The daily Alaskan., 1912-12-31
A FRIEND IN NEED
Just a Bit of Life as It Cropped
 Out on a Railway Train.
A TOUCH OF REAL HUMANITY.


 Grateful Foreigner He sefrisnded.
 Whenever [ hear anything nowa' days about mans inhumanity to man." said a Providence citizen the other day, "l am reminded of a little | incident. l was coming back from Boston with a friend on the midnight train. and, getting on board at the Back Bay station, we found seat near the rear end of the car.
 Soon after the train pulled out ! happened to look around and saw the conductor apparently eXpostuIating with a rather shabby looking specimen of humanity who was sitting in the last seat. At first l thought the man was drunk, but as l watched l saw that he was a foreigner who couldn't understand English He was holding out a crumpled one dollar bin to the conductor and saying New York over and over again.
 Finally the conductor shook his head. said something I couldn't catch and went on. The foreigner, a rather decent looking young fellow, gazed at hlm despairingly, then buried his face in his hands and began to cry. With the usual callous indifference of the travelling public to the troubles of any one else, paid no more attention Co the man and prepared to take a nap.
 "I was just beginning to doze when became aware that a man was stand. ing beside me in the aisle, speaking 60 me. | sat up and looked at him. He was a rough appearing man, far from prepoSsessinE. clean shaven, with sort of bulldog face.
 "'Say, gents, be began, T want to know if you wouldn't Ike to help tel- Ter out
 'T stidened lustinctively, determined to refuse Co let him make a touch
 "There's a poor young foreigner back there, he went on with a jerk of bis thumb toward the alien, still slt. ting with bowed bead, and he's up against it for fair. He can't speak a word of English, and he wants to go to New York. where he has friends.
 "'He got the Idea somehow be could do It Tor a dollar, all he's got; but Of course, he can't, and they're going Co put him ot the train when we get Co Providence. Its mighty hard on fel' Ter like him. aud there aint any tell ing whatll happen to him getting put or in a strange city at o'clock In the morning. thought maybe you'd be willing to give a little to help him along
 He stopped. looked us straight In the eye and smiled shee2lshly gs 1T he were ashamed Of what he was doing We gave him a dollar. and be went on through the car. and there were few of the passengers who didn't respond to the appeal He came back counting the money, and as be got to our seat beard hlm sUy:
 "'Theres a dollar more needed-In make it up myselfr and be pulled out a couple of dfty cent pieces and added them Co the amount
 'sThe conductor and the brakeman were standing at the door of the car near the foreigners seat
 Here, said the man who had col Iected the money to the alien; give me your dollar.
 "Dumbly, but trustlDgly, the young fellow handed 1t over, and, giving 1t to the conductor with the rest, the bull. dog man said grutly:
 "'There's bis fare
 "It slowly dawned on the alien what had been done for him, and as the con- ductor punched the rebate check and banded 1t to blm the gratitude in his face was lndescrlbable He couldn't speak, but he took his cap or and bowed again and again to the official, but the latter pointed to the passenger who was sitting 10 his seat across the aisle and told the youth that be wa the one to thank
 'The foreigner crossed the aisle dl he stood squarely in front of his bene- ] ldGNNls NNNh Nu llAH NAl NAAt NAAA NNe-'H' of gratitude in his eyes, bowed again and again. It was evident enough that the benefactor was embarrassed by this unexpected outburst At first he waved his hand around the car to indi- cate that everybody had had e hand in it But he couldn't make the foreigner understand The latter kept on bow ing. whereupon the uncomfortable fin. dividuai in the seat grunted and turn | ed to look out of the window.
 "l have uever seen," concluded the man who was telling the story, "a kindller--if were a girl should say a sweeter-act Of charity In my life, Sit 1 ting across the aisle, this hard faced man bad heard the story of the for elgner, helpless, alone and frightened, and out Of pure goodness of heart without any necessity for doing it be had taken upon himself the uugrateful task of soliciting money from the rest of the people in that car to help out Q man he'd never seen before and would probably never see again "-Proyldence | Journal