The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-11-07
PULLMAN'S OWN STORY
THE INVENTION OF THE SLEEPING
CAR As HE TOLD TT.
lie Did Not Originate the Idea--Ihe FIRST
Sleeping Cars Gu the New York Central
His Opinions on Matters Of Interest.

n
afterwards requested that its publication
10 DELAYED The Presidential cam
palcn was then In progress and he wanted
to keen in the background. fearing that
memories of the Pullman strike might
be used TO hurt Mr.. Mckinley. The
story was laid aside and for one reason
oranother has not been published unti
now. -.
Mr. Pullman did not originate the idea
Of the sleeping car. II was suggested 10
him, he said, by the introduction OF sleep
ing cars on the New York Central road.
THE company which owned that read.
said Mr. Pullman, was restricted 10 a
charge Of cents a mile Tor passenger
transportation. II went to the Legisla-
ture at Albany for authority TO charge
for sleenlne accommodations. l was liv-
ing then at Albion, doing business as a
contractor on the Erie Canal. went
into the world to earn my living when l
was fourteen. Not long after | became
N age I found myself with my mother
brothers and sisters on my hands. one
OF my friends and neighbors in Albion
was Ben. Field, who was member OF
the Legislature. lie was one Of the men
who put the first sleeping car in opera
ton. These cars had ceilings against
which a tall mans head might nave
brushed There was no steamer deck
above and no ventilation. When ore OF
them was filled on a winter day, with
big stove fire at each end, the amos
phere was something dreadful
Four OF these cars Mr.. Field and some
Of his friends converted into sleeping cars.
The berths were in three tiers, the lowest
being on the floor level. This lowst Oer'h
cost 81. the second berth was 10 cents ana
the upper berth was 50 cents. Inc sh"-
ing scale for which some people now
clamor was the original scale OF charges.
These sleeping cars were intended ioI
night use only. The bed clothing was
piled up I'm sections in the day time MI
Pullman rode on the first Of these Sleep
ing cars which left Buffalo, and he palu
81 for the privilege. though he was going
only sixty miles. He wanted the mover
experience and one Of the great luXurles
OF the trip was the opportunity to WASH
your hands and face in the morning.
Not long after" said Mr.. Pullman, i
came to Chicago to do some contract
work-raising buildings 20 conform 20
the city's new grade / had the sleeping
car idea I'm my head, and turned It over
a good many times. Finally l went INTO
the business on the Chicago and Alton
road"
Pa those DAYS. Mr.. Pullman remembered
seeing the sheriff. i'm the ticket Office
OF the road more than once. waiting 70
seize the receipts. Two sleeping cars were
put on the road. running in opposite d.
rectiOns each night. They were OF the
primitive type Of the first sleeping cars.
Meantime these first cars had not been
success. and Field and his associates VINO
had bought them on credit, lost possessiG
Of them
While the experiment was progressing
Mr.. Pullman got the gold fever and went
10 Pixies Peak lie stayed there off ana
on for three years. The Chicago ana
Alton went into the hands Of a receiver
and this receiver was n New Orleans man.
'He had an idea" said Mr.. Pullman
with a smile. that when the war was
over grass would gross between the tracks
Of Northern railroads. SO he took Off the
night trains on the roads altogether and
for q time my cars were sidetracked. But
not long They were running again after
q time and the opportunity to buy back
two Of Fields cars being offered he and
bought them and owned them In common.
! had am idea for a much better car than
these. but j was not mechanic. and /
had 10 get other people 10 carry out my
ideas. ] found that very hard. The build
ers could always find so many reasons
why what ! wanted could not be done SO
the new cars which I built, while they
were more costly, were not satisfactory.
FINALLY the Chicagon and Alton people
gave me The use OF a piece of ground
where the Union depot now stands. and
employed q builder 10 carry out my ideas
sly notion was always 10 utilize the space
above the windows. where the racks were,
to store the bedding. To DO this II was
necessary TO make the car very much
higher Ny builder argued that the rail-
roads would never put on car which was
so much higher than their own. l told
him to GO ahead and build the car accord
ing To my ideas and we would see about
the railroads afterward. SO we made the
roof high and we put the car on sixteen
wheels. so that il would ride more
smoothly. I sent East then for decora-
tor who would make the interior OF the
car harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
he remained with me as my director Tor
many years.
When the car was finished IL had cost
me $4,000. Ii attracted a great deal OF at
tcntiOn Many people came 10 see II, ana
il was much admired. That car, by the
way, is IN Pullman to-day, and we use II
on occasions.
when | first put the car in service
told the President Of the Lake Shore road
that / would have TO charge 81 a berth
The Woodruff cars were running in oppO-
sitiOn then and they charged $50. He
said he could not afford to Charge s. If
some one else was charging less. ] ar
gued that 70 would be q good advertise
ment. for people would be anxious 10 see
what he had that was worth so much
more. AS he could not see the value OF
my theory, | proposed that he put one
OF the cheap cars on the train with the
Pullman car. The experiment proved that
the people all wanted 10 ride in the g car
and II "a man got 10 the train late and
had to use the other car he sbused the
railway company. The result was that IN
six weeks. the cheap car way taken off
altogether"
Nj. Pullman said there were two rea-
sons why sleeping car rates should not
be cheapened. In the first place, 20
an undesirable class OF patrons. In the
second place, 10 cheaper ~ upper berth
would make a distinction between travel
iers which they would resent. His claim
was that few men would be willing TO
travel In cheap berths, and that the man
who was forced TO take an upper berth
because all the lower berths were sold
would be wounded in his pride.
As TO the charge that the Pullman Com
pany was asking TOO high a rate and max
ing too great a profit on its service Mr..
Pullman said that If he had not put by
"A large surplus for the company and in
vested il judciously there would not he
enough 10 pay dividends. This surplus
earned. he said, about one-half OF the
money which the stockholders received as
dividends.
OF his responsibility TO the stockholders
of the Pullman COmDany Mr. Pullman