The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-02-22
IT WILL CRAFTY
OUR City READERS.
THE CALLS" DETERMINATION TO
PUBLISH THE TIMETABLES
WILL BE APPROVED.
WILL RECEIVE APPRECIATION
THE CHANGE Is TERMED A GREAT
ADVANCE IN METROPOLITAN
JOURNALISM.

The announcement that hereafter the
CALL will publish the railroad timetables
without any expense to the corporations
created much favorable comment about
town yesterday.
w. H. Mills of the Southern Pacific Rail-
road Company said: cit is very enter
prising in the CALL to take the step it has
in publishing free of charge the railroad
schedules, and 1t will doubtless be a source
of much qualification to its readers. 1t
will be personal convenience to myself,
for | naturally turn to the papers for such
information. People expect to find all the
news in the CALL, and in San Francisco
the railroad timetable is news. Of course
/. it is quite natural for one situated as l am
/ TO say this; nevertheless the action taken
! by Mr.. Shortridge is worthy of any good
newspaper man whose mind is broad
enough to appreciate the value of informa-
ton desired by his readers.
''The railroad companies generally have
ceased advertising the arrival and depart
ure of their regular trains and the South
ern Pacific Company has simply followed
the example set by other lines. 1t will,
however, continue to advertise its special
trains, such as the Sunset limited and
4
nary is rendered.
''Of course, the time will come when San
Francisco will have grown to such an eX-
tent and become such a railroad center
} that it will be impracticable to publish
tables showing the arrival and departure of
all trains that will enter or leave the city :;
as lmpractlcable as 1t would be to publish
the timetable of the arrival and departure
: of all the cars of the Market-street Railway
system.
SAT the present time in Chicago, where
twenty-five railroad lines converge. only
the special trains arriving and departing
are noticed in the schedules of the news
papers, and for that service less than one
column of type is required. San Francisco
will some day experience similar condi-
tons.
"At present, however, it is a real conven-
fence to the people of the city to have the
CALL publish the tables showing the arrival
and departure of trains and the papers ac-
ton in that regard will certainly be appre-
ciated.
President A. w. Foster of the San Fran
cisco and North Pacific Railroad indorses
the CALLS action. at is a step in the right
direction" he said, land a great advance
in metropolitan journalism. The time of
the arrival and departure of trains is
matter OF interest to the general public,
and the furnishing of such information is,
in my opinion, a part of the legitimate
business of any paper.
THE people depend largely on the daily
press for such information. They expect
to find it in their papers, and they have a
right to demand it.
''The mere presence in paper of our
timetable certainly does not tend to in
duce travel and is, therefore, of no particu-
lar benefit to US. People who have de-
cided on a journey read it to learn the
hour OF departure, but if they did not find
III the paper the information needed they
would look for it somewhere else. The
matter is really one of the public's con-
venlence, and l think the CALL by its
course will add largely to its growing pop
ularity.
''In the East the matter has long been
understood. There for many years past
the railroad timetables, when published at
all, have been published without charge,
and 1t has been noticed that as soon as the
people understand that every variety of
desirable information can be found in the
columns OF certain paper that paper in
creases its prosperity.
w. E. Russell of the Northern Pacific
Coast Railroad has had great deal of ex-
perience in the Eastern States.
''ln that country" he said "all the
papers publish the railroad schedules. and
never think of demanding payment for it
but the practice has not heretofore OBJ
taIned on this coast. We have advertised
our timetables, but the expense has been
great, and we have had practically no in
creased return. The public is benefited by
the publication rather than the railroad.
The new departure inaugurated by the
CALL will be popular with the people, and
If am not mistaken the CALL will gain in
increased circulation and growing adver-
uslng patronage more than it loses by
cancellng our contracts.
1.-THE railroads are not unreasonable nor
do they demand great amount of space.
The regular schedules can be made up in a
very condensed form, which we will COM
pile and furnish to the press. At certain
seasons of the year the company runs
special trains and excursions. These we
advertise, and for such advertisements we
expect to pay"