The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-11-23
An irresponsible RaiInad

lE5 /. z 10 d..
II you prick Us, do We NOT bleed
| II you tickle us do We NOT laugh {
Il you poison US do we net die? and
Il you wrong US, shall we not Re-
yeage Merchant of Venice.
Through the medium of your col
umns, l desire to make public nv
protest against the reatment ae.
sofded It's patrons by the Texas and
Pacific Railroad. This / do, not with
any hope that it may tend to i'm.
prove conditions under a manage.
ment that seems blind alike to the
dictates of both policy and propriety,
put with the hope that my expert
ences as patron Of this road may
serve as warning to some unsus-
pectlng traveller, who might be able
to reach his destination by some
other, surer and more considerate
road.
I snail pass over without comment
the fact that the 7. and P. trains
over the entire system-and / know
it from Ell Paso to New Orleans
run SO consistently and invariably
behind time that they have practical
~ established another schedule, which
should be called the real and unoffi-
clal one as opposed to the official
and published schedule. It's practice
IN this respect is so notorious that
people have become accustomed to it
and no longer complain when the
train is late, for it is what they have
learned to expect, and in truth.
should a train happen to be on time
it would call forth a protest as being
unexpected and contrary to custom.
What | do protest against, however,
IS that even though management
be SO lax that no serious attempt is
made to run its trains on time. it
should at least be not SO lacking
in consideration for the convenience
and comfort of its patrons as to
change without previous notice the
time of departure from New Orleans
Of its principal through train, as
was done Sunday evening in the case
Of the Cannon Ball. This train
was even in the papers of that morn.
ing advertised to leave New Orleans
for the west at 1880 p. M, as had
been its custom for several months.
Relying on this fact, the writer,
whose business necessitated his reach
ng his destination early Monday
morning, went to the Union Station
Sunday eMning, sallowing himself
what was reasonable to suppose was
! wide margin of safety as to time |
He, together with some of the first
passengers, arrived at the station at /
ust Z O'clock, and his and their
amazement at being Informed that /
he schedule had been changed at |
Ego O'clock that afternoon and that !
he train had just departed, can be
,ettef imagined than described. /
Other Would-be passengers continued
o arrive and the station was soon /
HE'D with a disappointed and indig-I
liant crowd, who were loud in their
of a IA ifroad company
Who regarded its schedule SO lightly
consider it unnecessary to
i've even a. days notice. before mov-=l
ngS up the scheduled time of depart
Ire of SO important a train Many
'ersons in this crowd were put to
he4 most serious Inconvenience and
discomfort, and on some this unex
'ected change, entaiIi1tg as it did
he necessity of remaining over. night
a New Orleans, worked a real hard
hip.
The Texas and Pacific Railway
company may have a legal right to
make these Gudden changes of schs
lie without notice, but. such action
a renarkable#laek of ap
recitation Of its moral obligations TIC
Is patrons, violates every law OF
oliey and propriety and proves il
bso1utely unworthy of the patronage
f the public.
! Just two weeks previous to the in
ident narrated above, the writer
ad to make the round trip TO New
orleans on Sunday. He expected to
AXE the early morning T. and 2.
rain-provided it should be no more
han its usual two hours late-but
s it happened to be about five hours
enind on this particular day, he
ook the so-called accommodation |
rain. This train had attached to=t
three coaches, two reserved for ne
roes and one for white passengers.
he white passengers probably out
TIE fOt5o--WuD we've dl+s
seated throughout the
rip-but notwithstanding this fact
My a small section of one. of the ne
70 coaches was turned over to the
Sc of the whites, a large number
the latter, including the writer,
eing under the necessity Of standing
p all the way to New Orleans.
here is little pleasure in standing
p in a crowded railway coach for
aree hours even when unavoidable,
ut where it could have been pre-
ented Or provided against, as IN
he present instance, it is all the
lore exasperating and provoking.
The patrons of the Texas and Pa
ific may be able most justly to lay
lain to the virtue of patience, but
ven patience sometimes ceases to
e virtue, and it seems time that
long-suffering community should at +
asst rebel against the policy OF a +
Management that treats and handles
$ passengers as if they We're no
lore than 50 much common freight.