The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-04
THE STREET RAILWAY COMPANY
AT FAULT.


one against the extraordinary course
of the st. Paul Street Railway COM
pany in the entirely inadequate and
improper accommodations that it is
furnishing to the patrons of base ball
games. We have seldom seen case
of more absolute shortsightedness than
this. Why the street railway company
should want to Inconvenience some
5000 people a day, who are patroniz-
ing its lines and paying good money
into it's Golfers, we cannot understand
Just because it has switch at Lex
ington avenue and can run its cars
off there upon a sidetrack, it deposits
the whole Of the vast crowd that goes
out to Lexington park at the corner Of
University and Lexington avenues,
where they have to plod through deep
dust the whole length of the park to
reach the entrance. They have, to
make the same journey back again in
order to reach a car for the home trip.
So all these people are fnconvenienced=
and angry, and the street railway COM
pany seems to be endeavoring to force
them into trying to discover some other
means Of going to and from the park
than by riding on it's cars. We say
that this is utterly unintelligibIe on any
business principle.
This same company pays large sums
Of money every year to put in attrac-
tons at Lake Harriet and Lake Como
and other suburban resorts of the Twin
Cities, because it believes that it will
be reimbursed by the additional pat
ronage that this brings to it's line. It
is unquestionably right on this propo-
sition, and has found it paying one
Now, the new athletic park is an at
traction worth more to the street rail-
way company than all the others put
together. A public-spirited gentleman
has established out there one of the
handsomest and completest athletic
parks in this country. 1t is a pleasure
simply to go and sit there, and the
cIlIdSIlN cllSSS VI CAS SIOUuOS CItQ
grand stand draws large numbers Of
people who would not otherwise visit
the game. In other cities in this coun-
try street railway companies have oc-
casionally themselves gone to the ex-
pense Of constructing such parks as
this for the revenue they would bring.
In st. Paul the whole thing has been
done by private enterprise, and all that
was asked of the railway company was
to put In a switch, so that the thou
sands of people who use this line might
be carried to the park gates. SO far
it has refused to make this trifling adj
dition to its facilities, and is willing
that thousands of people should be put
to discomfort daily, and it's own re-
ceipts much impaired before the sum-
mer is over rather than to grant so
small a concession.
We cannot understand this action.
and must believe that the matter has
company's authorities, or they would
not thus stand in their own light. We
hope that, for the public comfort, the
encouragement Of athletic sport and
the good of the street railway COM
pany itself, this grievance will be rem
edied quickly. If it is not, it is very
certain that there will be a growing
public protest, a demand for some pres
sure to be brought, or else for some
relief of another sort. Will the street
railway give the public proper trans
portation to Lexington park at the ear
lest possible moment?