The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-23
BECOMING
 MORE POLITE
New York Observer Noted a, Perceptible Improvement
 In General Manners.
(New York Sum-

'T note.' said an elevated railroad guard, "that peoples manners are inn proving. I see on the cars among the many people who daily come un- der my observation less and less hog gishness and more courtesy and con- sideration.
 "Only this morning say one of the i'll hammered, boorish chaps come up with nicely This man was sitting stretching out half way across the aisle, in the way of everybody pass ing. Then there came along a man who saw that foot and saw it plainly, kept right on straight along the mid dle of the aisle and brushed against it roughly, as roughly as he could and fairly knocked the mans cross ed leg off the other knee and around into the place where 1t ought to go. man whose foot he had thus violently used and said:
 "T hope I didn't disturb you and then he stood there and waited for an answer.
 "Bue he didn't get any. The oth- didn't say anything. The man stand ing there in front, waiting, was twice as big as he was.
 "But you don't see anything like so many men keeping their legs up now while people are passing. Men the great majority of men take the crossed leg down when somebody comes along.
 "And now it is less common for men who chance to get corner seat to cross their legs and spread them along over two or three seats; and it is much more common nowadays for people to move along little and make room.
 And men now more commonly give up their seats to women than they did, say five yeers ago. When 10 years ago women came first in large numbers into office and gen. eral employments more or less in competition with men and on prac- tically the same footing politeness to women competitors and in fact to all women when met in public con- veyanceS did more or less decline: I think we must admit that, but now mans natural instinctive politeness co women is returning and now men are again giving up their seats to women. It would be safe to say that no elder ly women would now be compelled to stand in a car. It would be trite to say that a pretty woman always gets a seat. She does generally but not always. It would depend some what on the sort of man she was standing opposite.
 ''In fact you may say that our gen. eral manners are better in every way, and one thing, it seems clear to me, that has really contributed largely to this end is the city ordinance against splitting in the cars.
 We still have with us the man who eats an orange in the car and throws the skin on the floor. though sometimes we see a man put the skin back in the bag from which he took the orange and carry it away with him. Not so pleasant, rather un- plea sant in fact, is the man who man. icures his finger nails in the car. But certainly we don't see so much of him as we did.
 we still have the man who eats peanuts in the car and throws the shells on the floor, though some times he seeks the comparative secIu- sion of motorman's cab, one that is open In the car he is in. There he is out of sight of most of the peo- pie in the car and more comforta ble for himself. But the peanut man will learn in time I hope and do not doubt"