Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1903-07-02
On the Train

The American railway car is a
place where we meet people of all
classes from all sections of our great
country. 1t is cosmopolitan. The
conversation there is as various as
the people are different. The topics
discussed extend over the whole field
of knowledge and of many things that
are not knowledge, just speculation.
The other afternoon on q North
Western main line car, to our left
were two ladies stoutly maintaining
an argument as to whether money was
necessary. There was not much new
in the arguments produced but the
spirit and vim of their deliverance
was refreshing. The older lady with
the extended experience belonging to
a gray haired matron declared home
in howell with love was happiness,
while home in palace without love
is misery. The young lady, viva
cious, ambitious, declared money car
do all things on earth. 1t can bring
pleasure, home, and travel, and
books, and music, and society, and
waiting attendants and admirers; that
it affords power for charity and good
works. She wanted wealth. SO the
argument went on, the old undeter-
mined question, promising to be fit
subject FOR argument for centuries to
come.
On our right sat a gentleman from
New York City, or Seattle, or Chi
cago. His voluble conversation be-
trayed equal familiarity with each of
these three great and busy centers.
What thing it is to be an American
citizen above the citizen of some one
locality! What breadth of vision
comes to one who knows the continent
as an open book, to one who knows
Wall street and Broadway and the
Bowery as well as State and Dear
born streets, or the city on the sound
where the Alaskan ships and ships
from the orient come in, and knows
the people in all these great marts
and their activities! But one who
knows all that and does not know the
people and the life of the people who
live between the cities, and make the
cities possible, doesn't begin to know
America.
In front of us sat Chinaman. He
was observed by all. The center of
attraction for the small boy and the
large one as we'll. At the stations
crowds would gather at the window to
gaze at his homely face. He main
tanned an apparent attitude of obliv-
iousness toward their looking at him
as well as towards their remarks
which he let on not to understand, but
which he did know very well, as he
spoke fairly good English. He was
going from Portland to New York to
see the country. He was born in
China but had lived i'm America many
years. When asked which country he
liked the better he said this country,
and when asked why he said because
"Here everything good" What a re-
mark. He could not be democrat
because he could not "view with
alarm" the conditions of our country.
He was an optimist. BY the way,
ones judgment as to whether any
thing here is good or bad depends on
one of two things, what kind of an ex-
perience he has just had previous to
making his observation and judg-
ment, or whether he belongs to the po-
litical party that is in or out. With
the Chinaman here everything is good
because in comparison with things In
China, this is true. With the demo-
crat every thing here is bad because
he thinks the republicans responsible
for present conditions and he thinks
the republican bad. We would as
soon risk the Chinaman's Judgment In
the matter as democrats, for he is
more unprejudiced.