Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-23
HUMAN BUFF'ERSy;BR0l0DC QUESIlQNS&; e. -
things, thW(hMU to 5tn11d for

A LMOST All People Are
"A A kers of Bromide
Questions-Are You One of
Them?-Queries Are Really
Foolish, But They Are Al
ways Asked - Men Who
Serve the Public Are Special
Targets for the Bromides-
Questions Cause Vast Waste
Of Valuable Minutes as Well
as Breath-Role of a Bro
mide Not a Difficult One.
they wish with it, he said. land yet
a hundred of them day say. Well, I
am taking this out. but / will put it back
next week. Another hundred will say.
when adding to their accounts Well.
I'm piling it up. Comes in good for a
rainy day Always that well and in
variably some hackneyed phrase, al
though the bank employee did not say so.
Still in your little cage. ] see,' is an
other thoroughly original 60 bromide.
There Is paying teller in an F street
bank who says he would be rich as Miias
if he had a d6Mar for every time he has
answered the query, well, when are
you going to get into your new quar-
ters? The receiving teller also comes in
for this bit of pleasantly more tines a
day than he can enumerate. and also foc
the facetious inquiry: Good morning Is
my deposit acceptable here?" And does
that teller look him squarely in the eye
and say: Well. if it wasn't, do you think
l would be letting you count it QUIZ
X X
It seems difficult to believe that people
actually go up to the bureau of informa-
ton at the Union station and inquire in
all seriousness: What time does the
twelve o'clock train leave:" But the in
terviewer has the word of clerks there
to back up the statement. Not only
that. but. after being Informed with equal
solemnity, they will add: Are you sure?
Nor must the stubborn specimen be over
looked who always wants to go to some
place which he is positive is on GER
tain railroad when the clerk Is equally
sure it is not.
why can't / go on the Southern a
man demanded the other day In refer
ence to reaching Lake Charles, La.
principally because the road doesn't
pass anywhere near it, was the sooth-
ing answer.
But I know it does!'
And there you are! The employee said
that was one of the most bromide incl
dents Of his business day.
The stout, goOd-natured man at the
stopOver ticket window did not have
the least trouble in separating his bro
mides from the infrequent things said to
him when asked what he hears most
often
Telling people I don't sell stopover
tickets he announced. They read the
sign. then ask for one. I tell them they
must first go to the regular ticket win
dow, buy a ticket and then have 1t fixed
up here IL it needs 1t. At once they
want to know why can't you sell them
the confidence Of the directors OF the
road I can't we'll inform them beyond
what l have already explained. But.
of course, it doesn't do to be rude That
sort of thing goes on all day long, not
only from ignorant people, but from the
sort who have evidently travelled about
and would be expected to know. Another
thing. When l am fixing up such tickets
the owners frequently tell me just why
they want to stop over, going into the
most intimate reasons, and l always
smile and say. That's fine or Too bad.
just as the circumstances warrant"
The individual who receives peoples
money for gas and electric light bills also
gets far more than his share Of bromides.
Holding a bill 80 that nobody without a
masnifying pair of eyes could possibly
read it. caller will snort: Il would like
to know why my bill Is so much more
than it was last month? What do you
mean by it,?
Now, the clerk doesn't know his visa