New-York tribune., 1899-08-20
FARES ARE USUALLY COLLECTED.
FEW PEOPLE GET FREE RIDES ON THE
STREETCARS.

STREEICARS.
Ono boars strange and interesting stories OF
men who have secured nights lodging lor Nv,
cents simply by taking ticket on the eiev"'e'
cd ;dira I'm and down between South Ferry
and One-bundreI- and fifty -ffth-st. or fremont
ave According to these stories. all that the
t,ornn has 70 do after he has once found COM
fortah,a seat which Is not a difficult matter IL
ba boards a train late at night and stays on IL
long "a 70 sit still when the train reaches the
end Of ts line and wait until 1t starts on the
return Journey.
Rut this is not the case interesting as II "ouo
be II It we're As matter OF fact the coh-
ductors go through the cars, awaken SeePei'
and see that everybody gets out. whoever fnay
wish TO make the return trip on that tram f"uS'
get out and buy another ticket. The elevated Is
uniformly hard TO beat
The system OF collecting fares on the surface
lines and the multiplicity Of transfers MAKE
sharp practice the part OF such as delleht
in those pursuits a matter OF less dlHcui'y'
though not always easy. There is Huch u'iiei
ence in this respect on different lines. There is
one line Of crosstown hOrsecars on which II IS
possible TO ride from east to west over and over
again. transferring to the Sixth-ave. cable TOT
one fare. Even this statement depends on hear
had never spent more than two hours on the
experiment. The present writer however, can
state from his own experience that it Is possible
to ride from South Ferry to Fifty-ninth-st. by
West-st and back by SiXth-ave. and West
Broadway to South Ferry all for five cents 1t
took five transfer tickets and the passenger
ended by keeping the last as a souvenir and
walking the short distance-across Battery Park
which the transfer covered
What is more curious than the apparent elias
tcity Of transfer rules is the with which a
free ride may be obtained. 1t is all a matter Of
chance. however One never hears Of con-
ductor on Broadway line forgetting to take a
passengers fare. The lines where such over
sights are for some reason or other most fire.
Quent are the Fourth and Madison aves. and
the Second-ave.. with their terminus at Brooklyn
Bridge. One man who lived in Brooklyn last
winter and whose business was in the neighbor
hood OF Union Square. boasts Of having made
the journey between the Bridge and his office
twelve times in week for thirty-fi i've cents
1t always happened that the car was crowded
ways boarded it with a number Of other pas
sengers. This was what probably confused the
conductor, who, he says, more than once passed
him by without taking the money which he was
holding ready for payment. The first time this
happened the passenger actually held up his
nickel and said, Here you are" but the con-
ductor appeared too busy to attend to him.
After that he Contented himself with having his
fare ready for payment on demand. with the
result that in one week he saved % cents
simply by attending to his own business
At the same time it is unsafe to count on
such lapSes Of memory. As for deliberately
beating your way" on any of the surface lines
the thing is practically impossible. In addition
to the ring up" there is generally the evidence
of other passengers against the would be fraud
"A fact which goes to show the common hon
esty of mankind-and 4 solitary man who should
try to "w0rk' the scheme would have the evi-
dence of two officials against his own. Streetcar
men will tell YOU if there are no women pres
ent. that the whole of this heating business.
far as their observation goes is in the hands
of the far-or. according to "Punch's" cabby,
the "hunfair'-seN. Women who at the in
experienced stage Of a career of fraud prone
to think that conductor would contradict
lady Moreover women with perfectly honest
intentions often think they have paid when they
have not. The dispute generally ends in either
case with a noiseless transfer of the fare To the
conductor by some wae passenger to whom the
dispute is unpleasant.
PPESERVING AFRICAN BIG GAVE