Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-02-19
SERVICE OF THE SOUTHERN.

incompetence, inefficience, and indif-
ference OF the Southern railroad as
manifested in its treatment Of its pa
irons at Yorkville and other points
along its line in York county; but pos
sibly as the outcome Of repeated COM
plants our people may at last get some
relief.
| Along about the first Of the yeal
railroad officials through interviews In
the newspapers gave notice Of changes
J in the schedules. 1t was stated that
existing schedules were too fast and
that they were to be slowed somewhat
in order to ensure their being made
with more facility. The schedule or
the Marion and Kingville division was
included among those that were to be
slowed" This schedule was "slow-
ed" all right; but no one has yet beer
able to gather from the arrival and de-
parture of the trains any idea Of the
time table.
1t is a rare thing that any of the
passenger trains are on time. The ear
ly morning train from Rock Hill, only
half hour away. often comes In late
and the. train that should reach here
from Kingville in the neighborhood OF
$50 D. m, is often delayed until $50
and later. The morning train from
Marion is generally from one to three
hours late, and the evening train from
| 10 inc
time than any OF the others is more
often late than otherwise. In the case
Of all the trains, the travelling public
spends more time waiting at the de-
pots than it does travelling.
But as wretched as are the passen-
ger conditions, the freight service is
infinitely worse. This has long since
reached a condition where patience has
ceased to be virtue, and it Is no ex-
aggeration to say that conditions. in
stead of showing signs of improve
ment, are steadily growing more des-
perate. The carelessness with which
both. incoming and outgoing freight Is
handled Is something beyond compre-
hension.
Discussing in the presence Of the re-
porter the other day conditions as
they exist in Yorkville, local business
man said: II can take a wagon and
go to the depot here, and while I might
have some difficulty in getting my owr
freight, bet you I can haul away loads
of stuff belonging to the Thomson Co..
the Yorkville Banking and Mercan-
tile company, Carroll Bros, and in fact
every other business man in town and
nobody would ever be the wiser"
There is no little stealage from
the depots and the freight cars. While
looking over conditions in the freight
house the other day, the reporter no
ticed an empty case that had contained
cigars consigned to a local firm. All
the cigars were gone. In fact there
was nothing left but three or four
empty boxes. The presumption is that
everything had been stolen. Last Sat
urday several gentlemen were witness
es to the consumption Of lot Of can
dy by depot loafers. The box had been
broken open probably by one Of the
loafers and all helped themselves.
wslk into the freight house here and
observe the helter- skelter manner In
which the goods are piled about, and
1t is difficult to see how anybody could
be able to tell what Is there and what
is not there. Among the miscellaneous
assortment Of packages. the reporter
noted one addressed to Chester, anoth-
er to Marion, N. c.. another to Lin
colnton, N. c., another to Gastonia, N,
c., and one from Savannah, Ga, firm
to a firm In Florida, all Of which
seems to indicate looseness Of business
methods throughout the whole system.
A month or two ago a party at Shar-
on ordered a saw mill from Winston
Salem, N. C. The mill falling to show
up within reasonable time, q tracer
was put after 1t without result Al
ter a few weeks the mill was given up
as lost. A friend who was acquainted
with the circumstances happened into
the depot at Blaoksburg and saw the
mill there, where 1t had been since the
day after 1t left Winston Salem. A To-
cal business man week or two ago
loaded a few barrels Of line for Shar-
on. He saw the lime put aboard In q
car containing freight for Sharon,
Hickory and Smyrna; but he has never
seen or heard Of 1t since.
It IL true that the railroad gener-
ally pays for damages and shortage;
but that does not nearly make up for
the loss and inconvenience that are
being sustained. Business men are
not buying goods to sell to the rail-
roads. They are buying for their cus-
toners and to sell at q profit The
railroad when 1t makes good at all only
makes good the actual loss at actual
cost. And still this Is not all. Many
merchants discount their bills 2 per
cent for cash in ten days from the date
of invoice. Custom has extended this
privilege to ten days from receipt OF
goods. Now that goods are frequently
in transit anywhere from ten days to
an indefinite period the cash discount
system is becoming badly demoralized,
AS local business men see 1t,
the most intolerable feature OF the
situation is neither the trouble nor the
expense to which they are being put;
but rather the demoralizlng uncertain
ty with which business conditions are
being surrounded. AS matters now
stand the careful business man Is
afraid to promise anything that in
wolves the delivery of goods by freight
within a given time, and he often hes
itates to order goods that are salapie
only during a brief season for fear that
the season may have passed before the
goods arrive.
LOCAL LAcONIcS.
Accident to Mr.. r. L. Wilson.
Mr.. Robert L. Wilson, a hard work.