New Britain herald., 1927-04-09

Hardly anyone ever enters a PULL
man car in these United States
without thus signaling the porter;
though. OF course. the porter's name
usually is not George.
As a matter OF fact, OF all the
Nubian knights OF the Whisk- Broom
travelling back and forth, across, up.
down and athwart the country, day
after day, night upon night. week
in and week out, only 80 many are
named George.
Chances are l0o-to-1 the average
porters name is not George. Silly.
then, to call a man George when
he may be William. or Roger. or
Sylvester, or even Llewellyns is it
not? Forsooth, there is no sense in
the custom and millions OF Georges
throughout America resent the prac-
tice. SO much do they take Il TO
heart, this habit of bandying their
name about, that they are deter
mined to put an end to 1t. They
have. In truth organized.
Henceforth, any thoughtless man
or woman who starts running up
and down the aisle Of q Pullman
car shouting GEORGE" is liable to
hear from the S. +. T. p. O. c. S. G.
z. G.. AS anyone familiar with the
initials knows at glance, this is
The Society for the Prevention of
Ealing Sleeping Car Porters
George"
While it may be news TO the av-
rage reader of the daily press that
here is such an organization as the
S. +. T. p. O. G. S. G. p. G., the fact
is this organization has been silently
at work now for some seven years
or more; operating, SO to speak, un-
der cover.
Georges are by nature sensitive.
Men of that name do not want the
populace to think them up-stage or
that they believe themselves better
than other men. So they, naturally,
refrained from making public their
complaint against the public. Rather
EN- barrassng it was. and is, at
times. for the average man named
George to be anywhere near rail-
road station, and especially near
Pullman car. Invariably, such
man when he hears bevy OF voices
around him. all shouting and calling
the same name, George, he becomes
confused. In similar situation.
anyone would be justified in plac-
ing the case before a lawyer. How
can a man know whether someone
wants him, personally, or whether
his mad pandcmonium Is merely
the regular order Of the day, or the
night, as the case might be: the
Pullman populace calling for its
help-mate.
Once, on train headed for
Washington, the nations capital,
four gentlemen we're seated in the
smoking car. They were unknown to
each other, paying no attention
whatsoever the one to the other.
this man reading his newspaper,
that man a magazine, the other fell
low a letter from his wife, and the
fourth complacently smoking 4
cigar.
OF a sudden, from the recesses
outside the smoking room, appear
cd a mammoth sized man who.
sticking his head through the por-
TERED door Of the compartment,
beloved like bull: George
A newspaper, a magazine, a let
ter, and cigar dropped to the
floor. Four men leaped TO their fest
as one. They were all named
George.
When the loudspeaker had dis
appeared, on his quest for the por-
ter, the four gentlemen named
George introduced themselves all
round, and thus was the beginning
of a society that has for its sole
object the accomplishment OF one
great boon to America--the calling
OF Pullman car porters by their
right and lawful and baptismal
names-and not by the name OF
George unless George be their col
lective name.
The society for the Prevention of
calling sleeping car porters
George" was organized some years
ago by these four gentlemen whose
Christian named happened to be the
same as that of the father Of their
country George Washington.
Arrived in Washington the four
Georges of the Pullman sensed their
new mission. They wanted to get
the proper atmosphere 80 they
drove over to the oldest part Of the
city and there, In Georgetown they
pledged their purpose. Then came
to life an organization that silently
and surely went out to enlist the
services OF every man In the nation
who sports the name of George; to
rally them around the cause, to
pledge them to the purpose pro-
posed--m odern st. Georges staying
the dragon.
Since that day. the men named
George have, through their society.
enlisted the sympathy Of the great
est minds In the nation-and there
was q time when the national legis-
lature was about to consider n bill
which would make it a statutory
offensc to call a Pullman car porter
George, if his named happened to
be Henry, say, or Richard. Wiser
heads came to the rescue, however.
and 1t was decided not to importune
Congress but to carry the fight right
on down into the ranks OF the peo-
ple--thoueh some of the members
of the S. +. T. +. 0. C.. S. c.. =. G..
are convinced that the work before
them will keep them busy for the
rest of their lives.
There will always be men. travel
ling statesmen and the like, who fall
into the natural and easy habit of
addressing the major-domo OF n
sleeping or Pullman car as
George" In fact, according to the
officers of this society, it was some
thoughtless travelling statesmen who
started the calling Of sleeping car