Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-10-31
A PLEA FOR TENDERS.

A wheelmnn Replies to President
Jones, Letter.
A business man of this city who rides
a wheel, in an open letter in reply to-
the suggestion of President c. D. Jones.
of the street railway company. takes
the proper position that the company
has some responsibility and should
equip its cars with tenders. The
wheelmans suggestions are timely. He
says:
&c. d. Jones, independence, Ia, Dear
Sir: Your letter to the Times Republi-
can received my attention as reader
of that valuable paper. We residents
of Marshalltown take a great deal of
pride in our little city and in all that il
contains. We also think great deal
of your electric street railway and your
light, power and railway company-so
much SO that we have given you a free
franchise for twenty years to occupy
our best streets, paved your track for
you without any expense whatever to
you and also gave you small bonus
when you kindly came to this city, and,
think RENTED some of your taxes.
We pay your charges for the use of gas
and electric light with less grumbling
than is done in most towns although
with the expressed thought occasionally
that we are paying more for the same
thing than other cities pay. We do this
Ito encourage you and to enable you to-
pay fair dividend on your homeo-
pathic stock. Now, since you in your
kindness of heart have seen fit to sug-
gest that citizens and especially bicycle
riders should keep out of the way of
your cars let me make a few sugges-
tions to you.
Street car railways differ from
steam railways in this respect. You
have no right of way upon which
pedestrians are trespassers. You sim
ply have the right to use the street
with the exercise of reasonable care
under the circumstances. So have the
pedestrians and bicycles riders. You
cannot say Here comes our car get
out of the way or be run over" 1t is for
you to use such care as woulu be called
reasonable to avoid injuries to others
who are rightfully using the same
street. Nov let us recall the number
OF accidents-a man killed on South
Third avenue few years ago, another
one this side of the Soldiers Home
about a year ago, bad accident on
Sixth street, where a buggy was dernol-
| ished and its occupants injured, sew
eral less injurious accidents in which
your cars have run upon bicycle riders
where, happily. the injury was appar-
entity slight.
/ Now let us assume that all of these
parties We're somewhat to blame.
/ What can you do to assist in prevent
| ing such accidents or render them less
dangerous. In every city where there
lis traffic enough upon the streets to
make the use of street cars dangerous.
/ Tenders are placed in front of the cars
/ which. when properly regulated, make
lit impossible for the person to be run
oyef. Why don't you, while telling us
to beware of the cars. try to put them
in such condition as to lessen the dan
ger as much as possible?
Do what you can to protect the peo-
pie and they will respond by their
i friendly feeling for your corporation
] Telling them to keep out of your way
and then running over them when i,
can be avoided will not tend to make
your street car service any more pop
ular or make a verdict any less in q
damage suit. WHEELMAN."