The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-05
KEEPS EN- MOVING
Sam Ellis and His Voice Handle Fair
Crowds at Union
Station. :
He's Too Busy to Allow Leave
Taking on Board Trains
This Week.

"An aboard for Cambridge, Duluth and
points on the Eastern Minnesota, Great
Northern line! All aboard!'
What time does the 4:45 train 60? At
fifteen minutes of five, madam. There's
the clock right up there; better keep your
eye on it."
mo, young lady, you can't go out on
the platform to kiss them good-by.
Haven't got room nor time. This is our
busy day."
What time does the train from Cass
county get in? give it up. Where's
your friend coming from? Oh, from
Walker. That train'll be In in about TWEEN
ty minutes
"Now don't all you folks try to get out
at once, cause the gateman won't stand
for it. Easy there; easy there. All
aboard. Come again.
Thus does the genial Colonel Sam Ellis,
of more thon local fame, stand on the
union station and speed the parting guest
or welcome the visiting stranger, from
morn It'll night.
Colonel Ellis is the official announcer,
engaged annually by the union station
company to lend his voice and his ener-
gy to the promotion Of the company S
business on state fair week, the principal
in and out, loaded and unloaded as quickly
as possible. Without Colonel Sans per-
sonality, the union station would not be
itself on state fair week, and without his
presence there would be more blockades
and stampedes than the station sees each
night and morning. ssE
| This morning fourteen trains came in
end on end, and every one Of them was
crowded with state fair VISITORS each one
in a greater hurry than the other to gel
out and see the sights. Last night az
train after train pulled in from st. Pau
and pulled out again without taking or
a passenger-because there wasn't room
to crowd another one, on--the jam was
som ething fearful to behold, and worse
than that to be mixed up in.
| Crowds are just like a flock Of Sheep
said Colonel Sam, in expatiating upon the
beauties of keeping 'em moving" 70,
lean take a lot Of the most intelligent PEG
a strange place, and they just go wild
You can't handle 'em by ordinary means
You have to drive 'em.
"NoW, there's a man who'll ask M
when the train comes in from up state,
and it's on the square with 'em, too
Most always you have to tell them twice.
And the kissing and hugging and al
the other fol-der-rol going on here whe1
the bunch begins to get away! Last nigh
it was awful. Honestly, one female he'll
the line ten minutes while she fondled
whole family. But we've put a stop t
that. There'l be no more Of the senti
mental thing around here this week.
"See me stop that woman? She wante
Z to 90 out to the train to see that gil
J off. said, you bid her good-by at tn
gate And that's the best she got. Blu
they're both better off and just as we
satisfied
It has been a case Of shout push an
, hustle with the union station employe
the past four days, from $50 in the morn
ing until late at night. Monday and Tues
day were probably the two heaviest day
the station has ever seen. But the stat
r fair visitors are still coming, with bag
gage Of weird sort and shape, with nerve
Of not the strongest sonrt, and with
penchant for forgetting things which
j.; really marvellous.
And the end Is not yet.