The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-10
you win stick to us you win all wear

| his wsnderings be came in sight OF the City
| OF Damascus he told his followers that man
| could enter paradise but once, and they
! turned their backs upon the most beautiful!
| city OF his time. The general passenger
/ agents, without the superstition of the
ancient prophet. have made a prolonged
| visit 20 lovelier city than Damascus ever
was, city that, In the language OF one OF
! our western poets, It's forever In the SUM-
and yet they hope for paradise beyond
this hfe-atter all the excursions are over
1 with and the last banquet has been closed. ~
Among the travelling passenger agents,
| Fred Robin, general travelling passenger
! agent of the Plant system. covers more terri
/ tory than any other agent, his lines EXTEND
| ing from Halifax, y. s., 70 Jamaica, in the
/ West ladies Over this great section OF the
! continent he travels almost constantly for
nine months in the year.
What do you do in this big territory
Mr.. Robin was asked few days ago.
"If you will ask me what don't do.n
/ Mr.. Robin replied, II can answer quicker.
I ln the summer time. after smoothing the
| way northwRrd for all the southerners who
have made good year with their cotton or
| watermelous, l go up to Halifax and con-
| vince the Nova Scotiens that the only good
| way to reach Boston. and, incidentally.
| New York, is by the Plant Line boats. l
| run out 20 neiRhboring Canadian cities
| that is, cities within thousand miles or
! so-aud see that tickets reading by our line
| are on sale in all the offices IL they are not,
| l take measures 10 have them put there.
! After my visit you can usually find few
| Plant system posters hanging in all the
! stations, and some choice literature about
our boats lying on the counters.
| always and every get acquainted
| with as many ticket agents as possible, and
| try to have myself identified with my terri
tory in their minds. OF course. l must
/ make friends of them, and this requires
/ md xuh
| passenger agents must have. A few good
| cigars are often effective. An invitation TO
/ step out around the corner would please
| some men and disgust others, and it is my
| business to know whether the agent prefers
a dog fight or a prayer meeting. This re-
| quires long practice aud a thorough knowl
edge of human nature; but when the art is
| once acquired it is no trouble 30 gauge
man almost at sight
why do l want to make friends of the
ticket agents Because | want them to cell
my tickets, and because l want them TO
know me SO we'll that the moment man
asks for a ticket for any northern or south
| ern point the ticket agent thinks instantly
| of Robin and Robin suggests the Plant
| system. l try, as / said, to identify myself
| with my territory. There are q dozen lines
running north and south and the instant a
customer says Florida to the ticket agent,
want that to suggest Robin and the Plant
|
the better; and the better know them the
better for me.
Then for three months in the year l am
a travellers guide. When the Tampa Bay
| hotel opens its doors that becomes my head
| quarters. That is central point on our
/ system and there are hundreds Of people
there all the time wanting to know how to
get to Cuba. when they can return from
Jamaica, when the next train starts for
Atlanta. and what is the sleeping car rates
| between Oshkosh and Kalamazoo The hotel
| mans reply TO all these questions is ~ send
the inquirer to Robin. Robin is supposed
to know all time tables of all roads, routes,
rates and reductions, parlor car service
/ everywhere, the movements of all steam
| ships and steamboats,, quarantine reRulR-
| tions, passport laws, and the hygienio con-
| dition of every part of the world. am
| there to answer all such questions and to
come up smiling every time.
IA great many funny things are con-
stantly happening in travelling. Some
years ago was going over what were then
| the wild parts OF Florida with Frank II.
Taylor, the artist and writer. Taylor was
writing and illustrating book on Florida
and l was prospecting for my company,
We both had to go to Silver Spring, but
there was no railroad there in those DAYS.
We went to Ooala, six or eight miles away ,
and just on the edge of the evening we hired
in Ocala was determined not to let us of,
saying that there were no accommodations
at the springs; that we'd have to sleep
under tree. and that he'd be sure to
see US back again before midnight.
But we were used to such little games,
and we set out. 1t was a beautiful drive
through the pine woods, sometimes in a
rough road and sometimes right over the
| trackless sand and about 10 o'clock the
diver drew up in front of a 11S~story
shanty that he said was the only houss In
the place We knocked at the door, and
head came out Of the garrett window and
asked what we wanted. When we asked
for supper and lodging, the man said hs
had no place for US to sleep, aud he was
about to close the shutter, for there was no
glass, but we induced him to let us in to
argue the matter. The whole family came
downstairs, old man, old woman,
and very pretty girl OF about IS. We
used all our eloquence on them, and at last
induced them to make up bed but supper
at that hour was not to he thought Of
But while we we're talking Taylor took
out his sketch book and made portraits OF
the whole family. That captured their
hearts Taylor became hero at once. In
fire going in the kitchen, the old woman
sliced some bacon. and the girl peeled the
POTATOES. Pretty soon we sat down TO q
good Florida supper, and the family ate
with US, Tor man who can draw portraits
is not seen In that country every day. After
supper we went back to the sitting room
aud saw an old-fashioned melodeon stand.
ing in one corner 1t was an old-timer GOV.
cred with dust half an inch thick, but
opened it and began to play some lively
tune. This tiokled the family more vet
they hadn't heard any music in that shanty
since the food. Before long the old mar
reached under a table and pulled out a
violin case. / forgot how he said the
thing happened to be left there by some
body. He handed 1t TO Taylor, who knew
about as much of the fiddle as do Of the
melodeon. But he made a great show OF
tuning up, and we started in on a tune to
gether. Well, you never saw a family sc
broken up In your life They were simply
crazy with the pictures and the music
They all danced and l tell you we owned
the house that night. We kept 1t W
pretty late, and next morning they would
not hear OF our going away till they had
cooked US the best breakfast that country
could supply. This was only one little in
cident in thousand, but 1t shows what
odd places the travelling passenger agen,
drifts into.
The immigrant agent has perhaps as busy
a life as any member of the passenger agent
family, He must be almost continually or
/ Isa TuIn he Z T.