The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-08-27
A TRAVELLERS TRIALS.
VERY TROUBLESOME IMpEcuNloslrx
A Considerate Railway Onicial Gives a
word of Comfort to Honest Peoplein N
DIstress-1ravellng Nuisances
Properly characterized.

GUS, brazen-faced set of travellers who go
from place to place, depending solely upon
their wits to pass them along. They are O
nuisance"
"0f course they come from other cities,
and when they get here they tell very
plausible stories about having lost all
their money, or their pockets being picked
or some other such yarn that they think
will melt our hearts with sympathy, and
get them sent on to where they want to go.
But we can tell fraud just as soon as we
ask him two or three questions, and you
may be right sure our hearts don't melt u
cents worth. We just do the other thing,
and the moment we find that they are
beats and haven't any money and want to
cheat the company, we kindly give them
lodgings in the police station-house. May
be they don't get mad, though. Why, it
was only the other day that we sent rum
my-looking impostor over TO the police at
Fifteenth and Filbert, and as he was drag,
ged out of the door he shook his fist at us
and swore he would sue the COM
pany for $4,000 damages. But he is up in
The Correction now, and l haven't heard OF
he suit yet We see more dead.bcats here
these rooms than you could find along
my street in town, or in any other place
business, unless, Of course, it's a rail-
oad or foreign steamship depot"
'But don't you ever meet with honest
people in distressp
"Eyery day. Plenty Of cases. Do you
see that woman over there, with a young
child on each side of her aud a fourteen
year old boy standing up in frontY That
woman is blind; neither she nor her
children can talk English. They have just
come over from Russia. / don't know
whether they are Poles or not. Some one
came here about an hour ago and talked in
some kind OF gibberish to them, and found
out that the husband had been in America
for several years, and recently sent them
money to come over. They got in Castle
Garden few days ago, with plenty of
baggage and tickets all fixed for their des.
tination somewhere in this State. A
sharper got hold Of the checks for the bag
gage in some way, and that's gone. Some.
where between here and New York they
either lost or had their tickets stolen.
They weren't travelling in common emf.
grant cars Ur they wouldn't be here, but
out in West Philadelphia. Their baggage
can't be recovered, perhaps, but we have
telegraphed TO New York to find ou, about
the tickets and where they were for When
an answer comes we will pass them n, ,in.
less in the meantime. we & word (, 0 u tho
father, who has be n telesraphed 10 also.
fg
cation 10 do this, but still II often does
help in needy cases. About two weeks
ago we had a woman here from Tex.
as. All her money was gona, her
husband was dead and size had seven
children. She wanted tn 60 up in the
Nortswes ern part OF the Stae. We gu $.
toned her closely aud a last believed her
fully. She sat DOWNSTAIRS, but every one up
here falud Gu about her story and took
great deal OF interest in her. guess all
of the passengers waiting in these rooms
who could afford it gave her some cash,
and / know for fact that there wasn't a
man, woman or child employed on this
or the floor below that didn't chip In and
help swell the purse. Even the newsboys
gave their nickels. The company gave
passes, Notwithstanding each one rep
resented fare Of over s."
Sometimes we meet with real gentle
men who have lost their pocket.books,
tickets and all, either through carelessness
or because they have had their pockets
picked. Sometimes they feel awfully EN-.
barrassed. They don't like TO ask for a
pass, and they don't know where TO Dor.
row. Still they make their complaint here
Of the loss of their tickets and money, and
then, after fuming and fretting, go back
into town and telegraph TO where they be-
long for more funds, or get a loan IL they
can. Sometimes some very rash young
men try to borrow from the station people,
II don't often succeed Among the poor
strangers who drop by the way here, with
out money, the women will ask for assist.
ance quicker than the men. Among the
more well-to-do folks who have no friends
in town, and in passing through lose their
money and tickets, the men will ask for
tickets reader than the women. So you
see, that in the one class the man seems too
proud and reluctant 10 appeal for aid, and
in the other the woman seems the same
way"
"What do you do with people who come
in late at night and have no place to got"
"Just let them lie around. The station
looks queer sometimes with people watt
fng. There's always some one here at
night that has missed the right train or
has no home or hotel 10 go TO- Very often,
too, we will have lost children, or young.
sters that have become separated from
those they are travelling with. Then ev.
cry once. in while there will be a little
chap that's under the care OF the con,
ductor along his route, who has a card oI
directions pinned upon his breast. We
have TO look after all these when they
come here. Last month we had a bu ncb
OF fine boys that we stopped when they
got OF the train. They were runaway.
from home, and were actually going out
on the plains TO fight the Indians. But
they got no farther West than this.
at may not seem so TO the general pub.
lie, ,butth really is some system here that
we carefully follow in the cases OF people
who are really deserving, and who are
compelled TO ask assista nee. There are
the special officers In the mems rooms aud
the maids In the ladies' rooms. They
question every applicant closely, and
then, IL the case Is q worthy one, the com.
pany freely gives assistance. The much.
abused railroad concerns dispense more
of charity i'm thia UNIV than n,ost