St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-08-28
The Railroad Company and the Pas
senger.

into the question so ablnuantlN dis
cussctl of late in the public prints and
periodicals. and now even in political
caUcuScS and conventions, concerning
the mutual rights and obligations of the
railroad companies and the public, |
shall not enter. Yet il NAV contribute
something to Il better understanding
and 50 indirectly to il solution of that
problem. tn have IL clear idea of what
Il railroad corporation is, what are the
hazards, what the tolls, what the du-
ties, difficulties, and dangers, of those
who are connected with. and who have
done most to create, develop, and car
~ on, these great highways of the pres
cnt century, the arteries which supply
the whole body polite with its vital
circulation -trade and commerce.
The traveller going West steps to the
ticket office of the PennSy the
Erie, OF the New York Central Rail
road. He purchases his ticket for san
Francisco. He gives his trunk to the
baggage master, gets for it Il little piece
of metal, and sees and cares for it no
more \ porter shows him his place in
the Pullman ear. He takes his seat.
pulls oil his boots, puts on his slippers,
opens his bag, takes ont his Ho,per's
H00,i-inc, and his travelling cares are at
an end. For six days and nights he is
rolled swiftly across the continent. En-
gineers and conductors change. He is
passed along from one railroad cOrpo-
ration to another. At night his seat
becomes bed, and he sleeps us quietly,
or nearly SO, as if in his own bed at
home. He travcrses broad plains. pass
is over immense viaducts, WhiIlS swift
y over mountain torrents on iron
bridges, climbs or picrces mountains;
but he never leaves his parlor; if need
he, his meals are brought to him where
he sits; and mt length, after Il week of
luxurious though weary travelling, in
which he has been in the keeping of
half il dozen different companies, and
has traversed over thr q thousand miles
of country. part of it IIninllabited and
dcs"latc, he is set down in the station
at San Francisco. He looks ut the
clock III the station room, compares it
with the timetable in his hand, and
finds that his journey has been accom-
pliShed with all the regularity and
of the sun. His little piece
of brass is given to an eXpIeSs agent or
Il hackman, and when he reaches his no
tel, the trunk which he surrendered in
New York is in the great hall awaiting
him. Ii seems Il very simple business
and if percliaucc through all this jour
ncy he finds the dinner at one waiting
place cold, or the conductor on one part
of his trip discourtcOus, or the train
stopped at any point in the long ride
beyond his expectations, oI his arrival
at his destination delayed beyond the
hour, he is very apt to grrlm
bic, inwardly if not vOcally. How
much money has been put into this
long line of rail how much has been
sunk i'll unsuccessful experiments how
many rich men have been ruined before
the work was done: how many sleep
less nights surveyors and contractors
have spent ill providing this marvellous
how intricate and involved
is the system of cOpartnership that is
necessary to such il continuous trans
portation without change of cars :"
what a gigantic undertaking it is to
this system, with its thou
sands of employees; how wide awake
the engineers have been that the trav-
cler may sleep; what dangers they
have had to face that he may ride in
Safety-of all this he is unconscious, if
not absolutely ignorant.
The Eric Railway, one of the longest |
lines Of railroad in the world. employs |
fifteen thousand persons in various oc-
1t is estimated that there is
scarcely an hour of the day Or night
when there are not one hundred trains
i'll actual running along its line. The
admin StTatiou of such n forcr of mon
the management of such ii system of
railroad trains, without clashing or
collision, requires executive ability of
the very highest order. If, sir, you
think it easy, count up the difficulties
You have with your own Irish gardener
i'll the administration of your country
place, with its horse and COW {; then
multiply those difficulties by fifteen
and you have the problem of
an American railroad president. From
the Imericdn Rail Road, by Lyman Ib-
bOH, IN H0per's Magasine for Iuyust.