Cañon City record., 1909-12-30

We left the continent Of Europe for
England after nearly three months of
busy going about. Yet we were only
tourists. We did not get below the
surface of things Our Impressions
were those OF strangers and what
seemed true to US, might be the fur
thest thing from the truth. Yet these
impressions may be worth reading
merely as impressions, and they at
least have this value: they are not
preconceived ideas. They are not
prejudiced.
For most that we found in Europe
surprised US. This was particularly
true, for instance. of the continental
railroads. We expected to find them
pretty bad. They are, as matter OF
fact, pretty good. They are not like
eur railroads. They are different, but
not better nor worse-just different
Because they are the product OF
different civilization from ours.
In the first place the business OF the
continental railroads is largely local.
Transcontinental traffic is exception
al. The big transconunental passen-
ger trains that leave Chicago almost
hourly, for example. with either
freight or passengers for 1,5OO mile
Journey, are nearly unknown In Eu-
rope. Local traffic has made local
uroblems. So we find long distance
rates cheaper in America than In Eu-
rope. and long hauls made quicker
with US.
It takes three weeks to get an ex-
press package from Rome to Paris.
and it costs more than we wouio
charge. Again, caste-the heritage OF
the feudal system-breeds exclusive
ness in every class. Hence. in travel
ing in Europe the passengers like to
ride in small compartments. The big
domestic passenger cars of America
day coaches, chair cars or sleepers-
probably would not succeed in Eu-
rope. They won't be herded together
So there are partitions in all the cars
These partitions take up space, also
they are heavy. So a car does not
hold so many people as our cars, and
IL ia heavier 1t costs more to haul II
and the revenue is less. so the fare is
more-naturally. Also there are not
30 many comforts. Towels. soap and
water are the exception in any Euro
pean car, and only in their trains de
luxe do they have the ordinary COM
forts that a traveller in an American
Pullman car demands as a matter OF
course.
For exclusiveness they sacrifice
comfort and money. But tradition
demands erclusiveness; 1t is a part
of the European idea of life; so they
let comfort go. We don't. But on the
other hand they demand strict obeai-
ence to orders. That also is part Of
their traditions. so the trains run on
schedule time We travelled all over
Europe and were never a minute late
on any train for any cause. There
hasn't been a railroad accident in Eu-
rope worth recording in newspapers
since we came here three months ago.
How do they do it? That is techni-
cal question for some railroad man to
answer.
But on the other hand, the railroad
employees of Europe don't seem to
be the high-class men that We have
in America. The CONDUCTOR man
of strength and Individual initiative,
a captain OF men in Americas a
mere porter in Europe. He belongs
to the serving class. He doesn't look
the world squarely in the eye apd tell
it to go straight up as the conductor
does in America. And the engine crew
in Europe is of a lower caste than the
men in America. An engineer in