The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-04
ABsENT-MINDED NEW WORKERS
\ curious Lot of Articles Left in the
Elevated Cars

Elevated Cars.
From the Kew York SUM
II the human head wasn't reasonably
well affixed to the human shoulders. the
average citizen of New York would Ieave
! his behind him whenever he got off a
train. Anyway this is the belief Of the
Manhattan Elevated Railroad employees in
the Lest Department" at . Morris Street
II might better be called the found" de-
partmeut. for hiJher come all the things
that people leave behind them in the Gle
waited road cars. There used to be. on up
per Park Row, a pawubrOker's window
into which every small article was piled
indiscrminately as soon as its time Of re-
demptiOn elapsed That window was a
very wonderful exhibit OF miscaliauies, but
at no stage OF its existence could il COM
pare with the big lumber room at Morris
Street
Almost every trip of the elevated trains
adds something to the mass Of variegdted
property. The shopping hours are most
productive Of general merchandise, but
there is likely to be a good haul of opera
glasses from the before and after theatre
trips and canes gloves. and even hats are
frequently collected between midnight aud
dawn. after the plunging exit from taa
train Of gentlemen who positively won't
20 home until morning. OF the losing Of
hours of the day and night and Of all
styles, paper-bOund. morocco backed, and
coyerless: and on all topics. Recently al
deliberately annotated Horace stood shout
der to shoulder with an Illustrated treatise
on the use of the chatting dish, while the
chaste and sanity L. p. Roe supported.
without apparent distress, the immediate
proximity Of "S3ppho;" upheld. however.
on the other side by a volume of temper
ance pamphlets.
Literary popularity. so the employees in
the department say. can be gagged accu-
rately from the condition Of their library.
A volume begins to be one of the books Of
the season. when it lies ownerless. on the
seats OF the elevated trains. There was a
time when the Prisoner OF Zenda" used
TO come in. five and six at a time. 4 LITTLE
later Hall Game Christian" lied the
lost" booksheIves. Now David Harum's
quaint dialect abounds, and various hero
works on Dewey fill the shelves. There IS
always stock trade of Thackeray
Dickens, Stevenson, and Kipling. Occa-
sonally a Bible comes in. II does not ap-
pear. however. that the Metropolitan public
is much given to reading the Bible while
In transit Prayer books are more com
mon. and even hymn books. Magazines. Of
course. are left in practically every train,
They are regarded as purposely left be-
hind. and in that light constitute perqui
cite Of the guard.
Umbrellas always take up large part Of
the floor space in the lost" room. 4 curl
Gus thing about them is that they are less
frequently claimed than any other class of
goods The man who loses an umbrella
takes It for granted that the finder will ap-
propriate it, That's what he would do
himself if he found an umbrella. Perhaps
he'd even appropriate il without its being
lost if it happened to be a very wet day
and the owner wasn't looking.
Some say morality may attain to the
point where the transference Of owner
ship in the matter OF umbrellas without
due agreement Of both parties Will be
regarded as unrighteous. In that day the
lion will lie down with the lamb and the
rest Of the millennium will be at hand.
Meantime the Manhattan Elevated Road
viii continue to add to its unique collec-
ton Of rainfenders, and the losers, in
stead OF seeking to recover their prop
crty. will despair for a time and then I
make glad the heart of the haberdasher
by purchasing another umbrella, also to
be lost in time. Just as the books show
the trend Of literary popularity, so the /
umbrella market acts as a barometer. A |
large intake of umbrellas in the morning /
means that it was raining. OF threaten
ing rain. when the business public started /
down town. but cleared up before they got |
to their destination The sunshine drove |
umbrellas out OF their heads and they left !
those useful articles leaning against their /
seats. Similarly. an evening crop indicates !
foul weather during the day. clearing /,
away late in the afternoon. From this it |
would appear that the citizen who can't !
afford a large annual outlay to keep his |
head dry had better walk to business or |
hitch his umbrella to his person in some |
way.
Everything a man can carry that isn't |
made fast to him in some way comes in /
here" said the clerk OF the lost" de- /
partment few days ago.
As he said it he was Interrupted by the !
angry chatter Of a Gagged blackbird, which /
had recently come in. Near the black 1
bird stood an enormous German bun Ten |
tered from a Second Avenue train; sup /
posed to be the property of feshy Ger |
man lady who. after disembarking stood |
upon the platform and yelled loudly but /
incompreheisbly after the departing cars),
and the blackbird wanted the bun; hence
the chattering Nearby crutch leaned
up against the wall. 1t was new eruteh;
so probably it was forgotten by some
person who was delivering it. Once there
.A.t uad k