The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1883-07-19

The Station Agent.

The Station Agent.
Peck's sun.
Men who travel good deal never
cease to wonder how it is that the
crossest depot agents that can be
found are always located at functions,
where there is nothing hut depot
and store, and saloon, but such
lis the case. A traveller gets to q
jonc,ion and goes into the depot to
find when the train goes, and the
ticket window 10 closed. He looks
around and finds that the agent is
helping unload freight, or is upon a
slde-track coupling cars, or is over
across the track helping farmer
kill hogs, or has gone to the adjoin-
ing town with team to carry some
passengers. Or, If the agent is in
the Office, he has got more business
than the general manager Of the road.
You speak to him and his brow cor
rugates, and he goes on counting a
pie OF one dollar bills, and acts as
though he thought he had dim idea
that he had been spoken to, but he
waits until he gets the money in the
safe, and turns the knob, and then
be answers you go short that you al
most conclude to walk to the next
station, and then be bustles out Of
the Office and locks the door, and you
think he has gone to attend some i'm
portant business upon which de-
pends the Fate Of the road, and you
go out on the platform, and pretty
soon you see him helping his wife to
wiring out clothes, or you see him out
in the back yard hanging clothes on
the line, or splitting old railroad ties
for wood. You may be millionaire,
and you may pay your hostler more
than the junction agent as salary,
but he looks upon you as three
card monte man, and locks the stove
door for fear you will put in stick
OF wood. or steal the lining out OF the
stove.
The agent is in his element when the
train is few hours behind, and be
sits at the telegraph intrument work
ing as if the world rested on his
shoulders. You listen to the con
slant click OF the instrument, and
would give ten dollar note to know
what is going over the wires. DC
casionally he will laugh at something
the instrument says, and when you
begin to think the news of the world
Is coming over the wires and is
stored in that massive brain, the
agent turns to a country galoot who
has on blue drilling roundabout,
and his pants in his boots, and who
wipes his nose on his mitten, and
says: There is going to be dance
at the hop yard at Johnston siding
tonight, and they want us to come
up on No. A." Then you realize
what the agent, all these long hours
that you have been watching the
varied expressions of his calm, mys-
terious face, has been chatting with
the female operator at the next sta
tion, and as the country galoot
takes a chew of Tobacco and says he
will 60 and brush up little and put
on clean shirt before No. 4 comes,
and the operator says they will have
daisy time at the dance, you go
out on the platform and try to get
acquainted with the fellow who runs
the horse power wood saving ma
chine. There is no man who knows
more than the junction agent, about
everything, if you only draw him
him out. Though only four trains a
day stop at his station, and they only
stop for a minute to let some poor
devil who has got to get off there,
the agent is in his element for a
brief moment. He addresses the
conductor as "Jim," or George" or
"BilIy," and asks with a show of in.
terest as deep as division superin-
tendcnt would have, where he passed
mo. l." and if mo g." is going to
be on time. He may ask something
about railroad stocks, aud you i'm
agine that he is bulling tue market
when the chances are that he hasn't
got eleven dollars left from his last
months salary. II he was polite,
and did not seem to own the road,
you would like him, but when he
snubs you, and treats you as though
informatien was worth more than q
ticket, you hate him, and if you
should hear there was talk of pro-
noting him to station where there
were six houses YOU would want tc
prevent it. There may be some rule
by which the crossest man on line
is given an isolated junction.
The crop statistics from the sever,
al counties have nearly all been re.
ceived at the Office of the secretary
of state. There are twentysix col
unns Of figures TO each sheet, and on
! eh "A,