The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-08-31
GRAFTON BY BILL
COlOred Porter Wrote Speech
for Santa Fe Passenger Man.
w. j. Curtis and His Noble Adj
dress at Station Dedication.
HE WAS GETTING DISCOURAGED
When Pullman Gent Came
Along With His EIOquence.
Other Items of General Interest
in the Traffic World.

w. ]. "Bill' Curtis, district passen-
ger agent of the Santa Fe railway, is
booked to deliver the principal adj
dress at !. coming dedication of a new
Kansas depot. Now Mr.. Curtis's eX-
perience in Oratory is somewhat linn
tied and for quite a while he was at
a loss to know exactly the proper
thing to say.
One day he was riding on Santa Fc
train No. and he was thinking of
the coming speech Heidi not nav
a thing to say and the time of his no
table address was not far distant. The
Pullman porter noted his reticent
mood and inquired of the passenger
agent his difficulties. Then Mr.. Cur
tbs went into the details of his trOu
bles and how he was billed to face Il
large audience on the same platform
with Santa Fe officials who are real
spell-binderS.
The colored porter told him not to
worry and that he would fix hin, out.
So when he got to the end of his run,
Denver, he sat down and wrote Bill
a letter. Through the careleSSnesS of
the mail clerk here, or some other
cause, the letter reached another man
in the passenger department. Believ-
ing that The epistle was too excellent to
to languish unobserved in the confines
of Bills desk, the other railroad man
decided to make the letter public. 1t
follows:
Porters Letter.
Enclosed you will find the address
as requested to be inflicted on the good
people of And if after de-
hvering this address, you are fortunate
enough to escape alive and you are
able to SIT up and take nourishment,
write and let me know the outcome.
You will also find a brief pen picture
of what l think the day of dedication
will be.
ION a balmy afternoon old Sol was
shedding his tenderest rays on man,
beast and insect. All nature was calm
and collectively serene. Even the lit
tie birds, who crowded every tree,
vine and bush were hushed with pa
tent expectation. The many thou
sands of citizens, all decked out in
gala attire, were here assembled for
today the new depot was to be dedi-
Gated. Hence all the hushed and pa
tient expectation. In the background,
in a setting of green fields and
many thousands of Fords. thereby
denoting just the opposite of the say
ing that prosperity follows the flag,
for the Ford inevitably follows pros
perity.
Just at this moment, bang, bang!
bang! three shots rang out on the
balmy afternoon air and the hushed
and expectant stiffness was torn asun-
der. The band strikes up that painful
little ditty entitled, Hail the Conquer
Curtis floIts on the scene. His noble
visage enmantled by that famous smile
that made the Santa Fe famous and
caused so many clubs, bankers aSsO-
Citations and chambers of commerce to
take the Santa Fe all the way to the
two fairs for one fare. Amidst the
thunderOuS cheers, the wailing of cry
ing babies and barking of canine citi-
zens. the Hon. Bill mounts the ros-
from. bowling right and left and taking
hi fo1,n
he spake thusly:
" Ladies, gentlemen and citizens of
this embryonic metropolis, to beknOwn
to future generations as, it is with
much pleasure and qualification that 1
rise to address you this glorious after
noon, and 1 consider myself excep
tionally fortunate in having been
chosen to delive-' this address COM
memorating the dedication of this
magnificent depot, made possible out
of the bigneSS of heart of the great
Santa Fe system. (cheers). Ladies.
gentlemen and citizens, you also
should be proud to be here this af-
ternoon at the dedication of this mar
velous triumph of ARCHITECTURAL beauty
and building ingenuity for we are not
only dedicating this beautiful station
to this generation, but also to pos
terity. just think how proud your
children, grandchildren and great
grand children will be when they
this testimony of the efforts OF you
sturdy pioneers. In dedicating this
depot ] would not have properly dis
charged my duty, if in my remarks
this afternoon 1 did not take the oc-
casion to thank you one and all, whose
combined efforts have made this sta
ton possible. l thank you from the
bottom of my heart and also on behalf
of the Santa Ee. As L stand here and
look over this vast assemblage of brave
men and fair women, 1 cannot find
words to express myself. People of
you have one of the greatest
cities in the country. Where. oh where
will you find such Verdant fields, en-
bracing acres and acres of corn, wheat
and the many other bOuntiful pro-
ducts of the farm. In other parts of
the state the people have been less
fortunate on account of the many
rains and high waters of the spring
and summer. But, you, worthy peo-
pie of --, truly dwell in Il realm
of the blessed, which may be attested
to by the fields, as far as the eye can
see, stacked with grain and the thous-
ands of farms bursting and overflow
ing with corn and hay, fruits of the
tireless energy, industry and labor. of
the faireSt sons and daughters of Kan
sas''
'P. S. I think this should be good
for at least six months in the hospital,
even if you get away with it,
The eloquent porter is B. Watson.
better known as Ben, whose home is il
Chicago and who runs between Chi
cago and Denver on Santa Fe No. ).
and No. G.