Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-03-24
legislation Against Belated Trains.

The Massachusetts legislature has
been petitioned for legislation providing
that railroad companies shall report to
the Board of Railroad Commissioners
causes of the delay in the running of all
passenger trains which are more than
fifteen minutes late. am glad to see
even this slight movement in the direc-
ton of ensuring, on the part OF railroad
companies, a closer adherence to their
schedules in the running of their trains.
The legislation which has been petition
ed for is much milder than the case de-
| mands, but it is step in the right
direction, and, though it would, as l
think, do but little towards remedyng
the evils at which it is aimed, it might in
time be followed by something more ef-
fective. have heard it said that in
France railroad companies are fined II
their trains are late. Whether this is
true or not, it ought to be true not only
in France, but everywhere. According
to my experience, nearly all railroad
trains, except at and near their starting
points, are late. In going to railroad
stations to take out going trains or to
meet passengers who arrive on incoming
trains, dependence has to be had on the
railroad time tables, but hundreds of
thousands of people are every day COM
PEELED to loiter at the stations in wait
ing for belated trains, being thus sub
jected to the loss of an incalculable
amount of valuable time. 1t would be
amazing'if it could be determined how
much time is lost in the course of but a
single day by people who are thus de-
tanned at railroad stations through the
failure of the railroad companies to run
their trains in accordance with their
schedules. 1t is nothing but robbery for
the companies thus to compel people to
sacrifice so much time at their stations
in waiting for belated trains. The CON-
panies apparently act upon the principle
that the public is their servant, and the
public should take effective action to
disabuse them of this idea and to enforce
respect for its rights. As have Said, I
am of the opinion that the legislation
petitioned for in Massachusetts would
prove inadequate to effect much in the
way of remedying the abuses which it
has in view, but, if no legislation of a
less mild character can be had, l hope
that that petitioned for will be enacted.
1t should be added that, when railroad
companies are compelled to run their
trains in accordance with their schedules.
the present frequency of accidents by
rail will be greatly reduced. The re,
cent terrible railroad accident near Walls
burg, Ariz, was due to the fact that one
of the colliding trains was two hours be-
hind time, and the even more appalling
collision of trains which occurred few
weeks ago at Graceland, n. j., would not
have happened if the local train which
the express train ran into had reached
Dunellen when it should have arrived
, there. Many of the accidents by rail arr
due to the fact that the running of the
trains is at variance with the time tables
and, even if such variance did not cause
the public inconvenience which l have
mentioned, the greater liability to &C
cidents which results from it furnishes
, ample reason why railroad compane
should be compelled to adhere to thei
: schedules more closely than they now d'
5 in the running of their trains.
> c. w LEWIS