St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-30
Pleasures Of Country Life In
terfered With in Catching
Railroad Trains.
Regular Passengers Who Are
Familiar to OId-Time
Conductors.
Gov. McGill PunetuaI in Max
ing Connections With
the Capitol.
Business Men and Theater-
Goeps Who Consult Time
Tables Carefully.

Suburban residents who do business
In st. Paul and endeavOr to maintain
certain Office hours with a reasonable
degree of punctuality are of necessity
slaves to the almost unerring regularity
of the railway trains plying between
the city and suburbs day in and day out
on schedule time. Some of these, who
are unable to accuStOm themselves to
the necessary punctuality that is re-
CURED of a suburban resident, eXpe-
rience much difficulty in catching the
early morning train to the city, and find
it most serious objection to living out
of town.
They enjoy the advantages of fine
building sites, perhaps; have larger
lawns and prettier gardens than they
would be able to maintain in the city.
Their children may rOmp and play at
will, and are healthier and happier. The
air they breathe is pure and indebted
by filth and smoke, and there NAV be
many other ways in which life in the
country is preferable to living in a
crowded city. But still they are slaves
to the railway me-table, and no matter
how strong the desire to delay may be,
II they are four or five minutes too long
over the bath, spend little too much
time
WITH THE MORNING PAPER
or at the breakfast table, they are hope
less victims to the dreadful punctuality
Of the railway train, and must wait
probably an hour for the next one. To
the business man down town at s
O'Clock means about that hour. He uses
the expression in a general way, and to
him 1t conveys meaning of cOnSidera-
bic elaSticity-fifteen or twenty minutes
One way or the other being a matter of
little or no consequence. Not so with
the suburban resident, for he remem-
berS the old saw that "Time, tide and
the railway train wait for no man."
Aud then again, If he takes night
Off and remains down town d" TO attend a
meeting of the lodge" he is in a per-
petual state of uneasineSS from fear
that he may miss the last train home,
and he knows the suspicion with which
his wife would receive telephone mes
sage conveying the excuse for his alb
Sence.
Then there is the protracUed theatrical
performance. During the middle of
The last act certain of the audience rise
from their seats, hastily don OvercoatS,
clOaks and wraps, and make for the exit
post haste. Those who are disturbed
at the most critical moment of the play,
whose feet are trampled on, and who
conSiuer themselves victims of the i'll
breeding of these "crankS," scOwl with
all the indignation they are able to as
sumo. But this is not all; the country
resident goes out INTO the darkness in
utter ignorance of the outcome of the
play, when five or ten minutes more
would have enabled him to have seen
the villain successfully hanged and the
hero and heroine enjoying the happi-
ness that is only witnessed in the last
act of play.
Conductors on these suburban trains
naturally note many of the peculiaritieS
of the regular patrons of their road, and
become accustomed to seeing each
familiar face at a certain time of day,
both going and coming. The world does
not seem to them to be wagging with its
accustomed regularity when one of
these regulars" as they call them,
misses his train, and speculation arises
as to the cause of absence. Many
ludicrOuS situations arise daily to excite
the disabilities of the train men, which
may account for the jOvial, hearty good
nature which seem to prevail among
''ShOrt Line" conductors, prominent
among them being the old stand-byS,
Conductors George Parkhurst. of the
Milwaukee, and Frank WOolnOw, of the
trains before many of the railway sta
tons now located between the Twin
Cities were in existence.
Imagine the comical and undignified
aspect of the sober, grave business man
or the pompuS state official running to
catch a train, and the results which
almost invariably follow the effort. An
imperative engagement has been made
in the city at certain hour. and when
the morning meal is yet to be finished
the whistle is heard
OF THE COMING TRAIN.
Breakfast is sacrificed, several chairs
and other articles of portable furniture
are upset, and when the suburban resi-
dent reaches the street with his over
coat, umbrella and the bundle that
must be taken to town in his arms. he
has left all the doors of the house and
the front gate wide open. The train is
rapidly approaching and he starts to
run, the coat streaming out behind, and
attracting the attention of his neigh
boris small dog, which Immediately
gives chase and calls out sundry other
larger dogs. But a block or two is
covered before a number of small boys
join the chase. adding to his discOm-
future by their yells of derisiOn,
and before the distance to >the
depot is half covered he and his unin-
vited escorts are nothing less than
circus. fully appreciated by all Observ-
ers. Reaching the train just as the
last car is going by, he SeiZeS the hand
rail and IS jerked violently from the
ground with much less neatness than
dispatch. He is finally landed upon the
platform with bang like the He'll Gate
explosion, while the brakeman proceeds
to gather up the bundle. coat and UNI
brella that came on board just tritle
ahead of their owner.
But country residents who do bust
ness in st. Paul seem to bear the bur-
denS of suburban residence with great
fortitude, and are generally a healthy,
hearty class of people, with pleasant
word for the conductors and all with
whom they come in contact Oh their
daily Journeys.
Judge Baker. of Merriam Park, al
ways travels On round trip, and never
fails to appear at the depot in the morn
ing wearing a bright boutOnniere and
carrying an umbrella, handbaSket and
palm leaf fan in warm weather. He
always returns in time for the evening
meal.
The inseperable Bell brothers, who
look alike and dress alike, always leave
Merriam Park on the o'clock morning
train and teturn for dinner and supper.
Frank Sterrett, of Merriam Park, goes
and comes early and late, and is always
ready TO talk wheat or politics.
Mrs. Farr of Minneapolis, the news
boys friend, who has business interests
IN both cities comes down regularly