The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-22
TRAVEL ING ON ANOTHER MANS PASS
Interesting and Embarrassing Experience of Man From
Milwaukee.


George AIDE. the writer of "Stories of
the Street and Town." in the Chicago
Record, tells the following concerning
w. S. Willis, formerly of this city.
Willis is now in Chicago. having left
his burg. and AIDE, who was really the
man from Milwaukee, tells the follow
ing:
The man from Milwaukee told this
story of what happened on a train:
L visited a relation of mine named
w. 5 Willis. in Sioux City, Ia, several
years ago, in the good old days IF rail
road passes. and when was ready to
return home he said to me: See here,
there's no sort of use in your going and
paying your dollars to get back to Chi
cago- I've got an annual over the st.
Paul road, and 1 never have an occa-
sion to use it in the east. 1 ride around
here in Iowa and Nebraska, a little,
but none OF the conductors on the
through line know me, and you may as
We'll pass for the editor of the Western
Sportsman as anyone else.
This, of course, struck me as a very
piouS idea, and l Immediately set TO
work to use that pass in a systematic
manner. I provided myself with about
a dozen old envelopes, all addressed to
w. S. Willis, Sioux City, Ia, and one
of them / placed the pass in, taking
care that that particular envelope
should be nearly the bottom one in the
pack. l pasted a label on my grip
bearing the name W. 5. Willis in a
very prominent place and I wrote the
same name on a card which l stuck in
the lining of my hat. / went down to
Omaha, and there boarded the train
for Chicago. 1 placed my grip on the
opposite seat in such Il manner that
the liable showed very plainly, and, as
it was a warm day, l removed my hat
and laid il on its side on the seat in a
position which just happened to show
that card in the lining. Presently the
conductor appeared and found me very
deeply engroSsed in a newspaper-so
deeply in fact that he was compelled
to speak twice before he succeeded in
securing my attention, and then it
seemed to dawn on me all of a sudden
that he probably wanted my ticket.
With a very bored expression, l laid
my paper aside and commenced to
, tumble in various pockets. finally pro-
ducing the pack of Willis envelopes.
After quite an extended search through
several of these envelopes, L finally
produced the annual, and passed ii
over to the conductor. He looked at the
pass and looked at me. Where do you
wish to go today, Mr.. Willis?' he in
quired, pleasantly.
Chicago 1 answered. returning to
the earnest perusal of my paper.
g All right, Mr.. Willis, Chicago it is
he replied. as he engaged himself in
making his official memorandum.
He handed back the pass with a
pleasant observation on the state of
the weather and an inquiry as to the
general condition of the newspaper
business in Iowa was familiar enough
with the newspaper business to be able
TO make an Intelligent answer, but it
seemed to me that for a base railway
mental and hireling he was disposed
to be unpleasantly familiar. He passed
on through the train, but on his way
back he stopped and inquired: How
are the dear people in the matter of
paying up their subscriptions these
days. Mr.. Willis? Get plenty Of cord
wood?
Il realized the necessity of tact, and
aswered him with a violently humor-