The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-20
WOMEN AND CAR PORTER S
A Way to Secure Attention While Trav-
cling and Keep the Attendant Cheerful


cling and Keep the Attendant Cheerful.
1t was so near the beginning of the
long stretch of prairie travel that the
train was still making its slow progress
out by way of the dull and dreary out
skirts of the city, where it had been
necessary to change cars on the COM
The porter had just slowed away his
landing stool and the uniform in which
he must be CARRIED to stand at the step
of his car. The season was the dull
period of eastbound travel, the woman
passenger was not only the only one OF
her sex on board, but was the solitary
occupant of the car. When, as the pof-
ter passed along the aisle, she halted
him and slipped into his hand a disk of
silver, the trained palm of the servitoI
had no difficulty in recognizing that II
was dollar which slid from hand &c
pocket. For the giver there was a
phrase of thanks; for his own apprecia-
ton there was the mumbled remark
This sho'ly is luck"
He rendered Immediate equivalent
The satchels and umbrella and tbs
other accomplishments of travel were
deity slowed out of the way with thai
economy of space which railroading
J teaches. He suggested that he had Z
clean cloth in which to tie up the bon.
net and store it in his linen closet, where
it would not be disturbed except wher
the inspector came aboard the car
There was no limit to his attentions
and they did much to clear aside the
many small difficulties of tiresome
travel. 1t really was not so much tbs
amount of the tip as it was the time
| chosen for presenting it which gratified
the porter, as was made manifest by
one of his scraps of conversation
Its this way, if you never done come
to think Of it before There ain't a
porter who could afford to take any run
if he was to get nothing but company s
wages. He certainly would go bank
rupt. You expect to make your living
out of other little things; not that any
of us gets as much as the funny papers
say we do, but there's a little coming in
for things the porter does that amt
paid for when you put down the price
of your sleeper ticket But when the
train pulls out and the porter takes
what you may say is his first real look
at what he's got in his car, it's eX-
pecting a good deal to expect him -
look right clipper and cheerful when
there's a dozen sections got ladies in
them but he's got to do it, for the COM
pany made that rule What's the rea-
son for it? Well, it's Just thfs. When
it's man all you have to do is to fix
his shoes and to brush him off when he
gets to his station; maybe he'll call for
a side screen when he wants the Win
dow up but that's about all, and he
just naturally gives you quarter.
That amt much to him, and it amt
much to the porter, but several of them
counts up. But with lady it's differ
emit. She's always mighty uneasy;
she's got to have table, and then she's
got to have it taken away, and the
window never does get to suit her, and
she wants pillow, and then she wants
more pillows, and you're lucky if she
doesn't ring you out of the only chance
you have to get nap in the whole run
just because she wants a glass of
water. And after all the things you've
been doing for her right along, she's
just as like as not to walk right away
as soon as you set her grips on the
platform.
"Oh, 1 can tell you, ladies on a car
Just naturally keep the porter guess
ing; they certainly do, and the company
says you must be cheerful. But when
there's lady gets into one of your sec
tons for the whole run, and she's used
to travelling about and to being looked
after, why, then she sort of knows that
the porter is looking at her, and she's
set him guessing whether she's one of
them sort that's no good except 70 the
company, or one of the other sort. So
if she's used to travelling, and maybe
knows something about what porters
has to do, well, she just sort of indi-
Gates to the porter-the way you've
done-that she's disposed to consider
him a business man"