The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-02

PASSENGERS STRUGGLE FOR PLACES
ON THE ANCIENT VEHICLE.
Usual Resolutions to Quit Numerous
Forms of Naughtiness Made on
First Day of the Year.

The water wagon started on its annual
trip at midnight Wednesday and up until
late hour this morning was travelling well
under weight. When the wagon started IL
was loaded to the guards. Men were strug-
Cling for positions on the seats, the roo1
was crammed with passengers and friend
ly competition was held for the reins and
the brake of the vehicle. The coaching
horn was footed often and by many. one
toot was allowed each man every once In
a while and if the toots could have peen
interpreted they would have been, Il have
not taken a drink this year" The water
wagon, when last seen, was not so crowd
ed. Several falls from II had been made,
and few passengers were being held on
by anxious friends. These, with their feet
dragging the ground, formed handicap
to the horses, which showed clearly that
sooner or later the trip would abruptly
end and the old wagon again be laid up
for repairs.
A trip over the path of the wagon would
have been ruinous to shoes and dangerous
to bicyclists. The path was literally strewn
| with broken glass and demolished bottles.
Those fat, square-faced bottles in which is
kept, and more often poured out, gin, were
| there. The long, thin-necked bottles famii-
| lar to the young man who tries to be a
| good fellow and spends his daily pay for
| one of them were there. Large 'schoon-
| ers," known to the man who believes in
| quantity and is not insistent on quality,
blocked the road in places and the thin,
| shell glasses from which heres luck" Is
| drawn helped to add to the litter.
| STOPPED AT THE CLUBS.
| The water wagon made its stops during
| the early morning hours at the clubs.
| Passengers getting on struggled with each
other for good seats. and at the hotels
| cargoes of observation-disclosures
me boys endangered the springs of the
wagon by leaps for places. At one or two
stops some fellows got off. Reminiscent
talks of what happened a year ago and
how the resolutions suffered induced many
of the men to give up the attempt and
their ambition not to miss an opportunity
if they were to begin the inevitable dur
ing the year caused Decentralization.
The water wagon caused some hard feel
ings. The saloon keeper and the restaurant
man. the cigar dealer and the wine mer-
chant do not believe in the good points of
| the team and the stability of the vehicle.
| For many years they have watched the
| journey TO its end and always found that
| the wagon was poor craft for a man TO
effect, though, for ten days after New
Years. In the language of the street.
| there is nothing doing at the clubs or sa-
| looms or cigar stores. Men swear OF and
| they stay sworn off for a few days. Dur
| ing this time they spend their money on
candy and flowers and girls and theater
| tickets and their leisure hours in writing
| congratulatory letters to themselves and
| posing before the looking glass in sober
| attitudes.
This causes suffering among the liquor
| tradesmen. Business is business and rents
and light bills must be paid. To pay them
it is needed that the customers bring their
custom. But the tradesmen accept 1t.
| They know what they are "up against,
for each year furnishes an example. But
they retain hopes and they can see in the
distance on the road which the water wag-
| structions which. sooner or later. cause
| the passengers to become alarmed.
QUITTING MANY THINGS.
The resolutions to give up drinking and
cigars were not the only ones. Some men
and some girls made resolutions yesterday
which, IL they live up to them, will make
this earth a second Paradise. Resolutions
to quit smoking cigarettes, quit playing
rag-time, quit going to theaters, quit teas
ing little sisters and quit fooling young
men who imagine that they are 'it," but
are nit" and all sorts of others were
registered. Married men resolved to take
their wives out oftener. Married women
resolved to longer ask embarrassing
questions when Office hours unaccountably
prolonged the absences of their husbands
Little boys resolved to quit asking impos-
sible questions of their fathers and little
girls resolved that they would agree with
other little girls that their dolls were equal
| ly as sweet as their own.
| Street car conductors resolved to be more
courteous and the management of the road
| resolved that Ii would lease itself to an
other terminal company, Walters In
| restaurants resolved that they would lool
| pleasant and furnish muciage with every
plate Of oatmeal served to fellows acct
dentally dropped from the water wagon
Newspaper carriers resolved to tell tn,
truth about extras and policemen resolved
| to stay out of saloons and dodge bad
Sumatra-wrappered cigars. The telephon,
girls resolved that they would answe
some calls and that they would not Away!
| find a much wanted line busy.
Men who have seldom gone to church II
recent years, but who have an ambition t,
| go some time, resolved that they would d,
it. Definite plans were not formed b!
| many but in haZy way IL was resolved
that some day, when the ushers were no
| looking, they would sneak in church an,
| get under an areaway to keep the roo
from falling around them.
Some politicians resolved that they woult
| Quit being politicians and become states
| men One elevator boy is known to hav
| promised himself that he would only rea
three pages of his novel after hearing
| call and several newspaper reporters re
solved that they would conflne themselve
| strictly to legitimate news and serve it a
true as could consistently be done and tel
the STORY"
Farewell to naughtiness is the clarion call