The San Francisco call., 1897-03-19
FOUND BY CAR PORTERS.
Articles Left in sleepers by Absent
Minded Passengers.

Articles Left in sleepers by Absent
Minded Passengers.
Some curious things are picked up by
sleeping-car porters and goodly proper
tion of them are turned over to persons
in authority, to be restored TO their own
ers if called for. The found bureau of
the Wagner Palace Car Company in this
city often affords an interesting study. An
innumerable variety of ticketed articles
there displayed bears ocular testimony to
the freaks of absent -mindedness. There
are pathetic as we'll as amusing sugges-
tions in these lost articles, for some of
them are obviously mementos of teneer
associations. A baby's tiny worsted shoe,
for instance, found in sleeping berth
where no baby had been, tells its own
touching little story.
Each article as soon as it is handed to
the custodian of the ''found" bureau is
made into neat parcel and marked with
the day and hour of finding, name of the
sleeping.car, mum ber OF the train and the
name of the finder. Most of these mis-
laid personal effects are found under the
seats or in the lavatories of the cars.
Fully two-thirds of the women's belong
ings which are picked up by sleeping-car
porters are toilet articles or jeweiry left in
the lavatorles.
II was only few days ago that a Wag-
ner porter found two valuable finger-rings
in a wash bowl. They had been sucked
into the escape pipe together and fortu-
nately became wedged there so that they
were not carried away by the outf1owing
water. The owner OF the rings said when
they were restored to her that she was
''sure that she had put them in her
satchel," and seemed quite indignant at
the temerity of the porter In insisting that
be had found them in washbowl.
Umbrellas, canes and sbawl-straps con-
stitute majority of the finds in eep-
ing-car Tnev are seldom reclaimed,
although kept by the company's custo-
dian for year. Some of the oddities in
the Wagner bureaus collection may be
enumerated as follows: One white satin
slipper, a woman's bead and lace bonnet,
chating dish, pair o. trousers, two hair
switches, one set of false teeth, silver cam
diestick and wax candle, one fine linen
nightrooe, package OF perfumed letters
tied with pink ribbons, an ear-trumpet,
one crutch. and three or four Gagged birds.
EOnce in great VIII le pocket-book con-
tanning money is turned in at the ''found"
bureau. Such finds" are quickly called
for. The loss OF money is usually discoy-
cred before the loser leaves the car, conse-
quentIy, if it has been mislaid on that
particular car, it is searched for then and
there. Passengers usually feel for their
money the first thing after awaking in the
morning, and, finding that all right,
apparently do not tax their minds with
anything else. Occasionally, however,
men who carry their money loosely in
their pockets lose it by pulling it out with
pair of gloves. a handkerchief or note
book. Not long ago the conductor of
sleeping-car which had just been emptied
OF its passengers in the Grand Central sta
iion found $40o in bills living on the plat
form Just outside the door. He took il to
the Office of the general superintendent,
and it was called for within an hour.-N.
7. Times.