Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-29
"oN THE. ROAD"
Experiences of Men Who Are Forced t.
Travel Every Day.

Experiences of Men Who Are Forced t.
Travel Every Day.
Then there is another large group who are
"on the road" nearly every day. These are
the men whose business, trades or calling are
in town and whose dwelling houses or family
places of abode for the time being are out of
town, at the shore or in the country. On this
class observations may be made. Some Of
them make a dreary and tiresome job Of
their daily journey to and fro, especially If
the ride takes an hour or two They bury
themselves in silence, or they make futile eff
forts to read profitless and trashy eight liter
ature," or they resort to the smoking car,
or they play cards all the way; or they at
once set to work to try to go to sleep, and all
''to kill time" and SO make wearisome labor
or feverish fret of the trip. And, in fact, it
is a monotonous, dull and very tedious bust
ness with them as they work it-a profitless
expenditure Of time, most of them getting
very tired of it before the summer is over.
There is remnant" however, who go
con the road" to better purpose, who don't get
tired and who don't try to "kill time" in any
of the ways already mentioned One of this
group we have IN mind at this moment. Dur
ing several months of the year it happens
that he is obliged to be on the road twice
every day, his workshop and his dwelling
place being in those months two hours travel
apart. He makes the trip to the city early in
the morning and back in the evening, and
while he is by 10 means youth he never suf-
fers ennui on the train, never seems to be
tired and, in fact, never is tired on the road.
When asked how that comes about his an
swer is: "Tired? No. The most absolute rest I
get, except when am IN bed asleep, is during
the two hours of the railroad ride home in the
afternoon and evening When | settle down
in the car chair | throw off everything that
has any strain of thought in it. look at the
fields and trees, the corn and the clover, the
peach orchards and the potato patches, the
berry fields and the vineyards, the gardens,
the barnyards and the cattle pastures, the
snug farm homes and the cozy cottage homes
along the village roads, the wild flowers
and the wild birds, the pretty railway
stations, their parterres, and the varied and
curious groups of people of all descriptions
congregated at the stations. have pass
ing acquaintance with everything on that
road, animate and inanimate, and every day
| see them under some fresh aspect. Some
new interest is always coming to notice The
restfulness of it all is SO perfect and absolute
that you must try it before you can under
stand it."
When asked about the slime" taken up in
the two daily trips he said: eyes, of course,
there's great expense of time. could not
afford to spend four hours out of the working
day that way, SO l divide them, devoting the
two hours to the shore after the days work is
over to perfect rest, and putting the two
hours coming up in the morning to work,
and | can do three hours work easily in those
two when fresh in the morning 1t is won
derful to find how letters and papers and
memoranda about business affairs that were
puzzles and difficulties to know what to do
with during the busy hours of the day before
clear themselves up and almost dispose Of
themselves when the mind is fresh and free
and active in the early morning on the road"
Chicago Times