The age-herald., 1897-09-12

Is admirable. You can send small package across the empire for a few cents. It is carriad quickly and deiiv- ed promptly like the ordinary mails but large packages have to be sent by "good trains" and you never know when to expect them. In, one of his books of travel Mark Twain tells of his expert, ence. When he shipped trunk from Hamburg the hair was long, thick curly and youthful. When it arrived in Frankfort he declares it was baldhead- ed.
 Ihere are very few through trains ard very few express trains. In going from Schwalbach to Heidelberg the other day. distance of eighty-nour miles. we changed cars four times and were six hours on the way. At Wiesbaden. for example, which is one of the mos. pop uaar and largely frequented watering piaces Tn Europe, there are two railway stations, both belonging to the govern meat, side by side. The tracks of the rolads which enter them run parallel for. a mile or more, and are connected by switches for shifting freight cars, but passengers who arrive by one aoad have to pass out of one depot into the street and enter the d;her one, a dis l,ance of 800 yards or so, even when they are travelling on through tickets. I made inquiry as to the reason for this and was informed that boh stations were maintained for the purpose of giv- ing employment to twice as many peo- pie as would be required if the railways were united into one, which is of course a very commeIndalble motive from one point of view.
 There is novel little convenience in most of the German railway stations which might be adopted by the railways of the United States. Passengers by suburban stations, instead of going to the regular ticket office and standing in line for several minutes sometimes so long that they miss their train, can go TO an automatic box, and by dropping nickel in the slot a coin equivalent to
 the amount of the fare can supply themselves with a ticket in an instant. There are rows of these boxes cred. ed against the wall ta convenient locations. The name of the town is printed in large letters and undermea th the price of the ticket. If it happens to be a mark, you slip the coin in the sldt and press the button and a cardboard ticket falls into the receiver which the pas- senger picks up, passing on without the sGfg'h.egtu delay. The whole transaction does nol, occupdy half a minute and
 the automatic machines never makes a mistake in the ticket or the change.
 There is similar arrangement for sa- curing tickets to the p,aiform. If you go to see friend off you must leave him at the gate or pay a few cents for the privilege of accompanying him to the train. You get platform ticket from one of these Cl11Nle- the slot mach nes The government is said to derive rev. erpue of several million marks annually from thts source alone.
 If you can buy your railroad ticket or your accommod dations fin a sleeping car in advance of train time you are required to pay a small fee in excess of the regular price. The same is true of opera and theater IiclSets. have never been able to ascertain the reason or the origin of this singular custom. If you go to the box office of theater and buy Ticket for tonighs's performance 1t VIII cost you, say 50 cents. If you buy for tomorrow night or the night after CT some night next week. it win cost you 621s cei.lts. One would think that Inc rule should be reversed.
 The travelling public also pays the commissions of uptown ticket agents. which is all right, because they exist