The sun., 1897-05-17
TRIALS OF THE TRANSFER NAN
ur You Think His Job IL Not nm Intellectual
One. Read This.

"One might think that n transfer agent on a
street car line had an casy Job" said one of the
men who give out tickets for the Broadway
cable road " but he hasn't. He has to work. and
work hard, at that, all tho time he ia on duty
and the hours arc long. 1t looks like II snap to
the man who jumps Off a cable car, grabs a slip
Of paper. and runs to a horse car, and dare say
that IL you asked any ono other than n street
railroad man. he'd tell you that II he had
to work on surface line. he'd rather
give out transfer slips than turn n grip wheel
You don't think it looks like an intellectual job
do youl Well. 1t is. We have to be on the con
stant lookout for beats and frauds, and for spot.
ters. too. and I'm so plumb tired in the head
when go home at night that don't want to see
my wife even and the children nearly drive me
crazy.
"1n tho first place. we have to look out for
beats. There are more OF them than you would
think, and they give us a heap of trouble. At
every transfer station there are regulars who
try to do us every day. Some of them have been
at 1t ever since the system was adopted.
They get thrown down every day. but that
doesn't discourage them. In the rush hours,
when every car in each direction means from a
dozen to twenty-five slips, they try to work in.
We have to watch the cars as they come to a
stop and count the passengers as they get Off.
bunch. every one acting as If his life depended
on getting the first ticket. This is the opportu-
nifty that the beat is looking for. He gets into a
doorway, and when he sees a crowded car COM
ing along he prepares to dive for Ii. He knows
that the agent is watching for his kind. and he
waits until the car is between them. Then he
dashes out.
He runs up to the platform and gets into the
thick of the crowd. When the car starts up the
rush for the agent begins. The beat gets between
one. When he gets to the transfer agent he
sticks out his hand and tries to grab the ticket
Sometimes he gets it. for If the agent isn't surc
he would rather take the risk of being spotted
ooy an an rred INSPECTOR & than get all the rest rest
with the man. The agent can't afford to
have half dozen people report him for delaying
thing. Then. too. the agent hasn't any way Of
proving that the beat wasn't passenger on the
tell him, and wouldn't know anything about it
anyway. The car is two or three blocks away
by the time that the beat reaches the agent. and
the conductor can't come back: So the beat is
pretty likely to get his ticket If he doesn't try
the game too often
You'd be astonished IL you knew how many
things were asked to do. All sorts of messages
are left with us. Most of them never get deliv-
cred but once in a while we get Interested in a
case and help II man out. used to have juno
tion downtown. and two regular passengers that
knew got into real estate deal, Ono lived in
wanted to trade places. The Staten Island man
wanted something to boot, and put his price at
give something, but that was too much. He
offered $500 heard them squabble about il,
and knew all about the trade. One day
the Jerseyman said to me: Tell Smith that III
give him $3.50 l saw Smith and told him.
No. said he. j won't take that. III take $3.50.
him. h Rats he said Why nS sS'a paes sne is sols as
good as his, only want to live on Staten Island.
Tell him I'll give 500
The other man wouldn't take that and the
Jerseyman put up his offer to $3.50. was the
go-between, and finally the Staten Islander
I'M m ia nHt thAh hII-
They came around and gave me box OF cigars
afterward."