The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-25
FRENCH RAILWAY DEFrCIENcrs
Attempts Made to Reform a Daso..
i've system,

i've System.
Paris Correspondence Pail Mall Gaxs,,..
For two very different reasons soA,,s,
attention is directed just now to all ma,
concerns the French railways. In he Ar,,
place, their carrying capacity is likely n
be taxed to the utmost by the immense in.
fux of visitors expected in connection w,ty
the exhibition. In the second place. an
ugly succession of accidents and grow.
ing cutlery against the minor misfortune,
to which the travelling public is exp sst
have brought to the front the manifold m.
perfections of French railway arcapgs.
ments.
NJ. Baudin, the present Minister Of Pin
lie Works, is doing his best TO reform a
system, which is defective in almost evsrv
respect. Some months ago he fulminate1
against the amazing unpunctuality ihat
prevails on almost all the lines and had
much TO do with more than one of the re-
cent catastrophes. Not the slightest heed
has been paid to his objurgations, but NM
is said to contemplate system of fines for
all delay exceeding quarter of an hour
excusez du peu!-which may perhaps i'm
ulate the companies to make an effort IA
improve their execrable service. Posters
announcing another reform some Of ths
companies will find ii more difficult IN
evade have just made their appearance in
all the railway stations. The hours OF
work of all the various railway servants
are shamefully and dangerously long.
Whenever an inquiry is made INTO tbs
causes of an accident some pointsman IA
found to have been on duty for a fabu Qua
number of hours in succession or il is dis
covered that a driver has been kept on hi,
engine until he fell asleep where he stood.
This sort of thing. is TO be put a stop to
Henceforth, a hundred working hours in
ten days is to be the maximum exacted Of
any employe, and no consecutive stretch
of more than twelve hours is 10 be tolera.
ted. This important reform will come in.
to operation all over France in the course
of the next two months, and besides ing
an immense boon to the railway servants
should be productive of beneficial results u
the public.
The utter inadequacy of the rolling
stock of all the companies--it is true, that
some of the companies are worse off than
others in this respects another matter
NJ. Baudin has in hand. though in this
case he will have greater difficulty in ef'
fecting speedy reforms, since carriages
and engines cannot be brought into being
in the twnkling of an eye, and merely Ia
virtue of the signing of a decree. Even
| when the traffic is normal. the majority
of the companies have a difficulty in deak
| ing with 1t. 1t is a common experience for
the hapless traveller to find himself in an
antiquated carriage that ought long since
to have been broken up for firewocd whis
| the ages of the engines on the French line,
establishes a remarkable and quite un'
called for record. For years past The com'
panies have assured the ministers of pub
lie works that they were awaiting the exc
hibition to renew and augment their roll
| ing stock. They have waited so long that
1t is now an open secret that even the In
adequate orders they have given for new
carriages and engines will not be executed
in time for the years requirements As II
is hoped in official circles that the exhiol-
ton will be visited by some twenty mil-
lions of foreigners alone, there is chance
that some of them, If they ever reach
Paris at all, will do so in cattle trucks.