The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-01-11
WILMINGTON, N. c.
THE SELMA CONNECTION.

Much has been said in the papers in
the last few days about the Southern
railroad breaking the connection with
the Atlantic Coast Line at Selma,
thereby greatly delaying passengers
going west. Our readers remember
put on an extra train from Rocky
Mount TO Selma to connect with the
Southern'S west-bOund rain which left
that point a short while before the
arrival Of the Coast Lines regular
south-bound train. Now the Southern
has moved up the time OF departure
of it's train so as to break connection
with the Coast Line special, and O n
ditions are said to be just as they were
before the extra train was put on. For
the Last day o two, however, the
Southern has been running an extra
from Selma to Raleigh. When We saw
the following article in the Wilson
Times OF Tuesday we thought all the
fuss about the breaking of the con-
nection was without cause. According
to The Times the connection appears
t o be restored. That paper says:
The Southern railroad is very pro
perly e~ndeavOring to meet the South
ern-Atlantic Coast Line connection al
Selma, and is running d special train
for this purpose.
Under the present plan, one South
ern train arrives at Raleigh at ESQ
and 1nnfho- q I gan in tho offafnon1
The latter train, which is put on tC
preserve the connection and to par
TALLY comply with the order of the
commission, of course runs only from
Selma TO Raleigh, a distance Of only
about twenty-eight miles. Having
such a short run and following SO
cOsely on the heels of the regular
w~est-bound passenger train, there is OF
course, very little passenger travel for
this train to accommodate. and it will
probably be operated at a loss.
But here is another picture of that
Southern extra. Yesterdays News and
Observer, under the heading "A Rank
Outrage gives the following descrip-
ton of that train as it arrived i'm Ra~
leight on its first run:
It's a regular Dukes Mixture of a
train" said a passenger who yesterday
reached Raleigh from the east by way
of the special outfit which for two
rays the Southern railway has beer
using from. Selma to Raleigh to make
up for breaking the Selma connection.
The passenger did not mean this as
a compliment, far from it, for the train
at which he gaZed was made up of a
freight engine and tender behind
which was a dull red boo car. At
ter this came a dilapidated box car for
baggage and two partitiOned coaches,
aged and dirty, ragged n rain soaked
curtains at the windows, the doors and
seats filthy. There were no safety ap-
planes. no bell cords. no signal whis-
tie. The outfit which travels over the
rotten cross ties road is an invitation
to death. Yet the people must use it
or stay in Selma for many hours.
Yesterday twenty men and one little
girl alighted from the outfit in the
union depot here. From the dilapidat-
ed box car seven trunks and three
ValiSes appeared.
Everybody knows of the hostility OF
The News and Observer to the South
ern, and most people will take the
above with many grains of allowance.
The train could hardly be as bad as
described. No doubt it was a make
shift for the time and Will be I'M
proved.