Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1909-03-05
Friday, March 5, 1909.
RAILROAD RATES.

RAILROAD RATES.
The railroads are making their fight
over again touching the 2 cent rate.
Weak kneed politicians In the State
have predicted that there will be
compromise on a 81 cent rate. The
same result is predicted by those VINO
have been inoculated with railroad
virus from other sources. OF course
nobody knows, but anybody who has
looked over conditions and railway &C
tions for the last year or two knows
that the roads have been so managed
as to prevent, If possible, decent
showing. What has happened those
on thesoutside can guess, those on the
inside know. This much is true. The
sale of tickets has been reduced as much
as possible so that the reports from that
source look small. In order to bring
about this result stations are closed al
ter certain hours, and no passenger can
get a ticket there. This peculiar action
has been explained in two ways. One
is that the passenger may be required
to pay ten cents extra, and possibly
lose it by failure to get his "refund
slip" cashed, the other is that ticket
sales only are put down and reported
in passenger earnings. The money
taken in cash fares on the trains is not
10 reported 1t il said. That is the sta
ton and not the trains show the earn
ings. There is some occult reason for
this failure to sell tickets which the
Corporation Commission should probe
to the bottom. 1t should also see that
all money collected on trains is put to
the proper account. 1t will be noted
that all possible means are reserted to
by the roads to discourage travel. No
schedules fit to look at are carried any
where except in folders, and these are
hard to procure. No advertising is done,
no information bureau is to be found
except at the veryslarge city stations,
and not an excursion or reduced rate is
given except upon such great occasions
rs the Inaugural, and then the rate is
so high that it offers absolutely no in
ducement. Moreover the ticket at such
times is hedged about with such I'M
necessary and vexatious conditions as
M axe it look like fraudulent scheme
to get the passengers money without
for
buys one Of these 'rsduced rate' tick
ets, he pays in the first place nearly
full fare both ways. Then he has lot
of extra and annoying work put on
him, Of hunting up some unknown
office, somewhere he can hardly find,
after miles Of walking, to have the
tick ct vised, and then if he should be
unovoidably detained by any circum-
sta nee, no matter If by human Or di-
vim Intervention, or things are not
just right, he loses his ticket entirely,
and thus pays more money than If he
had bought regular ticket in the first
place. All of us recall that before the
"rate trouble" excursion tickets were
sold to Washington almost every week
from 6taunton for 81 round trip. If
these paid then, they would pay now.
If they did not pay then, the road was
robbing its stockholders. Does any
body now hear of any such rates
Why, this 'Jirk water" germ scatter
ing, cattle car plaything Of the B. & o.
running between Lexington and Har-
risonburg, has actually raised its local
rate and now charges cents per mile,
Eighty Cents to ride from Stanton to
Harrisonburg, distance elongated by
certain kind Of railroad ledgerdemain,
to 26 statute miles, when a crow can
fly it in 20, and an automobile, or
other conveyance, and foot passenger
can travel between the same points in
"a miles.
The truth il the railroads are not
making this fight because they are
losing money. They are not losing
money. They are making this fight
because they want to show the State Of
Virginia and other States,and the peo-
pie generally that they are supreme,
and they are not going to be iRterfered
with in their conduct toward the pub
lie. In other words they are going to do
~ they d-n please, and are using all
sorts of trickery to accomplish that
end.