The Dickinson press., 1900-04-28
THE TRAIN sPOTTER
AN OFFICIAL WHO Is WELL PAID sYl
THE RAILROADS.

THE RAILROADS.
The Work which II Performed BY
This Glass Of Detectives ana the
Qualities For Which II sCaiIa-Meth.
d OF the Woman spottcr.
A little owe three months ago there
alighted from nm Oakland ferryboat o.
demure little woman, who pissed along
with the crowd, with scarcely a glance
to the right or left. Her petiteness Mt.
tracted some attention and her mol
esty more. hut no one who observed
the mir Of confidence with which Shit
made her way TO the public carriage
stand would have Imagined that she.
was a stranger and that for the FIRST
time in her life she was visiting San
t~'rancisco.
Giving a few Hriet directions and ell.
tering a cab. she was whlrled away
from the hustlilig throng and driven tc
a hotel. Later the register contained,
an unassuming Miss Waller, Chica.
CO." Her was No. II. Calling q
private messenger, she dispatched a,
message to a firm of lawyers, and that,
evening, promptly at 8 o'clock. a pros.
porous looking. well dressed gentleman.
entered the hotel. glanced at the regis
ter, and, ignoring the clerks question.
do you. want anythingY' passed by
the waiting elevator and walked up
the stairs.
That was Tuesday evening. On
Wednesday morning Miss Waller might
have been seen boarding a Market
street car bound for the ferry, where
she purchased a train ticket and cross.
ed to the mole. She returned late on
Friday evening. and Saturday morning
the same messenger took n sealed let
ter to the same lawyers, but this time
there was no evening caller. Saturday
evening she left town again for a few
days, and these trips were continued
until one day last week, when, by the
merest chance. the object of her re-
peated outings was discovered. On this
occasion she was the possessor Of a
ticket to a city near the Missouri river,
and she smilingly confessed that she
was bidding goodby to San Francisco
for some time to come.
AS an illustration of the care which
she must exercise in order to enhance
her value to the big railway corpora
tons in this country 1t is only neces-
sary to state that in the ten years
which she has devoted to the business
Of spotter, or, as she would probably
prefer to have 1t called, private de-
tective. she has doubtless made fewer
friends than any n else in the oun
try. And while she will not allow any
one to get thoroughly acquainted with
her, she does not make enemies. That
would be Euinous.
1t is an unwritten law of the rail
roads that every employee is open to
suspicion until he has been proved
guilty, and the people who take upon
themselves the task of separating the
two classes-those who are found gull
ty and those who are as yet merely un-
der suspicion-are objects of the great
est contempt with the army of toilers
who seek a living on the trains. To
offset this u%npopularity, however. they
have the ~inducement Of large financial
returns. There is no ironbound rule
governing the amount Of money which
they receive, but the more proficient Of
the class probably make from $500 to
$1,000 q year.
At times a railroad will have IN inn
portant case on Its hand, and the serv-
ices of q first class spotter will be in
valuable to the company, and on such
occasions, If successful, thes financial
returns increase wonderfully.
There is a much greater demand for
this class of detectives in the east than
there is here: and several reasons are
given for this condition of affairs. In
the first place, traffic being heavier,
there are more trains run there, and
more men are employed by the con
panies. Besides, that section is more
thickly populated, and way trains are
In many instances u hourly, II not
oftener, but probably the truest cause
for the increased dishonesty among
railway conductors in the east is the
low rate of salary which they receive.
There is a well defined belief among
eastern men who travel extensively
that any a who has reached that de-
gree Of prosperity where he can afford
to wear creased trousers is hopelessly
extravagant il he pay more than
third fare after crossing the MISSISSIPPI
pi river. once heard q popular actor
giving his reasons for this assertion in
a resort on the Atlantic coast, and,
after enlightening his audience with o
dissertation on the almost utter worth
lessness Of money in the west, SO far
as railroad travelling was concerned, he
continued:
"Take any train on any road west Of
Kansas City, st. Louis, Chicago or st.
Paul, and the rest is easy. Assume an
air Of Indifference and smoke a cigar.
II your conductor be seedy looking,
have q beard, an old uniform with
threadbare elbows and a hopeless ex-
preston on his face, pay your fare. Me
is an honest man. A thousand dollars