The City in previous years had issued a ticket at $10 to members of one family for ten round trips on any afternoon. We put a general rate on of $1.00 without any restrictions, and by gradual reductions it reached 50 cents on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. This was a round trip rate which had been introduced by the Southern Belle in 1877 for the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on her route from York Street (Tinning's Wharf) to Niagara and return. We now extended it to Lewiston and return, giving a view of the really splendid scenery of the river which had never previously been opened at reduced rates. The public quickly took in the idea and gave us business. In addition to general business, we energetically worked up the Society and Church excursions, becoming an unpleasant thorn in the sides of those who had so summarily thrown us over and whom we were now obliged to attack. It was in this season that the Caledonian Society made their first excursion with us, a connection and comradeship which in all the thirty-four years has never once been interrupted.
Matters on the other side of the lake were somewhat different. We had no railway connections to issue tickets over us or direct passengers to our boat. We had to provide for this entirely of ourselves, having thus to promote business on both sides of the route. Printer's ink was extensively used by newspaper advertisements, descriptive folders, dodgers and timetables. A large and excellent framed colored lithograph of the Steamer was issued with the lettering:
THE NIAGARA NAVIGATION COMPANY'S
STEAMER
CHICORA
PLYING BETWEEN
TORONTO—NIAGARA—LEWISTON.
HON. FRANK SMITH, BARLOW CUMBERLAND,
President. Manager.
These being largely distributed to the hotels and ticket offices introduced the steamer in her new conditions. There was no use running the boat unless we fully advised the public of herself and movements, but all this advertising, and introduction, cost much expense in money and energy.
The ticketing arrangements on the south shore were somewhat difficult. Passenger business thirty years ago was conducted under very different conditions from such as exist at present. There were no official regulations, no State or Inter-State, Authorized Tariffs, no Railway Commissioners. Each railway and each passenger department was a law unto itself to be guided and regulated by whatever conditions or rates might at the time be considered most desirable for the promotion of its own business by the officers in charge.
Ticket "scalping" abounded, being looked upon by the public as a protection against the uncontrolled ratings by the railways, and a promoter of competition where combination might otherwise be effectual. There were several Associations of "Ticket Scalpers," some of much power and reliability, but all were equally denounced by the railways. Yet there were in fact not a few instances where the regular issues of some of the (for the time-favoured) railway companies might be found in an under drawer of some of these unauthorized servants of the public. These energetic workers were our opportunity. All the principal Scalping Offices between Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York, Albany, Rochester, and Lewiston, were stocked with books of tickets reading over our steamer, or to Toronto and return. The rates were, of course, such that they could obtain both profit and business. There was no use mincing matters, we were in the fight to win out. Through these sources we managed to get quite a business, being represented in each town by from two to four scalp offices, in large cities even more, and, tell it not in Gath, with very friendly arrangements in some of the regular offices as well.