The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-01-04
TO USE AMERICAN CARS.
One Scheme to Attract Americans to
Paris Exposition.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Among other measures for attracting
foreign visitors to the Paris exhibition
OF 1900, the French minister of public
works is urging the great railroad COM
panies of the country to provide them
selves with a larger number Of cars of
the corridor" or American style, and
thus make travelling to the capital more
comfortable. AS American travellers
abroad know, the cars mostly used on
the French as on other European rail-
roads are of the coach pattern, consist
ing of several compartments,e each hold
Ing from six to eight passengers, and
each communicating with the others
and with those of other cars only by an
outside footboard. This arrangement
puts single passenger occupying the
same compartment with a robber or an
assassin beyond the reach of help. He
cannot, as numerous robberies and
murders prove, escape while the train
is in motion, and the passengers in the
adjoining compartments cannot get TO
him. No provision is made, either, for
toilet and refreshment accommodations,
except when the train halts and pas
sengers can get out and use those OF
the stations. The defect has been par
TALLY remedied by the introduction for
first-class passengers of cars resem-
bling ours, and It is for the multiplica-
| tion OF these, for the use of all classes,
that the French minister is exerting
himself.
The French railroad companies object
to undertaking the improvement asked
OF them on the ground of its expense.
A Paris newspaper has made inquiry of
| their officers with the following result:
The Eastern Railroad company,
which owns the line between Paris and
| Southern Germany, has already 120 of
! the required cars, and will haye 164
| more ready by 1900, but they are for
| first and second class passengers only.
| The first-class corridor car weighs
nearly II tons, costs $4,000 and carries
| only "a passengers, while an ordinary
car weighs 1914 tons, costs only $4,000
| and carries 80 passengers.
| The representative of the Orleans
| company, which connects Paris with
| Spain, declared that what was de-
manded was impossible. The company
| had only 20 first-class cars with lava
tories and communication between the
compartments. To add to them would
| increase the company's debt and i'm
pair the value of it's property.
The Northern company, owning the
routes to England, Belgium and North
ern Germany. looks on the scheme as
ruinous. The corridor cars cost $40, 600,
weigh over 25 tons and carry AZ pass
engers, making the transportation per
passenger double that OF the ordinary
cars.
The Lyons company. over whose
lines passes the travel between France
and Italy is better provided with in
accommodating cars and will have
about 600 of them by 1900, which it is
supposed will be sufficient.
| The Western company, which serves
Havre, Cherbourg and Brest. has only
54 OF the cars required, and will add
to them, possibly, 20 more, but will ex-
anime into the subject.
1t thus appears that the fve prin-
cipal railroad companies Of France will
have, for the accommodation of Wis
itors TO the Paris Exhibition of 1900
only a few hundred cars of a pattern
which offers to any travellers the con-
veniences which all our American rail-
road companies provide for all their
passengers without exception