The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1902-03-13
A. MELANGE OF
LIVE TOPICS
Penned for Journal Readers
by a Local Scribe.
THE BETTER .PLAN.

The proposition to convert the
Austell building in Atlanta into
union passenger station for that
city is probably the best solution
of that vexed sproblem. There is
ample space for all the tracks that
will be needed for perhaps forty
years for such q station. 1t would
be near enough to the business
portion of the city to make it al
most as convenient as the present
station, there would be avoided,
to great extent, the dangers of
crossing at the present station,
and it could be completed in per-
haps one-third the time required
to erect a new station on the site
of the old one. The time spent
in the construction of the new
station would be a2period of great
Inconvenience to the railroads and
to the travelling public, tor other
station facilities would have to be
provided for that time, whereas if
the Austell building is used, the
old station can be retained until
the new one is completed.
BY throwing the shed across all
the railroad space at the Austell
building, using the first floor
above the basement for waiting
rooms, and the upper stories for
railroad offices, and adding some
Embellishments suited to the char
acter of such building, as i'm
posing and commodious struct-
ure of it's kind would be obtained
as can be found i'll any city in the
United States of ssthe size of At
lanta.
AS the writer remarked in a pre-
vious commu ication. he believes
the present Atlanta depot law un.
constitutional and will be so de-
clared if work is done under it's
provisions. The Atlanta Consti-
tuition published some weeks ago a
statement to the effect that the
present station is really controlled
by the Western and Atlantic, the
Georgia and the Central railroads.
These three roads pay no rent for
the station, but as landlords re-
cefve rent therefor from the other
roads using it. These roads, and.
as the writer believes and SO stat
ed in his first article, the Atlanta
and West point railroad built the
station, perhaps on land owned by
the state but to which the latter
three roads have acquired title be-
cause the state allowed them to
join with itself in occupying it,
are therefore owners of the station
which is consequently not such
state institution as would author
lze the Legislature to make an APP
preparation for the entire matter,
though it could undoubtedly pro-
vide ,the state roads part, as
tenant in common with the other
to secure a new station.
All of this could, the writer be-
lieves, be satisfactorily shown to
the supreme court in any injunc-
ton proceeding filed by bond
holders and taxpayers to test the
constitutionality of the law.
1t is doubtful if the money or
any part of it appropriated by the
present law, could be used in con-
junction with sums appropriated
by the other roads to build a new
station. But let the other roads
begin at once to build, and there
Is little doubt that the next legis-
lature will provide for the states
part of the cost of the new build
ing and grounds. The state could
not afford to have it's railway iso-
lated from all the other systems
centering in Atlanta. Such an
act would seriously injure the bus
mess of the road and render lt,dif-
ficult to lease ofSSseAt .advanta-
geously.
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GEEAT0R TIH NAV