The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-11-15
Found on the Trains,


New York, New Haven and Hartford
train rolls into the Grand Central de-
pot stoop-shouldered, little man,
with keen grey eyes, and beard that
doesn't grow with sufficient lu1uri-
auce to require frequent trimming,
strolls down to the end of the plat
form. When the train stops and the
most laggard of the passengers are
still leisurely alighting, he hops
nimbly on the rear platform Of the
last car and proceeds to literally "go
through" the train. Sometimes a
much excited passenger who has sud-
denly recollected that he has forgot
ten something rushes madly back into
the train and discovers his portable
property in the hands of the little
man. Then, if he is Of suspicious
disposition, he glares and scowls at
the little man, and sometimes pounces
upon him and Indignantly de-
mands to be told what he is doing with
"that."
Then a tired look comes into the
little mans face and he mildly ex-
plains that he is employed by the
company to search incoming trains for
articles left behind by passengers,
which he conveys to the lost proper
ty room, where the owners can always
get possession of them again by fur
nishing presumptive evidence that the
thing belongs to him.
When Charlie-that is what the
other employees about the depot call
him, although he has another name
which appears on the pay rolls OF the
company-frst began his work his
beard wasn't tinged with gray, and he
wasn't t bit stoop shouldered. That
was Is years ago. All these years,
from $50 in the morning until 6:3O
in the evening each day, he has been
picking up things that careless pas
sengers have forgotten to take with
them when they left the train.
1t would make any man stoop shoul-
dered to be continually looking for
things that long. But his eyes are
as keen as ever, and his honesty is
still proof against all temptations:
If that were not the case, he could
have retired with snug little capital.
From the pocketbooks and purses and
"wads" that he has found while pur-
suing his unique occupation he could
have slipped enough into his own
pocket to render him quite independ-
ent.
There are no blanks in his daily re-
cords. Never day goes by that he
doesn't find something that somebody
has forgotten. He picks up fewer things
on Sundays than on any other days,
because on Sundays travel is compar-
atively light, and passengers are likely
to be less preoccupied with business
cares and therefore not so likely to
forget things. On some days his
list of lost articles found on the
incoming trains is quite formidable
one.
This. for instance, is what lie turn
ed into the lost property room on Aug
ust II: Thirteen umbrellas, two rings
Zone plain gold and one with dia..
monds), one overcoat, one package Of
legal papers, one satchel, one ladys
jacket, one Derby hat, one valise, one
cape, one cane, one package OF un-
derwear, one macintosh and one pock-
etbook.
Ard this is what he found on Aug.
27: Seven umbrellas, one parasol, one
shawl, one overcoat, one pair OF shoes,
one package containing a suit OF
clothes, one pair of spectacles, one
purse, one flask Of whlskey ard one
smelling bottle.
When the articles are taken to the
lost property room, they are labelled
with the date on which they are found
and the number of the train. Nearly
all the articles that have any intrinsic
value are redeemed. The rest are
simply stored away for the gnawing
tooth of time to prey upon.
Charlie is of the opinioe, and sure
ly he may be regarded as an expert on
the subject, that somebody is liable
to forget something at some time or
other. Umbrellas are the articles
that are most frequently left behind
on the trains by travellers. The man
who cauld devise an infallible system
bywhich the owner Of an umbrella
would always be sure sto remember it
would reap afortune. Charlie has tried
his own wits at it, but was forced to
give it up.
He has come to the conclusion that
a state of ecstatic happiness, equally
with one Of intense preoccupation, is
apt to produce forgetfulness Of porta-
bic property. He has discovered that
newly married brides and grooms are
quite as apt to forget the little things
they may be carrying with them as the
man who has got so much business on
his hands he can't think of anything
else. The man who never travels
without a flask of whiskey seldom
forgets it. Perhaps that is because
the act of putting it into his pocket
Immediately after taking nip has
been 80 often repeated that it belongs
to the category Of unconscious cele-
bration.
It is not an infrequent thing for a
man to leave stovepipe hat on the
rack and walk out Of the car with
little skull cap on. But when Lc gets
into the street the small boys are sure
to shout: "Shoot the hat" or "Where
did you get that hat2"' Then he dis
covers the mistake he has made, but
the fact that he is never grateful to
the small boys for reminding him of
it and never rewards them must be re-
garded as evidence Of that perversity
inheritant in human nature which so
often puzzles the philosopher.
Charlie is Of the opinion that some
people would forget their own moth
ers-in law if they had half chance.
There is one man whose umbrella he
has picked up in the train so often
that he has lost track of the number
of times. And ye5 the same man has
told him Frequently that he never
leaves the house with his umbrella
that his wife doesn't say to him,
"Now, dear, be sure you don't forget
your umbrella.
Women. so Charlie has found, are
L