The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-06-18
F. WEBER ON STAND
|,,c FOUR CONDUCTOR TELL OF DIS
POSITION OF TICKETS.
ro.eph r.. Smith, Vandalia Chief
clerk, Testifes to the Forgery of
an Annual Pass.

Il The case of the Railway Ticket Protec-
4 1--WE Bureau against the Meyberg and
4 Messing ticket agencies is still hanging
4 FIRE before Judge Whallon, OF the City
& Police Court.
Conductor ]. +. Weber, who is en-
B Moved by the Big Four Railroad on the
81. Louis division. was placed on the wit
& ness stand yesterday afternoon and testi-
4 fed as to his cancellation marks on sew
4 eral tickets being obliterated, plugged and
4 reused after having passed from his
+ hands into the care Of James Finley, who
+ was his baggageman Finley is one of the
+ defendants in the case, and it is claimed
i that through him the brokers were able to
f secure quantities of railroad tickets after
! they had been honored by Conductor Web
4 her. Mr.. Weber testified that it was his
4 custom TO turn the tickets in his possess
4 sion over TO Finley, who In turn was sup
posed TO assert them and mail them to
+. NJ. Brine, the tickle accountant of the
i Big Four Railroad. in Cincinnati. He is
i said TO have been a tool OF the brokers
/ and acted as their agent in securing the
i tickets with which hey are alleged to have
i defrauded the railroads.
A. L. Mason, passenger brakeman under
Conductor Weber, was placed on the stand
i and stated that he had on several occa-
siOns carried the tickets from the train to
Il the baggageman, but so far as he knew.
. had never lost or mislaid any of them. He
i said that the baggageman kept the tickets
IN a cigar box In his Office until the time
+ when he assorted them and mailed them to
i the ticket accountant, and said that IL
i would have been possible for Finley to
have secured a number Of the tickets each
& day without detection.
AN IMPORTANT WITNESS.
81 =,
was Joseph Smith. chief clerk in the gen.
eral offices of the vandalia Railroad, who
testified positively as to the forgery of
an annual pass over the Vandalia lines
good in Indiana and Illinois. According
to Mr.. Smiths testimony, no passes could
have been issued without his knowledge
and approved and he in person attended to
the issuing of such passes as were sane
toned by the railroad authorities. Mr..
Smith stated that he had issued an annual
pass To one of the constituents of the rail-
road, good only over the Vandalia lines In
the State of Indiana during the year 1903.
Mr.. Duncan. attorney for the prosecution.
presented in evidence a pass said to have
beer purchased from the Meyberg agency,
emitting Hon. w. II. Richardson TO free
transportation over all lines Of the VAN
dalia system in Indiana and Illinois, and
asked Mr.. Smith If he had ever issued
such . pass. Mr.. Smith stated that he had
not. He said the pass was the one he had
issued to another party and the name
had been changed to read w. H. Richard
son instead of Hendricks, as it had
originally been written, and the number of
the bass had been changed from 1O4 to 4o4.
He also stated that the pass originally
entitled the owner to passage in the State
of Indiana only. while in its altered state
1t entitled the holder to free passage in
the State of Illinois as we'll as in Indi-
ana. The work on the pass is said to nave
been roughly done and could be detected
by careful examination.
j. F. Knfpe, an Indianapolis young man,
testified that he had bought a ticket from
indianapolis to st. Louis over the Big
Four road from the Messing agency, but
turned it over to the detectives on request.
The ticket, 1T is claimed, was changed, the
punch marks having been plugged and the
conductors marks entirely obliterated.
GERBER TEsTIFIEs.
Captain Gerber, Of the city detective de-
partment, testified that he found the
forged pass in the Meyberg Office at the
time of the raid made on the scalpers some
days ago. and stated that it had not beer
altered or changed in any way since II
came into his possession.
The defense. 1t is said, will attempt to
prove that IL might have been possible for
some person not connected with the brok-
erage offices to have secured the tickets
from the railroad employees and after
sold them to the unsuspecting brokers
who in turn placed them on the market
not knowing that the tickets had beer
changed In any respect.
Mr.. Duncan stated last night hat he
had no doubt OF being able to turn the
defendant brokers over to the grand jury
but the evidence in the case would proba.
time The court adjourned at 5 O'Clock
until 2 o'clock this afternoon, when the
hearing will be continued.