Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1904-06-07
THE TICKET AGENT
MOST WORRIED OF RAILROAD.
MEN, is GENERALLY EXCEED.
lNGLY PATIENT.
Some Of the PerpIexing Questions
Asked Ticket Agent and the
Pleasant Task Of Answerins-What
a Reporter is Told.

No wonder railroad men who deal
with the travelling public become cross
and sometimes cynical; the wonder
is they don't find early graves and
lose their souls. And some of them
do. OF all railroad men, ticket agents
perhaps have the hardest lot; they
have their hands full' as the saying
is, for men must come and men must
go. They deal with all classes of hui
manity and consequently learn hui
man nature thoroughly, and some of
them get SO they hate the sight of a
face, but not so with the Ottumwa tick
ct sellers.
1t is the American public that can
ask more questions and do more un-
called things than any other people on
the globe. That is what makes the
ticket agents life round of irrita-
ton. That he sis paid for it" as men
will say and do. does not ease the
burden.
A Cheerful Conversation.
Some time since a local agent had
an engagement which he desired most
heartily to fill and that being the case
of course the travelling public was de-
termined on delaying him.t And peo-
pie, somehow, wanted to go every
where from Maine to Mexico, to New
Orleans and to Cuba, to the World S
Fair City, to San Francisco and to
Honolulu; - why it looked as if OF
tumwa folk wanted to go to the four
corners of the earth If you know any
thing about the ticket agents job, you
know that it takes time to look up diff
ferent routes to determine mileage,
| rates, etc. 1t seemed on that day that
people wanted to know everything, but
the wost natural question was:
when does my train Gomez"
"It is due here at 1O:30," was the
reply of the hard worked railroad man.
"At 1920 did you say?"
"Yes."
''Is it late?"
'It is"
"How much?"
"You can see by the bulletin board
can't you? There its is: 80 minutes
| late"
The woman walked away. "Now
why couldn't he tell me about my train
without my asking him SO many ques-.
| IlOl0 anu WAlhouC GOIIi1G maui ohS
said to herself Simply because he
had answered that question seven
times that day and was so busy just
then that he could hardly draw a
| breath.
Regarding Womans Change.
This was merely a dialogue of nc
moment, but the next which came was
something unusual. She had been
/ treated outrageously, SO she thought
and her face was as red as the rib
| bons On her bonnet
Il believe SIR" she said, when she
drew near the window, chat you have
4 made mistake. You have given me
/ insufficient change"
i And, turning to show the agent who
was not from Missouri, she struck q
mild hammered man in the eye with
her umbrella. This gentleman had
tried hard to dodge it, but couldn't;
and when it struck him he yelled
fiercely.
The ticket agent was the only calm
man in the house. Sticking a man in
the eye was a mere bagatelle;" he
had seen that performance a hundred
times in his life.
81 guess you are the one who is mis-
taken,' he answered the woman mild
i ly.
4 She counted then grew confused fol
she found she was wrong and she al
SO remembered the mild hammered
j man and the umbrella incident. She
recounted her change; then said soft
i ly:
Il guess you are right
Meets Many Characters.