New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-11-08
TROLLEY-CAR INCIDENT
HOW A HANDSOME YOUNG WOMAN TOOK
SEAT UNDER CONFUSION.
SOME OF THE FoIBLEs OF THE PEOPLE WHO
MAKE sTREETcAR TRAVELLING IN

MAKE sTREETCAR TRAVELLING IN
TEREsTING TO THE OBSERVER
One beautiful night last week. about 10 O'clock
one Of the cars Of the Putnam-ave and Halsey-s''
line left the Bridge with only three passengers IN
/ f. a man lust an ordinary commonplace man,
and two women, one of whom had a young pan"
In her arms On the young mothers face shone
the light of maternal love. She took seat al inc
front end of the car. her opposite was the o'he'
woman, and the man sat about midway Oh '"e
car AS they travelled along more and more peo-
pie got in, and by the time the car mad reacheo
the neighborhood of the big stores 1t was full The
last place left vacant was one by the young
mother.
Two men got In at the front platform. one OF
! them tall and stout ard with ever so much cam
paign enthusiasm aboard. He looked uncertainty
at the seat next the woman with the baby. SEEM
| ing to calculate his ability TO settle down IN IL
without making a wafer OF the infant he eV-
IDENTIFY thought he was equal to the task. ana
| down he went without doing further mischief than
to give the babys mother nervous dread OF what
might happen
On went the car and more and more people got
aboard, until last every strap was pre-empted'
and then women came in, with nothing 10
| hang to when the car should give those interest
ing little sudden jerks at starting. One OF the
young women was beauty. 'peach-blow
beauty They were happy. talking and laughing.
and. for want Of something better. trying to sus-
tain one another when these sudden little thank
| you ma'am jerks came
| The drunken man kept his eye the beauty for
several minutes To his credit be 1t said that there
were plenty Of sober men In the car. He evidently
thought 1t shame that such pretty girl should be
at tho mercy Of the troleycars. With an uncertain
WAIVER, that gave the young mother nervous snVer'
| he rose from his seat, and taking off his hat ne
motioned to the young lady to take the place he had
arisen from. She was wedged In so tightly that she
opifa
of the proprety Of allowing this man with such un-
steady legs TO stand that baby so she hesi-
tated There were lots of other women standing.
| however and II the man gave up his place he I'M
mistakably had choice Of who should be his sue
cessor. Without more ado he took the young woman
by the waist and put her down in the place he had
| made vacant. She dumfounded by what he had
done pushed out three short. dimnutive screams.
"Ohi my, goodness" with a staccao on the end OF
each word.
1t was too much for the rest OF the passengers.
a than suppressed ripple of laughter went
the rounds which laughter was kept up Tor several
blocks. But the girl got out Of the car at her own
corner the drunken man resumed his place next the
mother with her young baby. and everybody reached
home safely.
There are lots Of funny things seen in the street.
cars-happenings that never happen IN any other
place There is the mother with an elastic con-
science as to the age Of her child From three TO
eleven years old children carried by the Brooklyn
streetcars for three cents and there Is big difer
ence between the actua. sizes and the Brooklyn
streetcar sizes Of children from three to eleven
years old. The conductor looks suspiconsly at tho
three years DID," and says, How old Is that
child?"
1.-TWO years and a half" says the unblushing
mother
pretty big child to be only two years and half
DID," says the conductor as he keeps on his rounds
Then the woman bushes and says to her friend:
HE Is tho most insolent. the most insulting Great
ure ever saw in my life. Just wait Ill report
him." Which she takes gooo care not to do
There mothers with children VINO must iop Don
GU. OF r 5hs fSe mnad or dusty Shoes ali
whoever may be unfortunate enough 10 sIt HeAt
must eat chocolate creams SOLDERING hts hands
face and clothing all over with dark stains wnich
his mother attempts to wipe OF with her hahdhe'-
There is tho circumstantia;ly polite man. who al
eyes ms noo seS D even though she might
have the appearance of being tired and faint nish
carrying home her Saturday night purchaSes In the
shape OF FISH flesh fowl or les s any
day And. further along in the same me me man
and woman who are not acquainted %hen ,ney Sss
in the cars nor for several blocks AFTER th-y
alleht There is the passenger who wants TO get
all he can out Of his transfer goes into some s,9re
half and then attempts to continue the journey on
a transfer that is supposed to be good ior ten nun
bv no means the poor. In fact. the poor try that
much less frequently than the rich
Conscience IS by asserted 20 be creature
OF time. place circumstances. The man who frst
Formulated that saying must have taken his notes
from travelling In the s,reecars For there Is GER
tainly streetcar conscience. There are peope VINO
would not steal Ave cents. nor 10000 II they
were sure to escape without detection. But per.
haps. these same people do not pay their fare ),
they can avoid IT, They hedge by saying that
i, is not their business, to remind the conductor
O, his duties. How quickly thesa same mind -your-
own-business jump at the conductor II he has
failed TO let them off at the street they wanted
and which their chatting and joking with some
friend have caused them TO miss. They also console
themselves when they get free ride by saying
that many times they do pay their fare and have
to stand every inch Of the way from ferry to home
There Is the nervous man or woman who Is
stranger In the city, and who wants to alight at a
certain place. This one has little or no confidence
Ir this conductor, who has been charged most ex-
piicit;y not to forget. About every time the car
lakes turn, has gone four or five blocks. the
nervous passenger says. Have we reached my street
YETI" and is only made comfortable by some fellow
passenger saying. mo. you are some distance from
the place you want. ] remain in the car beyond
that point. and shall be pleased to tell you when
you reach your street.