Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-08-30
ON THE RAIL


All roads east of Chicago have
agreed to sell tickets at reduced rates
for the following gatherings: Lott
Carey Baptist foreign mission conven-
ton, Alexandria, Va, Aug. 29-Sept. 3;
Liquor Dealers Protective association
Of Illinois, Springfield, Ill, Sept. 1919;
biennial reunion of CrOcker's Iowa
brigade, Keokuk, Iowa, Sept 1921;
Grand Union Order Of Odd Fellows,
biennial meeting, Louisville, Ky, Oct
2-6; National Paint, Oil and Varnish
association, Old Point Comfort, Va,
Oct. 9-12; Master Horseshoers' Nation
al Protective association, Milwaukee,
Oct. 1920. Th2 following applications
have been declined: International cor
gress of medicine, Paris, France, Al
gust; knights Templar conclave (col-
ored), Lafayette, Ind, Aug. 27-31.
Officers Of the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Engineers and the Brother
hood of Locomotive Firemen on the
Santa F'e will meet in Toeka, Kan, the
first week in October to take some
action against the growing practice of
'doubleheaders," that is, of making up
trains so long as to require two engines
to haul them. The members of these
organizations allege that the practice
is laborious and dangerous to the en-
| ginemen. On the Santa Fe the men
| say it is now a prevailing custom to
haul all the way from eighty to 100
| ears in a train, for which two engineers
| are required. Last Saturday 103 load
ed cars made up one train hauled by
this line from Arkansas City to Tope-
ka, Kan. During the same conference
| the question of providing more than
| one fireman on all engines weighing
over specified number Of pounds will
| be discussed. The men say that the
! pig engines are man-killers and that
one fireman is physically unequal to
the task of coaling one Of them over
an average division.
Western roads have had an entirely
new experience during the summer
months, which is likely to modify
heir former methods of operation
ye-y materially. The special excursion
business has been run to an extent
never before attempted. It has been
pre-eminently successful and has in
creased the passenger earnings of the
roads enormously. Colorado especial
ly has benefited from the change in
policy that has been pursued. The
cheap excursions to that state have
caused it to be OverTun with tourists
and the resorts have all been over
crowded since the beginning of the sea-
son. At the same time the people of
Colorado have been furnished with ia
ciities Of coming east, or which they
have availed themselves to the full, so
that the flow of excursion travel has
been full and continuous in both direc-
tons, thereby increasing greatly the
profits of the roads handling the busl-
ness. Heretofore it has been the con-
tention of the roads that cheap eXcur-
sion business did not pay, because it
but served to discount the regular bust
ness Of the future. This argument has
proved to be fallaciOus by the expert
ence Of the present summer. The low
rates made has created new business
and has caused thousands of people to
travel who but for them would have
never left their homes. This is the
universal testimony of all the roads en-
gagged in the business.