St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-05
G REFORMS.

The meeting of the council committee
on streets Friday night served to dem
onstrate that our st. Paul citizens are
not so much absorbed in political issues
as to forget the pressing Importance of
some local reforms.
First and uppermost in the public
mind is the question how to obtain a
better street railway service. The year
opened with prospects and promises of
a radiant hue, but as the year draws
nearer to a close they wear a darker
tlnge. In consideration of the granting
of new franchises and the liberal extern
sion of old franchises, the street railway
company was profuse with promises of
the great things that were to be done in
the way of improving our street railway
service. The LIST of November was the
date fixed for the completion of these
improvements, and every assurance was
given that by the time the snow fell the
people of this city would have every
thing in the way of local transportation
that heart could desire.
The 1st of November is only a little
more than three weeks off, and vet the
city is but little better provided with
transportation facilities and accomoda-
tons than it was on the first day of last
January. Largely by local effort. and
by paying a handsome bonus to the
street railway company, the Grand ave-
u electric line has been opened and
the Selby avenue cable extension has
been completed, both extending out
into the Midway district. But beyond
the extension of the horse car line
across Wabasha bridge there have been
no additional transportation facilities.
nor is the prospect very encouraging
that there will be any more before win
ter sets in.
The lines which have been built and
are TO- in operation, including the
cable, electric and horse car lines, are
run in such a way as to be wholly mad
eouate to the accommodation of that
portion of the public who are served by
them. There are not cars enough, and
the times between the trains are too
long. Long waits Oh the part Of pas
SengerS who wish to catch a train. and
when the train is caught, standing room
only, are what the passenger is apt to
lind. and he considers himself lucky if he
has the chance to hold on to a strap or
swing on to the side of an over-packed
car. And vet he has to pay out his good
nickel to the company just the same as
if he had a comfortable seat. which the
law contemplated that he should have.
There ought to be a city ordinance
limiting the number of passengers
TO a street car to the number of seat
that can be provided for their comforta-
bic accommodation. There should be
an additional ordinance. if there is not
already one, requiring the street rail-
way company to furnish sufficient cars,
n to be run on such a schedule as
will fully accommodate the public.
And, furthermore, the police of the city
should be charged with the strict en-
forcement of these ordinances. We
have gone far enough in our dealings
with the street railway company to
know that it will not consult public
convenience, O respect public rights,
until the properly constituted authori-
ties compel it to do so. Hence the
GLOBE demands of the city council that
it shall initiate a needed system of local
reforms by making the street railway
company afford such transportation
facilities as its charter requires it to
furnish. And, while we are on this
subject, let us suggest that all-night
trains, or at least n every hour after
midnight, would supply a public want.
, Another local reform of secondary im-
portance, but none the less desirable, is
to get rid of that old barn of a building
called the market house, and 10 utilize
the ground OF which it stands for better
purposes. The building itself is worse
than useless to the city, and both build