Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-08-25
Dangerous Practices Wbsee should Be
Is Serious Hurt

FHe=aeene around the Ira. Noun
tajq depot upon tia arrival OF the
U@5669gdd trains is Oh that Is aez
.eI4 ins of criticism. It 6a5 6=ooua
absolutely dangerous for women 6tag-
eIing alone. and lie and limb are con.
staneiy placed IL jeopardy. As the
traiu rdl5 lnfo#afe station tIe bag.
sase car is stopped directly in front
of the baggage room While the pas
sengel. coaches are yet nearly block
away rom the#oHfl means al egress
from die station yard. This is done
that the big bury negro porters Who
handle tic trunks may not be pm.
10 The trouble of trucking the baggage
a few yards II may be great con
yenieUce 10 the negroes but it is de-
cided di#adyantage to the Traveller,
especially If the passenger be wo-
man and alone. y line of freight
cars is always standing on the track
next to the station house, and to get
off the train at all the passenger IS
required to walk between the dirty.
greasy passenger coach on one side
and line of filthy boXcars on the oth-
er. The distance between the cars
is not over eight feet and affords no
passageway for passengers getting off
the car and those getting on.
Another Inconvenience that the
white passenger must put up with
in order that the porters may be ae-
commodated is the negroes them
selves. The negro coach is always
carried ahead of the white coach and
under the peculiar conditions that ex-
ist at this metropolitan railway sta
ton the white people must either force
their way through a crowd of push
ing, yelling, foul-smelling negroes or
else walt until all have either gone
away or comfortably seated il the
cars.
But perhaps the thing to which there
is the greatest objection and the thing
that is the most dangerous, is the
way in which the heavy trunks are
handled Before the trains pull IN
the trunks are stacked up within few
feet of the end of the boXcars where
~ l,1 r OIL
train and the porters handling them
In order to get out The pOrters pay
absolutely no attention to the pas
senger and it's get out Of the way or
be run over A gentleman. while stand
ing on the platform. took occasion to
notice the many narrow escapes from
serious injury at the hands of the ne
gro baggagemen. One gentleman car.
rying two heavy grips was rudely
jostled against the car because, for
sooth, he did not see the men coming
with the trunk in time. A lady With
an infant in arms narrowly escaped
serious injury, and perhaps death, to
herself and child when trunk was
thrown from the baggage car to the
ground right in front of her, missing
her by a hairs breadth.
Pine Bluff is not the oniy place IN
the world where travel is heavy and
large numbers Of trunks have to b
handled III other places, and in fact,
at the other depot at this place. the
trunks are handled on trucks and the
passengers are given some chance TO
alight without bodily injury. The ne
gro p9rters might be required to car
~ the trunks a few yards and the pas
sengers have the opportunity Of alight-
ing from the train at the proper place
in front of the station. The atten.
ton Of the railway authorities has
been called to the practice at the Iron
Mountain station several times. but
tie evil still exists If it is not dis
continued it is going to result in dam.
age suits some day, and perhaps the
officials will then do something to
give passengers that protection to
'hich they are entitled.