The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-12

otten at junction point, where am
other car can be attached to the train,
have seen it happen frequently at
way stations. Possibly one cause of
the existence of this system of fees is
to be found in the fact that the rate
Oh wages paid to employees of the con-
tlnental railways averages half that |
PAID by American railways.
An incident connected with the fee
system, at once amusing and annoying,
mad friend Of mine as it's hero. The |
scene was the depot at Frankfort: my
friend was about to enter a compart-
ment where there were several vacant !
places, when he saw one of the occu-
pants hand a gold piece to the guard.
The guard thereon Immediately de-
clared that the compartment was re-
served and that no one else could |
enter it, My friend was naturally /
angry and accused the fellow of being |
prlbed; the accusation being denied, he |
minated with American concisencss ,
ana comDrehensvenoss that the guard !
was liar and a thief" The train |
moved Off, my friend being compelled |
to find another seat. At the first sta
tion he was arrested for having in !
suited a government Official and. after |
great deal Of trouble. he. under the |
advice of lawyer, paid all the costs. I!
in addition to q heavy fine. This is !
one of the pleasant little happenings !
possible in a country where the rail- |
ways are run by the government, and |
| where the government officials are |
amenable to bribcs | doubt we should |
take kindly to it in this Land Of the |
| Free.
UNDER ARREST.
Another instance Of collision with |
| the powers occurred also in Germany |
party of American students, travel !
| ing through the country, reached the |
| station just as their train was starting !
! Being Americans, them usual custom at
| home had been to eaten trains by the
rear platform as the last car was leav-
ing the station, and they saw no rea-
son to change their custom to oblge
| any "effete monarchy" The official
called to them not to jump on, but
| again, being Americans and students,
! they disregarded him and boarded the
train At the next station they were
met by q, guard of soldiers and marched
off under arrest. They discovered that
they had violated an ordinance Of the
German Empire. They were speedily
sentenced to thirty days imprison-
ment, and before they knew it they
were behind the bars, from whiclFig-
nominy it required the influence of our
! legation at Berlin, added to their most
abject apologies, to procure their re-
| lease. After all, our soulless railway
corporations manages things rather
better
This practice not only produces the
results mentioned, but applies with
equal rigor to the baggage question.
The liberal fee-giver who is almost al
| ways an American, secures prompt at
| tention at the hands of the baggage
! master and his assistants; while he or
she who either cannot afford or for
| other reason refuses, to fee this despOt
of the baggage room, must submit to
| being jostled and elhowed by the surg
ing crowds on the platform. until the
| fee-giving customers have all had at
tention. Although it is i'm the power of
the traveller who has established this
relation of individual employment be-
tween the railway official and himself
TO claim any piece of baggage he may
select from the mass Of trunks and
bags and boxes which may have coll
lected either on the platform or in the
station, there being no system Of
checking baggage, it is marvellous that
so little is stolen. In this country. such
a system would lead to endless loss
and hopeless confusion, as the nimbla
wit of our criminal classes would be
sure to discover and successfully util-
ize no end of methods Tor robbing the
traveller.
OPERATIVES UNPROTECTED.
No American railway man who visits
Europe can help feeling great sympa-
Go,
there, as he sees them stand on the
foot-boards Of their locomotives, with
only q screen in front to protect them
from rain, snow. and the cold wind.
European railways do not provide pro-
lection to their engineers and firomon
in the form Of the cab, so common on
the American locomotive; and not only
do these faithful servants of the tray
cling public suffer from the practice
&. mentioned, but the train conductor is
compelled TO walk along q narrow
board on the outside of the train, in
collecting tickets, and hang on as best
he can when receiving, punching, and
re-delivering them through the open
window, the train in the meantime
rushing along at full speed. exposing
him not only to all sorts of weather,
but to the constant danger of being
thrown from his uncertain footing to
the earth, and perhaps to his death.
When on the continent | have often
been asked, what are the objections to
government ownership of railways and
to their management and operation by
employees with power only possessed
by government officers? To this in
. quiry have answered that my obiec-
tion is largely to its non progressive
character, and to the unavoidable in
fluence it eXerts against the adogtion
, of every Improvement which can pos
? sibly mean greater comfort and safety
, to the traveller, The cabinet minister
in charge of the railways daTes not
build branches, run switches into ware
, houses, put side tracks to undeVeloped
mines and new manufactures estab-
, lish connection with water power whore
; business is to be developed, or adopt,
: or even experiment with, any new ap-
, pliances involving the putting aside Of
present methods, because Of the oD9O-
sition which is ever alert to charge him
with mismanagement Incompetence,
or extravaganza. lie must show by
; his budget, a proper relation of OK
| penses to earnings, and a net earning
! | sufficient to cover the cost Of maintsn-
ance and operation, and the interest on
obligations used for purchase or con-
e structon; even If all the features above
! mentioned, which in this country re-
ceive such careful and thorough atton-
D ton, are absolutely neglected
a The railway officials Of the monarch