Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-01-18
A NEW DEPOT.

lew passenger depot in Centralia on
he Valley division of the c. NJ. & St.
?. R. r. They have patiently submit
ed to the inconvenience and lack of
accommodation which the present
building has afforded and with sort Of
mild Indifference characteristic of
American people have waited in vain
for the st. Paul officials to
supply the necessary want. Yes, they
waited, and to wait has been to go
without. The REPORTER has made
of this fact few times before
with little or no effect, but we again
take occasion to urge upon the officials
of this prosperous road the necessity Of
new depot in Centralia,
and we hope this time to meet with
better results.
That a new depot is needed here
to-day every patron of the st. Paul
road, be he a citizen of our cities or
not. will bear witness, and we offer
few more facts in evidence. The old
building which now serves this purpose
was born with the road early in the '70s
and, while the cars have undergone
while steam heat ard
modern appliances have been added to
make transportation more comfortable
and more rapid, while the road-bed has
been improved and everything done to
make this line of railroad the best
which enters our cities-while all these
wheels of progress have been turned
the old waiting place has been allowed
to stand untouched and unchanged, a
relic of primitive days, pioneer grimy
and black with the accumulated dust
and filth from years of usage. Even
the just pride of the officials in the
road which they govern, and one of the
best in the country, has failed to pro-
vide for us suitable depot, decent
building in keeping with its advanced
surroundings. Do you wonder that We
want new depot?
That new depot is needed not man
of the st. Paul company will honestly
deny. They are all aware Of its present
condition. They have been visited by
our business men, they have been
petitioned by our citizens, marked
copies of this paper with protests have
been sent them. They have themselves
visited the place, even talked last fall Of
giving us new building, but when the
hard times came they cancelled our
hopes. We have waited long enough.
1t is we'll known fact that this station
is second to the best if not equal to the
best paying station on the line. The
business done here has for long time
Welded larger revenue to the COM
pany than any other city but Wausau
and for long time has been deserving
of a better depot. Yet Wausau,
Merrill, Tomahawk, even Babcock and
other much smaller places than ours
have modern depots with separate
waiting rooms for ladies and gentlemen,
at least decent waiting places for the
patrons of this road.
Not many evenings ago the writer
happened in the dingy, dirty little
waiting room where ladies', children,
gentlemen and toughs must all assemble,
Just before train time. Among those
waiting was a man bound for the woods.
Intoxicated, he occupied whole
corner Of the room, Keeling from one
side to the other, muttering oaths to all
who entered, Boosting constantly of his
swearing proclivities. A steady stream
of blasphemy issued from his mouth
for fifteen minutes and stopped only
W hen the train arrived. Fortunately
only three ladies were present, but few
or many they had to sit and listen to
this jargon or wait out in the cold
A few evenings after we visited the
place again. 1t was bitter, cold night
and we counted twenty-seven men
standing around the stove packed like
sardines in space not large enough
for dozen. The benches were filled
with ladies but no heat could reach
them. 1t did not even get to the out
side tier of men. The air was filled
with smoke, the floor coversd with
tobacco spit. Could this be the st.
Paul waiting room? Another night the
gang around the stove had a whiskey
bottle. Someone dropped it as he was
about to take drink and its contents
ran over the floor adding the smell Of
whiskey to that of tobacco And so we
could go on. These are not magnifed
stories for the sake of argument but
facts that can be verified by observations
made on any evening. Shall we subject
our wives, mothers, sisters and daugh-
tiers longer to such insults? Not while
other lines lead IN and out of our
cities.
The business men of the Twin Cities,
with the Mayor as prime mover, have
taken the matter III hand and a mass
meeting will be held very soon. 1t is
through them that the company re-
ceives its revenue and unless some