“It means stealing.”
“Precisely so. It is said that conductors and omnibus drivers at home ‘knock down’ a good deal, which is the technical name for taking a portion of the fares. They use ‘spotters’ in our country to keep the conductors and drivers honest.”
“Spotters?”
“Yes, that’s the name of them. They are men and women, whom the conductors cannot distinguish from other passengers, employed by the railway companies to ride in the cars, and report the number of passengers on certain trips, so that the agents can tell whether the fares are all paid over. These tickets are used for the same purpose.”
“I don’t see what good they do. They certainly can’t keep the men honest, for almost everybody throws away his ticket.”
“They are called control-marks,” said a gentleman next to the captain, who had been listening with interest to the conversation, and who spoke good English. “The man has to tear one of them off every time a passenger pays him.”
“They are all numbered, I see; mine is nine hundred and four,” added Lincoln.
“When the man gives up this roll at night, the next number will show how many he has torn off. If he began at No. 200 this morning, he has taken seven hundred and four fares.”
“But he might neglect to tear off fifty or a hundred in the course of a day,” suggested Lincoln, “and put the money for them in his pocket.”
“If he does so, everybody is watching him, and anybody may report him to the agent. I am a share-owner of the company, and for aught the conductor knows, there may be one in every car. If the man neglects his duty, my interest would prompt me to look after him.”