# What Was The "White Star Lines" Ticketing Policy in 1912? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297 "2012-06-15T23:37:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/1 "2012-06-15T23:37:16Z")
OK, we had no terrorists in 1912, no TSA, etc. So what was the policy on tickets? Were these tickets typically “bearer instruments”-meaning-could you transfer them easily (as Jack Dawson did, when he won a swede’s ticket in a poker game? How about cancellations-if you showed up at a ticket office (a few days before your ship sails), and said "gee, I have a bad feeling about this-can I take a ship next week?-would yo be able to reschedule? Obviously, it would depend upon what class you were booked in-were steerage tickets transferable? Or did yo have to pay a penalty to do so? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/2 "2012-06-16T02:07:13Z")
I have forwarded your question to a retired travel agent who is also a Titanic fanatic. Will check back Saturday night. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/3 "2012-06-16T03:33:10Z")
There’s a pic of a [**third-class**](http://www.cinemacenters.com/titanic2012/titanic_ticket.JPG) ticket with “NON TRANSFERABLE” on it. The smaller type pixelates when I zoom in. I found it (and pix of other documents, if interested) by running the ixquick search “titanic ticket” “white star” ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/4 "2012-06-16T04:16:33Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > OK, we had no terrorists in 1912, Yes absolutely they did. 1910 labour activist bombing of LA Times: > **[Los Angeles Times bombing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times_bombing)** > > The Los Angeles Times bombing was the purposeful dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times Building in Los Angeles, California, United States, on October 1, 1910, by a union member belonging to the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers (IW). The explosion started a fire which killed 21 occupants and injured 100 more. It was termed the "crime of the century" by the Los Angeles Times newspaper, which occupied the building. > Brothers John J. ("J.J.") and James Barnabas ("J.B."... 1919 anarchist bombings in the US: > **[1919 United States anarchist bombings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_United_States_anarchist_bombings)** > > From April through June 1919, a series of bombings were carried out or attempted across the United States by Galleanists (followers of Italian insurrectionary anarchist Luigi Galleani). The targets included anti-immigration politicians, anti-anarchist officials, and prominent businessmen, as well as a journalist and a church. Almost all of the bombs were sent by mail. The bombings were one of the major factors contributing to the First Red Scare. Two people were killed, including one of the b... 1920 wall st bombing: > **[Wall Street bombing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_bombing)** > > The Wall Street bombing was an act of terrorism on Wall Street at 12:01 pm on Thursday, September 16, 1920. The blast killed 30 people immediately, and another 10 later died of wounds that they sustained in the blast. There were 143 seriously injured, and the total number of injured was in the hundreds.: 160–61  > The bombing was never solved, although investigators and historians believe it was carried out by Galleanists, a group responsible for a series of bombings the previous year. > At noon... “Terrorism” goes way back to the 16th century or before. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/5 "2012-06-16T19:13:19Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Yes absolutely they did. 1910 labour activist bombing of LA Times: > [Los Angeles Times bombing - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times_bombing) > > 1919 anarchist bombings in the US: > [1919 United States anarchist bombings - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_United_States_anarchist_bombings) > > 1920 wall st bombing: > [Wall Street bombing - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_bombing) > > “Terrorism” goes way back to the 16th century or before. It was often known as “anarchism” back then and in 1900 both President McKinley and King Umberto I of Italy were murdered by anarchists. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/6 "2012-06-16T19:22:07Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > It was often known as “anarchism” back then and in 1900 both President McKinley and > King Umberto I of Italy were murdered by anarchists. Although equating anarchism with terrorism is problematic for two reasons. First, many anarchists were explicitly opposed to violence. Second, and more important for this discussion, is that there was also quite a bit of terroristic violence carried out in the service of power and capital. The Ludlow incident is one example, but there are literally dozens of others throughout history. Of course, if your definition of terrorism explicitly excludes actions carried out by the state or its proxies, then such acts are not, by definition terrorism. But that seems rather too much like a “no true Scotsman” argument to me. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/7 "2012-06-16T23:38:26Z")
From the retired travel agent Hi Doug, Even in 1912 a person travelling internationally would have had to carry some proof of identity and citizenship to show to the Immigration Service before being allowed to enter this country. Further, he would be obligated to show that proof when purchasing his ticket, and would have had to show both the ticket and proof of citizenship to port authorities at the pier prior to boarding his ship. Remember also that most people traveling transoceanic from east to west were emigrating to the USA or Canada and both countries in the early 20th century had strict requirements about who may or may not enter the country. So Jack Dawson, had his story been a true one, would not have been allowed to board Titanic the way he did in the movie. For a typical transatlantic steamship ticket from 1924 go to this website: [http://theunguardedasylum.com/Family%20History%20Page%2010.html](http://theunguardedasylum.com/Family%20History%20Page%2010.html) And it seems as early as 1873 that tickets were refundable (at a 10% penalty) for up to one year after purchase. Warm regards, ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/8 "2012-06-17T07:46:38Z")
> [@Doug\_Bowe](#): > > Even in 1912 a person travelling internationally would have had to carry some proof of identity and citizenship to show to the Immigration Service before being allowed to enter this country. Further, he would be obligated to show that proof when purchasing his ticket, and would have had to show both the ticket and proof of citizenship to port authorities at the pier prior to boarding his ship. Remember also that most people traveling transoceanic from east to west were emigrating to the USA or Canada and both countries in the early 20th century had strict requirements about who may or may not enter the country. So Jack Dawson, had his story been a true one, would not have been allowed to board Titanic the way he did in the movie. It’s certainly true that people were supposed to have papers, and that there was a process for checking this sort of thing, but i think it’s something of a stretch to describe America’s immigration requirements in 1912 as “strict,” especially when it comes to the issue of tickets and passports and the sort of stuff we take for granted now. America, in the first decade or so of the 20th century, experienced one of the largest immigration flows in its history. About 8.8 million immigrants arrived from 1901-1910 (the most ever in a decade, up to that point), and 5.7 million came between 1911 and 1920. The main reason for the lower number in the second decade was the outbreak of World War I. While the United States had started to restrict immigration from Asia (Chinese Exclusion Act, Geary Act, “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Japan, etc.) in the late 19th and early 20th century, immigration from Europe boomed. By the early 20th century, some American commentators were becoming increasingly concerned that too many immigrants were coming from “undesirable” cultures in southern and eastern Europe, but it wasn’t until the 1917 literacy test and (much more importantly) the immigration restriction laws of 1921 and 1924 that America really got strict about who it let in. Before this period, the most likely reason for a European, and especially a northern European with white skin, to be denied admission was for health reasons, or if the person was felt to be a security risk (concerns about anarchism, etc.) or unable to work (and thus might become a burden to the nation). Most people satisfied the requirements and were allowed in. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/9 "2012-06-18T12:49:53Z")
IIRC “Jack” was an American returning home. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/10 "2012-06-18T13:50:34Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > IIRC “Jack” was an American returning home. Yeah, but could he prove it? And the ticket would’ve had a different name on it. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-white-star-lines-ticketing-policy-in-1912/625297/11 "2012-06-18T14:12:04Z")
The OP question is basically, did they check documents on boarding, or on sale of ticket only? I guess in the “good old days”, what did you do if you lost your documentation? Also, in 1910, anyone who could successfully pass as an American not european probably might as well be American. It’s not like they had AMerican movies and TV to practice accents from, or the internet to research their fake home town. If almost anyone was let in, who cares? Presumably Jack had a passport if he got to Europe in the first place. How many Italian emigrants had even a baptismal certificate? What kind of documentation did new American immigrants of that era carry?