Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-13
FAST RIDING.
AROUND THE WORLD IN THIRTY
DAYS.

Peculiarities and Possibilities OF Travel as
Related by Commercial Statesmen.
A group of travelling statesmen were en-
joying themselves in the lobby of down
town hotel the other evening in that
pastime peculiar to the jovial commercial
traveller, telling stories. The narration of
amusing incidents had drifted to q discus
sion OF the number Of miles travelled and the
amount of money expended by a salesman
In year. The figures given are interesting
and show that situations as travelling sales
man are not all sunshine in view OF the fact
that during 10 years service one entire
year is spent on railway trains, in which
period distance of 1872, 900 miles, equal to
over seven times the distance around the
world, is travelled, to say nothing of the
hurry and Inconvenience incident to early
rising to catch trains. This computation IS
based OH the consideration that statesmen as
rule cover an average of 80 miles per day
the year round. Each one of the seven
drummers in the group exhausted about 20
1,0OO-mlle tickets per annum, which would
give an average Of nearly % miles per day
for 365 days, although the seasons for work
do not extend throughout the entire year.
"Allowing 20 1,000-mile tickets as the
average" said the representative of New
York drygoods firm, figuring on the fv leaf
of an order book, "the yearly bill for trans
portation amounts to s4OO Hotel bills and
sundries will swell the total to something
like 81, 800 per year. making grand total
of S15, 900 expended in ten years, equal to q
daily expenditure of 81 80, as none of us
work over 200 days in a year. Now figure
in wearing apparel, and you have a sum not
much short of So per day for individual e1-
penses. I don't believe there's another
class of working people who spend that
much money for personal expenses"
"Well, gentlemen, spoke up the senior
Of the group, hale looking gentleman
beyond the meridian oflife, f'those figure
are pretty reliable. At least I've found
them so in over a quarter of century's
service on the road. In that time I've seen
all sorts of accommodations, from the very
limited ones afforded by crossroads
tavern to the luxury of Sc per day hotel;
have been tortured by riding over rickety
railroads, which shook fellow up so that
it was difficult to stay in his clothes. L
have also enjoyed riding in luxury in the
most modern vestibule flyers, as I've been
over about every piece of railroad in this
country. The fastest and most comfortable
riding I ever experienced was few weeks
ago. 1 had just arrived at st. Louis,
and as I was registering at the hotel the
clerk handed me telegram. 1 found it to
be a message from my wife, who wired that
our youngest daughter was seriously i'll at
our home in New York. I didn't wait for
breakfast at the hotel after learned that
through train for the East departed from
st. Louis over the Vandalia and Pennsyl-
vania lines at 7:3O o'clock, only few min
utes after the receipt of the telegram. 1
made that train, and after sleeping in Mis-
souri, had breakfast in the dining car as
the train was passing through Illinois; took
dinner while the train was going through
Indiana and supper in the diner while we
were in Ohio, in which State L retired to
my berth and awoke in Pennsylvania.
arose in time for breakfast in that State,
and was at home in New York in time to
take dinner with my family. You see, I
ate four meals in as many different States
after sleeping in a fifth, and all within 80
hours, it being 7:30 A. NJ. when left st.
Louis and 80 P. NJ. when 1 reached New
York, LOO miles away. Bessie. my daugh-
ter, had only slight attack of illness, but
her mother like all women anxious about
their little ones. telegraphed me to come
home, although the physician in attendance
said it was not necessary.
GAS my presence was not required in New
York, and being behind on my trip,
started back at once in order to be in Chi
cago as soon as possible. 1 caught the vesti-
New York over the Pennsylvania Railroad
at P. NJ, and had supper in the dining car
while Going through Pennsylvania; ate
breakfast in Ohio and dinner in Indiana in
the diner. and was in Chicago at my
hotel in time for supper, making over 900
miles on that run. Now, then, here's my
record: Slept in Missouri, got breakfast in
Illinois, ate dinner in Indiana, supper
in Ohio. slept in Ohio and Pennsylvania,
had breakfast in Pennsy lyania and dinner
in New York with my family, supper in
Pennsvlvania on the train, breakfast in
Ohio, dinner in Indiana, also on the train,
and supper in Illinois, travelled over 1000
miles and did not get off the train or change
cars except the one time when under my
own roof at dinner with my family in New
York The distance traveled-over 1000
miles-was covered in exactly 56 hours. AT
that pace one can go around the world in
less than 80 days"
''But," ventured one of the interested
auditors, ''it should be borne in mind that
in that instance the trip was made on the
standard railway of America, the direct
route between st. Louis and the East, and
between New York and Chicago, advantages
which make fast travelling permissible. An
other thing to be considered is the rapidity
with which improvements for facilitating
travel have been developed in the past few
years, contemplation of which leads to
the conclusion that in days soon to come |
the methods of transportation will be as
marvellous as they are unique. Aerial nav
igation seems to be the fertile field of the |
present day for inventive genius, and evil |
dences of her remarkable achievements |
will, no doubt, soon be seen in the air. |
Just imagine yourself going through |
space like bird. One hundred miles an
hour will be snail's pace compared to the |
velocity possible for flying contrivance
Until fellow got the hang of the thing it
would be little bit awkward to be rugged |
out with a machine in which you could |
stand in New York and by pulling string
drop down in Chicago in few hours Such
a machine would be damper on the rain
makers occupation, as it would do away
with the use of explosives. Whenever .
rain would be needed some one could start
skyward in flying machine and by
rain cloud let down shower. !"
'I've got better scheme than lombard
ing the heavens for the purpose of produc-
ing rain," calmly remarked one of the
group.
Lets have it,"
''Send up balloons laden with horse
I