Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 121, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1916 — HAPPENINGS in the BIG CITIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HAPPENINGS in the BIG CITIES

How They Make Street Cars Stop in Chicago

CHICAGO. —John rested his weight on one foot, banged a hollow dinner pail against his knee, and watched a Cottage Grove car sail insolently by, bulging with the human-loop sardine. John wanted to get home, and there was ]ots of room in a supperless stomach

to permit his resentment against the company to expand. John was shortly joined, by Joes, Jims. Harrys, Williams, Horaces, Toms, et al., to the number of 200, and they banged their dinner pails and watched car after car snort past Nine-ty-third and Cottage Grove without even a tactful hesitation. They had observed the phenomenon for so many evenings that it had almost become a quaint old custom. It may have been

the rakish trolley pole which suggested the ensuing bit of land-piracy, or possibly the motorman wafted them an exasperating grin. At any rate, the dinner-pale buccaneers picked out one car, pulled off the trolley pole and swarmed aboard with curses instead of cutlasses between their teeth. Man, woman and child, babes in arms, were sent over the plank with their clammy, useless transfers clasped in hand. When the passengers had been emptied from the car the raiders broke windows, tore up seats, and completely wrecked the vehicle. A call sent in by the crew brought police, but the crowd dispersed at the bluecoats' approach and no arrests were made. The protest was effective. Thd car company switched cars from branch lines to chrry the bad buccaneers home. Most of the party which held up the car are workmen employed at plants and shops near this corner, who live in Pullman, West Pullman and Roseland. They have made many complaints of the inadequate service, the police declare, and scores of them daring the rush hour have been forced to wait an hour or more for a car.