Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-19

w knows 1t ALP
"Humph?-well. about half Of
~ it," answered the man at the
bureau of Information in the
Union station yesterday to The Star re-
porters questionable query.
'Oh. is that so!' the scribe taunted;
Il thought you knew it all!''
Perhaps you know the other half. old
SCOUT" was the quick retort. Nothing
malicious or unpleasant about the reply.
but just the Irresistible American impulse
to answer back breaking forth. under
malicious provocation. through the calm
official courtesy.
Sure. I do. But I want to know little
of your half of IT. What time do the
trains arrive from Cincinnati. Ohio?''
Ct and O.-6:47 am. and 3:45 pm.
PennsYkania-S:45 am. 1926 Am,
pm. and 40 pm. B. and O.-2:S7 am.
$50 am. and 1910 noon. Anything
more?'' was the prompt reply, ratified OF
without hesitation and without reference
to time table
''Whewr' gasped The Star man. Can
you do that any time you want about
any old placer
"Um-huh Bring the family and the
kids around some time when I'm not busy.
and I'll
We'll. 1 guess you're the man who
knows 1t all. all right, all right-both
halves. too!'' the reporter capitulated.
Then he went way back and sat down.
inside the bureau of informatiOn-and had
long talk with the walking encyclO-
pedia of timetable statistics.
No Question Stumps Him.
The man with the long memory, the
man who knows it ALL is Joseph A. Hur-
ney of 1923 w street northwest, and he
is chief of the bureau of information at
Union station. Ask him any old thing
about any old train leaving or arriving
any old time, and he can tell you all
about it-and that. too. without batting
an eyelid or hesitating a moment.
So his capable assistants w. NJ.
Steele. John Hurney and F. Neitzer, for
they are all trained men of long expert
ence in this ''you-press-the-b utton-and-
well-do-the-rest' business. Two work by
day and two by night in relays.
We don't know 1t ALL slfd Mr. Hurney
but We certainly do have to be on to our
jobs. There are seven different railroads
with terminals at the Union station. and
we have to know Their time tables by
heart. as the children say. to be able to
reply to hundreds of inquiries daily with
out loss of time in referring to them. And
then there are a dozen and one things
that every inquisitive passenger wants to
know about the dining car service. the
berths. the scenery. the towns along the
route. etc 4 man working in railroad
bureau of information has to have a map
of the United States and Canada in his
minds eye continually. And he has to
be accurate in his information, for he Is
really the starting point of large per
cent OF the railroads passengers. We
have maze of thirty-three tracks to
watch here In the station, over which
22O trains arrive daily. And we must also
know the precise connections of these
trains with every point in the United
States and Canada; To add to the pleasure
of the party and the enjoyment of the re-
freshments served. so to speak. the sched-
ules of the various roads are subject to
change monthly and have to be verified
daily. Usually all roads change their en-
tire schedules at least twice a year, and
that
Experienced Men Necessary.
well how do you memorize all that?"
queried The Star man. his mouth agape.
II don't know. Just memorize it. that's
all But it takes experience to be able to
do that. You can't pick up a man of of
the streets and put him in the information
bureau. He's got to have experience. 1
was with the B. and o. in the old station
for seven years before I came here
with all the roads leaving the Union
station how do people decide which one
they wish to take? Do you advise them?"
We'll, ! should say not! That's the holy
of holes of this business. We must use
every precaution not to boost or knock
any particular road. We give the time
of departure and arrival and route and
general dope on all roads leading to
the destination desired by the passen-
ger, and then let him decide. Many urge
us to advise them which road to take
and II sometimes means skillful maneu-
vering to answer their questions impair
tally
Its a mighty strenuous life." said Mr..
Steele. the day assistant, when question
ed. "but there is always something do
ing and that makes 1t a whole lot pleas
anter. 1t is mighty interesting to see the
world pass by from our little glass win
dows. The different types come and go
before you like the moving picture films
And you have no idea how little things
they do and say betray theis nationality
For example. whenever man asks Tor
a time table and gives you quarter In
return 1t is mighty safe to say he is either
an Englishman. an Irishman or a Scotch
man. All the roads in England. you
know. charge for their time tables. They
are usually much surprised when We hand