The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-08-04
TnhT UNION DEPOT QUESTION
To the Editor ocala Banner:

IN Friday mornings issue OF the
Banner I read Mr.. Burr's letter to
Mayor Robertson in reference to the
call of the people of this city for
union depot at this place. I also read
what followed the Burr letter, and
the tKo together lead me to write
few lines myself anent the question.
Mr.. Burr, speaking for the commits
sion, says that at this time it lis I'M
just to the Atlantic Coast Line rail
road, as that road now has a very
substantial brick passenger depot
Now, don't that make you smile? I
wonder if Mr.. Burr. or any of his COM
mission has ever inspected it.
would like very much to hear the
whole bunch wait a couple of hours
in it or at it in the midnight hours
for a belated train. Take your choice
winter or summer-and especially
if there chance to be some ladies or
children, and more especially if the
weather be foul and rainy. 'Substan-
tial brick depot indeed! A pile of
old musty brick without any modern
conveniences which have become es-
sential to our civilization. Small
waiting rooms which often cannot
contain the waiting passengers, filed
with old musty odors which are unen-
durable to those endowend with or
binary sense of smell, if not absolute
ly unsanitary. Cold and uncomfort-
able in the winter, and hot, stuffy and
odiferous in summer. Nice attractive
advertisement for the A. c. L. for the
thousands of travellers who come in
and go out of our gates each year!
If that is the kind of passenger sta
tons that appeal to our railroad COM
missioners, then for the love of
Mike" let the people Of the state Of
we must have railroad commission)
try to find set Of men who have
some knowledge of the needs and
comforts OF modern civilization. Sub
stantial brick depot" Well, it may
be substantial, what there is of it, but
if it is, it is it's sole merit.
The truth is that we have not de-
cent passenger depot in the city. The
one OF the S. A. L. is an old wooden
shack that is as fully unsuited for the
accommodation of the passenger trav-
Ell as that of the A C. l., saving the
odor
There never was a more opportune
time than now for building a union
depot. Only two of the four roads
now running into our city have pas
senger stations, and they are simply
apologies for such stations. There is
a crying call from the travelling pub
lie for a union station. Conditions
now are most favorable for the con-
struction of one 1t can be done at
less cost and less inconvenience to
the roads coming in here than proba-
bly, at any other time. Two of the
roads as yet have none. The S. A. L..
must OF necessity soon rebuild, and
the A. c.. LIS substantial brick de-
pot" situated where it is, near the
heart of the city, and in the condition
it is, is on the border line of being a
public nuisance. Our people should
not let the matter rest where it is.
Let Mr.. Burr and his associates il of;
fee come here and acquaint them
selves with the facts as they are and
l don't think we will hear any more
about "confiscating' that substantial
brick depot Confiscation." Why
the A. c. L. can use the old brick as
part of the foundation for the new
union station and then sell the lot (if
it is that company's property for
more than enough than to pay its pro-
portion of the cost of a good union
depot.
Now, Mr.. Editor, in your closing
paragraph on the same subject in Fri
days Banner you say, For the COM
missioners are not the masters, but
the servants, of the people" Are you
not a little bit off on that? Do not
servants hear their masters voice
ST. Paul says in his letter to the Ro-
mans, 6 ch.. 10th verse, Know We
not that to whom We yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants We are
to whom We obey?" Whose voice did
our railroad commissioners hear
when they had our petition under con-
sideration? To whom did they yield
themselves servants to obey?
SELAH.