New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1890-08-27
ON EUROPEAN RAILS,
The Dangers of Travelling In the Compart
nlent Cars Used In the Old Country.

y
many, says the N. Y. Eveuiaq Sun,
that organized bands of robbers, who
make railway carriages the field Of
their operations and use chloroform
and other drugs to stupefy their vic
tins, are at work in those countries.
1t is believed that many of these daring
and ingenious scoundrels are Amer
deans. Sometimes they go provided
with opium and chloroform.
This is the ordinary modus operandi:
The robber, who must be well dressed,
enters into conversation in the car
'riage with man whom he knows or
suspects to have money or things Of
value on his person. He offers the in
Etended victim some food or drink heav.
sdly drugged with opium.
The victim, if he partakes of the
kindly offered refreshment soon falls
into deep sleep, and while in that
condition is robbed. If he refuse. as
AN experienced traveller would do, the
robber pretends to fall asleep and
waits until the other man really does
SO. Then he approaches him silently,
holds piece of parchment called
~ststit1er'' before his mouth and the
chloroform bottle under bis nose.
The robber usually leaves some
money and all the jewelry on the vict-r
inns person. Sometimes he admins
tiers an overdose of chloroform and the
traveller never awakes. In such cases,
as the victim is found in possession of
a certain amount of money and his
jewelry, death is usually attributed by
not over intelligent provincial author
Eaties to natural causes. o..
III. Mace the well-known French de.
tective,, says that three such deaths oc.
Cured in one day on the same French
railway. An English lady was recent.
1y chloroformed and outra ged in rail
way carriage in Germany. Hundreds
of outrages in, railway carriages have
been recorded in European papers dur.
ing the last few years. - 3d..
All England was stirred some years
since by the crime of LEROY, who shot
an old merchant in railway carriage
in the heart of London, and whose
guilt 1t was found difficult to establish.
Another sensational case was that in
which Miss Dickson charged Col. Val
.entine Baker of the British army with
attempting to assault her in railway
carriage. Col. Baker was expelled
from the army. There were many
persons who believed him innocent and
wished to have him reinstated in the
army, but the queen was memorable.
Many Americans will not understand
how these outrages are possible. They
would be impossible here, but the car.
riages on European railways are divid.
ed into compartments by partitions
running from one side of the carriage
to the other. In the frst-class carriages
She partition is carried to the roof, so
that the occupants of compartment
are isolated.
In the third and second class car.
riages the partition is not carried to
the roof, and communication is possible
from one end of the carriage to the
other. This, added to the fact that
robbers do not look for victims in
third-class carriages, has caused great
number Of persons to ride third-class
when alone who do not do so from
necessity.
When train is bound on a Journey
of any length the porters distribute the
passengers 80 that there are not more
than two or three in each frst-class
compartment. OF course that insures
quiet and plenty of room. At night,
If you are not in sleeping carriage,
it is not uncommon to find yourself the
sole occupant of compartment, but
more common to have one fellow-pas-
senger. ...
1t is not conducive to sound sleep to
be alone, practically beyond the reach
of all human aid, with man whom
you can hardly see, and who may be
provided with revolver, knive, life
preserver, chloroform. and opium.
The partitions are SO thickly padded
that the loudest noises scarcely pene.
9trate them. Railway companies are
compelled by law to provide means of
communication with the guard on
trains going twenty-five miles without
stopping. ....
A button, which it is necessary to
press in order to communicate with the
guard, is placed high up on each side
can only be effected by the button on
one side, according to the direction in
which the train is going. A frighten-
ed man would probably press the
wrong button, or he might find his
fellOW-DaSSenSef With a drawn feVOl-
yer between himself and the right but
ton.
For years there has beenan agitation
in England for cars of the American
kind, but conservative Britons do not
care to purchase safety at the expense
of privacy. Those who do can now
ride third-class Separate compart-
ments are provided for ladies on trains
making long journeys, but they are not
commonly used.
1t is customary in England for women
with babies to ride in smoking-com-
partments. At least that is what the
average Englishman would deliberate
ly affirm. The truth of the matter is
probably that a woman with baby on
q railway platform is too much con-
fused to choose any particular carriage,
and she very often enters a smoking
compartment. It is also said that
natural feminine perverseness makes
her think that no one can desire to be
comfortable when it is a question Of
accommodating her baby.