Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1901-05-16
SHOPPING BY PROXY,
" Pony Express" System Conduct
ed by Out-of- Town Buyers.
ProfessioeAIs Purchase for Residents
of Towns Near Chicago on Conn
misunderstanding Railroad
and Express Companies.

That odd little business enterprise
known as the pony express" won
victory the other day in the first round
of the fight which is being made TO
suppress it. In the United States
district court a pony expressman"
named Joseph H. Lund was awarded a
verdict of $1,000 against the Chicago.
Milwaukee & st. Paul railroad and the
United States Express company. The
action of the plaintiff was for false
arrest, but that failed to tell the in
teresting story back of the fight, re-
ports the Chicago Chronicle.
Briefly expressed pony expressing
IS shopping by proxy and shipping
goods without paying therefor tc
either express companies or railroads
The system is carried on between Chi
cago and towns which are little far
Their away from the city than those
towns which are ordinarily called sub
urbs Elgin, Aurora and similar sized
towns, located 30, 40 and so miles or
even farther from Chicago, are the
ones where the business thrives
Those who are engaged in the EEK
pressing" simply come to Chicagoand
do shopping on commissions for their
townsmen, carrying thepackages back
with them in big bundles or putting
them in trunks and checking them
back on their tickets. The profes
SIGNALS who do this work make it
regular business and it is said thai
they can easily make IS or Sc day or
their commissions. While they thus
make good wages for themselves
they are saving considerable money
for the people for whom they shop.
Surprising there were ten or twelve
people in Elgin who wanted to come
TO Chicago to make some purchases
and supposing that they do not fee
that they could spare the time or thu
money for the trip. The pony ex
pressman" comes around to them anC
agrees for a small fee in each case t
make the purchase and deliver then
the same day. Of course, that is
great convenience as well as none.
saving scheme for the purchasers
They save the price of the tickets t.
and from Chicago, expenses while IL
the city and the half day or days tim'
they would have expended on the trip
The expressman charges them from
IS to about so cents for each purchase
according to the size of the bundle anC
the time necessary to make the pur
chase. At night when his days shop
ping is over the "expressman" ties al
his bundles and climbs on the train fol
Elgin or wherever he is going and OF
his arrival at his destination he dis
tributes the packages to the various
purchasers and collects his commits
sions.
Some of these "expressmen" have
@ much better method than tyins
their bundles together and carrying
them They bring a big trunk to The
city and place it in some convenient
ground floor office or store. Here They
carry all of their purchases and pacl
them in the trunk. Then late N the
afternoon they have the trunk cart
ed over to the station and checked
as baggage to their destination. L
is said that this trunk packing useC
to be practiced ~ some of the larges
stores in Chicago but that when thu
4 .kr.,, mo n a
was thereafter prohibited.
1t will readily be seen that thu
losers through the pony express
system are the railroads and the ex
press companies. The latter do no
get the express matter which the'