Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-19
PRETTY GIRL PUFFS IN
STERN CONDUCTORS FACE
Encouraging Chances from Family
Men Help Vision In Purple to
Defy Flabbergasted
Employe

PHILADELPHIA, April ts.-+Along
about the time that the o'clock At
lantic City train on the Philadelphia
& Reading road passes Pleasantville.
Conductor Johnson and Brakeman
Frank Doughty begin to take an in
terest in their passengers and collect
tickets. 1t is dignified, almost SOL
emn proceeding and innovations are
frowned upon.
An innovation was aboard the train
yesterday morning, a most striking in
novation; an innovation about twenty
years old, wearing large picture hat
trimmed with purple feathers and yio-
let's. a dashing tight-fitting, purple
tailor made suit and dark red vest
with the cutest polka dots any woman
could wish for.
She was pretty, abnormally beaute-
Gus, and she took a seat in the smok-
ing car. While the fast train was hum
ming across the meadows she settled
herself down in the cushions, rested
her dainty head back against the dark
green plush until the color scheme was
perfect, elevated one foot on the top
of the steam pipe at the side of the
ear and, yawning comfortably. picked
a fat cigarette out of her silver purse
lit a match and sent a curling jet of
smoke floating off toward the ther-
mometer which hung from the bell
rope.
There were four men in the car, OBJ
serving men. men who looked as
though they had families. Each tried
to look scandalized: yet they looked
where scandal might be found and
they smiled The pretty little innova-
ton did not seem to mind them.
Brakeman Frank Doughty, whose
ancestors once owned pretty much all
of South Jersey, entered the car. On
all well regulated railroads it would
be a breach of etiquette for the con-
ductor to demean himself by entering
first. Anyway Doughty entered. He
gave the customary double shuttle
with the ventilators and hammered
away at the steam cock which regu-
lates the heat thing.
He caught sight of the blue smoke
that played ring ng-around-the-rosy with
the purple feathers. He took step
forward, saw he was confronted both
with an innovation and an emergency,
and dashed to his doom.
Miss. this is the smoking car"
THANK you; it's awfully nice for you
to tell me-"
"Yessum; not at all. assure you;
but this is the smoking car-where men
smoke"
so I see" and the purple feathers
jigged.
but you can't smoke here" Dough-
ty was getting flabbergasted.
mo? But l am smoking, don't you
see!"
There was no answer under the sun
to that, and It was here that Conductor
Johnson entered. Doughty made run
for him, whispered his worst fears and
stood aside. Now, Johnson is a tall,
dignified conductor and he wore his
din WI
MADAM, this is the smoking car"
$50 the brakeman just informed me-"
"Women do not, as rule, smoke
here"
"If there is a place for women to
smoke, won't you tell me where can
find it?'
''But smoking by women is not al
lowed
There was twinkle as the girl re-
piled:
81 am not smoking aloud. I am very
quiet" And she sent a great big
wreath of smoke toward Johnson. 1t
formed a halo around his head for a
second and waited away.
"Put her out" shouted one of the
family men as he winked sedately at
the purple and violet hat. "Throw her
OFF, and his swords were supported
by another family man who asserted:
"'Tain't right. tain't right"
Johnson suddenly got tangled up in
the legal phase OF the case, rights of
women and all that. Then he saw the
innovation wink back at the passen-
gers and he wandered away as man
stricken.
And the purple innovation tripped
daintily from the car at Camden. and
the shameless thing of 1t all was that
she firmly, but kindly refused any help
from the family men, or to tell them
who she was. =,