Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-23

When the guilty men are caught they are,
Of course. instantly dismissed, and the fraud
Is checked for short period. 1t is evident
SIS cash registers go to prove that a cor
poration, to protect itself against men,
whether its own or outsiders, must employ
the devices Of machinery.
Half a Million Lost Last Year.
Last year the railroads entering Chica-
go lost in the neighborhood OF $500 600
through these counterfeit tickets and the
road that employs me has been on the alert
ever since the fraud was first detected We
have, without altering the external ap-
pearance of our tickets in any way, by
using peculiar manufacture Of paper,
put a spoke in the wheel of the counter
feiters that has seriously impeded and
threatens altogether to stop its locomo-
ton. 1t will not be long before all the
great roads of the country follow our lead
and by the usage of a paper for their
tickets that defies imitation put an end TO
such system of robbery as allows a leak
age or such an enormous amount OF money
In single year. The paper, which the
best judges of such matters say is calcu-
lated to fulfill this purpose. is a brand of
safety paper printed in three colors-pink,
blue and orapge-and is. in its original
state, ordinary writing paper. BY means
OF very expensive process II is given an
elaborate and distinctive roll surface. No
matter what its cost may be, 1t will pay
>
trial. Our officials knew this and Were
quick to grasp the situation.
The next time you buy ticket, and i
suppose newspaper men do buy tickets
once In awhile, look for the surface marks
on II and you will see the precautions our
road has taken to protect ourselves and
our customers. These surface marks are
put on the paper by a patent process when
the ink Is on. These marks read, Rail-
road ticket and National safety paper
an anchor cutting the word safety in
haf Unlike water mark, these marks
are darker than the paper itself. being on
the surface and not inserted. They show
on both sides Of the paper with equal clear
ness. These surface marks. which stand
out with such holiness that the most cur
sorry examination of either side of the paper
suffices to disclose them, the inventor told
me. cannot be initiated. the expensive pro-
cess OF their manufacture being an absolute
secret.
A New Device.
when the different agents write the
names of the different stations to which
the passenger is going upon this paper
with ordinary ink, 1t cannot be changed in
any way. o. rubbed out. as the ink is alb
sorbed into the paper and becomes part Of
its color. II chemicals were applied 1t would
invariably betray their use by marking the
paper in a manner that would be obvious
even to the most careless OF short-sighted
of ticket collectors. This same paper has
been used for checks and drafts for some
time past and has saved many a dollar fo-
banks and bankers. and promises to do as
much for the railroads. One most import
ant fact regarding the paper is that none
can be bought In the open market. Its sale
is exclusively confined to the six or eight
firms that print all the railway tickets used
In this country. of course the paper can
leak through these firms into the hands of
dishonest people. but these loopholes are
very small and the quantity that goes
through them hardly worthy OF consider
alton.
About the n ost successful counterfeit
ing trick that / can now recall occurred
last September. during the rush of visitors
to the worlds fair at Chicago. The scheme
was such a bold one that il went through
on the strength OF its conception. Our
read had BEEN running excursions from
nearby towns into Chicago almost daily
and we thought nothing wrong when a re-
quest for seven cars was made for a GER
tain day. to be switched OF at a small
town about seventy-five miles out The
excursion department Of the road believed
II was a special excursion, and the ticket
agent thought the excursion department
was handling IL. The counterfeiter fixed
the rate at $l.25 the round trip, and OPEN
ed private office in the little town two
days before the excursion was to start,
having previously advertised the event by
posters and hand bills.
A Big Swindle.
THE people Of the town had been laying
ioA q ShSop eASuiSiOn, anu literally ATE
all the tickets placed on sale. When the
day arrived for the excursion there had
been sold about loo tickets. and our road
went to the extra trouble of furnishing an
additional car to carry the people, who
packed the cars to suffocation. The ex-
cursion was a great success. Our road
handled the special with speed and safety
and the people arrived home the same night
overlooking with praise for our attention
and ability to afford them SO much pleas
ure.
The man that handled the excursion
went up to Chicago with his party and at
the end Of the run shook hands with the
conductor and gave him a fine cigar. That
was the last ever seen Of the shrewd fell
low. The next day the tickets came into
our department and We discovered the fact
that the entire 10 were commercials and
that the counterfeiter had cleared a cool
sl.oOO. minus the one cigar given the con-
ductor. on the transaction. Our detectives
are still looking for him. The strangest
part OF the transaction to me is that such
a cool fellow didn't come to the company
with a bill for q commission on the tickets