Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-20
Men Kept Under Surveillance.

Car men on the various lines of the
two street railway companies are to
be kept under surveillance of observ-
ers for the Public Utilities Commits
sion for a long period. The effort to
break up the alleged practice of
knocking down" fares on local street
car lines. according to Commissioner
Gardiner, is to be continued until dis
honest conductors are driven Off the
cars.
ters, Commissioner Gardiner said
today, "is not to be considered a spas
modic matter. It is to be continued
for an indefinite period. Conductors
on every line in the city are to be
kept under observation, and reports
of the commissions special observers
will be made for a long while yet"
Changes in Squad Planned.
in the observers squad" said Com
missioner Gardiner. 1.-THE same men
and women will not be assigned to
this work for any long periods. The
men and women are to Re changed as
often as it develops that some Of
they may possibly have become
known to the carmen, or even if it
seems possible that some of them
might have become objects of the
vaguest suspicion. In this manner
able to unearth in the briefest pos
sible time evidence against every dis
honest carman on the lines of the two
companies.
Cooperation of street car patrons.
both men and women. on the various
lines in the city has been pledged to
the Public Utilities Commission in its
effort to put an end to what Commits
sioner Gardiner characterizes as a
most amazing and deplorable condi-
ton. The Commissioner said today
that scores of persons, regular as well
as transient passengers on the cars of
the two companies, have volunteered
to act as unpaid observers. These
volunteers include women as well as
men. the Commissioner said.
Much valuable and interesting in
formation has been turned over to
the commission by these persons"
the Commissioner said today. LAS a
result of their work, done conscien-
tiously and solely for the public good,
practically every car on every line
in the city is now the subject of pos
sibIe reports, and every carman in
the service of the two companies is
under observation.
Keep Count Of Passengers.
-sThe volunteer observers keep
count Of the number OF passengers on
the cars, the number boarding the
cars along the une, the mum Der get
ting on at transfer points, the num-
Der of fares rung up on the registers,
etc, and it is a very shrewd conduc-
tor who is able to get away with
even one or two fares on any trip,
under this condition of public obser-
walton.
Il firmly believe that improvement
can be noted already. j am of the
opinion that the aggregate of fares
turned over by conductors Will be
greater today, tomorrow and every
day henceforth, and / believe the rec
ords of the two companies will show
this Improvement in unmistakable
fashion, when the monthly reports or
income. expense. etc. are fled with
the commission.
Estimate of Losses.
District officials today stated that
| reports of detectives assigned to the
work of sporting" conductors, indi-
Gated that the alleged dishonest con-
ductors We're falling to turn in about
| 20 per cent of the total fares they col
| Iected Based on the reports OF de-
| tectiyes, it also was estimated that
only about 10 per cent of all the con-
ductors employed by the companies
i