The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-08-25
Evils OF TRAyEt ~ rrRoPE.

person that unJer such . system mon
travel 10 Europe At tue risk Of their
lives and women At the risk OF their
honor.
1t is to the competition existinG
among our American railway companies
that we owe the conveniences, such rs
ice water, toilet and retiring rooms SO
literally provided for travellers upon all
our frst class trains. and which under
system OF governmental ownership aud
control would mover have come into
being. l will pass over With Simple
reference to what travellers In our own
country hayo long since come TO regard
M absolute necessities Of railroad travel.
but which are absolutely unknown on
all tho goyernme1tal.contro rail-
ways OF Europe. refer TO adequate
arrangements for eating, sleeping,
amusement, lighting. heating, etc. But
must very strongly emphasizes one
glaring deficiency. which Is go utterly
inexcusable aud oven incredible that In
the United States ~ would arouse the
most bitter Indignation. l mean the
fact that tho trains On the government
controlled railways OF continental En-.
rope are entirely devoid Of even the
must primitive c0nveuiencos. Tho an.
noyances and the suffering occasioned
thereby are incalculable. Think OF the
feeble women and elderly men. OF tho
invalIds and children, who are forced
to put up with such
INDUSTRIOUS NEGLECT
on tho part OF those whose duty It is to
provide in every possible way for their
comfort and happiness during tho
journey, as they are paid for doing 80.
10 be sure, tho railway companies do,
it Is true, make pretonso OF furnishing
their patrons with these accommoda-
tons ut the stations along the route,
but rs tho runs between the stations are
often worry long and the stops very short,
and as the weather Ia often inclement.
it Is very difficult for ladies, children
and inyalids to leave the train in order
to avail themselves oil even these
wrotched excuses for conyeniences.
Let mo give IN illustration OF the
gross abuses of such system. will
mention case which came under my
observation during one oil my journeys
in continental Europe. An American
lady loft her seat in the train To enter
ono OF these cabinets, aud she was &C.
tuallV locked In and kept there until
tile train had moved of without her,
simply because, having left her purse
in the cars, she was unable TO pay the
few SOUS that were demanded.
Another great annoyance which
must be suffered by the traveller on tho
govern ment-coutrolled railways of Eu.
rope, and one which would necessarily
mover be remedied except under the
severe competition fostered BY our sys-
ten of Independent companies, is the
incessaut jolting, due very much to the
small sizS and faulty construction OF
the cars. II you happen to ride in any
OF the forward carriages Of any OF the
express trains on European railway
you arc thrown up and down, and from
side TO side, with q violence which
could only have been equalled in the
United States in the
OLD DAYS or STAGE COACHING.
when those numbering vehicles were
driven over what were called Corduroy
roads," which wore constructed by fell
ing trees aud placing them in close
iuxtaposition across the highway.
Charles Dickens had some experience
OF roads OF this kind while travelling in
Ohio on the occasion OF his first visit TO
this country in 1912, and he has elo-
quently described in his american
Notes" the consequent sutterings oil
himself and Mrs. Dickens from tho
ioltiug and humping TO which they
wore subjected. Itwould require pen
as brilliant aud facile as that. OF tho
great novelist to do justice to tho dis
comfort endured BY an American tour
ist while travelling in tho forward car OF
Il government coutrolled railroad in
Europe.
Railways under governmental control
must inevitably be conducted in des.
potic and autocratic manner, with little
regard TO tho rights Of thepeopIe. because,
MS stated above, there would be no conf
petition and 10 practical redress for 10.
juries, losses or damages oil any KIND,
since all such claims would DO claims
against tho government and like nil
such claims, would remain unsettled
down to tho third or fourth generation.
How despotic and autocratic ourrailways
would be uudor governmental control IS
we'll illustrated by the following Incl
dent, which know to bG authentic. a
party OF American students, travelling
through Germany, reached n railroad
station In ono OF the largo cities Just ns
their train was pulling out: An Official
seeing that they had started to run alter
tho moving train with the intention oil
jumping on board, called out to them
10 stop and not to atto;npt to get on the
cars while thoy were in motion. az
the cars were moving slowly. they paid
no attention TO this official warning,
and cIanberel aboard tho train.
Their disobedieHco Of the railway
officials mandate was punished at tho
next station, whore they were
MET ny a GUARD OF SOLDIERS
aud all marched OF under arrest At
first tho young Americans were in
clined to troat their arrest as n huge
lest, and they inquired with mock
scriousncsq WHOM their trial for the
hoinous oGenSe OF jumping on o moving
railway train would take place. but
they soon found out that II was no
laughing matter when they were in
formed that having deliberately vio-
lated an ordinance Of the great German
empire, they had boon already tried and
convicted, and sentenced TO thirty days
imprisonment. IN fact bGioro they
Ind fniiy rontizoh tho gravity OF their
situation they found themselves behind
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