The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-08-09

NJ. & osPs e conspany.


:Etitcf yitginian
ii long artiSlsn me murning papes
does IN Injustice d tie nov
being SVEN he u. q p. Packet o:
10 our city. rae opera1ing Of boats
in and out Of Ntyniont fot The past so
days has hesatale rs the most difiea ~
circumstance. TINS has been a year
Of unusually rainy and cold weather,
high rivers, muddy river banks to
handle freight over, foggy nights,
heavy coal bpsaess in the lower rty7
ers, making THE locking Of packets
more dimcult. The last few days the
passenger and freight business at the
other end Of the river has been very
heavy and with the old established
packet service out Of Pittsburg It Is
very important hat either the Column.
bia or woodward leave each day the
Pittsburg wharf at 8 p. M When lllan
either Of these boats get very late
Iit is very often necessary to order
these boats back from a1organtown. SO
that they may reach Pittsburg in time
to, leave at schedule time. The boat
business for tie next go days will be
more or less irregular for the reason
already named There is only one way
to give Fairmpnt the boat service that
she needs and must have and that is
to have a packet leave Pittsburg ey-
cry third: day instead Of every other
day, well equipped to care for passen-
gers and freight, This could be done
at once II the Leroy" had the dining
room service and state rooms Of eth,
er the Columbia or the Woodward, but
IT has not. Next year the packet com.
pany has agreed to replace the Le-
roy with a boat equal to the Column
bia or Woodward. Three through
boats will allow packet to reach
Fairmont daily about 4 p. m. and leave
Fairmont dallyat 2 a. m. next day.
For the next few weeks, while the
heavy passenger business is on, it may
be necessary for the NJ. & o. Packet
Company to decide some days which
end Of the river that 1t shall neglect or
give no service We think that in
these extreme cases it would be only
fair for the officials Of the packet com.
pany in the interest of stockholders
for the time being to look after that
part Of the riverthat furnishes at least
three.fourths d the business and has
had an established packet service for
years. We believe the NJ. & o. Pack.
ct people will work out the boat prop
osition to Fairmont to the satisfaction
Of all, but our people must remembe:
that It takes time to work ont these
plans and that boats never have made
railroad passenger time schedules and
possibly will mot soon. Local freights
from Wheeling are often 6 or 8 hours
late, bnt people continueNto have goods
come right along by freight seven
though in some cases they are delay
ed a week or ten days. The cities
along the Ohio river continue to sup
port packet companies even though
there are months at a time in good
boat season that no boats ply the riv
er on account Of low water. The NJ.
& o. Packet Company is under obliga'
lions to give US better service and con-
tinue the boats TO Fairmont from year
to year, but should the time ever come
that the stockholders decide that this
could not be done satisfactorily or
profitably to The company, 1t would
be a long time before local capital
would take hold of similar venture,
1t has cost the NJ. & o. Packet Com
pany considerable money to give us
even the poor service that 1t has in
the past ninety days, Remember, 1Sl
miles and IS locks is a pretty big un,
dertaktng for packet company to-
make seven days in the week.
CITIZEN.