The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-07-01
.esssssss ssss . . 90 % ssss!
! The Business Of "Beating"
! Street Railway Companies.


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Greek Joins Greek when the claim
department of any of the large rail-
road companies - particularly the
city transit companies-begins to pay
money for injuries received, or pur-
ported to be received, by persons tra-
yelling or employed on their lines.
Into battle royal comes the shrewd-
est sides of the railroad, the legal
and claim departments and class OF
the legal fraternity as clever and as
able as it frequently is INSCRIPTIONS
and dishonest. Not that all damage
claims made against the transporta-
tion companies are fraudulent, by any
means. But 1t has been shown re-
peatedly and beyond doubt that
large class of these claims are dis
honest from the outset, that a good
many persons throughout the coun-
try have made profession of this
sort of business, a form of crime that
until n short time ago offered the
richest pecuniary results, with the
least chance of detection, of any "big
work" Within very few years able
detective work by some of the big
Eastern street railroad companies has
placed a quietus on some of these
folks, and stone cells at the disposal
of number of others of them.
Two trolley cars collide in the mid
die of downtown street in a busy
nj @ tho fret IN thn
collision come the police and the hos
pital calls. Upon the heels of the pa
troll wagons and the ambulances the
reporters for the daily papers arrive.
Shrewd folk, who are understudies
for those who have made fake
claims for their profession and car
ried it to fine lengths, and who have
been fortunate in being passengers
in the wrecked cars, and more for
tunate in escaping real injury, are de-
veloping wondrous aches and pains
and giving their names to the re-
porters or the police as proofs for
the future issue. The small fry law
yers-"ambulance chasers," they are
called-are early on the scene. They
cultivate the friendship of the police
reporters and use that friendship to
the best advantage at such times as
these. In case, though, they do not
get to the scene of the smash in
time there are the telephone and
other devices that can be brought
quickly into play. Little time is lost
in advising the victim" of the Cppor-
tunity of large returns that wait him
II he places a sizable claim against
the transportation company without
delay.
The railroad company has not been
asleep all this time. Motorman or
conductor or inspector has rushed to
the nearest drug store telephone, and
the superintendent of the road does
not know of the accident before its
chief claim agent. While the first of
these men is busy getting tower wag-
ons and wrecking crews to the scene,
the second has routed out his cos
sacks, like firemen for four alarm
blaze. They are on the scene as soon
as lllt dlllDuldHtt CHdStlS, ltduy
and willing to settle all valid claims
on the spot without further ado. A
clever lot of young men these, and
capable of being worth much more
than their salaries to the companies
that employ them. But they need
every bit of ability that they can
summon to their aid, for they are
pitted against many and many an un-
scrupulous man or woman who stoops
TO this meanest form of graft. 1t is
not alone the dishonest claimant who
stands facing him, but the attorney
who is that claimants colleague also
has club in hand for him. Some of
the sharpest lawyers find that they
make their best living from this very
class of cases. Sometimes they take
their first training in the law Offices
of the railroads, so as to observe the
methods of their future antagonists
Once they have working knowledge
of this sort as good part. of their
stock in trade they turn in cold blood
upon their corporation employer, and
set out to harass and annoy him un-
til the end of his days. = Edward
Hungerford, in Harper's Weekly.