Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-21

The real beauty of the grand con-
course at the Union Station has come
to view again, as cleaners and painters
have taken off the deposits of CRIME
which had collected there.
1t has been long time since the
tremendous room, If one may call 1t by
so circumScribed a name, has stood
forth in its native majesty.
Truly 1t Is a wonderful creation, thC
concourse, one which most favorably
impresses the visitor and native alike
First impressions are mighty, they say
certainly sight-seerS get a very favorable
one when they come into the newly
painted concourSe.
Size always makes an impression
The mind of man is SO constituted that
something either very large or very
small makes an appeal. At dog shows
the largest dog and the smallest always
have crowds around their cages.
In mountains it is the peaks which
stand out. In houses the best are per-
haps the very large and the very small
everything else being taken into consid-
Grafton, for the former give one plenty
of room, and the latter are big enough
In Washington'S Union Station it is
the concourse.
Railroad stations, despite the counter
attractions of the more modern all
terminals, hold their place very well In
the esteem of the general public.
There is a fascination about them
which never vanishes, and it is difficult
to see how they will ever be replaced in
the favor of the public, particularly OF
this generation.
Steam engines not only are mighty
force, but they are woven into the very
thought processes of the American
people
If YOU want an old-time thrill &c
over to Union Station some day, pref
erably in the evening, and watch one OF
the big trains come in.
If you are waiting for loved one, OF
course, the thrill will be proportion
ately larger, but in any event the sight
of the train stealing down the track
will give you a deserved kick"
Somehow the hurry and hustle of rail-
reading is natural to the American tenn
permanent The noise which 1t makes
and even the dirt which it creates, Il
not foreign to us. Perhaps that was
why no one in particular ever kicked
against the grimy walls and far-fiune
ceiling of the concourse.
X X X x
"The people, it's the people are the
sight" said the poet rope. Inc 9real
Queen Anne verSifier knew nothing Of
railroads, and especially of railroad sta
lions, but he hit them of very well In
that sentence.
Today those who wait for trains seem
to do more sprawling than in the past
Once upon time, when the bulk of the
populace took life more seriously, wait
ing for a train was a weighty, If not
arduous, proceeding.
When an entire family was involved
the members sat in sort of straight
confusion in the usually uncomfortable
seats which the railroad corporation In
its wisdom provided for its patrons.
Mother spent her time attempting to
keep Johnny from running all over the
place." and John, of course, spent his
trying to do that very thing.
Today there seems to be a more toll
Grant spirit, rather sophisticated way
of waiting for trains. No doubt the
more comfortable benches have some
thing to do with it. In such terminal
as that which graces the National Cap
ital, most of the uncertainty has been
taken out of waiting.
The old-timers felt very serious about
it all, because they weren't sure they
would know just when their train left
the station, and even If they did, they
felt reasonably certain that they would