Evening star., 1903-09-12
FOUND IN THE CARS
ARTICLES OF VALUE OFTEN
PICKED UP BY THE coNDUcToaA
Sometimes Owners Are Generous In H.
warting Finders and Some
times Not -

IT might surprise some people In fhas
town II they knew Of tho valuable thinsp
found by the conductors on the street oars
mere at various times and tho chances He
nave OF getting rich quick but for oonscian-
ueus scruples." observed q courteous
puncher Of tickets on a 14th street car to .
reporter for The Star tho other day. a.,
without 80 much as blinking an eyelash, hs
showed a cash fare into his breeches pocket
and neglected to ring 1t up on the register.
Conductors have mighty strong tempta-
uons to be dishonest at times" continued
the man with the punch. especially AFTER
experiencing few cases Of ingratituds On
the part OF persons who have good reason
to be grateful. For instance lust picked
up $40 bill which that man in the third
seat from the front dropped without know.
Ing II. and he scarcely thanked me for rks
covering 1t for him. when might have lex
him get of the car without noticing kl6
loss and would have been ten cases 70
the good"
You stumble onto largo sums OCCASION
ally, do your inquired the reporter.
Il should say we do. Several years ago
a conductor on this line saw a small pack.
age, tied with greasy old brown paper.
lying on the floor near the front end Of the
closed car. He kicked the thing into q oosY
ner out Of the road. and when he returuS4
with his car to the barn he picked up the
package to throw II out, but noticing 1t was
rather light for It's bulk he opened 1t, and
found a roll of bank notes that made his
hair stand straight up. There was just
5000 of real money in the greasy old buns
die. He turned 1t over to the Office. ana
the company advertised the find The man
who lost the bills proved his property and
left 15 cents with the superintendent AZ .
reward for the conductors honesty in re-
turning the package.
'Stingy? Why that man wouldn't buy
lunch for a starving mosquito. Another
conductor knew found a pocket book con-
tanning 5000 and valuable ring on 9
Georgetown car. The man was a resident
of New York. He got his pocket book and
money back and gave the honest conductor
fve-dollar bill for returning them.
II had a rather strange experience with
regard to a scarfpin l found several years
ago on the car. 1t was not a valuable pin,
but 1t was one Of the oldest and most pecu.
liar pieces Of Jewelry l ever saw turned
1t into the office, and at the end Of ei8
months. nobody called to claim it. The
curious-looking pin was given to mo TO
keep. l wore it in my tie for a long time.
lone day, about three years after first
picked up the ornament In the car, wa
on my regular run. and had just collected
cash fare from a gentleman who wae
not a resident Of the city. I was about 70
pass on to the next row Of seats when he
happened to observe the curious pin In my
tie. He tapped me on the arm and asked
me where / got It / told him the oirouIn.
stances attendant upon its coming into my
possession, and when finished he saidi
when I was in his town about three
years ago lost that pin. There ssn't an.
other like 1t in the country. for 5eweler
friend Of mine in New York made II ex-
pressly for me. as memento of a certain
incident which occurred about five years
ago. 1 have hunted high and low for II
and had given UP running across It The
pin isn't very valuable intrinsically,' said
the gentleman. but If you would rather
have s. than the pin, I'll give 1t to you
gladly
THE man gave me the and I turned
over the pin. and we were both pleased
with the transaction.
Probably the most generous people In
rewarding conductors for finding things lost
on the street cars are old ladies. A bensv-
olent old lady. for instance. will give D
conductor 81 Tor finding and returning I'd
old pocket book containing 30 cents Ia
change, q handkerchief and a bread ticket
or for returning a ragged old umbrella The
people who have the greatest reason to b
generous are the ones who show the least
gratitude
But you needn't work your eyes over.
time looking for valuables on the street
cars" said the conductor, as he went hand
over hand to the front of the car to give
out the transfers for Georgetown.