Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-02-08
RESERVED RAILWAY SEATS,
Account Of n Needed Reform About to
BE Tested Upon French Roads.

AA'iii 'He t-oiooi Telegraph.
The proposal of the Western of France
Railway Company to adopt a system of re-
serving seats in passenger trains by the
issue of duplicate numbered tickets has
naturally attracted considerable attention
in railway circles in this country For the
moment it is difficult to find officials who
its of this particular plan. The traffic stats
at most of the metropolitan termini are
expecting to be invited by their superior Off
GERS to report their views on the adapta-
bility of the plan to English railways, and
until these documents have been sent in
they feel called upon to maintain certain
reticence.
One experienced superintendent without
pledging himself to the exact method dis
closed remarked: Every station master
in England will welcome any simple plan
which will obviate some of the unpleasant
ness that now arises from want of rec
ognized system. Whenever there is a sauab-
bic going on about seats the policy of the
platform staff is to keep out of it if pos
sble and let the parties settle their differ
ences among themselves. Generally the
starting of the train is the best remedy for
1t shakes them into some seats. and then
there is httie more to be said. I may men
ton disagreeab BILE experience of the want
of a distinguishing mark on an engaged
seat. A gentleman had placed in the cor
ner seat of a frst-class compartment a
copy of magazine which he had just pur-
chased at the bookStall. | should say It
was a composite carriage, the first-class
compartments being in the center. He left
the book there while he went to the guards
brake to see to valuable dog, which he
was taking down into the country Return
ing to what he thought was his compart-
ment he found a passenger in tho seat sup
posed to be reserved. cooly and quite UNI
concernedly reading a copy of the identical
magazine. Well. he thought that was
rather barefaced, but he quietly remarked:
Excuse me, sir, you have taken the seat
L had just reserved. Indeed, I have not
replied the other Strange, 1 placed Inc
very ma gazne you are reading in that
seat Very funny if you did, seeing have
just bought 1t at the bookstan' Sir, it is
ill-mannered enough to take my seat with
out insinuating that l am a liar,' L don't
want to insinuate anything, but you were
the first to impute that ] had appropriated
your property. All 1 can say is you are
mistaken
Things began to look fierce. The ag-
grieVed party showed signs of rising tenn
per, which was evidently being aggravated
by the snpercilious manner of the other 1t
was time to start the train. I hurried I'D to
the carriage to endeavor to induce the sup
posed interloper to resign the seat, when it
flashed upon my mind that a mistake had
been made. Going to the next carriage.
which was identical in build there found
the empty seat with the book in possession
l fastened the irate passenger into his
coveted corner, when he savagely turned
upon me and exclaimed, why didn't YOU
tell me before? II each person had had a
numbered ticket Of course this stupid blum
der could not have occurred"
The superintendent went on to observe
that he had often thought of a system of
numbered seats but even then unseemly
squabbling over places in trains would not
be altogether avoided. The inslIlar preiu-
dices which so many English people have
when travelling would always lead them to
take the law into their own hands and
cheat the best-intentoned regulations
You know" he proceeded with a smile
as his recollections of the tricks PLAYED H.
ted across his mind, 1.-THE real trouble does
not arise so much from the reservirg of a
particular seat. Many of our passengers
are not satisfied with a single seat-they
want a whole compartment. We have
scores of season ticket holders who are
city chums, who travel by the same express
nearly every day, and who expect the same
compartment kept for them throughout the
year. If any of our platform men allowed
stranger to intrude upon them there would
be an awful row. These season ticket hold
ers would not take out a reserved seat
ticket every time they Travelled. 1t would
be an intolerable nuisance to them is the
casual passenger, who does obtain the re-
serve label, to have the right of appropriat-
ing one of these unnumbered seats? That
Is one of the difficulties / foresee. Again
If a passenger does reserve one seat there
Is nothing to prevent him smothering one
side of the compartment with bags and
wraps as deterrent to others to enter
or course, you may move them for him:
but you know what that means"