Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-08-08
TRAVEL IN THE WEST.
coNvENlENcES WHICH EASTERN
e PASSENGERS DO NOT KNOW.


In one respect the western railroads 90
ahead of the eastern railroads, and that
is in feeding their passengers. Hardly
road in the east has dining car on its
local trains. The limited and through
express trains have dining cars, but they
are generally for the parlor and sleeping
car passengers only. A man who is going
from New York to Philadelphia, or New
Haven, or Albany in an ordinary car must
get off at some station to eat or go with
out, unless he can make meal from the
cigars, fruit, candy and novels of the
train boy.
Out west they do this better. Almost
all the main lines make provision for feed
ing the passengers on the trains. More
dining cars are run than on the eastern
roads, and, though the meals are not so
elaborate as on the New York Central and
Pennsylvania limited trains, the price is
seventy-fve cents instead of 81. The
door of the dining cars that the passengers
who are not in parlor cars would enter is
not locked, and anybody in the train may
go in and eat. This is not so pleasant for
the parlor car passengers, but it is better
for the general travel of the road.
In many trains where there is no dining
car there is a sort of lunch counterrigged
up in the smoking car. There is an attend
ant who will serve a luncheon in any part
of the train. He brings the things on
tray, and they can be eaten with much
more comfort and leisure on the train
than in the hurry of a short stop and the
crowd and confusion of railroad lunch
room. The apparatus is kept in the
smoking car during the trip, and at the
end the things are packed up in n big
chest, the way a newsboy packs up his
outfit, and the chest is taken away TO be
restocked and put on another train. This
is a convenience that the eastern roads do
not seem to believe in. The prices are
moderate, a little lower than those charged
at the average eastern railroad lunch
counter; the dishes are clean, and a nap
kin goes with them.
In one way those travelling lunch chests
must be educators of the people. No
knives arc served with pie. An order for
pie, coffee and sandwich brought fresh
sandwich wrapped up in transparent paper
and covered with tin foil like prize pack
age, thick. white china cup of coiTee
with little jug of cream and some sugar,
o piece Of pie on plate, spoon and a
fork. There was no knife. The western
inhahitant who undertook to eat pie with
a knife would have 80 furnish it himself,
for the attendant brought none. The
only ways OF eating the pie were with
fork or with the fingers. This is better
than in the east, where at four railroad
lunch counters out of FIVE knife goes
with pie, and usually it is vigorously
used.
Don't you give knife with pie?" the
attendant was asked.
"Oh, no, he replied. s'You don't need
knife to eat pie.
''Is this a scheme of the railroad to edu-
cate the travelers!
Il don't know about any scheme. All
know is that pie don't need any knife.
"Have you ever reflected on the results
of this denial of knives to the pie eating
public?''
Look here, young man, what're you
asking that forY Do you take me for
kid? Knives don't go with pie, and that's
all there is to it.
There is less expectation of fees among
the walters in western dining cars. They
sell ten cent cigars, too, and cheap beer.
Altogether, the railroads seem to be run
more for the accommodation of the aver
age passenger and less for the people who
pay extra. That may be because there is
more competition.
One good result of these low rates is
men travel many times as much as east
ern men. More western men come east
than eastern men go west. A Brooklyn
man would think trip to Chicago some
thing to be thought over, and he would
not go to Boston without making some
preparation A Chicago business man
thinks nothing of going to st. Louis, st.
Paul, Kansas City or Omaha, and a trip
to New York simply means the expense
and day lost. They do not think any
more of trip to St. Paul than an old
Brooklyn citizen would think of trip to
Westchester county on the elevated road.
One result of the universal western
habit of travelling is that the bulk of the
passenger traffic is done at night Every
road from Omaha runs a night express,
arriving at Chicago in the morning, while
the day trains are generally slower and
more for local traffic A western man is
accustomed to do his days business and
then start off, while an eastern man looks
on the act of travelling as a serious under
taking and starts off in the morning with
feeling that he will be more tired by
evening than if lie had worked in his
Office. A western man, ON the other
hand. finishes his business, goes to the
station in time for supper on the train,
smokes his cigar in the smoking compart-
ment Of the sleeper, chats with his fellow
travellers, goes TO bed and wakes up in
the morning in time for breakfast at his
destination, aEd goes at once to attend to
his business there as if he did that sort Of
thing every day-indeed, some Of them
do.
The relations between the trainmen
and the passengers are moro pleasant in
the west The trainmen are not SER
wants. but worknsen and business men.
They look forward ID promotion on tho
road or TO sfrii5ing wealth in speculation.
Among their passengers every day they
see men. who a few years ag0 were worse
of than they are; and whom they know
on equal terms. In the east big men In
the parlor cars arc bowed down to BY tho
trainmen, who mako things even with
themselves ~ orderiaz eronnd tha EAnnnd