The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-18
IDEAS for dWunaen.

X
A nursery eompartment has been de-
Used for raiifoad trains. ana it is to be
hoped that soon an the great railroad
N4ystems of the country Will be as lux
uriously equipped for the comfort Of
babies as any. millionaire's house in the
land. For4tfie new Compartment is not
only a cosy nook, padded, carpeted. cur
tanned and odtfed, but IS furnished with
every possible appointment for baby COM
fort. Sne
That this innovation will be hailed with
delight by every traveller who has eve,
been annoyed by the ~squailing of tirsl
or frightened infants during a railroad
Journey, goes without saying. Even peo-
pie of the sopndest nerves find them
severely tried BY the incessant walls or
the little travellers. while to the average
human ~being~these lugubrious sounds are
a positive tortufe.
No matter how good natured a child
may be, it is almost sure to become cross
when travel.ag and it is as much for the
comfort ofsthe tots themselves as for the
! relief of their victims that a certain
Observation-Disclosures a man of expert
ence, well qualified for his task-has con-
trived this nursery annex to railroad
trains. According to his design the trav-
cling nursery will take up about the same
amount of space as the private state
room. which is ound in all sleeping cars.
There will be a saving of a space of sew
~erai feet. however, as the wide seats on
he sides of the stateroom below the
soerths are not needed in the nursery, be-
Ing replaced by ottomans and tiny easy
chairs scattered over the floor. In this
way any danger from sudden starts or
sharp curves is obviated.
As a further protection against injury
to the little ones, the walls of the nur-
sery are heavily padded and the floor
thickly ~carpeted, SO that bumps and
bruises will be altogether avoided. Al
end of the compartment. and firmly Sc
cured. are two cosy cots, in which the
smaller children may lie and watch the
games of the older ones. Each car con-
tanning the nursery attachment will car
y a matron or nurse, who will be Sc
Ected with special reference to her abil-
-ty to amuse. and care for her little
3charges; and she will have at hand sup
plies OF milk, cookies, and other edibles
and drinkablfs dear to the infantile
heart. She will also nave charge OF
a medicine chest containing a full assort-
ment of the simpler remedies for childish
ailments. A miniature toy shop Is an
other adjunct of the travelling nursery.
and 1t will contain everything, from baby
rattles to picture books and fairy tales.
Nothing, in short, will be missing that
would add to the comfort or amusement
of the young travellers.
To no one is the adoption of the nur-
sery compartment more welcome thar
to passenger conductors. This long-suf-
fering class are often called upon to as
sumo, temporarily, the place of nurse,
parent, or guardian, as the shipping of
children from one part of the country
TO another has. of late years become quite
common.
we nave troubles enough" said a vet
eran conductor in discussing this latest
Improvement in passenger service, with
out having a child 1or so on our minds
al the m My run is a very heavy
one. and as I have been on this road a
long time and know a great many peo-
PIE, 1 often have children placed In nv
charge by parents who are unable to
accompany them. Besides, it has be-
come a.epmmon practice for immigrants
from Europe who have settled here to
nave their children follow them after a
home has been prepared. All these
youngsters have to be looked out for in
transit by the duct ana brake
men, and you may believe that the re-
sponsibiity is by no means a light one.
-.
Nobody understands children as women
do continued the old conductor. "and
that is another reason why 1 am in favor
of the nursery annex. The matron, having
nothing selea to do, can look after their
Childish wants. relieve their mothers of a
lot Of worry, and when they haven't any
mothers along. save the conductor from
strong temptation to use bad language
and the necessity for keeping himself
posted in the latest styles of baby talk.
1t is not intended that every sleeping
parlor car be provided with the nur-
attachment. Large as is the number
lildren passing it would be necessary
I'VE but one such car in every through
running beHEeen the larger cities.
expense of equipment, matrons'
$. etc. would thus be kept down to
-sonable limit.
4lthough child travellers are numerous
low, ana me Sendlng OF them alone from
one city to another is increasing each
ear, railroad officials who have examined
plans for the new compartment antici-
pate an increase in usine through their
adoption. rAs soon as parents learn that
On certain routes comfortable provision
has been made for their children" said
one passenger agent, 1they will naturally
travel on these in preference to less con-
eiderate lines, n persons whose peace
has been disturbed by fretfui youngsters
will gladly avail themselves of a road
which has the ~forethougfft and enter
prise to protect its patrons from this
source of annoyance"
Holiday hats will be more brilliant
than anything now in vogue. All the new
favoritef colors are of that intense semi
metailicitype of which lizard green, hum
ming bid blue, impeyan bronze. platinum
browr, peacock purple and copper red are
the (best examples.
The two coloTs most in vogue are green
sp9i purple. and close behind them comes