The Sauk Centre herald., 1908-07-02
THAT EXTRA CENT.
Travellers Charged Too Much By
G. N. Agent at St. Cloud
TRIES TO run A BLUFF
Ddpper Young Man in Uniform Is
Brought To Time By a Number
of Sauk Centre Men

If you ever buy a ticket on the
Great Northern railroad from st
Cloud to Sauk Centre, better have
the exact change with you or you may
have to pay one cent extra.
How is that, do you ask?
Well, it's just this way.
The distance from Sauk Centre to
st. Cloud is AZ miles, as published
in the Great Northern time cards.
Ever since the 2-cent rate law has
been in effect, the fare between the
two points has been "a cents. Ask
for a ticket from Sauk Centre to
st. Cloud and Agent Jas. A. Norris,
or his assistants will take your mon
ey, give you your ticket and charge
you "a cents and no more.
At st. Cloud it is different, not
necessarily always different, but
frequently is; in fact it has always
been different when the publisher
of The Herald has bought ticket
from st. Cloud to Sauk Centre. Every
time but once he has been charged
and has paid IS cents, and that once
was on Thursday, June 25, 1908.
Other Sauk Centre citizens have also
been charged IS cents for a ticket
from the county seat to their home
town. On the date above mentioned
there was a change. 1t all came about
this way.
The delegates to the Stearns coun-
tv republican convention, along with
number of other citizens, returned
on the Oriental Limited, leaving st
Cloud at 1 p. m. While on the
street car between the Grand Central
Hotel and the Great Northern sta
ton one of the party advised his
fellow passengers to have the exact
change ready, warning them if they
did not that they might be charged
an extra cent. When the station
was reached the company, some ten
in all, approached the ticket window
The publisher of The Herald laid a
silver dollar down and asked for a
ticket to Sauk Centre.
"Eighty-five cents" replied a dap
per young fellow in uniform who was
at the window. This young man then
stamped a ticket, took the dollar and
put it in the drawer and handed
back fifteen cents change. The pur.
chaser demurred, remarking that the
fare from Sauk Cente to st. Cloud
was only "a cents. ''Is that SO,
smiled the dapper young man, who
held out his hand for money from an
other purchaser.
Then c. M. Sprague spoke up: '1t's
a. miles from Sauk Centre to St
Cloud and ought not to be any far
ther from st. Cloud to the Centre. y
The nice young man with the uniform
on saw the point and opening the
money drawer handed the publisher
of The Herald a cent
Mr.. Sprague then bought his tick.
ct as did several others. All receiv'
ed correct change. Last of all Frank
NJ Eddy, who had not been with the
company, approached the window
and he got the right change too
without asking for it. It may have
been only a coincidence, but he got
1t just the same. The Sauk Centre
men commented freely on the matter
in a tone loud enough for the dappel
young man in uniform who sold tht
tickets to hear; possibly that was VIII!
he forgot to retain the extra CEN
in any more cases.
This method of making change ant
keeping the extra cent has been II
vogue for some time at the st. Clout
station. Possibly his duties are 81
cnerous that he is unequal to th'
task of returning the exact change
Gle cent retained from fares t.
points where odd change less than |
nickel is required under the nev
law, would 500. count up to quit
p neat little sum. Query, who get
it?