Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-03-21
EVILS OF TRAVELLING.
AN ENGLlSHMAN FINDS MANY ANNOY
ANCES IN AMERICA.

Although Mr.. Rudyard kipling may
have a good deal TO say for his peculiar
view of American society, the real truth is
that England aud America can learn good
many things from each other. English
men are not all millionaires, and nobody
quite likes TO be openly Swindled.
On the Atlantic TIE traveller is safe
enough Travel nowadays en- board those
ocean Creyhounds is simply a luxury, But
the moment foot is set on shore the stranger
experiences that he is in q new country,
where things are not exactly rs they are
at home. An Englishmaa's first instinct
on arriving at the conclusion of a journey
is 10 call a cab He had better not indulge
this fancy in New York A passenger ar
irving by any Of the liners at Liverpool
would at once secure his luggage, havei it
conveyed to a cab, tip the porter and on
being set down 40 his hotel would pay the
cahlnan. say, half a crown They manage
things otherwise in New York. Heavy lug
gage must, I'm the first place, be expressed
at charge Of Is. Cd each package. II there
are ladies in the party, this item may mount
up 10 something considerable,
OF You so in a ramshackle equipage
with an Irish driver, possessing none Of the
fun Of the old country. On arriving at the
hotel you ask what the fare amounts to-
And then the Euglishmsns gore rises
He Is accustomed to stepping into a Lon
don hanson and driving longer distance
for form But the Hibernian chaFioteer
gravely calls for s., 81 or S, Just according
10 the hunor De may be in. And it has to
Be Paid. The result is that when the trav-
eler finds himself IN his room it has prob
ably taken - shilliuEs TO convey himself
and his Luggage from the landing place to
the hotel. This Of course is simply gor-
Geous swindle. And the way to avoid it is,
fortunately, equally simple
The Americans travel with a single big
trunk. Everything goes into it as into a
handbag. This Noaks ark can be EEK
pressed" at the same charge as a dressing
ease. And this done, Uncle sam makes for
the street car and reaches his hotel for 5
cents This is the way TO do it, but it is lit
tie short Of scandal that the law should
not protect strangers.
As to hotels, something pleasant and I'M
pleasant may be said In all the cities
these establishments are Of the most pala-
Iial character and are conducted on both
The American and European plans. No one
should enter a house conducted on both
plans. Should he do so the experience of
our party may be his. We had written
ahead to secure rooms on the American
plan at one of the Fifth avenue hotels. The
charge was s., or Al, per day Arriving
late at night, we were ''skied' in a garnet.
Judge Of our surprise when on entering
the dining room We We're calmly informed
that no food was supplied on the American
plan after p. M, and that if one desired
TO have supper it should be served on the
European plan. In other words, were ex
pected to pay 81 day for board and lodg-
ing on the American plan and pay for our
supper in cash because the Boston train
happened to De iatcl This OF course was
sheer impeItjucuce But we had to submit.
It was too late 90 30 elsewhere At another
of these Gorgeous establishments we expe-
rieneed aHotheTPiece Of sharp practice. The
terms were $50 per day or 80 shillings each
person. Butsn our arrival we stepped into
the wrong room for luncheon-i G., into
the room for visitors Oh the European plan
The bill had to be paid in cash, and we had
the extreme satisfaction Of paying lis. Cd.
for two luncheons in addition to a charge
of 30 shillings per day. These are samples
of the impudent swindles that await the
traveller Who'll not prepared for them. The
only safe plan therefore is to go TO house
conducted on either one plan or the other.
have said that the American hotels are
gorgeous palaces, but they sadly lack the
homely feeling Of the English home. They
seem to be huge rabbit warrens. They are
the saddest and duiiest places in the world.
But, as a rule, the accommodation and the
food are excellent
AS regpris railway travelling, some things
are better than at home, and others are
worse. The rate OF travelling is mostly
slower, and the cost less than in England.
But the cars are infinitely better, and trav-
cling Is, on the whole, pleasanter but for
the heat This is largely caused by the fact
that the porter is generally negro, and he
heats the train up TO his own ideas of COM
fort, but it is not pleasant for an ordinary
Englishman to swelter in a car with the
thermometer at - degrees or S0degrees and
then goout into an atmosphere below freez-
ing point, or even below zero The night
travelling also shocks "A stranger. In Eng
land there are ladies' sleeping cars. Nc
such thing ever occurred to the American
mind. Men and women shake down PRO
miscuous," and are curtained off in a kind
of sealed compartment.
l confess to preference for the Englisl
fashion, although Mr. Hannibal CholloI
would, / suppose, have sneered at my pref
udices as European" But the Americans
can give us points in regard to dealing witt
luggage. 1t is something to hand your lug
gage to the hotel porter, to receive from
him at the railway station brass checks TO
it, to give these checks to a collector Oh
arrival, and to find, fort small charge, you
luggage at the hotel almost as quickly a
yourself. Why English railway companie
do not adopt this plan Of dealing with lug
gage passes comprehension. There 1
hardly such thing as a railway porter ii
the states. Then the dining car is a rea
work of art It is luxury to be able t
get a comfortable meal exceliently serve
without rushing to refreshment rooms an
eating at rate ruinous to digestion and
health. Some time or another, L suppos'
John Bull will wake up.
In the matter of street cars the motht
country is also sadly behind. In Bosto'
Washington, Montreal, Toronto and oth'
cities the electric street cars are one OF Il