Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1884 — HOW TRUNKS ARE SMASHED. [ARTICLE]

HOW TRUNKS ARE SMASHED.

Saratogas Which Contain Whisky, Powder, Cartridges, and Eggs. “Why is it that so many more trunks are smashed on railroads in the United States than in any other country?" asked a reporter of a baggage master as the latter was trying to explain to an irate passenger, who was gazing ruefully at the ragged condition of his trunk. “It’s partly on account of quick transfers,” he said, “but chiefly the fault lies with the owner of the trunk. It is true we sometimes handle baggage roughly, but we have to do so in order to make all connections. Sometimes we have only a few minutes to transfer a large amount of baggage from a through express train to half a dozen others.” “Well, but that ought not to wreck a trunk unless you fire it down several feet or jump on it,” put in the irate passenger, looking daggers at the baggage master. “Oh, you give us a rest,” replied the man of baggage. “Half the trunks are not fastened properly, and very often the hinges are loose and will give way entirely to the slightest jar. Then the locks and catches are made of cast iron and break off easily. But the greatest fault with people is that they pack their trunks too full. This is especially the case with ladies. This morning one of them opened her trunk to put in a package, and it took four men, two sitting on the trunk and two to force the lid down to lock it. Again, the trunks are often very poorly made. Zinc-covered trunks are the worse. Sole leather trunks are the best, as they are pliable and not likely to give way if roughly handled.” “Did you ever seen anything curious among the contents of a broken trunk ?” “Yes. It would surprise you to know of the things that travelers Will insist on piling into their trunks. The other day an insufferable odor pervaded the in-bound baggage room. An investigation showed that it came from a trunk which had been lying in the room for several days. It was broken open and, the odor was found to come from eggs which had been broken. It was a woman’s trunk, and she had been on a visit to the country.” “Don’t they ever make a fuss when you break open their ttuhks?” '

“They usually kick up a row, but we are used to that; but they hardly ever sue for damages. ” “Didn’t you ever discover anything more curious than eggs?” “Lots of thing?. Last week the baggage room smelled like a.wholesale liquor store. A trunk from Wheeling was the cause, and on being broken open, two kegs of whisky were revealed, the'bung of one of which hud come out, allowing the whisky to run." “Anthing else ?” “I’m coming to the best of all if you will only give me time. Men going on a hunting excursion will carry powder and cartridges in their trunks. Last winter we were unloading a car of baggage from the west and a number of cartridges fell out. A moment afterward a package fell on them and they exploded. At the same time a stick fell from the top of the baggage car and hit one of the ‘baggagers’ on the head. He yelled: ‘l’m shot,’ and would not believe otherwise until we showed him where the bullet had lodged in the top of the car.” “American trunks, as a rule, are the poorest and most easily wrecked, I suppose ?” “That’s where you’re wrong. The American trunks are the strongest and best that we handle. The poorest are those of immigrants, who will insist on having a huge padlock attached, which catches against everything, and causes these foreigners to have more broken baggage than any other class of travelers.” “Did you ever know of a ■‘baggager’ to smask his own trunk ” But here an express train arrived and the conversation came to an end.— Rochester Post-Express.