The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-10-20
'Nss1A
A GATEMAN'S TRIALS.
MANY REQUESTS TO REFUSE AND
QUESTIONS 70 ANSWER

tnlS LADY.
Cant go unless you have a ticket"
But I'm only going to the
please step aside and let the people
pass.
The woman made way for the crowd
behind her, and mixed mean thing
and hateful bear" so literally with
her goodbys to her companion that the
short, jerky sentences were highly
amusing to those who witnessed the
scene. Admission to the train shed
had been refused to her by the door
man az the Grand Central Station.
The crowd about the door gradually
melted away, the doOrkeeper shouted
the warning: Five O'Clock limit train
all aboard" A gong struck sharply
somewhere near the platform outside.
The dporman shouted again. less de-
liberately: "Allaboard! banged the
door, turned the key and the last
chance for the o'clock train for that
day was gone. Gone for the ordinary
traveller, for the man or woman VINO
does not know that there is still
chance for the fleet footed train catch
er. The late man comes through the
door sprinting like a professional on a
cinder path but less comfortable, with
grip and cane and umbrella. One
glance at the door shows him that the
last signal has been sounded, and
without a word he rushes past the
people who are already forming in line
for the next train, past the groups Of
idlers, sightseers, porters and passen-
gers. TO the north door Of the station.
into the baggage room to a Stat gate
which is for the use OF station employees
only He knows how the catch works,
the gaze opens, he reaches the platform
and swings himself at the risk OF life
and limb on to the rear platform of the
last car-but he gets there. That's
the way | always catch a train. he is
apt to say when some one who saw
his performance wonders at his meth
cd,
Life would be less 6urdensome to the
man al the gate if more people would
disobey the rules and catch the NOV
Ing trains He would have fewer
questions to answer to the people who
come just a minute too late. The left
behind men are, as q rule, less philOso-
phieal than the women. Its too bad"
the women say, and they put their bags
and bundles down on a seat and sit
down next 10 them and then they think
what the men usually say. After a
few minutes they sneak up and ask
when the next train leaves, and then
either settle down and wait or check
their belongings and leave the station.
Some worry bit. and some put on a
don't care face open a box of candy
which was intended for company on
he fr. oil t,,
Men fuss and fume and fret, and Of
ten tell US our clocks are fast and that
the timetables are wrong and make
themselves nuisance generally said
the gateman. There is hardly a day
that some one does mot come to tho
door just few minutes late, and when
the first steam has been blown Off he
will tell us how he has taken trains at
all hours of the day and night, in all
parts of the country, and neyerGaissed
train before. That story is SO old
that we know it by heart Then We
have men who want company While
they wait for their trains, and knowing
that the man at the door has nothing
to do but change the Indicator so that
people may know at what stations the
next train will stop; stand at the door
and examine every ticket and see that
no passenger goes out whose ticket is
not good on that train; punch all the
tickets; keep a record of how many
passengers go through the door and
where they are going; keep people
back Who have no tickets and answer
all sorts of questions from those per-
tanning to the weather to timetable
COMMUNICATIONS that the man
at the door has only these little things
to attend to. they make aim their con-
fidant and tell him where they are 60
ing, why they are going and when
they expect to return, and the poor
gateman must listen and look pleas
ant.
"One of the most disagreeable per-
sons who come here is the man who
has an hour or more to wait for his
train. and employs the time in visiting
places in the neighborhood to see
what time it is and to keep himself
awake. He often does too much visit
ing. and comes back in an unsteady
condition and too late for his train.
Sometimes he loses his ticket, and
more often he thinks that he has lost
finds Ii for him in an inside pocket,
and then gets jumped on by the pas
senger for being so particular and not
letting the man out without showing
his ticket"
An amusing incident took place at
the station few weeks ago. A pOrtly
man with clothes of foreign cut, out
landish baggage and a decided Ger
man hrCgue, bought a ticket for a
Western point. and then bought a
sleeping berth and waited for his train
to be announced. AS soon as it was
called he got into line, occupied much
space with all his bags and bundles
and made people in front and behind
him uncomfortable. He had no SOON
er reached the platform than he drop
ped his baggage and freight and push
ed his way back into the waiting room.
ran up TO the police officer and said
JreathleSsly:
say lost my birthmark."
Your birthmark? Where was it?"
Here in my pocket in.
In your pocket? That's a nice
place to have one, said the officer,
wishing TO humor a crazy man. How
did it look?"
"Red-fool-like all birthmarks; l
can without it not in the sleep
CO." and he rushed to the ticket win
dow, where they knew that the Ger
man meant berth check when he said
birthmark. and the matter was set
tied to his satisfaction. The crowds
had gone through the door and it was
nearly train time when he came
bounding back and up to the ticket
window, where. with profuse apologies
he told the clerk that he had found
his birthmark. New York Tribune