New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-12
TIE TJME-SAVING SUBURBANITE.

IT, is surprising that so little has been said about
one phase Of elevated railroad travel. We refer
70 the way in which suburbanites-if we may be
permitted to coin such n substantive-on the up
town afternoon trains run amuck as the trains
approach FortySecond-st. 1t is, Of course a
we'll known fact that no suburbanite ever allows
himself the full schedule time to reach his train
or ferryboat He invariably pares of at least
half "A minute, and on days when he is unusually
idle he boldly tries to make the connection in
full minute less than the schedule time But, as
will he surmised, this cannot be done without an
effort, which in the West would be called
hustlng. We refrain here from following the
course Of the suburbanite who runs hurdle race
over slIids TO catch his ferryboat and confine our
attention to the suburbante who is going to catch
a train at the Grand Central Station.
All day in his office he has been taking things
very lesurely. lie spends two hours at lunch
time cracking bottle with friend, after which
he goes to his office only to find that there is
really nothing to do Finally he thinks of start
ing for home. but looks at his watch and finds
that he has good fifty minutes to get to the
station, when it can easily be made in forty
minutes. AS it would never do for busy man
TO waste time in that way, he puts his feet up on
his DESK and spends eleven minutes in trying to
decipher an article in The Evening Ghost
Then he suddenly jumps up gets into his overcoat
somehow, puts on his hat hind side before, and
forgetting TO lock his desk. rushes out on the
street like maniac, knocking down everybody
he meets in his mad c.'eer. In any other city he
would be arrested as an escaped lunatic, but in
New-Yorlz he is safe. Everybody understands
that he is simply trying 10 save minute On
the elevated train Of course, he can do nothing
very startling, except that h takes care to get
in the middle of the most crowded car, so as to
make his exit at Forty-sccondst. as picturesque
as possible. And what exit that is! May be
lie has bag and bundles in his hand. So much
the better. He waits until the train has actually
stopped, and then, without word Of warning,
he makes wild squirt for the door, ruthessly
moving down everybody in his path. Strong
men. HELPLESS women, and innocent children in the
aisle fall before him, while he does not forget
70 tread on the corns of all the pas>engers who
are sitting At last he is on the rs'tform and
pursues the rest of his journey to the station
with the same fiery ardor, humping into Indies
with his bundles, and showing old men into the
outtor H. is indeed terrible race, but at lasthe
catches his train, with the proud consciousness
of having saved minute of his valuable time
To make our narrative more lively, we have
spoken Of only one suburbanite on tram. but
nc q matter of fact there are often dozens of them
on a single train, all acting in the way we have
described Those who find it difficult to imaNne
what an uprising of Central African savages Is
like needn't spend their money in an expedition
N Central Africa to see for themselves. They
can see almost its exact duplicate by going up
town on an elevated train in the afternoon In
running amucl the New-Yorb business man can
beat even the Malay.