European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 2, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I i by Howard Jacobs the great midwestern lines dear sirs i am writing you concerning an error made by your ticket agent in where i am stationed in Camp last month i applied for a reservation on your line to my residence in new where i was going on my first furlough since i received greetings 10 months a week later i picked up my ticket with lower for which i paid and took off for new when i arrived in Kansas City i noticed my ticket said the new Orleans train would depart at 7 so i had to Cool my heels All Day in Kansas it was raining so at a Cost of i rented a room in a High class flophouse near the depot to wait for the 7oclock at the train that evening the conductor said my reservation was on a train which left at that just 25 minutes after i he said it was nobody fault but the agent who sold me the ticket and the Best he could do was to give me a berth which was reserved some where along the line but which might not be i crawled into this berth to get a Good nights rest about 9 but i was very restless think ing about this Boner the ticket agent pulled and could not sleep about 2 the conductor knocked on my berth and said the passenger with the Reserva Tion for the berth just got on and i would have to sleep in the mens i dont know if you have Ever had to sleep in the mens but it was very uncomfortable with a narrow seat that i fell off of three or four and altogether i spent a miserable night from 2 until the conductor said you would adjust the mat Ter to my and i am enclosing a receipt from him which confirms my yours Elmo Pettigrew dear Pettigrew we regret the inconvenience caused you by our ticket agents and herewith enclose our Check for which we Trust is Satis fac the refund was computed by taking the Pullman rate to new Orleans and dividing it in As you had Possession of the berth half the Opal Mcgillicuddy Secretary to the assistant passenger agent dear Mcgillicuddy i received your Check for covering refund for half of Pullman but regret that this is not satisfactory by any manner of what the Railroad company does not seem to consider is that i was so upset by this error that i not Only lost the half nights sleep i spent in the mens but also the first half of the night in the lower where the suspense was what with me expecting to they had for disposing of the be tossed out of the berth every time Money when they got it i heard a i hoarded my Nickels and dimes for Ava Al months to ride Home in and to sleep in the Comfort of soft White pillows and clean sheets in the privacy of a lower maybe youve never been conditioning Man reuvers to the where you sleep in Pup tents if youre Lucky and Foxholes if you and where if it int raining the co will March us Over to another Mountain where it just so we can get a real taste of the if you Ever suffered All those you can understand my passion for Riding on a and How shocked and disappointed i was when i got bounced from my just like it was fire Drill in Battery yours Elmo Pettigrew dear Pettigrew we enclose an additional Check for with the Check previously mailed covers your entire Pullman we can fully understand your feelings in this but feel sure this additional remittance will be accept your patronage is greatly very truly George finale Hopper assistant passenger agent dear finale Hopper i am quite surprised to get your second Check for Only As i advised you in my first i put out for this trip to get a firs class As the ticket agent said i could not buy a lower berth at any Price if i had a furlough which would Cost me Only or just on third of the firs class in other i pay this extra just for the privilege of sleeping on the train one and what happens but through no fault of mine i get tossed out on my ear just because your ticket agent gave me a bum you cant Lay it on the As if your ticket agent haunt fouled up i would have caught the morning train and got Home half a Day earlier without my nerves shot from sleeping on a hard seat in the mens room with the porters and the passengers strolling in and out All yours Elmo Pettigrew dear Pettigrew the correspondence re your furlough has been handed to and though it is my personal feel ing that you Are being a bit unreasonable in the i am enclosing for the Sake of Harmony our Check for this represents the difference Between a fur Lough ticket and a first class less the already advanced you for your Pullman it is my conviction that this is a More than Liberal inevitably during War mistakes occur in the confusion of a vastly stepped up and we feel you should make allowances for this state of the writer is not entirely unaware of the Dis comforts of War and preparation for As a member of the famed Rainbow division during world War he experienced All the misery of living for weeks in waterlogged and Louse in tested plus the additional annoyance of being shot at on occasions too numerous to men like you he can appreciate the luxury of a cozy Pullman berth with privacy and White but it is doubtful if their Lack would so demoralize him As it seems to have very truly Ephraim scuttle worthy passenger agent dear scuttle worthy i have received your Check for and have credited it to your also note what you have to say about my being and must respectfully beg to it is perfectly True that i can do without even Ordinary As Long As the next but it is an entirely different proposition when you Are led to expect something Only to have your expectations blasted by a careless ticket when i was a kid Back in my Home town in Mississippi there was a family on the outskirts who used to deliver us v daughter and As Happy Lucky As any family then one Day they got word that a Rich relative had died and left them a Quarter of a million naturally they were All helped us about the prospects and spent the next couple of weeks telling the customers All of the wonderful plans finally a letter came that it was All a mistake and that the estate was Flat this fam ily just went completely to said they could never hold up their Heads again and that it was the end of every thing for and they All made a suicide pact and turned on the Gas in a bedroom after stuffing All the cracks and actually this family was no worse off when they found they we rent getting the Money than they were but they were so crushed at the letdown that they became of i  be Likely to do anything so but i Hope you get the general on the subject of my As i explained the mistake of your ticket agent caused me much mental which i would not have suffered if i merely bought a furlough so Only reimbursing me for the difference Between a furlough ticket and a firs class ticket does not remedy the situation in my yours Elmo Pettigrew dear Pettigrew our passenger has forwarded to me the file on your including your last letter seeking further while i am inclined to agree heartily with scuttle worthy on the rather the in your the policy of the great that the passenger comes impels me to include Check for representing the difference Between the furlough and first class in other with this Check we have remitted to you the sum total of Cov ering All transportation funds expended by while the in my is ridiculously disproportionate to the annoyance incurred by it is our Earnest wish to retain your Friendship and Good hence the except if the Milkman family left any please extend to them my Heartfelt very truly Hubert to Ockleberry great midwestern lines dear thro Ckleberry thank you very much for the which convinces me that your intentions Are honorable and that you wish to do the right there is one trifling matter that is still hanging i spent for a room in Kansas City As a result of your ticket agents and would Welcome your Check for this rest assured that in the future i will travel by great midwestern whenever yours Elmo Pettigrew dear Pettigrew i have just read the dossier on your and As far As i know it is quite i believe that any reasonable individual would concede that we have dealt most generously with and while we want to lean Over backwards to be it appears we would have to be contortionists to satisfy your since we have gone this far we Are enclosing our Check for covering your room expense in Kansas and sincerely Trust that this concludes the we appreciate your pledge to great Midwest but in fairness to competing would recommend either the Continental route or the mis Souri Southern on your next trip very truly Aloysius Goolsby chairman of the Board yank fiction