New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-07-15
OUTVITTING THE STREET BOYS.
THE UNION FERRY CoMPANY's LATEST PLAN TO
PREVENT THE SALE OF SINGLE TICKETS

THE UNION FERRY COMPANY's LATEST PLAN TO
PREVENT THE SALE OF SINGLE TICKETS
BY ouTsrDERs-A BIT OF HISTORY.
The latest attempt OF the Union Ferry Company
70 outwit the small boys who sell its tickets on the
streets and thus reap small profit recalls an inter
estng bit OF history. BY law the company Is re-
ouired to sell tickets by the quantity at the rate OF
seventeen for q cents. or as nearly cent ana
a half apiece as is practicable. untl The latter
part Of the 7os the tickets were separate bits OF
pasteboard which were used over and over again
until they became so soilel and discoored that
1t was no longer possible TO recognize them.
As the single fare Is two cents. II did not take
long for the street boys to find out that by buy
ing a package OF tickets at wholesale and retailing
them TO people approaching the ferry they could
reap n profit OF eight cents on each package. The
business throve nightly. Soon scores OF boys
found that they could make money In this way
faster than by selling papers. and persons coming
down Fulton-st.. for example. would be accosted
by ticket-sellers three four blocks before
reaching the ferry. and had TO run a gantlet
OF them all the OF the way. OF course. most
regular travellers continued 10 buy their tickets
BY the package, and thus found the boys
nuisance; others thought Il good thing TO encour
age them, and casual users OF the ferry often
thought they were patronzing regular runners Of
the ferry company. The company soon found
that It's profits being eaten into 10 an alarming
extent and called upon the police TO suppress the
boys. The effort to do this was only partly sue
cessfu and the business continued 10 flourish.
Then the company had recourse 10 a scheme
Instead OF having separate tickets. 1t decided 20
have seventeen printed together in coupon form and
each coupon declared TO be good only II de-
tached in the presence OF the .ferrymaster For
time THE requirement insisted on and ferry
travellers of their tickets as they entered the
ferryhouse This put stop to the business OF tick
ct selling on the street. and the companys treas
ury grew plethorc in consequence. Gradually the
requirement that tickets should be detached only
dead letter. and now for a considerable time the
old practice OF boys selling tickets to persons ap
preaching the ferry has been again cutting INTO
the company's profits. .
Now another change has been made. Instead OF
regular patrons with a card similar TO a com
muter's ticket on suburban railway. and every
time the user OF IL enters the ferry a number In
punched out. while for his seventeenth passage he
drops the card itself into the box. or course. THIS
effecuay puts stop TO me SAFE OF ekets ~ T1s
People finding fault because or the uelay Whlch
the punching process involves and say that on ac.
count Of II they sometimes miss boat. ana NJ al
events are subjected to a severe nervous strain.
Then too an objection TO the new plan IL made by
neonle vho have been the habit OF leaving tickets
AZ home for the use OF their families when going TO
New-York. though BY strict CONSTRUCTION OF the
companys rule such tickets would not De vala.
ence of the ferrymaster Ferry travellers WILL how
ever get used to the new system In time, and. OF
children by Investing an extra % cents and leaving
a card at home for family use
For some reason the selling OF Brooklyn bridge
tickets by street boys has never hourtshed. al
though before the recent change whereby two
tickets gold for I'VE cents mere mere woua naVs
ten tickets A "Reminiscences OF the old ferry tronbie
however Is to be'found in the inscriptioh on every
Hrid0e ticket sold in coupon packages or Ten, ue-
Caring that il is not good unless torn on under
the eye OF the tcket-taker This requirement
has been a puzzle to many travellers by the