Evening journal., 1898-08-12
AIRRlANGuNG TIME TABLES.

|
who finds himself in the clutches OF
this nomadic spirit faces a light task
compared with that which confronts
the railway officials upon whose shoul-
ders rests the responsibility or ar
the roads doing a suburban passenger
train service. This labor is as ineyi-
table as the season Of flowers with all
the read doing a suburban passenger
business of any magnitude.
mot one person Of a thousand said
a prominent executive of a foremost
road, has any idea Of the labor ne
cessitated even by slight change in
the time table of a big roads passen-
ger service. The average suburbanite,
through the columns of his local paper
by the agent at his station, or by the
appearance Of new time cards, Is in
formed that an alteration in the run
ming time Of trains is to take effect
at near future date. He is either
happy or displeased because Of the inn
pending changes, according to the ex-
tent to which his personal convenience
is sulbserved or interfered with by the
new arrangement of trains. But the
thought does not occur to him that the
little schedule card has cost an almost
infinite amount Of involved e. &u.a-
ton, the judicial weighing Of one in
terest against another, and S1e har-
monizing Of hundred apparently con-
hfcting matters. But that is precisely
what the card stands for, and it Is all
most impossible to exaggerate the Per-
picking array OF obstacles which have
to be brought into balance and adjust
ment in the performance Of this task.
'May is generally selected by the
roads as the time for the installation
Of new passenger schedules, for the
reason that a very large number Of city
. dwellers move their families into tho
country for the Summer at this period
Then, OF course, it marks the start o.
the seasons travel in a general way
Another consideration is the fact thai
the minds Of the people seem alert foi
changes just at this time, and the!
f. catch the alterations Of the schedules
with less difficulty when the latter ar
made with periodical regularity.
"The fret man to take up the con
sideratlon Of rearrangement OF train
}, IS the division superintendent. He
constantly in receipt Of letters and pc
ttions asking for the installation o
y new trains, or a change OF the time @
those already running. Not infre
d quently he is called to give audience
d delegations of prominent citizens froI
popular residence suburbs. These me
- urge their claims with great adroit
4 ness, and make it appear that the In
terest Of every other station along Oh
4 line, as we'll as their own, would b
served by the alterations proposed
e Neither the letters nor the delegation
are necessarily unwelcCme, for this
the way the superintendent must bs
= come familiar with the changing need
n of the public to which his line mus
II look for its patronage. The most crit
e cal passenger is not more anxious
have changes which will make for HI
n convenience than is the superintendent
n 10 arrive at a recasing Of passeng'
d schedules which viii give the create
d convenience to each actual and poss
% bic patron Of the line. He must G
= = ways keep clearly in view the futui
,e Of his road, and aim to cooperate wit
le the various suburbs which he serves
sr such a manner ais to invite to the
Id an impartial distribution of the COZ
+ slant food OF residents who are deser
"a ing the more crowded districts OF Il
30 city for the suburbs.
when at last the division superil
tendent has arraigned a tentati'
y. schedule which represents his be
Oi Judgment he submits that, along Wi
A a report on the reasons for the chang
& he has proposed. to the superior of
lis GERS Of his road having general co
ed troll OF traffic affairs. These usual
IN are the general superintendent and Il
\. freight and passenger traffic manage
il and their assistants. These are M
th who know the road from end to en-
It. md are familiar with all its branch
and its connections with other lini
Having before him the proposals al
reports OF all the division superinte
~ tents the general superintendent, 81
y. rounded by his cabinet, maps out {
ng new train schedule. And his task
i'd quite as difficult as that Of the di'
p sion superintendent, for he must qua
n ~ he Interests Of ehe line in a broad a
81 general way, and see that its throu
,al service and its traffic re.ations W!
other roads are not crippled in the 1
sempt to meet the demands OF each (
vision.
'a Generally spe liking, the changes
a. through trains re few in ccmparis
no With these in the local service. T
ay latter is constantly expanding in n