The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-03-13

The First Pass.
II man never has pass on Q rail-
road he goes through life paying his
fare, and never thinks of its being o
hardship, but when once the free pass
railroad forever after, and he looks
upon the paying OF fare on railroad
as q wicked scheme. an outrage, a. 1t
were. Up to 1860 the writer had al
ways paid fare on railroads, and prob
ably had expended as much rs 81. al
told, in riding from one town to another
on the cars, and he never missed the
money, feeling that il was the duty OF
every citizen to support the great high
WAYS of commerce. In an evil hour the
writer became interested in q newspaper
at Jefferson, and one day there came in
the mail pass for himself and his
partner, on. the Northwestern Rail
road. 1t was great event III the his
tory of that road. After the recipient
of the pass had recovered from his
TINT he was entitled to ride free be-
tween Jefferson and Chicago, and had
shown the pass to nearly all the pop
ulace who were at the Postofiice wait
ing for the mail to be distributed, he be-
gan to inquire Of the depot agent what
time the first train passed the
station, going either way. It did
not make much difference to
the editor which way the train was
going, ~ long rs it went. It was found
that freight train would go along in
about five hours, bound south, and the
holder of the new pass was compelled
to put in those Ave hours waiting for
the train. 1t seemed month, and the
pass seemed to burn hole IN the
pocket, and it was taken out dozen
times to cool OFF, and to show TO differ
ent persons who had heard of its arrival
and had come down town to see it.
Finally, the train pulled up to the de-
pot, and the editor took his seat in the
caboose, and il seemed as though the
people on the depot-steps were talking
over the new era in railroading. 1t
seemed as though the train never would
start, and after it started it seemed ~
though the conductor never would
come through to look ut the pass. A
lady had crying baby, and the editor
in his kind heartedness attempted to
quiet the baby by showing it the pass,
and was nearly paralyzed when the
child put q corner of the pass in its
mouth and began to chew it. BY
prompt measures of checking the in
FAINT tho pass was recovered, and the
conductor came along, and the editor
handed up his pass with on air of one
who always rode on pass. The con-
ductor looked at the date OF the pass.
and it did not take effect till the next
day, and he said tho editor would have
to put up twenty cents. the fare be-
tween Jefferson and Fort Atkinson. Ii
was cruel, but no argument would con-
vince that freight conductor that the
pass ought to be good until the day af-
ter, and it was necessary 10 pay good
money for o ride down and back, forty
cents, ride that was taken for no 9th
er purpose on earth except to
try the pass. That night the
editor took solemn obligation
to make that railroad sorry for
the outrage, and for year afterward it
was cold day when the railroad did
not have to carry the writer or his
partner somewhere. They divided them
selves up into reliefs, and it was the
duty OF one OF them to go somewhere
every day. They were both too lazy
to work, and riding on the cars was
just about exercise enough. They
would go to Milton Junction, or James
vile, and back, and conductors got so
that if one of the Jefferson editors did
not show up at the depot when the
train stopped they would hold the train.
The pass became 80 worn that 1t had
to be renewed the first six months. 1t
was proud day for the writer when
his face became SO well known to the
conductors that it was not necessary
to show the pass. The pleasure of
pulling ont the pass before carload of
passengers gradually wore off, and
there was more pleasure in having the
conductor come along and smile and
pass on, because passengers would
think the man 30 favored by the con-
ductor must be at least one of the own
ers Of the road. Since then the writer
has ridden on passes across the con-
tinent, and up and down it, and hos
been offered O pass to Europe, but m
all the free rides of thousands of miles
he has never felt SO much as though he
owned the earth, and had fence
around it, as he did wlren he got that
first pass on the old Northwestern, and
put in solid year trying to make the
pass pay for its keeping.-PecPs Sat7,