Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-08

who spoke from the experience OF
30 years continuous employment
as a motorman for the Great Falls
Street Railway company, of which
he is the longest. employed MEM
Der.
Though he admitted that his life
had been a series of ups and
downs, the twinkle in his eyes be-
lied any pessimism as he supple
mented his remark by saying, land
many of the people who take the
street car for granted all the same
as their breakfast, just throw the
motorman in for good measure"
"You have great opportunity for
studying human nature" encour-
aged the interviewer.
People Confide in Motormen
II should say we do" was the
ready and interested reply. amy
body who rides on the front plat
form of a street car as long as l
have gets so he knows more or
less by instinct how things r.
going with his regular passengers.
He can tell whether his breakfast
agreed with him; whether he won
the argument with his wife; wheth-
er he is in An up or a down mood.
1t isn't an unusual thing for the
mOtOrman to be taken into the con-
fidence Of many of his passengers,
who when they board the car never
60 further than his elbow"
You must know many persons
very WELL" interpolated the lis
tener.
Some Chronic Grouches
"Yes, l d." replied Mr.. Arthur.
''but, you know it's a funny thing
how different people a be.
There are some people who have
ridden with me for 10 years and in
all that time they have given
me a morning greeting. l guess
you'd call them the ones who take
us for granted. But there are
others who consider us fellow-be-
ings and share with us their joys
and sorrows. I'll wager there's
many a man in this town who told
me when his girl said Yes before
he told anybody else. I've gotten
information from these men on
nights fair and otherwise, when
I'd hold the car, the last me-. by
the way. at the where I
knew these fellows would presently
appear
Walked Right Over Fence
Here the narrator broke off to
recount the tale Of a sutton whose
lady lived in Boston Heights in
the days before it was the growing
little suburb of today. 1t was. he
said, in the winter when the Their
mometer went lower than it did
ton was exceedingly tall and when
the last car was due he was not
at the corner. but a moment
later came tearing frantically
through the snow to catch the
car"
HE didn't even stop for the
fence. but just walked right over
it," Mr.. Arthur smiled at the rem
i%niscence. I'VE often laugh about
that now" he said.
THE good old days" of 90 and
30 years ago were described by the
motorman. who humorously told of
the winter of 1898 when it was
Sc degrees below. zero.
''The cars were not as COM
Portable then as now, and had to
be held on the track by main force
as well as to be dug out of the
snow about every car length" he
said.
Street Car Motormen's Joke
An hour was required then to
make the trip to the car barn and
back and hot coffee and lunches
were served there and at the down
town office, in order to keep the
men warm, he commented further.
Street a motormen as well as
the rest of the world must have
their little joke and they had it
in the old days. according to Mr..
Arthur's story, when protected by
their own insulated clothing. they
would take fare from their pas
senger while q current of electricity
was running through the rheostats
that were used a number of years
ago. The passengers could not let
loose of their coins to the glee of
the solemn faced motormen. This
was a wet weather pastime, the
motorman explained.
How Stingy People Act
The interviewer pricked up his
ears when the speaker switched to
a purely ph~ilosophic vein with the
observation that you can tell what
kind of person a man or woman is
by the way he or she pays a fare.
The stingy man or woman
thrIsts the coin at you grudgingly,
holding it tight between the fling
ers," he calculated and continued,
"the good fellow or the extra
VACANT one always carries his
money loose in his pockets. The
stingy man invariably carries it in
q tightly folded purse" he said.
CAS- for women" the motorman
went on, Its not uncommon for
them to get on the car and get
seated before paying their fare.
You see, they so often have to get
it from a purse that is carried
inside a bag. and that is carried
inside a handbag" he chuckled.
Asked about troublesome pas
ScnSerS, ME-. Arthur aOinlLLeu tnere
were lots Of them and observed that
it was always the same persons
who missed the car. Some of them
have been missing them steadily
for the last 20 years, he said.
Approves voIstead Act
IF there is any one class Of
people who should approve of the
Volstead act it is street car
commented the mar
rator, saying that their troubles
have been fewer since they have
passengers who drank too
of "the cup that cheers"
and according to him, the cup that
Queers.
Our duties as Wallets r not
rigorous now" he said. "We