The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-12-27

The Tourist Must Lookout
for Himself
sor like IT IS In AMERICA
ostlss Tine Card Must Be Carefully
stud'sd and the Traveller Must
Learn % AK Questions or Suffer
Inconvenience.
81 cHARLEs BArTELL Loopls-

5y CHARLES BATTELL LOOMS.
Limerick. lreland-We are baby
fed TOO much ia America when We are
travelling. We enter the Grand Cen
tral, let Us say. with a more or less
definite purpose. of taking a certain
train, and We 80 to the ticket window
that IS always open and ask FOR 4
ticket Then VIE proceed to bureau
az information and learn ali there is
70 know about our train. and also
get time table without money and
without price.
One would suppose that that would
i be enough. One would suppose that
here The railroad company would
Rash its hands Of us and leave us to
our own blundering devices. But ~.
When the time for the leaving of our
particular train approaches. a man
! steps 10 an exalted place. and with
the voice Of Black PolIed Angus.
and the enunciation Of q President
Eliot he tells US through a mega
phone 50 that even the deaf may
hear that Train number eleven for
Stamford. Nor-waik. Bridgeport. New
Haven and Boston, will leave al one
one, on track number four
and ticket inspector sees TO #
that you have the right ticket, as you
approach your train And as Bridge
port Is approached, brakeman with
your interests at heart. and with
more Or less distinctness tells you
In strident tones. Passengers for the
berkshire and Naugaluck divisions
will change at Bridgeport"
You are constantly cared for and
looked after, and II you go wrong, you
give proof that permanent guardian
Is needed in your case.
But In Ireland you are supposed to
have bought time table, and to
have nemorized It's puzzling contents.
Do not for a moment think that
because you can make out an Amer 4
lean time table, with no symptoms Of
brain fever you are competent to fol-
low the curves Of an Irish one. say
an Irish one, but they are the same
10 England and Scotland land in
Wales for all / know. l never speak
but from experience.)
Having. on a former occasion,
proved conclusiyely that British rail.
way travel is on the whole more
comfortable than American railroad
travel II is only fair that / should
show up the defects of the system.
In the frst place. no matter how
big the crowd. the ticket seller viii
not open his window for tbs sale Of
tickets. until he can smell the smoke
Of the approaching train. and then the
people ahead Of you, are always stupid
Americans, who don't know what they
want, and who consume precious time
asking questions Of the busy man.
At last your turn comes, and you
ask him where you are to change, and
whether you pass a refreshment
booth. and whether you can break
your journey" and be interrupts your
perfectly natural questions, by asking
where you want to 90, and you say:
Give me a ticket to Bal-ly--oh dear.
it's Bally some place, but forgot the
last part"
Now In England, about this time, an
impatient Englishman would say: 4
s'y. move on there, and don't block
up the passage" but the Irishman be-
hind you sees that you are an Ameri-
can, and he likes you. and has pa
tience with you, because If his broth
er doesn't live in your town, his sis
ter or his aunt does, and he intends to
enter into conversation with you, when
you are seated, that he may find out
about his chances In the =
land Of dollar" when he emigrates
there next month.
Now, there are at least hundred !
Bally this and that's. but the bally
doesn't come to you. so
he man behind says: is It Baliy. :
:
mat IT, Nlfa me ticket one n
way TO BallyshanRon in the third :
lass. please
One single, Ballyshannon, third" Il
iorrects the ticket seller, and pushes \
lut a piece Of stiff cardboard at you, 5
hat doesn't look good to your Amer +,
can eyes. accustomed to something {,
hat haftor ehoua the raeo,,~,o. -
he printers art, but it is all you'll la
iet, and Il will often be looked at as Il
'ou 90 alongth is Why It's made !,
t stln cardboard s
And
When a guard looks at It, after you
ave started, you are in danger Of
DING to some place not down In your Il,
itinerary, unless you ask questions i
,araorabow that T4ha e.....a -