The age-herald., 1901-02-17
Some Scenes at the BvmxNgNam Passeugev 5tatsOO


from somewhere down the road gets cir a train and approaches a policeman. 10 you know Jim Jonet of the police roree he asks
 Yes" says the policeman, looking around to see if he can find Jones-
 "ls he stlil on the force?' asks me newcomer.
 Yes" says the officer, DO you want to see himY
 "Oh no, 1 jest wanted to know how be was getting on. He's from my town, you know
 Travellers have sublime faith in po- liceman He ia their only friend. They ask him where their relations live. They don't know themselves, but someooW lnsy think a policeman is a kind or Anna Eva Fay who knows it all The costume or ms interlocutor usually consists of pair or new russet boots laced up to his knees, with a handkerchief around his neck 10 protect his bran new collar.
 The ticket agent Is kept as busy as the getekeeper. lie ought to be gray-headeo from selling all sorts of tickets to all sorts of people from morning till night, but on the contrary he Is young man with light brow hair, A woman wants a ticket for her child to some nearby point. "Twenty-eight cents,' says the ticket man.
 But that Is a great deal of money for him." says the woman He is such little fellow"
 But he Is over age, madame, and that is the fare for children"
 This woman would doubtless welcome the proposed change to charge for chtl- dren by height instead of age.
 The faces of all the people waiting to buy tickets have the same expression Of anxiety at possibly not getting them in time. while people standing by the gate waiting 10 pass in resemble sheep with their universal facial expression of help lessness. Travellers as a rule are the most helpless class of people in the world. They only stand and walt and do what they are told Travelling Is a mys- tery to them. They are at the mercy of any ticket agent or station master. They can't tell where the various trains are going and have to rely on porter satekeeper for information. green ticket agent causes a world of trouble Recently agent in Texas sold man a ticket 10 Dade1ille on the Central Raii- road east of Birmingham He sold it over the wrong roads and the traveller came to Meridian over the Queen aad Crescent, from there he went to Selma over the Southern, thence to Montgom- cry and Columbus, Ga., and then back to Dadevllle. He rode 400 miles out of his way and missed connection at every point having to walt twenty-four hours Tn Meridian alone
 There is a striking difference between the waiting rooms for men and women Both are architecturally the same, both sre crowded with travellers and hand bag gage, but In the mems room everybody Is eating It resembles a wayside eating house more than anything else. The reg ular lunch room at the station is compar- atively empty. If Is so much nicer and cheaper to sit on a bench and eat fried chicken from a paper bag than to sit at a table and eat off of a plate
 Outside the station there are all kinds of birds of prey waiting for the unwpry traveller. Haekmen, agents, hotel run ncrs, newsboys and bunco men all have to live
 Inside the station there are scenes com ic and pathetic, many sad partings and joyous greetings. The greetings occur outside the iron railing. The final part ings sometimes take place with the bars between. Many a lover has kissed the loved one through these iron bars. There Is a tradition that on a very cold mornidg | when the thermometrr was below zero | q young man whose train was just start | ing attempted a final kiss through the | grating. In his haste his lips touched | one of the bars and froze to 1t. He lost | his train before he could be released.