The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-13

captains who invented the horrors Of the
middle passage. It is well known that at GER
tain hours of the day on various routes the
ordinary car accommodations are lamentably
deficient, but it seems to be the settled policy
of the companies to persistently refuse to in
crease the number of cars at such periods
They appear to rely upon overcrowding at
these times for increased profits, and to cal
cuate confidently upon extracting dividends
from the misery of their customers.
1t costs them no more for ''horse feed"
horses, drivers, and conductors when they
carry sixty passengers than when they carry
twenty, and the extra sum derived from the
forty unfortunate victims who are jammed
together in the most uncomfortable attitudes
affords margin for profit which they eagerly
clutch The conductor continues TO cry out,
"Crowd up there, ''Make more room" ''Step
forward" and to announce to anxious in
quirers at the crossings, "Plenty of room in
side, at times when the horses are staggering
under load too heavy for their strength, and
when dozens of sick or delicate persons in
the cars or on the platform are gasping for
breath, or suffering acutely from fatigue
The whole thing is an outrage on the good
nature and genial feeling of the public.
They submit to the overcrowding because
they wish to accommodate those who desire
to become fellow-passengers, and in cases of
emergency the average American is always
willing to display courtesy of this natures but
1t is Infamous for the companies to speculate
upon this generous feeling and to systemat-
cally charge full fare for square foot of
Of o,,I
when they know that the prevailing habits
will inevitably lead to an overcrowding of their
cars.
The first signal for systematic assault upon
this oppressive custom has at last been given.
1t has been made in the interest of the horses
by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals but jammed-up humanity is also
incidentally benefited by the victory won in
the courts yesterday; and there is promise
of relief for tired men, feeble women, and
sick children, as well as for overtasked brutes
On the trial the charge was made and proven
to the satisfaction of the jury, that the con-
ductor and driver of car No. , on the Union line
were guilty of cruelty to animals, because
they made two horses, one of which had an
exhausted appearance, draw up heavy grade,
at about o'clock in the afternoon, a load of
sixty grown persons and six or seven children.
verdict of guilty having been rendered, a
fine of $25 and costs was imposed, the gist of
the legal offense being the sufferings
inflicted on the horses. The most
important result however, is the probable
bearing of the trial on the public, and their
partial deliverance from the sharp game which
the companies have been playing upon them.
Judge Peirce, in his charge to the jury, very
properly said-''Persons who pay for seat
in cars have the right not to be incommoded
by being jammed or pushed against, or gene
rally inconvenienced 1t would be much
better if the railway companies would en-
deavor to furnish accommodations to enable
every one to ride with comfort On the az
rival of steam cars, or at times achen there is q
great transit at certain points, it would be far
better if additional cars were in readiness. u
The passenger railway companies cannot act
too promptly or too fully on this hint. By
doing so they will please the public, and in
the end increase their profits. But if they
refuse to perform their duty, we hope the foes
of the present system will continue their
| efforts to reform it.