The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-01-31

Railway C0rventenees In Europe and
Acknowledgements % tho Rurepsan
system. e,e.i.H
In oil largely populated, thriving and i'm
portant communities. - we'll In Europe - in
America. . perfect Gordon Of railway commu-
nications has long been considered . prime
necessity. The ideA Of two large cities. within
one or two hundred miles Of each other, being
without the means Of continuous railroad con-
neotion would DO ono Of the most monstrous
anomalies Of the age Civilization itself, 1t
may be said, now hangs on tho breath OF
steam; and by land and water that mysterious
agent Of mans progress marches on In triumph
to the farthest limits Of tho earths empire.
In many parts Of Europe. but moro especially
In England and In France. . complete system
Of railroad communication between their prin-
cipal cities Ia rightly considered a. among the
greatest Of public necessities, and therefore II
has been carried to point OF great advancs.
mont and perfection. Here 10 America with
perhaps but few exceptions, wo are going
backwards instead Of forwards with our mode
Of travelling By rAilroads We, q people
and & government. mako great professions of
pAtriotisn Aaa devotion q popular Interests.
In every dcpartmsnt'of eus public affairs NO
6Ad evidence Of the Same disease. Political
humbsgs and enpirioa Of all kinds scramble
into power on The pretencs Of being "fricnds Of
the people" ALI sorts Of corporations
way associations and coal monspoliea not ex-
oepted-climb into favor on the steps Of this
we'll worn ladder. And yet, as far as practical
truth and fairness are concerned, there is
nothing fH those pretensions except fraud and
deceit In Europe we see an exactly opposite
view Of the picture. There the ruling powers
virtually start by vitiating all popular rights
and privileges, affecting to treat the people as
IL they could not exist without the supervision
OF competent masters. But this is only theo-
resical rule. While impresaing the masses with
this idea the administrators of public works
and Of government carry out practical thoughts
which really greatly benefit the people. Ia
France we do not hear The constant cry Of "the
public good" but when we look around us we
see indubitabie proofs that that Is truly Che
first thing considered. This is simply the differ
ence between practice and preaching Without
the Gprmer the latter is rarely Of any avail; and
we think it is high time that we in New York
should have some practical things done and a
good deal less talk about It.
Let US glance for moment at our railroad
system. AS q whole there is much that is good
in IT; but dissected and divided as these cor
porations should be, we scarcely know which
abuse first requires correction. Leaving other
railroads out of the question for the present
we will take the case Of that between New
York and Philadelphia-th two largest cities
of the Union-one OF them having ell the North
ern and the other all the Southern cities in
their rear. Not far from Philadelphia stands
the national capital itself, with q vigorous and
INSCRIPTIONS foe in the field that has more
than once threatened its safety. Railway COM
munication on such line as this is Of the Hrst
Importance Yet, though this road has been
established for nearly thirty years, there is at
the present moment but single track
between the two cities first named. How it is
that accidents do not more frequently OCCUR
we can scarcely understand. But the truth is
that it is imminently dangerous to travel on
any such railroad line for the reasons
we have assigned. AT several points on
the road there are certainly what are called
"cut-offs," or short branches OF trackofunning
for short way, intended merely to keep one
line of cars out Of the way Of the other when
the arrival Of one or the other is expected A
double line Of rails, commonly known as
double track, would remedy the evil at once.
If q train from New York was on its way to
Philadelphia, and an accident should occur to
the cars from the latter city to the former, the
result would naturally be the detention Of both
trains, and the consequent annoyance, il not
serious loss, of the passengers who are compell-
ed to travel on the road. Within the past few
weeks there have been several accidents
brought to our attention, which, but for the dis
graceful management Of the line, could never
have occurred. We well remember that few
years ago the through trip from New York to
Philadelphia distance Of not much over nine
ty miles-used to be accomplished in three
hours. Business was not then pouring in upon
the company with such rapidity as IL now does.
They could therefore at that time afford to
consider the interests and claims OF the public,
and do something to facilitate their convenience
in travelling, Now, from the vast increase of
business, and the constant influx of psssen-
gers and transportation on the road, stoppages
are made so frequently. at every petty place on
the route that instead Of through trip lasting
three hours, it is more likely to be extended to
FIVE or six. Thus, instead of the success Of the
company or Of the owners Of the line tending
to increase public facilities and the convenience
Of the people, the public are actually made
to suffer for their generosity in patronizing the
road, while the managers OF the line still cry
out, PRO bono publico."
Another advantage 70 be secured by this
and most Of our other railway corporations