The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-06-13
ruanBER OF COMMERCE NOTES.
Some of the Complaints Secretary
Reardon Makes Against the Atlantic
Coast Line.

HG<ATOON NNSthSS 1ASeaAAAoe tAAS ~AoAe~AASAS
Coast Line.
The Chamber Of Commerce has taken
MP the question Of lighting the A. G.
L. passenger station and grounds with
electric lights, with the head officers
In Wilmington. Mr.. F. II. Fechtig,
purchasing agent Of the A. c. L. com
pany, has written Secretary Reardon
that the matter has been referred to
General Superintendent A. w. Ander-
son, and that .as a matter Of informa-
Hon to you, I will say that the price
OF lights at Sumter is too high, and we
have made reasonable offer for
lighting. and they would not accept
=
The Sumter Electric Light, Ice and
Power company has informed Secre-
tary Reardon that this company has
made a reasonable proposition to Mr
Fechtig, equally as low as the terms
ACCEPTED by the Atlantic Coast Line
company at Darlington and Florence,
hut that the proposition made by the
Aflantice Coast Line to the Sumter
Electric Light company was below
prices which the railroad company
pays at other places smaller than
Sumter, and where the passenger and
freight business Of the Atlantic Coast
Line is not near as great as it is at
Sumter.
The Chamber of Commerce will try
10 arrange an equitable adjas- -ment
between the railroad and the electric
light company, as the present system
OF lighting the station and grounds
with antequated and insufficient oil
lamps is not only an injustice to the
pat-ons Of the railroad, but is very
poor advertisement for a town Of the
size Of Sumter. Other towns smaller
fnan Sumter are much better lighted
mp around the passeger stations, and
The people Of Sumter are getting very
much dissatisfied with the present sys-
TEN at the passenger station. The To-
cal electric light company offered the
Atlantic Coast Line meter rates and as
it is not necessary to keep the depot
and grounds lit up more than five or
six hours during the long winter
nights, and not that long during the
summer months, it does seem that the
railroad is strs ming at a gaat and
trying to swallow whale by refusing
TO accept the rates offered by the local
electric light company.
The meter rctes adopted by the To-
cal company are probably the lowest
IN the State with one exception. They
are lower than the rates in Charleston,
Columbia, Anderson and Greenville
and a number Of other towns that
could be mentioned. The service is
now excellent and can not be abetter-
ed in the State. By the meter rate es-
tabhshed for electric fans, the Allan
aic Coast Line could also run electric
fans in their depot for one cent per
Spur-and it would not be bad idea
for such a luxury to be installed.
Sumter is not country cross-rods
place, she is the leading railroad cen
ter of Eastern South Carolina, and
does more railroad and passenger bus.
mess in proportion to size than any
other place in South Carolina, and the
Atlantic Coast Line freight and pas
senger business at Columbia is not
greater, and in fact on one oi two oc-
casions last fall the Atlantic Coast
Line business in Columbia fell BEND
Sumter by several thousand dollars.
Yet Columbia is given much better
service in all particulars than Sumter
by the Atlantic Coast Line, not only in
lighting the station, but Sumter has
been neglected in regard to freight
business and the local accommoda-
hons at the Sumter freight depot are
simply rotten The business Of Sum-
ter has been materially injured by the
-slipshod, indifferent manner in which
outgoing and incoming freight is han
died at the Atlantic freight depot and
freight yards. If necessary the Chamber
OF Commerce can produce dozens Of
specific instances to verify this state
ment But the head offices Of the At
lantic Coast Line have been brought
10 Sumter on several occasions and
the business men os Sumter, face to
Iace, have told these officers Of the
innumerable instances Of poor busi-
ness management at the Sumter
freight depot. Business men, bank
presidents, merchants, horse dealers,
and many others have written to VIII
mington, appealing for better service,
:, ,,o;r Something will have 10