The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-07
LEFT BEHIND IN SLEEPING CARS.
Many Odd Belongings Forgotten by
Hurried and Careless Passengers.


From the New York Evening Post
When the occupant of a berth in a sleep
ing car oversleeps and is hastily routed
out to make a way station at an early
hour in the morning, he usually leaves
his poke book or watch or some piece of
personal properly in the berth behind him,
only to realize the fact when, half awake
on the station platform, he goes through
his pockets while the train speeds away
miles beyond. Railroad men have found
this carelessness so common that system
whereby lost property can be collected and
reclaimed has become a natural develop
ment in the departments which have TO
do with the comfort and convenience of
the passengers.
The instruction of employees is first nee
essary to the efficiency of the lost article
department. Porters are under orders to
search their cars thoroughly at the end of
each run. Conductors are also held re-
sponsble. and even then, when the car
is sent to the shippers in the yards, the
cleaners often find lost property tucked
away under seats and carpets or behind
steampipes. Everything thus found is TAX
en- to the nearest terminal, from whence
with description it is reported to- head
quarters
Uptown, near the Grand Central station,
is the central bureau or headquarters of
lost property comes trailing in from Sc
attle and 81. Louis, and from Cincinnati
and Portland. Me. As it comes in it is as
sorted entered upon the company's books
and filed 10 await claim.
Communication and The carrying Of
packages between terminals and head
quarters is accomplished by means OF clos
ed pouches aboard the palace cars. Be
tween New York and each Of the termi-
nails there are four pouches in operation.
! One pouch is always at the office at ca h
end of the line and two constantly on
the road between. Each pouch is closely
watched and even though its contents may
be but a collar button or a pair of cuffs it
is duly rece.pted for and rs passage check
ed from ear to car on its journey up or
down the line.
A list of articles on hand adt headquar-
ters vii lrun from purses and valuable jew
elry, railroad tickets, etc. to toilet sets
wearing apparel add sleeping gowns. ON
cars coming up from the South sucn
strange pets as horned t1ads. snakes an |
centipedes have been found sent TO head
quarters and reclaimed, Record even is
had of babies being fouad and carefully
tended by the railroad men until the par
ents identify their own again. Sets of false
teeth are said TO be quite common object =
in the packages labeled "lost" and S Mt Oh
to headquarters. Probably the strangest
find made by a porter Of a sleeping car
was a wooden leg. reported by an agent
at a southern terminal. What the circum-
stances were surrounding this useful APP
pendage the books of the lost article de-
partmeut do not explain, but the own r
was prompt with the necessary identinca-
| ton and he recovered his property.
Notwithstanding the number of lost ar
ticies returned TO their owners-and the
manager of the local Office says these W.
! erage Ave a day-the store room of the
I Es.f.l
| of goods which represents the accumula-
! lions of years. The stock does net in
| clude the linen and general clothing.
| which. after remaining several months I'M
| claimed, is given 10 hospitals and the
worthy poor.
"Of course" said the manager of one of
| the two large palace car companies before
their consolidation. There are a large
number of things lost by our passengers
! which we never find. These are principAIlv
| articles exchanged by absent minded per-
! sons who either never take the trouble
/ to correct their error OF vino are so SAT s.
! fled with the exchange that they don't care
| to recover their own. TEen, again We
/ have found in our experience with the
! travelling public tina, utevos who ride In
| palace cars do not wear placards denot-
| ing their profession"
The manager secuted the idea that por-
tiers managed 10 get away with a large
! amount o. properly itlt nlnu IN their
! cars. These men, he said ARE never
taken into our en- aloy unless they can
! show an indorseme NJ Of tn, II work for he
! past FIVE years. These must b verified.
and OF the large number of applicants wc
| take our pick from the hest men We
seldom secure a Rascal Colored portets,
| as a rule, are an honest lot, but Outlines
one goes the crooked path in service"
An OLD employe In the railroad service
was more skeptical than ihe man ger as
to porters. You can't Judge porters." ne
said. i've heard Of boys finding prop
erty day after day and turning II in lust
as quickly as they found il. only to finally
/ yield 10 temptation ana keep The next we'll
| filed pocketbook they found. These mon
! don't prosper. though for they generally
| get pinched' in the end. Then It's over
| the walls. sure. palace car these days
is pretty safe place-except In a COLI
sion and then we are al lapt TO get jam
i