Huntsville gazette., 1881-10-08
American /" PUSH"

The gates had just been thrown open
at the railroad station on Manhattan
Beach, and a large crowd was struggling
to make its way past the gatekeepers,
who refused to let a single ticket 60 by
unpunched. A dozen men and women
had already squeezed through the gates
and were bustling rapidly toward the
cars, though there was no apparent OBJ
ject to be gained by haste, when fat
little man with yellow valise shuff1ed
through the gateway, and, seeing a few
passengers in front or him, bOlted at
full speed toward the cars, not even
pausing when he had put everyone else
behind him. He hurried along with an
anxious expression of countenance, his
portlhanteau humping against his legs,
and at last dropped breathlessly into a
A reporter was standing by, and he
thought: "This man must surely have
known that there were at least ten cars
standing upon the track, every one OF
them vacant. What can have been the
object of his haste?" The mystery was
not elucidated by the almost equal pre-
cipitation of half dozen others, both
men and women, who followed hard
upon the heels of the winner of the race.
Anxious to know the cause of these peo-
ple's agitation, the reporter seated him.
self beside the little man who had first
attracted his attention, and inquired:
"Why, may I ask, were you and
those other people running?'
The man thrust his chin forward, and
rubbed his temples with knuckles,
wrinkling his brow at same time with a
puzzled expression.
because" the reporter continued,
"you know there was long train with
out soul in it, and you could not have
anticipated lack of room"
"Why,' said the man, Frightening
up, ssit wasn't for the room, but /
always make it a point to get at the
head of crowd. Most people in the
city do, you know, but it isn't often |
get left. Some of the people at the
gate here kept me back, or l should
have been out sooner, but 1 managed to
get ahead of them after all. No, sir, it
takes good pressing man to beat yours
truly
You gain great deal of satisfaction
from being at the front, 1 supposeP"
'Of course. Everybody does. If you
have to do a thing, do it up brown;
that's my principle. I have a boy at
home, and tell him almost every night,
Johnny, say, mind you don't let the
people get ahead of you.' And that boy
hasn't missed being off the ferry-boat
first but once in three months, and that
was because he fell down. He's chip
of the old block, that boy, and. I'm
proud of him.
"What if everybody tried to be first?"
Why, then, we'd give them a sharp
tussel, l tell you. 1t isn't everybody
that can succeed in this world, but those
of us that are fortunate have some
reason to be proud, think"
+" Do you get rich faster for your
push?"
"Well," said the man, ruefully, 4" if /
don't my boy will"
At this point the engine whistled and
the little man snatched up his portman
teau and gathered himself together for
the rush. No sooner did the speed of
the train slacken than he dived from his
seat and leaped upon the platform. In
a moment he had disappeared through
the gate, struggling manfully to distance
a gaunt competitor, who was no doubt
compelled ultimately to yield to the
superior enterprise of the energetic little
man.-NeW York Tribune.