The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-13
BEFORE THE TICKET PUNCH.
How Economical Patrons Were Wont
to SwindIe the Erie I'm Its Early
From the New York sun.

From the New York Sun.
"In the early days Of the passenger bust
ness on the Erie railroad, which was the
first railroad on which through business
was done between New York and Lake
Erie, the printing OF tickets was a large
item Of expense" said an old-time Erie
man. 1T would not do to use a ticket
once and then destroy it, as is done now
adays, so tickets were printed on the
| heaviest kind of cardboard When tick
ct was taken up by a conductor at it's des-
tination it would be sent to the general
passenger agents Office, to be returned to
the agent at the station where it was
originally sold, for resale and would be
thus kept in use as long as the ticket
might last.
This system prevailed a long time,
when the discovery was made in some way
that the patrons of the road were work
ing the company in a way that was TAX
ing more revenue from 1t than would pay
for the printing of new tickets many
times over For instance say a citizen of
Andover, on the western division, might
be going to New York. The fare l think,
was over SO. He would buy his ticket
from that station TO his destination. The
conductors were run by divisions of the
road. The western divisions eastern ter
would honor the ticket to that place,
where new conductor took the train. He
carried the passenger on the ticket to
SusQuehanna, where he surrendered the
train 10 third conductor, who ran Ii to
Port Jervis, where the fourth and last
conductor took charge.
THE ticket from Andover to New Yorl,
had been used to this point, no mark of
any kind being made upon it. At Port
JerViS the passenger would get off the
train and purchase a ticket from that sta
ton to New York This would cost him
about $40 He would hand this ticket
to the new conductor, who, of course
knew nothing about the passengers hav-
ing come from Andover on a through
ticket. This ticket from Port Jervis would
be taken up at the end of the run. When
the enterprising and economical person
from Allegheny county got ready to re-
turn home he would buy a ticket from
New York to Andover. This would be
used westward as the first had been used
eastward-that ticket being still safe in
his wallet. At Hornellsville, the begin
ming of the western division, he would
buy ticket from that place to Andover
for less than 81. This the conductor
would take up, as the conductor on the
eastern division had taken up the ticket
between Port Jervis and New York.
THE traveller would now have a
and one from New York to Andover in mis-
possession. They had cost him, say, SIS
As long as the cardboard on which they
were printed held out those tickets would
be good for a trip each way, no matter
how often the citizen or a friend to whom
ne might hire them out cared to use them
all the outlay necessary in making the
trips being $40 from Port Jervis to Now
York and 81 from Hornellsville to An
dover. The company would then be car
rying the passenger 700 miles for S370. or
a triae over half a cent a mile.
when this fraud was discovered 1t had
been in operation many months at sta
ton after station along the line favorably
situated for profitable use of it. Then or
ders were issued to conductors to mark
with pencil through tickets on their re-
spective divisions, to show that they had
been used thereon; but that was easily got
over by the passenger, and after a time
each conductor was provided with brad
awl, with which he punched a hole in the
ticket for his division. This, of course
spoiled the ticket for use more than once
and the company had to increase its print
ing bills. But it found its treasury swoI-
len by the use of the awl far beyond the
large added cost OF printing tickets. The
bradawl in a short time gave way to the
punch"