board a car
bound up town il is next to impossible 10
collect without an error. Often persons
viii get of the car before the conductor
has reached them. and hampered as he is
by the crowd, they say, he cannot prevent
this. Then persons arc getting on and
of, exchanging seats and doing other
things that mystify the conductor as he |
pushes his way through the crowd in
search Of the nickles that are due the com |
pany.
Persons who travel regularly on the cars /
are sometimes surprised that conductors |
DO not lose their temper oftener. They /
are not permitted TO "talk back, " no mat /
ter how great the proyocation may be.
Recently one Of the old conductors on the
Illinois street line lost his temper The
next day he lost his position. a woman
got on his car at Illinois and Washington
streets. She offered him a transfer ticket,
which, he said. had expired.
at cannot be so, said she, "for / got
his ticket just few minutes ago"
Madam you lie" said the conductor.
who maintained that the woman had re-
'eived the ticket from a representative {
he company at another crossing nearly an
hour earlier One Of the company's de
ectives overheard the remark Of the con
iuctor and reported him.-Indianapolis
News.