The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-02-10
WORK OF "SPOTTERS'
How the Street Railways
Employ Them.
WOMEN IN The BUSINESS.
Detectives Who Ride With Open Eyes
Day and Night.
THEY MUST NOT KNOW EACH OTHER.
An Old Superintendent Casually Out.
lines the System-Grips on
the Gripmen.

The Superintendent of a big cable-car
| line took his seat at his desk yesterday to
give audience to newsgatherer concern
| ing any questions that might be asked
| relative to a Garments union, or the effect
of the new charter upon corporations such
| as his.
| During the conversation he casually
opened his afternoon mail, reserying one
particular package until the last.
He opened that and from six different
envelopes took six pieces of brown note
paper and scanned the contents very care
fully.
'That's all right" remarked the mana
ger, half to himself. "If there is anything
1 like, it is fair sailing"
"What's the matter now?" he was asked
'Nothing. That's why 1 feel relieved.
dislike to be firing men all the time"
"Then, why do your"
"Well, we do not, unless for very good
cause" he continued. You see these six
notes that 1 have just taken from the en-
velopes?'
| Eyes"
"They are all from spoilers"
"Six different spotters?'
eyes. That is half the number en-
| ployed by all the companies. They are re-
quired TO report to the various superinten-
dents at least twice week, and as much
oftener as occasion may require"
''Then you keep twelve men constantly
employed in this work?'
sob, no; three of them are women, and
they are clever, too, l tell you. We don't
want anybody to know how we work. That
would spoil the business" said the super
| intendent, but he went on just the same
"Their business is to ride-not too often
| 1i,1a oh 1nnl on
the conductor and gripman. Their duty is
not simply to find fault, but to commend
in cases where in their Judgment it is
proper. By this means they really save
many men from discharge. These women
| hardly know myself. One of them | have
come in regularly and her money is sent to
her at the end of every month"
"Of course these spoilers are all &C
quainted with each other-have a frater-
nifty, as it were?" was suggested.
"On the contrary, they are not supposed
to know each other at all. If we find
that any two of them become acquainted
with the business of the other, both are
let out.
"One of the women has been spotter for
us for the past twelve years, and not one
now employed has been in service for less
than four years.
"You put implicit trust in their reports,
w you -.
"Not altogether. That is do not. If
one of them reports to me that certain
conductor is knocking down or purloin-
ing money that he should turn in to the
company | make note OF the number OF
the man and his hours of running and
send the second spotter after him. If this
report comedies with that of the first
seldom accept that, but put third one on
the case. OF course, if he confirms the re-
ports of the others, that settles it, and the
victim of his own dishonest practices goes"
do you tell him what you have dis
charged him for2'
mo: certainly not. We leave that to
established that his conscience, if he has
one, will tell him very soon. Thus it is
that many men are discharged, who go
forth declaring that they do not know
why. No one else knows, however.
1.-The reasons that we are very careful in
matters OF investigation are obvious. The
desire is to be just to the men, and prevent
any individual spotter from wreaking
vengeance on person whom he might dis
like. Instances have happened where
some of the best men have been reported.
I could not believe it true, yet the facts
were verified by others, and the good man
had to go. The spotter not only reports
cases of dishonesty, but also the conduct
of gripmen, motormen, drivers and con-
ductors toward passengers. There are a
great many first-class kickers among the
travelling public and complaints roll in at
the rate of twenty or thirty week. Such
matters are referred to the Spotter, with
the information that the complainant is an
old kicker This gives him a big pointer
and allows him scope for the use of his
Judgment"
SIS it not fact that these people put
up job on employees simply from malice,
or other motives?"
IL, ,04f1 ,,,1y c,1n1 q th,yar
is even suspected their services are dis
pensed with, and they know why. There
was time, when | was superintendent of
another road, that spotter disliked GER
tain gripman, who was one of the best we
had He tried several ways to get that
man discharged, but could not. Finally be
thought of rule of mine which | had
made for thu purpose of testing the skill of
new gripmen, many of whom were being
hired at the time. AT street crossing
where our line crossed another cable line
we had a bumper placed. The bumper
was painted with a fresh coat of red paint
every morning, so that it would leave a
mark on the grip if caution was not used
in raising it on passing over the cables.
"Whenever paint was found on a grip,
therefore, the gripman was sure to be dis
charged, because it showed that he had
imperiled the property of the company
and the lives of passengers.
Lie SpOIteI lOuuu blllS OltG
to have the grip of his enemy smeared
with red paint on two occasions, as he was
not discharged at first. Later on we found
this out, and you may be sure that spot
ter did not last long"
The foregoing is an outline of the system
employed by the streetcar companies of
this city to protect themselves against inn
position on the part of their employees. 1t
was given by one of the oldest superin-
tendents in the service.