Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-09-22

Central Company, after the modern railroad
! fashion of gobbling up everything within
reach, undertake to run sleeping O. cars OF
| their own, and the result Is wnat might be
| expected. Having monopoly of the whole
thing and with no special incentive to at
tract custom to the sleepers, as have the
| owners of such cars who run them on their
| own account as their sole business, they
provide for the public in the shabbiest IN An
ner. The price they demand is as high a
| that in the best Pullmaa sleepers-In our
| case being 81 per section for the night.
| A sLEEP KILLING SLEEPER"
The sleeper was dingy, stuTy affair with
| the smell OF an una!red bed room; the brasses
were st cky with verdigris; The decorations,
| glasses, &c, were dirty and fly specket; the
lamps We've smoky and Oiled the car with a
slcKenlng smell; the water closets were sup
phi, d, economically, with torn strips o. the
Albany Argus; the wa>h-roOm a. one end OF
| the ear was diSmantlei, and tha AT the other
| had out TWO toTels-rnlleT towels, there
were no hand towels. These two towels, in
| Tie course Of the mornings service, hal
become so Smeared on both sides that not an
| inch of clean surface could be found uprn
| them. The porter was OF sort win the ear,
| siouchy, ~ kemp', in shirt sleeves, (the shirt
| too dirty to show the original coiOrl and
| wearing greasy velveteen cap. TIE sleeper
| conductor, shade Gle amer ana better dressed
thtn NE porter, was still enough of a bppr TO
illustrate bis fitness for duty on that line
r.
At Utica, late In the night there was long
wait in order to make 81. Louis connections,
/ they said,) and while the train was standing
| in the station, sleep was ef!ectually mar
Cercd by The DO sterOus chsffing OF "a crowd
| oi backmen and railroad employees The
porter and cOnduc or OF the sleeper , didn't
seem To think II was any part Of heir duty
| 10 interfere to stop the din. Altogether that
| was a sweet nights rest. Now, don't feel
called upon TO blow the horn of the Pullman
| car company, or any other sleeper pany,
| but il is plain duty in behalf Of the travel
| ing community TO protest against su IN an
imposition as The New York Ceutrtl's mo-
| nopOly sleeper line.
| OTHER RAILROAD MoNOPOLIEs.
suspect the public will toe a. badl y served
| in the various other directions where rail-
| road managers are seeking to wrest the fruits
| of laboriousl y bui up enterprises in which
Their loads have been employed. Thus the
| baltimore aud ONO road company who
| have taken the express business OUT OF the
| hands of The Adams express company, and
The fast freight business from Mcfarland &
stevenson, Will hardly serve the public as
Capably as these veteran firms, who have
| given their whole attention TO the speciality
| OF the prompt and satisfactory delivery Of
goods, and whose business success has been
fouLded wholly on their ability TO perform
| this work better than railroad companies
could. Subdivision in all branches of labor
and enterprise is now the order of the day,
and the attempt OF the railroad managers TO
gobble up all the business done over tn air
| rails is a retTogade movement in the direc-
ton OF old crude methods. It is much If
the medical profession should attempt to
| resume The old style of multifar Gus prac.
tice, and every doctor should bs also a sur
| geon. dentist, druggist, and cupper and
leecher.
NIAGARA FALLS.
The contrast between the life, gaiety, AMI
| cheerfulness of saratoga and the ponderous
| sOlemnity OF Niagara Falls is great. Not
| withstandiDg the eternal roar OF the falls
l40 1E of nlas "a fEran
The majestic anthem of nature seems not
| only 10 deaden the ear to all minor sounds.
hut to make gay talk aud the frivolities of
life app. ar terri bly, out of place Was any one
ever heard to laugh here, or TO talk eX ,ept ia
mOnosy llables? II seems out OF the @ TeStIon
| TO imagine these great hotels ever flled with
| gay crowd of amusement seekers. Who
could conceive of a hop or ball here or pep
| pie dancing to the music of a ''string band
In the presence of That solemn, all-pervaiing
bass? OF course. IL is easy 10 see that Niagara
can never undertake to compete with sara
| toga as pleasure resort; but the contrast is
| SO great bctween the gay, crowded streets of
| the Oh village, and the solitary quiet of the
| other, that The enquiry Uses why there is
snch discrepancy in the number OF visitors
| TO the two places, and why the greatest won
der of nature in the world is apparently SO
neglected. IL cannot be the fault OF the hotels
| The spacious International hotel, for in
stance, with an excellent table aud hand
ly-furn1shed rooms overlooking the
| rapids and the great cataract, has reduced its
prices TO at least q dollar less per day than
those prevailing at Saratoga. 1t can no
longer be charged to the account OF the extor-
tionate hackmen. They are annoying now,
only from their numbers and their pertina.
| ciOus efforts to uuderbid one another and Sc
| carriage could be hired by the hour, dav or
| job. for less than half what would be the
| price in Washington.
THE REAL DRAWBACK AT NIAGARA,
But there is a substantial reason why tour
lists give Niagara the 60 by, or stop there for
no krin fact inn
point on the American side from which toll
cradle view OF the falls can be obtained tn 1t
has not been fenced I'm by the owners or les
sees OF the grounds, who charge eXorbitaut
rates OF admission. The aggregate amount
OF these tolls is so great to make il too
heavy drain upon the purse of the average
tourist 10 allow a lelsurely visit to the place,
auu III the case OF tamil par Y, the OsL foots
up something enormous Thus the mere cost
OF adml sstOn (Outsite of carriage hirel for a
party OF four 10 Goat Island Prospect PARK,
Railway Suspension bridge, New SuSpen-
SION bridge, Whirlpool rapids American
side; the Whirlpool rapids, Canada side;
t new e Whirlpool descent; under the Horseshoe
Falls; into the "Shadow OF the Rock ami
through the Gave of the Winds" is s26 rs
As there is nothing of Interest in the village
aside from these points, where there is an ex-
orbltant fee for admsS ion, it will be seen
that few visitsOr care 10, or can afford, to
make it an abiding place for the season.
WHAT TO DO WITH 1T.
This fence monopoly, by which the people
are suul out from Inc view OF t0lS marvel of
nature, is offensive to every American, but
what is be done about it? The owners of the
property have undoubted right to utilize II
as q sou rec OF income. 1t Is owned in six
teenths, by minors, orphans, and widows,
and with some, IL not all the heirs, is theIr
only source OF income. The danger is that
they may avail themselves of their further
right to sell the falls as water privilege, ia
which event the whole ground aud all its ap-
proaches would be covered with mills.
Then, again, the railroad people are engi-
neering for the possession OF The property 10
throw q railIoad bridge over il by way of
Goat Island in way 10 frightfully dish cure
the view. 90
The only way to rescue the great cataract
would seem to be for the govern ment To
regain possession Of 1t, and hold the property
as National Park, as il has done in the
case OF the Yosemite Valley and the Valley
OF the Yellowstone. As the government sold
the ground originally Tin the year Is00) TO the
Porters for sl20 On swamp land warrant it
would seem to be Its duty now to rem edv
this great blunder by repurchasing II in
behalf of the American people. Probably
half Q million dollars would purchase tia
whole ground. including Goat Island AMI
the river border from the Falls six miles
inUn tn Sstha Mnnntatns,