The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-02-18
HOLDING I4:E I.IRRcR UP
TOSJ.-L FL02iLA TOURISTS

We lave heen very much want
ing suA.,.ody to .ay il out good and
strorS in cold ttlc and here it is a;
told hy Alison Meth in the 81. Au-
gustinc Record without prejudice
and with entire fidelity to truth:
At the ticket window: Where;
the asent?" Nobody here to sell
tickcts?" Trains nearly due and
nothing doing?" That's the way
they do things in the South" Train
iate?" They're always late in the
South The crowd pushed and
grumbled and sought to get ahead OF
each other in line. The weather was
too hot today; it was too cold last
week There were no decent accom-
modatons to be had; prices were
too high; trains were late; coaches
were dirty, and all because it was in
the South. Ii was always sO-every
day and everywhere. The scribe lis
tened and pondcrcd. Memory called
TO mind many times when travel in
the North had been accompanied by
the discomforts of cindcrs and smoke
dusty seats and Uttered aislcs; and
weary hours of waiting for bclated
trains stood out in close connection
with snow covered landscapes and
waiting rooms either close from
steam heat and poor ventilation or
chill from Icy blasts; yet we did not
recall that any one ascribed all these
unpleasant Inconvenience to latl-
tudc. They seemed to be taken as
a matter Of course, unavoidable hap
penings to be philosorhically borne
But once across the Potomac, and all
CT them seemed attributable to tho
South.
As we unused. the ticket agent ap-
pcarcd; civil young man, who
checrfully dispensed tickets and the
Information that the train Just COM
Ing in stopped twenty minutes TO-;
dinner. Clutching their tickets thu
crowd climbed aboard, and in five
minutes were growing because the
train did not move. Again the South
was held responsible. and it vas an
nOunced that such things could not
possibly happen anywhere else.
The train moved off finally and n
its rumble died away we walked
slowly along the station platform
and meditatcd on the inconsistency
Of human nature. Meeting the cheer
full young agent, we asked: "po they
always erumhlc'" "ilways." he re-
pied, promptly. IF the sun shine.
II is too hot; If it doesn't it's too
cold; II it Is dry it's too dusty: and
II ii rains it's unforaivabla. Ii the
train is late an hour, they hav,
waited all day; and if thoy cannot
have Il Who'll" seat or tWo OF the,a
ariecc, The ra=d is lcasllr. or il
world Give moro acc)mmo1a liens
ana 10 'na'ter which il l.. tlc cas-.
Of tho tronblc always is that it i.
The south. Cuccr a.d yet Troy kce
or oo'etnr yc.r after CIR"
"Yor'a f'.t"t hoy vcu'i na
away. ranht tuc" a@aated 4
scribe "n'e.e yorr squl, 10, "TN2t'
= r.r' # th"ir perqrisitcs. Whist
the go o bcin~ = tourist if yor
cant rImhlo al yen like Noroi !
takes tho:l seriously. and they en-
Joy it. II doesn't hurt ~ snn4
ana docs them lott Of ODD
why do they como. if thy d,r't
like thines down hcrc?" "Oh. IT,
co Ike then, bit thry have an ia,
that 10 make them appear rs holm
accustomed To every conveniarc.
home oHe Of them think that tn
rest just grumble from habit donfi
realize how il shows them rp ThaY
they have an idea that they arc tn
only people who travel; don't real
lie either how many Southcrnor,
know the North better than they do
and Iauch in their sleeve Mt the
and fault-fnding compari
sens of Ito tourist crowd. II IS yerr
funny how RAINY rcoplc sccm t.
rave their r1arrcrs IT homo WHOM
bev travel Thee crowds nat co,.7a
loWn hc-c every wiltnr Get q lo-
nore ont Of the Sosth than tie ,
cave I'm il, and you couldn't lrihr .
lem to stay Nh Na~jh aftcr the Gre.
lost: and whom thcr =, homo the |
WAGER the rest Ct the year ans: |
cast Of what we dill ''whpn VIC were r
own South, SIR" then they PAIN r