The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1911-08-31
A Letter 10 the Railroad Commits
siOners of Georgia

The Railroad Commissioners of Ca.
Atlanta, Ga.
Gentlemen:
Last evening I took the Georgia Railroad
train at Barnett on my way home from
Washington, Ga. We arrived at Camak on
time, about seven o'clock, p M. AS you we'll
know, connection is there made with the train
from Macon. 1t had not arrived. In a few
moments we were told that the engine of the
Macon train had broken down between War
renton and Camak. AS doubtless you know,
the distance between the two stations is three
miles. We were informed that an engine
from Camak would be sent out to pull the
Macon train in. There was an extra engine
at Camak which could have been used for
TINS purpose at any moment. For nearly two
hours and half the passengers on the regular
Georgia Railroad train we're kept waiting
there, being assured from time to time that the
Macon train would soon be in. It would have
been the easiest matter in the world to have
either sent an engine to pull the broken down
train INTO Camak, or to have backed our train
on the Macon branch to the broken down train
and to have transferred the few passengers
and the baggage from that train to ours The
conductor on our train Mr.. Montgomery, was
helpless In the absence of instructions. and the
agent In charge seemed to be absolutely in
different to the discomfort, the inconvenience.
and the probable loss to which this pro-
longed delay subjected the men, the wom-
en-, and the children on the car He made
no effort to secure from the Augusta office
instructions for Montgomery to run his train
on to It's destination in Augusta, forty-fve
miles distant, nor to have an engine sent out
for the broken-down Macon train, nor to have
our train back two miles on the Macon branch
to take over the passengers and the baggage
from that train. Time and again not only I,
but Mr.. Newt. Heggie of Augusta and other
travellers, who had important connections to
make out from Augusta, went to the window
OF the agents office, and demonstrated with
him for his failure to endeavor to do some
thing to relieve the situation He paid prac-
tlcally no attention to us whatever 1t was a
case, and very clear and vexatious one, of
the Public be damned We had paid our
money for certin service, and that service
was being insolently withheld.
Were this an isolated case it might 90 with
out provoking protest, but at Camak par
tlcularly the service of the Georgia Railroad
is rotten. Delays of from one-half up
to two hours are constantly occurring there
Mr.. Heggie declared last night that he had
been over the road on business frequently
here of late, and that he had had similar
experience to last night on almost every trip
that he had made Is there no remedy which
your body can apply to this outrageous con-
dltlOn! Are public service corporations to
run their trains just as the local agent pleases?
Is whole train load of passengers to be put
to inconvenience and financial loss because
railroad officials will not even seek a
remedy for disagreeable situation, brought
about by the continued use of an engine
which any expert would have condemned
as no longer fit for service? Cannot
your Body make some rule which wOu1d