The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-01

collisions are caused by this very trick of dragging the road. When the day Jporlr ia over the conductor pays the mo torman his bit for getting the extra pas sengers and for keeping his mouth shut.
 gro be a good grafter conductor must be a good short-change artist, ana then he can steal as much from the public as from the street railroad company. When I was a kid I learned the short-change game. or turning my mitt,' while work ingas A trainboy. It always was good noise Ir+
 'I can honestly say never have short changed a poor person In my lire IT knew it. Their coin comes too nara. | love to get the extrayagant shoppers or the balf-wise guy. I can collect quar- fer out of dollar, 1.25 from five, and five out of twenty.
 "The register graft has always been A pretty soft thing for the dishonest con ductor All companies use diHereht make of fare register, and some or the deuices I used to fix so that when the fare rope was pulled the bell would ring but nothing would be registered
 .There was a standard make, I remem- her that could be trained by hatpin. When I got my first job as conductor 12 years ago, in a little town up in Con necticut, we rang up cash on ilttie reg isters that we conductors hung to >our vests. It wasn't long until I had an- other bell that sounded exactly like the register bell fixed on small block or wood stuck in my vest. When wanted to steal nickel I sounded the private bell. But they got next to me In apout a year and I was fired.
 T fixed up references and went to Hartford, Conn. In this town conduc- tor got a register when he got the job. He always had the same register. l took mine home one night and discovered that by filing off every other tooth on one or the gear wheels the bell always rang, but only every second fare registered. This was great.
 ''The company and I were equal part ners in all cash received for over two years. The riding was never heavy, but still 1t was good graft. One day my reg ister refused to work. The inspector dis covered 1t, but this was nothing unusual, as often a register was broken.
 'T went into the shops where they were fixing it. and discovered council of war. They had found the filed wheel and so, using good judgment, resigned before the news reached the superintendent
 'I went to Buffalo, and soon was on the Main street line, Cold Springs barn. In this town I first met real good graft. The short-change work was fine and we exchanged about three pads of trans- fers daily. Tn looking over my diary have graft records of $S0 and $100 a week.
 'I stayed here about six months. The company got wise to the transfer graft and discharged about 100 men. I went to Toronto, and in this city I met new system Instead of register the con- ductor received little iron box sealed and locked. It had a handle on 1t so that 1t could be carried around. All fares and tickets were supposed to be put in a small slot in the tree box.
 1,f o1 vJod l., touch the money. If a passenger gave the conductor $1 bill. he was supposed to hand exactly a dollar in change, then the passenger put his fare in the box.
 At the end of the line we usually waited 15 minutes. One summer day,