The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-29

of returning it was also somewhat out
of the ordinary. Without calling the
newspaper correspondents about him
to give out star-spangled interview
he walked into a railway attorneys
office and laid down on his desk an
| unused complimentary ticket from
Argentine to Topeka with thirty cents
in change and said; Take Back Your
lars for I'm that much to the bad
on a free trip to Kansas City by way
of Argentine besides all the incon-
venience and annoyance of the trip,
still there is literally thirty cents COM
ing to your old railroad on my trans
portation from here to Kansas City
and here it is"
And then he told his hard luck
story. Like some two hundred other
Topeka people the man and girl had
gone to Kansas City to see the Music
Master. The man had a Santa Fee
pass to Argentine; the girls ticket
was paid for at the legal maximum
rate They took an early afternoon
train that stops at Argentine but there
was something the matter with the
engine and the train after crawling
on to a siding just beyond Lawrence
and the Kansas City passengers were
ordered out to take a fast train just
behind. This train didn't stop at Ar
genuine and when the conductor saw a
pink check in Our Hero's hat he de-
manded that he pay his fare. Our
Hero tried to talk him out of it but
II was no use so he paid the fare
from Lawrence. $3.50. They arrived
in Kansas City about three hours
later than they had expected and the
people whose guests they were to be
while they were in town had to wait
dinner for them. They had no time to
dress either for dinner or the play and
arrived al the theater a minute after
the curtain had gone up so they had
to stand during the whole of the first
act. This made it lovely for their
host and hostess who had waited all
week to see the Music Master just on
their account. They expected to stay
in Kansas City until the following
evening but learned that the only
train that stopped at Argentine and on
which his pass would be honored left
the city at four-thirty. This neces-
STATED their cutting short an after
noon drive and further upsetting the
plans of the people who were enter
to Argentine before and had no idea
of the JOYS the trip had in store for
them-the interesting fellow-passen-
gers, the stock yards and packing
house scenery. and so forth. Neither
had they any idea of the distance and
of course they underestimated it. After
riding on the street car for an hour
and half they reached the Argen-
tine Santa Fe station half an hour
after the train had left. The Man
With A Pass was now desperate and
ready to pay his fare back home, in
fact this was the turning point in the
career of Our Hero and reformer. At
the Argentine station they were told
that a Santa Fe train for Topeka left
the union depot at six O'Clock, so they
started back for Missouri. They had
the usual trouble with street car con-
ductors who were, presumably, full of
information but hated to give 1t up,
or over-raady to dispense Information
that didn't inform but they made
their perilous way, again via stock
yards and 1.-The Jungle to the union
depot only to be told, "There'lI be no
Santa Fe train until nine o'clock At
this Our Hero's righteous indignation
against a soulless corporation which |
would seek to evade just laws and |
corrupt the pure young manhood of |
the land was so great that he thought |
the only proper rebuke he could offer |
was to refuse to ride on their old road |
under any circumstances. Besides it |
was a case of anything to get out of |
City. So he bought two tick |
cts for Topeka and they boarded a |
Union Pacific train. His attempt to |
get to Kansas City on a free ticket in
spite of the Hepburn rate law had |
cost him three dollars and thirty
cents. just thirty cents less than the |
regular railway fare, plus street car
fare to and from Argentine for two,
and an extra fare from Kansas City |
to Topeka for the girl.
At Armstrong a whole bunch of To- |
peka people got on and Our Hero re- |