Page:Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York.djvu/82

68 New York, with the understanding and assurance that they were to be forwarded on to their place of destination with their luggage without further charge; but, when they arrived at Albany, the person to whom they were consigned denied the authority of the persons of whom the tickets were bought. If the tickets were accepted, the emigrants were required to pay exorbitantly for the transportation of their luggage, and were often cheated in its weight. "Among the numerous frauds," says the Committee in their Report to the Assembly, "practised by these runners and forwarding-houses, there is, perhaps, none greater than that which exists in the sale of passage-tickets. The emigrant is shown a neatly printed ticket, with a picture of a steamboat, railroad-cars, and canal-packet, with three horses attached to it, and is given to understand that such a ticket will take him to a given place beyond Albany in a specified manner, and for a price to be agreed upon; and after disposing of the ticket for an exorbitant price, the emigrant is furnished with a steamboat ticket to take him to Albany, where he is to present this passage-ticket to some person or company upon which it is drawn, where it is often either protested, or objections taken to the mode of conveyance; and the passenger, instead of going upon the railroad or packet-boat as agreed upon, is thrust into the steerage or hold of a line boat, where he is often known to complain when the only evidence he can furnish of the fraud committed upon him is to exhibit his ticket with a picture of three horses, while the line boats are only drawn by two.

"A pretence is also often set up for not honoring these tickets, that the freight is not paid, or, at least, that enough has not been paid upon the luggage, and the emigrant is either detained at Albany or compelled to pay additional charges.

"It will be seen from the testimony taken that immense sums of money are drawn from these emigrants by overcharging, both for their fare and the freight of their luggage; and, not satisfied with this, some of the persons engaged in this forwarding business are in the habit of defrauding them in the weight of their luggage, by using false scales and giving false statements of the amounts forwarded."