Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-03-16
Especially for the Ladies.

In the DAYS wh,n Mark Twain was
not a rich man, and while has genius
was running in literary rather than
mercantile channels, be wTots an anus
ing screed in which he undertook to de-
mOnstrate the safely of railroad travel,
in a verv novel manner. He stated thai
an extensive collection and careful com
harrison of mortality statistics from all
5he states of the Union showed that the
number of persons dying in their BEDS
at home was an immense per cent IN
excess of those killed in railroad acci'
dents. Therefore. if one wished to
reach old age, let him travel by ran
constantly. and avoid having settled
habitation or living in q house. The
design of the humOrist was prObibly 70
show that though Figures won't lie,
statistics can be made to prevaricate IN
the hands of a skillful manipulstor.
There is, however, good deal more OF
truth in Twain's conclusion than per-
hsps he thought. With the exception
of walking. railroad travel IS the safest
moda of transit known to man. A pas
senger by rail may travel twelve million
miles before being injured, and ilitY-one
million before netting with MS fatal
accident. He might travel day and
night for 1914 wears, at the rate OF thirty
niies an nuur before being killed. In
fact though railroads are little more
than half century old, the matter OF
their safety has long been settled, aud
the chief questions that interest the
public of to-day are. the invention and
adoption of appliances to increase the
comfort of travel even TO the point OF
luxury, and the probable limit OF speed
in view OF the multiplication OF fast
trains.
The disposition Of the American to
act on the principle that the best Is
good enough Tor him, and so TO receive
every addition to his comfort as no
more than his due, makes him overlook
the rapid and astonishing progress
made in improving the means OF trans
pOrtation A scant fifty years have
passed since man made his first journey
by the steam railway, and yet, measur-
ga by the worlds rate of progress
10 the time from the beginning Of the
Christian era to the end of the eigh-
teenth century, there is "a thousand
years between the "S:ourbridge Lion
locomotive in the National Museum at
Washington, and the great mogul pas.
Senger engine that whirls its train along
at the rate of nintY miles an hour. lm-
provements in arrangements for com
fort of travellers have increased in as
great a ratio. The first patrons Of the
railway journeyed in open cars, without
seats, ven like the coal freight cars Of
the present. The first advance was q
covered carriage, the body of which
was faithfully modelled after the stage
coach Of that period-whence probably
the designation of passenger cars as
coaches" The first railroads were
short, and passenger trains ran only in
the day time, so that no spepial accom-
mediation was thought necessary for
night travel The magnificent distances
of our own country rendered night
trains necessity if journey was TO be
continuous, vet il was not until 1865
that any one took the trouble TO think
whether il were possible for the railway
traveller 10 have bed on the cars, and
thus be as comfortable rs his fellow
citizen who patronized the steamboat,
on which berths and meals were an at
traction and solace. In that year
George NJ. Pullman fitted up some com
mon passenger coaches with liked
berths, and operated them on railroad
in the State of Illinois. From such
plain beginning the progress has been
rapid to the Pullman ceper Of to-day,
that marvel of The cabinet makers and
upholSterer art, where thick carpets
hush the football, snowy sheets and
downy pillows inwta 90 sound repose,
and slivered chandeliers east soft ra-
dience over all The dining car follow
ell next aud the tourist, borne across
mountain and prariaat mica minute,
wa, served, from "a menu equal u that
OF the finest hotels. with ail that the
most fastidiUus epcute could demand.
Then we had the tYestbuied. trans
forming the train from II loosely linked
aggregation OF detached vehicles. into
one long corridor of light. warmth, ele.
-ance, comfort. and freedom from
eddyiug winds and binding clouds ,f
dust. And yet something more was do
manded bY the traveller. whose appetite
for luxury grew apace with every inn
provement The long Pullman. with
IFS rows of btrths ON either side the
aisle. seemed to some particular mortals
and especially to our English cousins,
who were brought up under the com
partmcut system Of passenger travel
TO lao X the privacy desirable. 70 eN.
press wish in these matters is TO have
it gratiiied, and the compartment sleep
or with small staterooms all or one
side of the car. was built and introduced
but IT'S progress was slow, until ii fell
into the hands Of the Pullman company.
II now underwent complete metamor-
phosis, and in the beautiful compart-
ment sieepers nowin service on the
limited trains of The Burlington lin
addition to the regular Pullman
SleeperS one would SCARCELY recognize
the old ',boudoir' car The cars of
which we are speaking have Just been
turned out of the Pullman company's
works, and excel in comfort, ornamen-
tation and workmanship all that has
heretofore been seen IN ths line. Enter
ing the car at either end. we find 10 the
right of the corridor five exQuiSitely
furnished little rooms containing two