Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 197, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 August 1910 — The Higher Third Rail. [ARTICLE]

The Higher Third Rail.

It happened on an elevated train this morning. A nervous man was sitting in front of a couple. The man of the couple was explaining to the woman the wonders of the elevated system. “That’s the third rail,” he said. “Oh, yes,” she answered. “Why do they call It the third rail?” “Why, because there are three rails, you see.” “Do you know, I have often wondered why it was. It looks like it was higher than the others.” “It is. They have to have it that way.” “Really! It seems to be higher. So that’s the third rail. Do you know, I have read and heard so much about the third rail and never knew what it was. It appears to be higher than the other two.” “Yes. It is. That’s the third rail system, you know.” “Uh-huh. I never could understand it before. It really looks higher than the others, too, doesn’t it?” “It is higher.- You see, they raise It above the others.” “My! Don’t they do things in the city? So that is the third rail? It doesn’t look any different from the pthers, only it seems to be higher.” “Yes, it is higher. You see—” At this point the nervous man lammed his paper into a wad, turned about and glared at the couple and snapped: “Fer the sake of argument, madam, we will concede that it is the third rail and that it is higher than the others. Now, what’s the next point in dispute?” The conductor induced him to get off at the next stop.