The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-23
TALL TEXAN INNOCENCE.
Passenger Agent NnEner's New sta
tistics of New York Honesty.
From the Dallas News.

From the Dallas News.
Alfred S. Wagner, general travelling pas
senger agent of the Texas and Pacific, has
returned from a visit to st. Louis, Chi
cago and New York 1t was his first trip
out of Texas. He went away with a look
of childish innocence and guilelessness in
his eye and came back with the sordid,
CLASSY stare of a bunco steerer of the cal
culating glance of a burglar. He is old
and sad and tired. He says he lived ten
years in three weeks, and when he left
he was going at the rate of a year a
second. If he had stayed another half
day he would have been 2,0OO years old,
as they count life in Texas.
His experiences began in st. Louis He
was standing on the corner of Fourth and
Olive, looking around at the big buildings,
when a nicely dressed fellow slapped him
on the back and said:
Hello Johnnie! How are all the bows In
Fort WORTH"
That was what Wagner had been look,
ing for.
Go on off, now am from Texas but
my name IS not Johnnie, and l am nor
from Fort Worth"
Where are you from-Dallas?"
That's right"
well, how are Cooper Mott and Barney
Fegan and Billie Crush and Ed Bixby
getting on?"
Wagner loosened up a little, and re-
ported on the condition of the celebrities
named.
And my old friend. Tom Kingsley, is he
still there?"
You bet"
Il think you said your name was
Wright?"
mo, sir; my name is A. S. Wagner of
the Texas and Pacific, the old reliable"
Yes, thats right. Wagner, let's go
hay
After talking awhile Wagner's new
found acquaintance had to meet an en-
gagement and ALI strolled into the Plan
ters' to see what was going on. At the
door he met youngster who looked at
him a second and then walked UP and
grasped his hand.
Hello, WagnerI When did Won lava
Dallas?"
Yesterday morning"
How can Harry Hatch and Jim Boyle
ana old man Starr Jones get on without
your"
What boots 1t to tell the conversation
mat cost Wagner $40? 1t ought to be
enough to know that 1t did cost him a bill
Nowlng never to be worked again. Alfred
went on TO New York. He had letters Of
introduction to some people, but was
AFRAID to present them less they might
turn out to be the wrong people. Besides.
ms 81. Louis experience made him a little
shy OF Cooper Motifs friends. On the sec
ond day OF his stay in the great metropo-
lis he was down in City Hail Park.
Look at that man on the spjre of tho
Tribune building" exclaimed a voice at
his shoulder.
wagner looked and looked long. but he
dld not see the man on the spire, and when
ne turned around the owner of the voice
had disappeared. He strolled around
rev minutes. He remembered that he had
an engagement TO meet a friend and
reached for his watch The timeniece
was gone. SO he went and bought an
other and kept the matter silent.
wagner believed that the next man who
GOV anything OF of him would be a dan
dy. de strapped his new watch around
his waist with a trace chain. secured HE
SHOES by straps over his shoulders fast
ened MS neckties to both his vest and his
SHIRT ana feit reasonably secure. That
night ne went down to a music hall to see
1he greatest vaudeville in America. As
ne was leaving one man on a corner said:
may trouble you for a match sir,'
wagner unbuttoned and reached in his
pocket Tor the match He handed the
match, the man grabbed his right hand
Whlle another fiinehed his pocketbool,
from MS inside vest pocket. Before Wag-
ner cOuid recover from his surprise both
men were lost in the crowd.
He had no adventures in CHICAGO no
cause It Is said he would not venture orr
Oh the MOTEL without an experienced bodv-
guard. This is what he says of his trip:
mad the hottest time you ever read
ABOUT: IL was continual whirl from the
time ! LETT Dallas TILL 1 got back. and /
am. glad TO get back to a place where
you can snake hands with man without
keeping your hand on a gun or a. knife
MY! but those towns are warm ones New
= rk Is said to contain 1900, 900 people. /
believe that 2,975.0OO OF them are confidence
men and the other 5000 are honest iusf
because IL pays Texas is good enough
for me for awhile"
s-S-s-