The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-02-22
THE STREET CAR sPoTTER.


lie Keeps Tab on the Conductor by Means
of a Pocket Register.
There are men who habitually stand on
the rear platform OF street cars. That Is
! the spoilers position. Professional spot
tiers never tsiye i"themselves away" by
counting passengers. The spotter carries
n small noisee sNregistcr in one of the
pockets of his overcoat. He IL most likelys
to appear on "A car that IL to carry IA ID
,oad. He takes his place on the rear plat-a
form and always appears to be the most
unconcerned man on the car. The first
thing he does Is to glance mt the register in
the front of the car. lie makes mental
note of the number Of fares that have been
rung up. Every time "A passenger gets on
be presses the button Of the little register
IN his pocket. lie never appears to be
watching the persons who are getting In
the 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 since he took his position have
been collected. His last net before getting
off is the mental registration Of the mum.
Ter of fares indicated by the register in the
car. II he has another test TO make before
making his report, he'will probably stop
under the first electric light, write down
on the blank furnished him the numbered
| fares registered when he got IA the oer
and the number registered when ls got
oil. lie subtracts one from the other and
has before him the number OF sfafes the
conductor should have registered. Then
| he looks mt his indicator, and IL there Is a
| discrepancy between his count and the
count the conductor registered he reports
the fact to the company. i-sa..
A conductor who IL discharged il never
accused Of having stolen money from the
company the charge Is improperly
collecting fares" 1t is not often that
! conductor is discharged the first time Il is
reported to the company that he is sim
properly collecting fares" The test IL ap.
Piled tn him frequently, and II it il found
that he Is hahitually not ringing up fares
| Tor all the persons who take passage on
his car he is dismissed. Conductors be
ieve that the means employed by spoilers
are unfair They say that II is often i'm
possible fer any man to get all the fares
on car; that il is an easy matter to get
all the fares when a car IL not crowded,
but when 80 or 80 persons board car
bound up town 1t is next 10 impossible TO
| collect without an error Often persons
| will get of the car before the conductor
| has reached them, and hampered rs be IL
| by the crowd. they say, he cannot prevent
/ this Theu PERSONS are getting on and
of, exchanging seats and doing other
things that mystiiy the conductor as he
pushes bis 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 iose their temper oftener. They
are not permitted to talk back, ;" no mat
ter how great the provocation 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 Mt Illinois and Washington
streets. She offered him n transfer ticket.
which, he said, had expired.
alt cannot be 80, " said she, "for got
this ticket just few minutes ago"
"Madam, You lie," said the conductor,
who maintained that the woman had re
ceived the ticket from representative Of
the company at another crossing nearly an
hour earlier One of tho company's de
tectives overheard the remark of the con
ductor and reported him.-Indianapolis
! News.