The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-30

mav be interesting to state incidentally that the United States maii mater leav, Station amounts daily to from 300 to 4o'
 The dercase in the number of bicycles carried amounts to more than .g%e 5ses ma m', chimes. Tn 1890 the record was 5I, Du' ring last year ,t,fell to 8,s4e machines
 Another item to be considered tn dis cussing the baggage problem is tne IauI cul reforms in reducing the amount ol | extra baggage forced upon the railreadt to be carried free by fashionable women with immense saratoga trunks packed te the limit and the army Of hustling drum mers who cover the country, o,ten WI VIII r samples, ccfin trimmings, samples Of cemetery monuments and other mer' chandise all an enormous burden to tns ovcrburdened tvansportaIen lines;
 The abuse became so fragrant that the railway companies agreed to carry nc more extra baggage without pay, just as they covenanted to suppress rate cutting But the enterprisins agents of the varl- ous lines were always making conces- sions to get ''business until the abuse became almost insupportabie: Finally the New York Central resolved to act and charges from the roads violating the con tracts. If the Chicago agent of Wes- proceeded to collect the extra baggage to New York without charge, to secure
 lot of pn foo
 bill of the New York Central under the contract This rigid enforcement of the rule soon changed the system and put an end to the ipduigences of the. other roads.
 Mark the result According to the fig
 ures on the Grand Central books the to
 tai collections for excess of .basgage York Central. ss5s5'ic for 1901. against $Ss,367 .35. an increase of over N,90o: on the Harlem and Boston roads. sN.s9S.s' | against s256s7.s2 for the previous year |, The total collections for 1901 are nearly r 9 hundred thousand dcllars. an increase of over $10,000 for the year. Thus what was once great expense is now source
 Much has been said of the difference between tho baggage systems of this country and Europe Americans abroad usually denounce the European methods. As system, American baggage transpor- tation is colossal beside the every-maIt- | n-baggagemaster methods of bag | gage transportation abroad. but there is by the way of explanation.
 In the first place. an American travel | ing in the United States carri2s hve times | the baggage that an Englishman or a Forty pounds Of wearing apparel is the | limit over there. But If you're an Amer ican or a nobleman ard tip the train porter or guard a shilling or two double | the passenger. A good deal of vexation and worry to say nothing Of delay. can l be saved in Europe by an attractive shill- l ing effectively handled. In tffis country 1t is cold business-pay your money or
 When a New York woman visits New port or Saratoga she carries as much baggage as would supply a dozen wealthy European families en tour
 The European system Is certain to be | commended in many ways, because II l keeps down the amount of luggage~ one I carries. An ordinary psrtmanteau or two | or a small sole leather trunk, is consid- l cred ample for london gentleman when | he goes to the continent or to visit some nobleman in the country. i The improvements recently perfected for transfer of baggage in the Grand Gen. tral Station are not generally known to the public. Within q year an entirely new system has been introduced Under ground tunnels extending across the up- per end of the station connect the Van I derbilt Avenue side of the building with | the far away depot shed. where the in- ct ming trains discharge boggage and pas. sengers in the annex, opposite the Grand Union Hotel. There are dozen hydraulic | elevators as large as small houses. upor which trucks loaded with baggage are lowered to the asphalt corridors below and transferred to the various trains But a few minutes are reauired to transfer vast station. l On the SlQe where IuG tFAtnS afFiVeb LHe baggage room has been extended far out
 side the station. and Is now about ar eighth of mile long, and in it are four stacks of baggage. extending the entire
 The system of checking, Indexing. as
 sorting and storing the baggage is seie 1 to be comparatively new. and involves the latest innovations. Old fashioned checks are no longer used. Improved 1 cs rdboard labels are used. They are ar 1 ranged and indexed according to- theiI 1 numbers. running from the lowest to thC
 highest in regular succession, 90 that thu 1 baggage man can instantly find the prop
 CT check for sending trunk to any part I of the country. A complete record of al
 these checks enables the company to keoI
 received and delivered It Is claimed thaI | alterations. With 2 view to stealing tho
 baggage. are instantly detected.
 The baggage itself is classified by a sim
 pie system enabling employes to find any
 trunk in a minute or two. The last num- Der of the check Is the key to It's where
 abouts. Placards numbered rom naugnl ! to are distributed along the baggage
 room its entire length Of over lOO0 feet;
 There may be a million. trunks stored
 away, and the numbers may reach bil
 lions, vet the first figure to the right Of
 the check number Is, say Hs'OZ4, you
 find the trunk 1t reprssents under tht
 pIacard numbered 4. This system Is saic
 to work to a charm, and enables the com
 pany to handle an enormous amount oi
 haCEaRn Du2lneSS NltU ease anu ulSDdltu
 ii is he policy of the company to eTn
 t,loy no new men, no matter how grea
 the rush, unless necsssary because t i
 found better to have this important flea
 ture entirely in the hands of men wht , have been thoroughly trained in the com
 nany's service and whose honesty can bC
 Vouched for. A little matter of stealing
 4 check or two. or tampef.ng with thu
 addresses on the cards, might cost th'
 comnany large sums of money. Undei the nresent system, the claims for dam
 ages have been reduced to mere bage
 telle by the careful banding or th'
 trunks by experts said to be well paid.
 recent feature of European baggage
 checking is an arrangement between thu | New York Central dnd the London ant | Northwestern Road in England, enabling
 residence in New York ana delivered a
 gage which Americans insist on carry
 any address in England.
 | Tn view of the larger amount of Tug
 inc when they travel, 1t is impossible tC nske a fair comparison between the two systems It is true. however, that If thu | baggage usually carried Tn this country were a plrt If the passengers luggage ir Snain Germany or Russia, he would fnC nsvr dificuties in travelling which would nrobaTiv land him in the custom house
 or the nearest prison as smuggler or : "',Tp ,rbe same crush of baggage exists in a } greater or less degree at the other rail, l Tnsd stations but 1t Is quickly distributed l sr0ni gasn rooms of the different ferries q : New York. 90 that 1t is scattered and Sons not make the impressive spectacle ! seen in Forty-second Street.
 s'-After several officials in the
 CrarN Central Station yesterday had ex-
 ,6s g..45 9P0GunSsS 6pamlasSs PriSs adlsI 1G tai sai "They may laud our baggage hand r HHny and crack it up to the skies, bui
 the fact remains that when and arrive T
 toTonrc homu"1r with me and be at my hotel witt