The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-10
COMPANY IMPORTS
CHICAGO Spoilers
1t Brings Up Half a Hundred
to Watch Its Street Car
Conductors.

4 A dapper little fellow, attired in
| hand me-down suit, his striped shirt
front almost hidden from view by red
4 necktie, alighted from an interurban
car at Fifth and Wabasha shortly be-
| fore o'clock last night, walked over
1 to the curbing and stood looking about
| him. as though undecided which way
| to go.
The big conductor of the car the lit
/ tile man had just left paid but little
attention to the people who were
/ climbing onto the car and brushing
past him; his eyes were still on the
man with the red tie. Finally he gave
| the bell cord a jerk and the car started
! on it's way.
Turning to two passengers who had
remained on the platform to finish their
| half-smoked cigars, the conductor
waved his arm in the direction of the
! little man on the corner and said:
| That's one of 'em; it's a cinch.''
zone of what?" inquired an inquisi-
| tive G lob e reporter.
"Why, one of the new 'spotters;' one
of the fellows they have imported from
! Chicago" replied the conductor. 1--WE
| had him three Or four times already"
| Are there many of thena?" was ask
| ed.
eve don't know just how many, but
| there's a lot of them,' replied the con-
| ductor. "And they are not all men,
| either. Several Of the new spoilers
are women"
| A careful investigation by The
! Globe disclosed the fact that the
conductor knew what he was talking
! about. Within the past two weeks
/ the Twin City Rapid Transit company
/ has imported half a hundred new spot
! tiers and inspectors from Chicago. Al
most a dozen of these imported sleuths
i are women.
Have Spotted the Spoilers.
l Careful as has the street car compa-
i ny been, the importation of new spot
| ters' from Chicago is known to all the
| conductors and motormen in the Twin
! Cities. Just how the employees became
| acquainted with the facts is not dis
| closed by them, but it was strongly in
/ tinlated that the conductors found
1 friend among the imported men, who
| not only tipped" the move, but who
| assisted. in pointing out the new men
4 to the employees.
The conductors assert that nearly all
! of @the Chicago csspotters,' are already
| known to them, and the men who run
| the cars are having considerable sport
! at the expense of the Windy City
| sleuths.
| This is the first time in the history
of the Twin City company that women
| have. been employed to watch en-
] ployes, and it is also the first time
that a large number of spoilers have
| been brought here from abroad. The
| Chicago crew commenced arriving in
/ the city the first Of last week, coming
/ in punches Of ten or dozen. They
/ were put. to work at once and are now
| operating on every line in st. Paul
| and Minneapolis. ls1aae
The company itself does not deny
! that a few new inspectors have been
| brought here from Chicago, but the Of
/ feials decline to discuss the charges
! that there are as many as fifty of the
spoilers"
4 "They certainly are earning their
money" said one conductor. "The boys
got onto them pretty quick, and We
i know almost the minute one Of them
/ gets on car"
| The conductors say that the result
| Of the importation of the army of
spoilers" is that the company is re-
| eeiving many reports of small offenses.
Almost every time a small rule of the
| company is violated the matter is re-
4 ported to the company and the con-
| ductors are being called to account for
1 trifling matters which they never
heard from before.
Conductors Want Inspectorships.
Some of the conductors who have
! been in the service for a long time are
/ inclined to resent the. action of the
company in importing men to act as
! inspectors. The position of inspector
| is regarded by the men as legitimate,
4 and the employees who have served the
company for many years believe the
| inspectors should be chosen from
| among their number. They declare
| the company is not treating the men
4 right in sending to Chicago for men to
| fill these positions, which are more de-
| sirable than that of conductor or mo-
| torman and which could be filled by
| them equally as well as by strangers.
| So far as the spoilers" are con-
| cerned,, the men say they do not care
4 what action the company takes in Sc
/ curing them. 1t is not to be expected
| that employees of the company would
| be given such jobs. and few of them
| would take them if the opportunity
presented itself A conductor has
| about as much regard for "spotter"
as union man OUT OF Work does Tor
| the 'scab'' who is filling his place.
The company explains its action in
! importing inspectors by saying that in
spectors chosen from among the men
| do not prove satisfactory. It is charg-
ed by the officials that such men are
not inclined to report, their fellow
| workmen for every little oversight. The
conductors charge the spoilers" with
| being so anxious to make a showing
| with the company that they turn in
reports which are largely exaggerated
| and which are false in many instances.
| While the motormen are not in posi-
| ton to come under the watchful eye of
| the "spotter," they naturally join with
| the conductors, and the feeling against
the Chicago men IS not any too friend
iy.
In the meantime there is scarcely a
| trip made by q car that the conductor
| does not point out a Sherlock Holmes
or a Phrosia, as the women spoilers"
| have been named.
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