Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-10-05
c. g. NV. RAILROAD.

There has been q great deal Of con-
cern in Yorkville for some time past
and also at other points in York coun-
ty because of rumor to the effect thai
there is soon to be disarrangemen,
Of the splendid passenger service thai
has been maintained on the c. & NV
railroad during the past summer ano
which Is still being maintained.
The rumor has dealt more especially
with the trains Nos. and 8. These
trains were put on last spring, one go
ing south In the morning and the 9TH
er north in the afternoon, and the two
being so operated in connection with
trains Nos. and 10 as to enable peo-
pie from any point along the line to &c
to any other point, transact any rea-
sonable amount Of business and return
horne the same day.
The trains Nos. and 8 are especial
ly advantageous to the business inter-
ests Of Yorkville as well as to the peo-
pie to the north and south who find
II necessary or desirable to come here
for any purpose requiring only short
stay.
The Commercial club took the mat
ter up some days ago and President
wilkins arranged to send a delegation
down to Chester to confer with Mr.. l.
T.. Nichols, the general manager. Mr.
Nichols, however, very kindly of1ereo
to come up to Yorkville, which he die
Yesterday afternoon and at meeting
in the club rooms the situation was
convassed pretty thoroughly.
Mr.. Nichols did not say so in sc
many words, but from what he die
say, II Is evident that the action Of the
postoffice department in requiring the
c. & NV. people to go to heavy ex-
pense In providing and hauling extra
mail cars, without allowing extra COM
pensation, Is the cause Of the trouble
Here is the way Mr.. Nichols put tne
matter up to the gentlemen present
He Is not quoted verbatim; but with
reasonable accuracy as to substances:
"The continued maintenance OF
trains Nos. and Is merely mat
ter Of dollars and cents. II we can see
that the operation Is to our advantage
from q business standpoint they will
not be discontinued. II their opera
ton involves too heavy loss we VIII
have to discontinue them.
"These trains, as the public probably
understands, were originally put on as
an experiment. We did not expect
them to pay. We expected to run
them at loss. They have not been
directly profitable: but the losses have
been less than we expected. In thai
we have had cause for considerable
qualification.
"But even at the outset we had nc
idea of continuing the trains through
the winter That would have been ex-
pecting too much Of good thing
While we calculated that the earnings
would be something like sufficient tc
pay expenses during the summer, we
felt pretty sure that on the approach
Of winter, as travel over our line grows
lighter, we would have to discontinue
the service. Business has really been
better than we hoped for and we con-
slider that up to the present time we
are still warranted in operating the
trains. I would say that If business
holds up during the balance Of the fal
and winter as good as 1t has been the
trains will not be discontinued.
There has entered into the situa-
pense on which we had not calculated
and this will have something to dc
with the continuance Of the trains.
refer to the carrying Of the mails.
when these trains were originally
put on we did not take into consider
alton the probability Of having to pro-
vide additional mail cars. We expect
ed to carry sealed pouches, or course
but that Is all we thought would be
required Of u.s. Our calculations there
fore were on a basis of trains consist
ing of only two cars that could make
the necessary schedules with light en-
gines and at a minimum Of expense.
1.-THE trains proved very popular ano
there went up a demand all along foI
the addition of mail service. we
rlo 20 erit h QnrUtna ARE
always glad to serve our patrons In
every way In our power. But you know
our little road Is struggling along and
finding more or less difficulty In max
ing both ends meet. We had no extra
mail cars, and our engines-these en-
gines we are using for these particular
trains, are not suitable for heavier
trains. The engines cannot pull heaV-
Ter trains and make the time.
Now to go back little, 1t VIII be
remembered that during the mail
weighing period we were very much
disorganized changing our gauge. AS
a consequence we were not getting all
the mail that naturally came to U.S.
and the weights that were made the
basis Of the pay we have been receiV-
ing ever since were very light. We are
now being paid less in proportion 10
the mails we carry than Is being paid
to any other road Of which have any
knowledge.
ITO make a long story little shor-
ter this is the situation in which we
have been caught by the order adding
mail service to Nos. and 8. THESE
trains were already losing money, and
the increased expense Of the mail cars
weight, maintenance, ETC., without any
extra compensation Is operating more
heavily against us than we feel like we
are able to stand for.
But I would not have you gentle
men to understand that we are Tor
moment unmindful of the public con-
venience and good in this matter II
Is because Of this consideration that
we have been willing to stand a heavy
loss on this train all the while, and we
propose to stand 1t still further unless
1t gets too heavy: but as to Whether
we will be able to continue the opera
ton Of the trains all winter on this
basis | cannot now promise.
CONGRESSMAN Finley who was pres
ent, suggested to Mr.. Nichols the IDEA
of procuring an unofficial weighing or
the mails carried for week, and pro-
posed that II provided with this infor-
ma ton and a statement of the situa-
ton as outlined by Mr.. Nichols, ne
would bring the matter to the atten-
ton Of the second assistant postmas-
ter general. The postoffice department
has full discretion in the matter and
can pay a fair compensation for car
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