sible." Courtesy with him, as with any one else who makes it a
habit, has a cumulative effect. The effect cannot always be traced as in
the case of the jeweler or in the story given below in which money plays
a very negligible part, but it is always there.

On one occasion--this was when he was president of the Hudson
Railroad--Mr. McAdoo was on his way up to the Adirondacks when the train
broke down. It was ill provided for such a catastrophe, there was no
dining car, only a small buffet, and the wait was a long and trying one.
When Mr. McAdoo after several hours went back to the buffet to see if he
could get a cup of coffee and some rolls he found the conductor almost
swamped by irate passengers who blamed him, in the way that passengers
will, for something that was no more his fault than theirs. The
conductor glanced up when Mr. McAdoo came in, expecting him to break
into an explosion of indignation, but Mr. McAdoo said, "Well, you have
troubles enough already without my adding to them."

The conductor stepped out of the group. "What did you want, sir?" he
asked.

"Why, nothing, now," Mr. McAdoo responded. "I did want a cup of coffee,
but never mind about it."

"Come into the smoker here," the conductor said. "Wait a minute."

The conductor disappeared and came back in a few minutes with coffee,
bread, and butter. Mr. McAdoo thanked him warmly, gave him his card and
told him that if he ever thought he could do anything for him to let him
know. The conductor looked at the card.

"Are you the president of the Hudson Railroad?"

"Yes."

"Well, maybe there's something you can do for me now. There are two men
out here who say they are going to report me for what happened this
morning. You know how things have been, and if they do, I wish you would
write to headquarters and explain. I'm in line for promotion and you
know what a black mark means in a case like that."

Mr. McAdoo assured him that he would write if it became necessary. The
men were bluffing, however, and the complaint was never sent in.
Apparently the incident was closed.

Several years later Mr. McAdoo's son was coming down from the
Adirondacks when he lost his Pullman ticket. He did not discover the
fact until he got to the station, and then he had no money and no time
to get any by wire before the train left. He went to the conductor,
explained his dilemma, and told him that if he would allow him to ride
down to the city his father, who was to