The morning news., 1889-04-26
A Sunday Rest Experiment.

The Sunday rest movement which was
begun more than year ago, and which has
been pushed with great vigor by those in
| charge of 1t, promises TO be, to a certain
| extent, successful The main effort thus
far has been to get the railroads to cease
running Sunday trains. Petitions con-
| tanning millions of names have been sent to
congress protesting against carrying the
mails on Sundays. 1t is thought that if
congress prohibits the carrying of mails on
| Sundays the railroads can be induced more
easily to abandon Sunday trains. Con-
gress, however, has not taken much notice
of the petitions, and is not likely to unless a
| strong sentiment against Sunday mails is
| developed throughout the country.
1t is doubtful If any considerable percent
age of the people will consent to do without
newspapers and other mail matter on SuD-
days. 1t is not difficult to get people to
| sign petitions against running Sunday
trains, because they do not take into con-
| sideration the condition of affairs that will
exist without those trains The theory will
not seem 10 be so attractive when they are
confronted by the condition
Two ofthe great railroad corporations
have announced their purpose 10 make an
experiment with regard to Sunday trains
The Vanderbilt lines east Of Chicago, after
May !, win run no freight trains except
for the transportation of perishable articles
and live stock, and the Michigan Central
will follow their example. and will also run
no more passenger trains than it can posi-
bly, help
1t is estimated that the amount of freight
business done by these two corporations on
Sundays, after May l, will be less than
half the amount done now, but the volume
of business on Mondays and Tuesdays will
be greatly increased Sunday viii be day
Of rest for at least half Of the employees of
the freight trains, or for all of them twice
q month. OF course the employees will not
earn "a much as they do now, as they are
paid for the time they work About all of
them, however, say that they would rather
receive less wages and have one day in the
week on which they can feel that their time
is their own.
1t is understood that Mr.. Cornelius Van
derbilt is the chief promoter of the Sunday
rest movement 50 far as the railroads are
railroads will be losers if the experiment
proves TO be successful. Just SO much
freight has to be moved, and If the en-
ployss have day Of rest they will have to
work all the harder the following days.
Indeed, it looks as if the Sunday rest move
ment would put money into the pockets of
the railroads which adopt it, because the
freight that is now moved in seven days
will be moved in six, and the men who
handle ii will get less pay than they now do.
II the experiment of stopping freight
trains on Sundays is successful, a similar
experiment viii doubtless be made with
passenger trains. AS the movement TO stop
all Sunday trains is a religious one. the OBJ
lection TO running passenger trains is as
strong as that TO running freight trains.
The passenger trains, however, are closer
| to the people than freight trains, and before
they can be stopped the people must change
their Sunday practices in some particulars