The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-08-08

Perhaps the purchaser and disburs
|er of that humble and unpretentious
bit of printed paper, a street car ticket
or of the slightly larger and somewhat
ever stops to reflect what an impress
sive total these representatives of
hard cash would present could a years
output of the Richmond traction lines
be gathered together. 1t may readily
be conceived, after careful compila-
ton of statistics and an examination
of the records in the offices of the
local street car companies, that could
the car tickets and transfers used
during the course of year be fitted
together as closely as possible the en-
semble would prove truly amazing in
magnitude to one who has not devot-
ed his reflective and mathematical
faculties to the subject.
More Than Mile Long.
One of the officials of the company
when asked for statistics relative to
the number of transfers and tickets
used on the local lines in a year stat
ed no statistics were available. Off
hand, however, the aggregate number
used in this period of time would
amount to at least twenty thousand
he believes. Therefore it can be east
ly seen that if the number of transfer
pasted together edge to edge, it would
cover a space sufficient to equal the
floor space of the largest room in the
city. If these tickets were pasted end
to end. the aggregate length would be
more than a mile.
If you apply an inch rule to a car
ticket you will find that its dimen-
| sions are one inch in width by from
, one and seven-eighths to two in
length; that Is to say. it contains an
area of approximately two square in
ches. A transfer slip is found to meas
ure two inches in width and four and
half inches in length. and it conse-
quently contains nine square inches.
Cash Fares Count Up.
The number of car tickets issued
and purchased on the different lines
does not give by any means the extent
of travel as the proportion of cash
| fares daily rolling into the Golfers of
the companies is very considerable
constituting, on an average, at least
one-third of the total. Observant con-
ductors note the fact that apparently
economical people, who guide their
lives on the saving penny principle.
| almost lnya~r pay in cash, thus
losing on every six trips.
Stranger /.ccustomed to the ticket
system y pay, for the most part in
cash fares. and during any notable
influx of visitors. as, for example, dur
ing fall festival week. the cash fares
were greatly in excess of the tickets
Thus, the immense business done by
the street railroads on such occasions
can hardly be computed by the issue
and receipt of tickets. while. as only
the initiated are acquainted with the
ramifications of the transfer systems
| these elusive strips of paper also fail
to afford record of the extent OF
/ travel.
No More Glass Boxes.
1 ue HdJoiils VI niCnIHOHu residents
will doubtless recall the period of his
tory when fares were deposited in a
glass-fronted box at the upper end oil
the car. a warning note upon the bell
serving to remind the dilatory that the
watchful eyes of the company's en-
ployes were upon him. This was, how
ever, abandoned after being in use for
some wears and the nrincipla IF the
conductors hustling among the pas
lsengers for the required dole was sub.