Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-19
FRENCH RAILWAY DEFICIENCIES.
Attempts Made to Reform n Defective
System.

System.
Paris Correspondence the Pail Mall Gazette.
For two very different reasons special at
tention is directed just now to all that con-
Germs the French railways. In the first
place, their carrying capacity Is likely to be
taxed to the utmost by the immense influx
of visitors expected in connection with the
exhibition. In the second place, an ugly
succession of accidents and a growing OUT
cry against he minor misfortunes to
w,lich the travelling public is exposed have
brought to the front the manifold imper-
fections of French railway arrangements
NJ Baudin the present minister of public
works. is doing his best to reform system
which Is defective in almost every respect
Some months ago he Illuminated against the
amazing unpurctuality that prevails on al
me ST all the Inns and had much To Go with
more than enc of the recent catastrophes
Not the slightest heed has been paid 10 MS
CbjurGatiOns. but he is said to contemplate
Il system of fines for all delay exceeding q
quarter Of an hour-excusez du peu'-which
may perhaps stimulate the companies 10
make an effort to improve their eXccrabie
rvice. Posters announcing another re-
form some of the companies VIII ma II
mere difficult to evade have just made their
appearance in all the railway stations. The
hours of work of all the various railway
servants are shamefuly and dangerously
the causes of an accident some point sma n
Is found to have been duty for a fabu-
lcus number Of hours in succession. or it Is
discovered that Il driver has been kept on
his engine until he fell asleep where he
stood. This sort of thing is TO be put a
stop to. Hencaforth. a hundred WORKING
hours i'll ten days is to he the maximum
exacled of any employee. and no consecutive
stretch of more than twelve hours is to ne
tolerated This important reform Will come
into operation all over France In the course
of the next two ncnths. and besides being
an immense boon To the railway servants.
should lie productive of beneficial results
to the public.
The utter inadequacy of the rolling stock
of all the companies-it is true that some
canpani-s 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 effecting speedy re-
forms. since carriages and engines cannot
he brought into being in the twinkling OF
an eye and merely in virtue Of the signing
of decree. Even when the traffic Is nor
rial. the ma iority of the companies have n
difficulty in dealing with it. II is a common
experience for the hape=s Traveller to find
himself in an antiquated carriage that
ought long since to have been broken M
for firewo"d. while the age Of the engines
on the French lines establishes a renia1 h
able and quite uEcalIod for record For
years past the caniranies have assured he
ministers of public works that they were
awaiting tho exhibition to renew and aug
ment their rolling stock. They have waited
50 long that 1t is now an open secret that
even the Inadequate orders they have given
for new carriages and engines Will not be
executed IN time for the wears require
ments. As II is hoped In official Circics
that the exhibition vii! be visited by some
twenty millions to thirty millions of for
ci2nerS alone. there is chance that some
Of them If they ever reach Paris at all. will
do so in cattle trucks.