The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-03

hSuI housekeeping. Address
Times Office.
Every shipper, everywhere you 20, in
all parts of the universe, has the same
complaint to make and the same story
is told in every civilized language. In
all my travels l have never yet dis
covered railway Utopia where the
tarins are satisfactory to all con-
cerned and where no determinations
are made. Great Britain is supposed
to be thoroughly regulated" so far
as transportation arrangements are
concerned, but the other day l heard
an indignant shipper asserting that
he had to pay as much to seni a pack
age of goods from London to Canter-
bury as it cost him to send the same
thing to Norway, and he felt like
pulling the railroad up by the roots
to get even. In Germany on the gov
eminent lines, as we'll as those owned
by private corporations, shippers find
dissatisfaction for the same reasons,
and suppose it is also true in France
and elsewhere. In Russia the govern
ment controls everything and is arbi-
trary but just. The minister of CON-
munication, Prince Khilkoff, who was
educated in America, knows his busi-
ness. He is probably the hes. rail-
road man in Europe.
For these long journeys you get
your tickets in little books about four
inches square, printed on pink paper,
with one leaf for every different rail-
road you pass over, or FOR every divis-
ion OF the long roads. The sleeping
car ticket is always large as a pass
port-about the size of sheet OF fool
soap paper, but most of the space is
taken up by rules and regulations
printed in three different languages,
and the reverse side is covered with
advertisements and a list of hotels be-
longing to the sleeping car company
In different parts of Europe. 1t is
French concern and has quite as
much monopoly as the Pullman COM
pany. 1t not only operates the Sleep
ing cars on nearly all the railroads in
Europe, but also the dining cars, any
number of eating houses and hotels
in London, Paris, Berlin, Monte Car.
10, Rome, Venice, Vienna, CONSTANT
nople and dozen other different
cities. 1t owns the two principal
hotels in Cairo, Egypt. These hotels
and much of the property have been
purchased out of the profits of the
sleeping car business, and yet none
of the governments has ever attempted
to pass a law reducing the rates
which, as rule. are more than dou-
BILE those charged by the Pullman
company for similar distances.
The regulations are very strict and
often offensive. For example, you can
not reserve berth in advance with
out paying for it, and you pay for it,
you cannot surrender it in case some
thing happens to prevent your jour-
ney. The sleeping car agent will sell
1t for you on his private account, and
charge you 10 per cent commission
after every other berth in the train is
sold, but it will not be redeemed at
the headquarters of the company ex-
cept for especial reasons, and under
pressure from influential persons in
the government, or on the stock mar
ket. Once when l was on my way
to Constantinople l was recalled about
the middle of the journey and after
ward sent in the remainder of my
sleeping car ticket for redemption. I
received letter from headquarters
asking my reasons for giving up the
journey. When wrote them that
1t was sickness in my family they re-
piled that such excuse was not suffi-
Gent. l don't think they would re-
deem a ticket even if the passenger
died. They would not consider even
that sufficient for giving up jour-
ney.
A single first class ticket from
London to st. Petersburg costs $3.50.
For the same distance in the United
States the rate would be about $50
to $35 at the most. The sleeping car
charge to Petersburg is $3.50. For
the same distance in the United States
it would usually be $3.50, or not more
than SO. The passenger is allowed
fifty-six pounds of baggage in Europe,
while in the United States he is al
lowed $50 pounds, and between Lon
don and Petersburg he is compelled to
pay shilling pound for every ounce
above the allowance. l had one or
binary trunk weighing 1O8 pounds, so
that l paid $3.50 on my extra bag
gage, making the total cost of the
journey $91, when in the United States
for travelling similar distance the
expense would not be more than $40
or $45 at the outside.
The meals in the dining cars are
served on what is known as the table
d. hote plan. Breakfast. consisting Of
very bad coffee, very good rolls, and
nothing more, is 81 cents; luncheon
of four courses is 81. while dinner of
six courses is SIPS.
A porter meets you as your cab
rolls up to the door of the station. He
puts your trunks upon truck, or
"luggage-barrow," as they call it over
here, and wheels them into the bag
gage room to pair of scales set level
with the floor. 1t takes the weight
master only an instant to ascertain
the weight, which he records upon a
blank, with the number of pieces and
the number of railway tickets. He
hands you this slip and points to a
hole in the wall on the other side of
the room. You get into line and wait
your turn. When you reach the win
dow you pass in your blank with your
railway tickets, and the baggage
agent, after making a mathematical
calculation, hands them back with
slip upon which is written your des-
tination, the number of pieces of bag
gage, their weight, the allowance of
ffty-six pounds for each person in
the party, the excess to be paid for
and the amount due. You pay him