Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-03

'nost inveterate devotees Of the trolley
car habit in the county of kennehcc.
The prosperity which the road has
met has proved the falsity of the view
of The pcssimists, who held that the
line could never succeed; and has also
proved far beyond the expectations of
the optimists, who thouSntNhat the
best the road could DO wculd be to car
" 70 passengers day at s. the round
rip
SO great has Lcen the sucC c.;s in the
past, that the croakers are al but 81
fenced, anl on the street, in places Of
business at social gatherings or at
nome Grcoidos, little is heard today but
expressions of well founded belief in
he certain prosperity and success of
he Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville
system.
While Tuesday of last week Witness
al tn" opening If the Watervillc line
ret incidentally it saw The cllmination
If the plans Of tie Graham syndicate
or thorough electric railroad from
WaterVille to Lewiston. The line from
East Nassalboro to Winslow has been
in operation since last spring. The
Gardiner and Sabattus line was opened
to traGic, October 49, But November a.
1908, will 80 down in history as ;he
date when the general public was first
enabled to ride by trolley from Water
Vile to Lewiston, thence to Brunswick,
Portland, Boston and a thousand cities
ana towns beyond.
Small indeed would be the mental ;
capacity that would fail To grasp the
,bvious fact that this new departure is
If great significance to the people of
this section Of Maine. Even those who
are accustomed I" minimize present
lay accomplishments. and to magnify |
he glori"s Of the golden days that were
cannot refrain from pausing d moment
TO express wonder at the achievement, |
admiration for its promoters, and con-
graduation to the people to whom the |
enhanced travel facilities mean so
much.
A recent writer has said: Life is mo-
ION. The old philosophers found this
ruth and stated it in succint apho:ism
Then it Was forgotten, ana tho world |
condemned its brightest ntellccts to
ccl and cloister. The modern spirit is |
nothing if not kinctic. 1t is the spirit |
If motion. of hustle, of get there
And what IS more enb!cmatic of
than the trolley car? The messenger
boy. nibbling, ni5bling a sandwich
snatched from a hasty breakfast. jogs |
elbows with the inancier, hastily peru |
sing the market quotations in the
morning paper, The school girl sits op-
)osite Miady who has an early ap-
oointment with Il fashionable dress
maker All arc hurrying on and on,
and neither the financier nor the pros
fNecllNS oNlltE Oh ii iilOulSlt = Spolly
'creation," gets there any sooner than
the school girl or the messenger boy. |
The trolley car is great eliminator
IF conventional social distinctions and
it is likewise a great promoter of neigh |
boriness scores of Augusta people
ard scores of Lewiston people, within
a month have learned more about the
country between their re-
suective cities than half lifetime OF
riding on steam railroads or other con-
voyances has taught them. Now that
II . line las been opened to Watervile,
Augusta and Watcrville people VIII
have more kindly appreciation of one
another, and will rate it nearer their
true value the advantages and facilities
of neiehboring localities.