Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1909-11-11


button pennies for the poor, who slip
in hungry hordes by the church door
every hour. One would think that the
first business Of a church would be
to restore the flesh and blood to the
poor, who haunt London BY the hum
dred thousands, under fed, under-clad
under-housed, out of work before
restoring mere stone and wood and
mortar falling into decay through
disuse. But one does not know. Per-
haps the poor always will be with US
and the church will perish in few
centuries II 1t Is not restored. There
is always good reason for every
thing. And God, who Is always good.
has such large family that he is q
long time getting everything In the
world Strengthened out as II should
be.
A fine topic for the depression
that comes inevitably, II one consid-
ers too long the history Of England,
with its tales of lust and brutality
and cruelty, that make men ashamed
of humanity-z-a splendid topic for the
philosophers. Arelief from the trou-
bles that come to one in the Tower
and st. Paul's Is a ride on a London
bus. There is the great heart OF the
Democracy. A London bus Is not
thing of beauty. 1t looks like a col
lision between street parade and q
dray; but it is a Joy forever. and
"Iong may its loneliness increase" 1t
will be hard to convey to Emporia
people who have never seen London
bus, any adequate idea OF how one
looks. Image Pete Newton's hotel bus
with flat top. with stairs leading
from the steps behind to the top.
Imagine a double row Of wooden seats
ON the flat top of the bus; put Jim
Boyd, Of Fleming q Potter's (the only
distinguished bus driver in town.
since Charlie Gilchrist left Emporia)
nut Jim Boyd on the drivers seat In
a plug hat driving three horses
abreast, and you have fair idea OF
a London bus. Put fourteen people
lin the seats on top, and twelve inside
!, below, paying from 1 cent each to
3 cents each, let Jim crack the whip
and keep the horses on a dog trot,
up hill and down dale, and you have
the speed of It,. But many London
busses--at least half, maybe more
are motor buses. So we will have to
spit on the slate and rub the picture
of Jim Boyd and his bus out, and
begin a new one. A motor bus ac'
commodities from twenty-five to thir-
ty people-sixteen on top, and the
rest downstairs, inside. The back
stairsteps run up as they do on the
horse bus, and to get to the top one
climbs a spiral staircase, as the bus
whirls along at sixteen miles an hour
lit is real sport. The motor bus IL
larger than the horse bus, and the
motorman sits downstairs in front
not so imposing a looking creature
as the horse driver, and more modern
and business like. AS there are few
street cars in London-or in Paris
or Berlin either, for that matter
most Of the traffic Is handled by these
buses and the motor buses have the
advantages over the horse buses IN
speed--so they have the crowds, Tbs
conductor Of bus stands at the real
near the spiral stairway, and collects
the fair. He is not an imposing look
inr man. He wears no uniform. He
always is seedy. size looks battered
and forlorn and seems to have come
down in the world. Generally, there
: fore, he is sad--sad but polite; sol.
emn but circumspect. He toleratei
no foolishness, but he is always q
gentleman. Women throng his bus
by the hundreds every day. He
suffers their foolishness-you can
see that-and is strong. He helps
! them upstairs and helps them down
stairs. He is a father and brother
to them. He makes that obvious
And SO when an American woman the
other day-the other windy day
was coming down the iron stairs Of Q
London bus, the wind caught mel
skirts and she caught them, and a.
; the bus lurched the conductor caught
her. She blushed and started to ex'
plain, when, the perfect gentleman
sighed sadly and stopped her, saying
"Ah, miss. you needn't to have gons
to so much trouble on my account
rlLegs amt no treat to me, LADY,