The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-08-31
BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.
Our temperamental street-cars!

Again are we the Victims OF their IN
applicable caprices. No lady coquet-
ting with her lover ever gave him half
the bad hours our truly celebrated
system has given those chautauqua
bent within the past ten days.
In instance, when the majority of
the people who use the cars come out
the Main street entrance, why confine
the appearances of the municipal char
lots at that egress to the half hours?
Why not run 'em at least fifteen
minutes and, for a brief space, every
seven minutes.
People want to make trains and in
exorable meals and other things.
But no matter what or when or how,
no car hoves to save every half hour.
Don't kick, you say, there is the
belt.
Who can fathom, however, the weird
schedules of that cars erratic pro-
cedure.
For sometimes it goes east. And
sometimes west and then again not
at all.
Frequently-or at least now and
then-it lays off a day for repairs or
the rest cure.
No questions are asked and if they
are, no explanations given.
An irate tenter informed the writer
yesterday morning, after boarding the
car at Tenth and Main streets, that
she had stood on that corner for half
and hour and no car, of any complex
ion, had passed.
Not a Glen Park, nor yet Fair
view, nor still the famous Belt nor an
Earlham nor even an Easthaven.
"Easthaven cars never pass the
Tenth street corner" someone says.
Well, maybe not. But nonetheless
none of the others did for an interval
of half an hour yesterday morning,
according to the lady in question.
And there can be no doubt of the
integrity of her word.
Explain it," she commanded.
Far be it from me-" said the writer
alphabetically, ito explain anything.
Especially our street-car system"
1t is a fact, however, that many and
strange are it's recent manifestations.
In instance, a closed car diddered
down the incline toward the Main
street entrance the other evening, halt
ed and halted for an appreciate in
terval.
1t was soon filled with people who
supposed it was going back down
town.
Instead it sped gracefully to the
switch east of town and there tarried
for space.
Returning, the conductor came round
| to collect a second fare.
1--WE have already paid" murmured
sundry of the passengers.
You'll have to pay again as 1 ex-
! planned when you got on said the
conductor severely.
Several persons expressed their
willingness to comply with the terms
of this hold-up, but distinctly stated
, that they had heard no such ultimatum
from this memorable afficial.
If he said it, in short, nobody heard
him at that end of the car.
The administration of law on a
basis OF common sense is what the
public is asking.
|
| utilities.
Now the sensible thing to have done,
according to the notion of the public
would have been to have had one or
two extra cars at the chautauqua en-
! trance most frequented at time when
the street-car company could have
easily ascertained the chautauqua
closed. and then the regular car that
happens along each half hour and goes
on to Moorman's switch could have
picked up whoever might come within
the sphere of it's operations.
Neither does the public think it
chould adopt that metropolitan system
which gives the passenger no time to
alight but starts up before he, or she,
can get off.
Their progress toward this end be-
ing impeded by the crowded aisles and
platform.
This has happened time or two of
late.
An evening this week, in instance,
when two women started to get OH
at Fifteenth street, one of them falling
and sustaining painful injuries-al-
though not serious-in her effort to
leave the car after it was moving.
| The bell had been rung for the stop
The conductor of the car stated that
the reason for the start, before the
women had an opportunity to get off
was the ringing of the bell by passen.
gers.
| do you mean to say" said the in
| quiring one, that passengers are in
the habit of ringing bells for the pur
pose of starting the carr"
Il do" said the conductor
| And was that the cause of this &C
cident?"
1T was"
The audience was completely fab.
bergasted.
| But, after all, you can't blame the
conductor and the motorman. It's the
man higher up" But the man higher
up rarely gets the blame. He is i'm
INJURED in the Businesses of his mahog
any furnished apartments in some sky
scraper far away.
| Time should be given every passen
| ger to alight after the car has stopped
| And there should be a system like