New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-17
REGISTERING KICKERS.
Exceeding Ingenuity of Boston
Sreetcar Men.

| scheme so cleverly devised as a protection
| against shivering. half stifed Bostonians who
| travel by trolley, that for weeks past amid the
| wailings of the public and the clamor of the
press. the Hubs trolley system has been en-
| abled, as It were. 10 have good laugh at the
| kicking public.
| This new scheme. recently put into active
| operation to the dismay of good Boston people,
! Is nothing more less than the institution of
| system OF holding up each grumbler with
| paper and pencil and compelling him to sub
scribe his name TO his protest. Bostonans love
peace. Also they shun publicity as their Puri-
| tan ancestors avoided the iniquities of the Evil
One. They are loath to witness their names in
print or to affX their signatures to any sort Of
an instrument upon which later there will per-
haps be a "come-b back" The officials of the
Boston Elevated company have taken ad-
vantage of this weak spot in the Bostonian
temperament
dignfed resident of the Back Bay, with a
lingering touch Of rheumatism in his knees
enters a bound toward the fashionable
Brookline suburb. The breezes that sweep I'D
from Boston Harbor and play hide and seek
through the crooked streets Of the town often
md a moment to whistle merrily around the
ventiators Of the streetcars. Mr. Back Bay
calmly reading the news In his favorite news
paper. feels the draft tingng through his rheu-
matte nerves and promptly requests the con-
ductor TO close the ventilator
Forthwith-and here is where the railroad of
fcials play upon the modest sensfbiIites Of their
fashionable patrons-the conductor draws pad
from his inside pocket and asks the passenger
making the request to inscribe his name resi-
dence and occupation upon the official blank
prepared for the purpose.
The Back Bay party starts up uncurls his
suffering limbs and stares AZ the empIoye Of the
company in amazement
IL,
name down." remarks the fare puIer
"What-what do you mean? Can't close the
infamous"
"Them's the rules sir"
BY CAD, by CAD, what we coming tor"
calculates the rheumatic party. NO, indeed.
G T Il I put my name to any such nonsense but
This is only an example of the everyday
scenes that are now enacted in the Hubs street
The conductor with the bullying pad In his
pocket receives a request TO shut off the heat
The car is sitting hot. At once he pulls forth
requesting the favor. Five minutes later an
other passenger demands that the heat be
turned on, as the car is too cold Name, resi-
dence and occupation go down. Then some one
protests that the air Is too close. Another sig
nature Is added 10 the list of kckers. BY the
time the conductor has reached the end OF the
line he has dozen names to turn In at the
company's headquarters, there to he indexed.
flied and tabulated for further reference
such Is the way in which the Boston Elevated
company has mapped Il out TO waylay 'TICkers'
and at the same time to prevent any concerted
movement to dictate 70 the road rnanaqer1art
Also. according TO the company's plans Boston
road refuse 10 be tabulated as public ''kickers
II wasn't so long that they pun people of that
class In the stocks there. That Is the way IT il
In Boston. They are retrospective. even I'm their
troubles. And tho result is condition Of affairs
| in tho streetcars that rivals the horsecar days,
the car floors with straw for the sake or cold
In and out OF town on these cars. In cold weather
there is lack OF heat. IN warm weather there IL
80 "a a. ~ i''e.u'' MetJItL d VIC
atmosphere perFades the cars [FStheuc Bos-
tonians who sleep with :heir windows open 10
the north o nights and disciples OF health
culture, endure ana SruInb.e IN uudeTtones.
rather than make their grievances public
Meanwhile there IS q little bureau at the street
car corporation headquarters down I'm Milk
street, where interesting tabulatOn OF the
"kickers' who have been thus far caught by the
wiles Of the corporation is maintained. To-day
Miss Eunce de Cult protests on Car No 1865
outward bound that the air I'm the is I'M
pleasant. a week later another slip IS returned
| by Conductor 7.771 showing that Miss De Cult
has protested again and subscribed her name 10
the kick maintaining that a car was too cold
Note.-"Miss De Cult finds the car both too hot
and too cold"
Another Illustration Of the ingenious plan is
wished 20 have the ventilator opened because
of the foul atmosphere" In the car. and imme-
diately two men on the opposite seat protested
that the aforesaid Ventiator should not be
opened because ut was then only few degrees
The and addresses. together with the
occupations of the opposing sides. were prompt
" demanded by the conductor. The parties
interested happened TO be willing TO aCCede to
the demand But while the persons concerned
were engaged In writing down their names II
suddenly dawned the conductor that some
thing had TO be done with the ventilation OF the
cars. II he opened ventilator there would be
kick from the men: If he refused TO open for the
woman he would have no excuse to offer be-
cause Of her already registered name in his note
pad. brilliant idea inspired him. He promptly
turned the heat-the surface cars In Boston
have apparatus which is said by the COM
pany to heat the cars-and at the same time
opened one ventilator and closed another. Then
he proceeded to close the incident by requesting
"A few OF the unprotesting passengers present to
also furnish him with their names In case the
matter came up against the poor conductor"
These are only few OF the situations which
ore at present making the streetcar service in
the Hub a standing joke to those who do not
ride the In fact, the surface lines
resOrted to infrequently possible, Bos-
tonans choosing 10 cling to the straps in the
better regulated elevated trains.
Since evolving this latest method Of effectually
muzzlinR grumblers the railway company has
turned into its headquarters several thousand
slips with the details and names OF those who
have protested against the service. Each week
Of f1lled-in slips has continued TO fall off, how
ever. so that last week a member of the cor
poration declared sadly that he feared the plan
would turn out failure He said:
"Bostonians are unwilling to back up their
protests against the service. complaint made
| to a conductor does good unless such profess
is filed with the company. How to know
what the public objects to In our service unless
informed? Cur object IN issuing these
complaint slips was solely for the purpose OF
lettering the service. IF a man tells the
conductor that a car IL too cold Il amounts
to very little far securing better heated
cars, but If hundred protests are filed in this
office against the low temperature OF line OF
cars the company at once has data for dIscov-
ering defects In the comfort Of it's cars"