While the two have long been associated, only of late has it become the custom not only to give the sucker no even break, but no break at all. A glib grifter in this streamlined system could work it indefinitely and retain her virtue. Newspapers continually dig up new versions of the "meanest thief." We nominate this one! PART THREE THE LOWDOWN (_Confidential!_) 28. BUT YOU'VE GOT TO GET HERE FIRST The trouble with most books about New York is that their authors seem to think you are already here, before you begin to read the first page. Though this is the atomic age, with transport planes winging through the air at 400 miles an hour, no one has yet materialized a magic carpet. We take it for granted you plan to travel by one of the conventional means: train, plane, bus, ship or car. Allowances also will be made for hitchhikers and those who ride the rods. New York is no place for those who come by motorcycle or camel or trailer. There are no trailer parks or motels or roadside rooming houses in or near the city. At this stage of the game, we will not inquire into your motives, though later on we expect you to do a bit of soul searching--confidential--to discover in which category you fit. If you are attracted by the glimmer of the lights or the gold of the markets, it's all the same to us. But first you've got to get here. Choice space on de luxe trains, planes and ships will always be at a premium. It was so before the war and it is now. We assume you are coming here first class. And, coming for business or pleasure, we strongly recommend it. If for the former, there's nothing like putting on a front. It also helps you feel important to yourself. If for the latter, why not have all the conveniences? * * * * * If traveling by plane (and it's your first flight) try to go nonstop. You will find that once aloft, you have no sensation of flying; it's the landings and take-offs that jitter the tyro. If you're coming by train, try to get a private bedroom. Never take anything smaller than a drawing room for two people. (Most experienced travelers demand a compartment for one.) (INSIDE STUFF: But the prettiest gals usually travel in coach trains or on the cheaper Pullmans. Passengers on extra-fare trains are almost entirely businessmen and some couples. It is difficult to make friends on such trains as the 20th Century and the Super Chief, because most passengers keep to their rooms for the entire trip. On the other hand, those who ride the more moderately priced trains are friendlier and easier to talk to. Travel etiquette does not prevent you from talking to the sweet sister in the next seat. But if you do, you are expected to invite her into the diner and pick up her check.) Federal and many state laws make it illegal to offer a premium for plane or train reservations. But it is no crime, of course, to tip a hotel porter liberally for securing same.