Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-01-18
A RAILWAY oUroN TICKET.
riS Operation of Taking 1t Up on Different
Roads

"You frequently hear it said re-
marked a traveller Oh an incoming
train to his companion, thai man is
mighty inqulsitive animal; that lie is
forever behind the returns in pursuit
of knowledge and that he is never sat
isfied Unless he can lift ,he cover Of
things and watch the wheels go round.
That opinion is only superficial, how
ever. 1t isn't sustained by facts. On
the contrary, man is universally in
different to the real processes which
produce certain results with which he
comes in contact almost every day Of
his life.
Not long ago l was obliged to take
a trip to the coast, going by way of the
northern lines, through ST. Paul and re-
turning by the Southern route. AS
took out my ticket | noticed that on
every coupon or section Of the long
strip appeared the number of the tick
ct, and also the initials of each par
ticulaT line or road over which it was
to carry me. That interested me at
once and l carefully watched every
step in the process of taking up the
coupons. When | reached home again
I went to the general ticket Office Of
the main line over which l had bought
my ticket and there spent an hour in
finding out what had been done with
the coupons which I had distributed
over half a continent into the hands
of various conductors. There l learn
ed some very interesting facts
The first coupon detached from the
ticket is handed to the conductor, who
takes it up to the ticket cashier, who
Immediately forwards it to the ticket
auditor in the general Offices of the
line of origin. Here it is first checked
up against the report of the agent who
sold it, the report indicating over what
line the ticket is sold. The auditor and
his clerks have division Sheets which
indicate that proportion of the entire
amount received for the ticket belongs
~ each of the interested roads. Gen
orally the value of each coupon is ar
bitrarily fixed and is so indicated by
the division sheet. but of course the
original basis of settlement is practi-
cally pro rata arrangement. In some
instances the clerks in the auditors
Office have to circulate the division ac-
cording to the mileage of each road.
"The different lines represented in
each ticket are credited with their
share of the total and there is a regular
interchange OF reports between all con-
Meeting roads. Settlements, which are
made by check, generally occur at sixty
day intervals.
Each one Of the connecting lines
receives from its conductors the cou-
pons which have been collected, and it
is by means of these that it is able to
have a perfect check on the reports or
credits received from the road of orig
in as the railroad men designate the
line which sells the ticket.
THAT practically ends the travels OF
the ticket. for after settlement each
auditor files his coupons away and pre-
serves them for year, after which they
are burned.
Where two or more conductors di-
vide the distance covered by a single
coupon it is generally the man on the
last run who takes mp the bit of paste
board. Those before him simply punch
the ticket. To this rule there is an eX-
ception where the distance is unusually
great. Then the first conductor takes
the coupon up and issues to the passen-
ger a train check which is treated by
the following conductors on that divis-
ion as a ticket A ticket sold in New
York over an Eastern line connecting
with a Western road is handled by the
auditor of the latter as if it were orig
inally sold at Chicago. The frequent
reports of tickets sold between the var
ious connecting lines are necessary IN
order that each may make its weekly
estimate of current earnings.
"This. | tell you" concluded the
chronic investigator, is a world of sys-
TEN. and railroad Offices are not a whit
behind the procession in this particu-
lar."-Chicago Post.