The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-11-07
The Pc SIS Habit.

few of us on the professors porch
! were talking of the power of habit and
| the foolish things it sometimes makes us
| do.
II once had an experience said the
railroad official which 1 am almost
afriad to tell. It's so absurd that it
! sounds like fiction, and very poor ftc-
! ton at that
| The professor said that was the best
possible indication of it's truthfulness,
| and begged him to tell it
well, 1t is true, every word of it" the
railroad man went on. 81 had been an
officer of the Chicago, Burlington Il
Quincy railroad in Illinois for many years
and, of course, had annual passes over
all the important railroads in the coun-
try. My duties took me to Springfield
the state capital, very often. and, as [
almost always went by the Chicago, AL
ton & St Paul road, the conductors on
that line knew me so well that they
never asked to see my pass.
"One winter a gang of blood-suckers
in the legislature were bent on eXtort-
ing money from the railroads by means
of several bills which they threatened to
pass if we did not buy them off 50 l
spent considerable time at the capital
watching our interests. In fact, | was
there so much that l retained room in
the Leland hotel by the month. One day
l received a telegram summoning me to
meet one of the officers of our company
at Aurora the next morning. | had only
a short TIM in which to catch the train
haste went away, leaving my book of
passes in my bureau drawer. 1 did not
find this out until / reached Chicago. and
was about to take the last train for Au-
rora that night. Then | saw that the
conductor. a man brought over from the
Iowa division, was stranger to me, anu
the fact that | should need my pass re-
minded me that | did not have II.
Il told the conductor the situation but
he said he could not carry me on my
mere representation that l had pass.
Why man. said |. 1 am an afficer
of the company, going to Aurora on COM
pany business. and this is the last train
that will get me there in time. You must
take me-.
He was polite but firm. He said he
was a new man on this division. and
could not afford to make any mistakes.
When | saw that he was determined
rushed off to the telegraph office, but I
was too late to catch anybody authorized
to issue passes so settled it in my mind
that | must go by carriage and the pros
pect of an all night ride over the bad
roads through the dark was anything but
alluring Indeed, it was so forbiddins
that resolved to make one more appear
to the conductor.
" You simply must take me to Aurora,
L said with intense earneStness.
- 1 can't do it. he answered. But | be-
leve you are what you represent your
self to be, and | will lend you the money
personally 1t was only SLIP.
Well, sir, you could have knocked mo
down with the flat side of a palmleaf fan
7 had more than $1,000 in currency in my
pocket, but it never for an instant oc-
Cured to me that l could pay my fare
and ride on the train. | showed the con
ductor a wad of money that made his
eyes stick out
=" 4 thought it was funny said he. that
a man in your position couldn't raise SLIP |
1t was that that made me believe you
We're playing trick to see if l would vio- !
late the rule
But the simple truth was. I had ridden |
everywhere on passes so many years that !,
did not think l could ride in any other !
way