Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-01-05
Gbe lanfastfr 1ntelli9enfer.
LANCASTER. JANUARY S, 1855.
Ahead Of Our NeIghbors.

There is very remarkable difference in
progressive spirit between two cities so
close together as Lancaster and Reading,
and in nothing is the lead of Lancaster bet
ter shown than in the vast superiority of her
street rolling stock Reading claims twice
the population Of Lancaster and ought 10
have twice the number of private carriages
and public hacks and livery stables. But
in fact the private carriages in Reading
can be counted on the fingers of the hands,
perhaps even of one hand, while in Lancas-
ter they are so many that no one could
readily number them.
The liveries i'm Lancaster are much
more numerous and better equipped than
in Reading, and as to cabs Reading does
not know what they are. There are none
standing in her streets or at her depots or
hotels. A carriage can only be had at the
livery stable. In Lancaster cabs stand at
the depots and on the streets at all hours of
day and night, ready for call at cost of
twenty-five cents to convey passen-
ger and trunk from and to any part
of the city, and ready to obey tele-
phone call to any house to carry passenger
thence for the same charge. Reading has
two street railways that are better patron
lied than ours, but their service is in no
way so complete and satisfactory as our
cab service.
Why we should be SO much more ad-
yanced in this direction than our neighbor
is not readily accounted for. The greater
number Of private carriages here indicate
greater individual wealth, which we no
doubt have; but Reading has plenty of
wealthy residents who can afford to keep
carriages, but do not. The sentiment
seems to be that it is an extravgance, and
extravaganza is the one sin the Reading
folks will not be guilty of. They look at a
carriage ride as forbidden luxury and
cab stand would be avoided by its people
as a temptation of the devil
1t would not become us to say that tbey
are less intelligent than our people, though
color is given to the suspicion by the fact
that they have lbutone small book store to
the town. sw'hile we have five good ones.
BsEs contra they have handsomer beer
saloon than any of ours.
Harrisburg is another neighboring town
that prides herself ona much greater popula-
lation and more aggressive spirit than
Lancaster, but she is far behind us in the
Accommodations provided on the streets for
travellers. Her weather. citizens have
more and better turnouts than are owned
in Reading, though not ahead of Lancaster
ifindeed up to her. But public accommoda-
tions there, in the way of hacks and cabs,
are utterly lacking. Years ago, it is claimed,
the railroad company irrevocably and un-
changeably granted to one individual the
exclusive right of landing passengers on
and taking them from the platform
of the station. That monopoly, al
though excluding all competition, has
never had greater enterprise than
to put at the Harrisburg station occa-
sionally an old omnibus with trundle cart
behind it for baggage, such as were used
aforetime in Lancaster, but have been
abandoned for nearly twenty years. AL
together Harrisburg is worse off if possible.
than Reading; and it was the disgrace of
the capital city, that when its last governor
elect arrived there he could not even hire
hack to convey him to the executive man
sion. When the luckless traveller reaches
that city he incurs about equal chances of
finding no omnibus at all at the station. or
If there is one in waiting, if not too dirty to
ride in, 1t is apt to be overcrowded