The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-08-29


/ deliver There was a late consultation
that night, and early next morning the
detectives were sent out. Two days la
ter they were driving along a country
road and saw some boys playing with
strips of tickets in field. Jumping the
fence, they found box containing over
5000 tickets. The boys said that the box
was tossed over the fence by one of two
men who drove rapidly up the road an
hour before. The fugitlves had evidently
been tipped off that the jig was up and
were skipping the town. They got away.
| was told afterward that they were two
discharged conductors whom I knew,
and that the tickets had been printed for
them in Canada. 1t was said that they
had disposed of over $4,000 before the
trick was discovered. The company dis
charged five or six men, and that was the
last of the matter.
There was always more or less steal
ing on street railroads. but the checklist
thing ever heard of was about the at
tempt Of a conductor named Rush to buy
a bankrupt road out in Jersey. He work.
ed there in rags. and after four years of
work owned a house, horse and buggy,
diamonds and a lot of jewelry. When
the road was knocked down for $4,000 he
was second best bidder and close up to
one of the directors, who finally bid it in.
1.-The best machine the companies have
ever struck is the detective or protect
I've system, known as spotting. 1t is
done for them by regular agencies at
a fixed price per year, and is most thor
ough in its details These companies
employ hundreds of experienced men and
women, who are shifted about from city
to CITY, so that their faces do not be
come familiar to the conductors. They
are furnished with money for fare to
certain amount and are in turn spot
ted by spoilers. These reports are not
merely confined to detailing the number
of passengers and the condition of tbs
fare register. but are quite comprehen-
sive. Each report is made out upon a
separate sheet and applies to ons trip
upon certain car. After giving date,
time and number of car and conductor,
1t tells the condition of the car, noting
everything out of order, even to fiat
Wheels or noisy gears; the manner of the
conductor, whether polite or surly; any
unusual incident; how the motorman
and conductor acted; the state of the fare
register and the number of passengers
aboard. The special vigilance of spot
tiers is, of course, directed to catching
the conductor appropriating nickles, and
they report any lapse of this kind in
plain terms: Stole three fares between
this and that point. They conclude that
he stole the money because he failed to
ring up. The report that 1 saw that en-
try upon was shown to me one day last
winter when 1 visited the office of an
old chum who is now the superintendent
of a trolley road. 1t began by telling
how courteous and neat the conductor
was, and than damned him by reporting
that he stole the three fares in as many
blocks. Now, perhaps he was new
man and made the natural mistake of
pinching the fares when the car was
crowded. An old conductor does not do
that. Ha does his fine work when there
are few in the car and he knows that
they are all regular riders. He may
swipe three or four fares out of twenty
under such circumstances and not get
caught, but when hs has from sixty te
eighty people on his car he cannot tell
that there is not a nosey one in the
crowd. OF course there are times when a
man can take a big risk and turn off
good trick, but hs must be willing to
quit work next day if caught at it. The
biggest thing of this kind I ever saw in
a neighboring town where saengerfest
was being held. The starter at the car
shed made every arrangement to meet
the rush when the show was over and
had big string of extra cars ready. A
regulars passed the barn from up the
road, and, knowing what the prepara-
tions meant, told his motorman to go
slow. He reached this doors of the big
hall while the inspector was in a room
telephoning ito the carhouse to send
along the extras. The people were pour
ing out, and his car was quickly jammed
so he could scarcely crowd through to
collect fares. His register was out of
order, he said, and he did not ring UP q
single fare until he got rid OF the load.
Then he plugged up seven. and WHEN he
got back to the carhouse he pulled a
long face as he told this receiver that he
lust missed the rush at thp ha1lu