The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-07-02
TICKETS SOLD TWICE.
How the Alton Railway Com
pany Was Robbed.
SEVERAL MEN WERE IN THE PLOT.

One Conductor Would Take Up Tickets,
Fail to Punch Them, and Turn Them
Over to Another Conductor Who Would
Take Them 60 the station from which
They Were soId-The Agent Would
Then Sell Them Again.
CHICAGO July 2.-Officials OF the Chi.
cago and Alton railroad have just dis
covered that a gang Of employees, among
whom are passenger train conductors and
station agents working with Pullman
car porters, have robbed the railway COM
pany Of $1,000 Sufficient investigation
into the gigantic steal has been made 20
show conspiracy, and thus far three
conductors and two station agents have
lost their positions. Others may be dis
charged when the full extent of the con
spiracy is discovered The company is
making all plans for the criminal prosecu
tion of the offenders. The steal was sc-
compiished through cooperation Of a sta.
tion agent with passenger conductors on
railroad tickets from Springfield, Ills, To
Chicago. On an average, so far as can be
estimated 10y Auditor kelseys reports,
$40 day was stolen, and the larceny was
in progress fully year-probably a little
longer
scheme IL q New One.
The scheme originated and executed by
the rogues is an entirely new and start
ling one, as may be Judged from the fact
that II worked for one whole year and was
exposed only by the merest accident, the
company's officials not knowing thnt the
road was being deprived OF about one
half ~ ita revapua from, tho Snrip ev6ald.
Chicago through business. In nutshell
the scheme of robbery was for the conduc-
tor Of the train which leaves Springfield
for Chicago at noon to take up but not
punch the tickets sold at the Springfield
Office on the noon train. The meeting
point of this train with the 81. Louis
train, which leaves Chicago about .
O'Clock in the morning, is about half way
between Chicago and Springfield. The
conductor of the Springfield train for
Chicago would see the conductor Of the
St. Louis train at the meeting point aud
give him the bunch of tickets he had
taken up from passengers To Chicago.
station Agents Part.
The conductor of the St Louis train ar
irving In Springfield at 4 oclocS in the
afternoon. IL is said, would hand over the
bunch of tickets Ia the ticket seller in
the Springfield Office, and he would sell
them again to passengers for Chicago ON
the evening or night train. The tickets.
although used twice. were good for the
reason the stamp of the one-day limit was
good. The railroad company got only tho
money for the tickets when they were first
taken from the ticket rack, rs the ticket
seller at Springfield sold them again in
preference TO tickets from the rack The
conspiracy was completed when the ticket
seller and the passenger train conductors
came To an understanding as to the hand
ling and sale of the tickets. At first the
railway officials believed there were but
three conductors i'm the game but subse-
quent developments make IL almost sure
there We're AT least five and probably
six conductors conversant with the
scheme
Discovery of the Thefts.
The discovery of the steal was purely
accidental. A few days before the meet
ing of the Republican national convention
at 1t. Louis mysterious package of rail
road tickets was found on the tracks of
the road at Atlanta, Ills. The finder car
ried them into the depot, and turned hem
over 10 young woman who has charge
of the Atlanta office As the tickets were
stamped and apparently good, the young
woman started telcgraphc inquiry with
the Springfield office concerning their
ownership. The guilty Springfield
agent heard the inquiry made. and at
once called up the station agent at Will
iamsville, the first station on the Alton
north Of Springfield. ard persuaded him
TO go To Atlant, and get possession of the
tickets and hush up all inquiry concern
ing them. All OF this peculiar business
over the wire was heard i'm different quar-
ters and the result was an official inyc .ti
CATION. II was hen learned that SOM
thing was wrong with the Springfield of-
fee concerning the tickets, and a scirch
ing investigation was made
Routine OF the Work.
IL was soon discovered that the tickcis
were found i'm a ~ Louis morning paper
nicely folded up 80 they could not drop
out accidentally Then it was discovered
the two trains met at Atlanta (pot the
usual meeting place. on the day the tick
cts were found and that the conductor of
the north bound train handed the con-
ductor of the south bound train newspa-
per AS the south bound train went by
with the right Of way, running about
twelve miles an hour. The conductor of
the south bound train failed TO catch tha
paper with it's precious burden and when
it fell II was too late to GO back and pick
IL up.
Vice President Chappell Of the Alton
said: "We know the stealing has been GO
ing ON all of one year. One auditor has
checked mp the Springfield office thorough
ly and we think the average may not have
been as high as $40 day. But II was
enough We have discharged two station
agents and three conductors The name
of the guilty agent at Springfield Is
George Council, but am not at liberty 10