The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-07-22
SEVERAL STATIONS
BETTER THAN ONE
MAJOR KfEE or sr.fEorts, FRANZ
LY EXPRESSES OPINION
ON SUBJECT.
GIVES HIS REASONS
FACT THAT ST. Louis is LARGEST
CITY IN COUNTRY WITH UNION
STATION LENDS WEIGHT
To HIS VIEWS.

y That several stations located in
. Various sections OF "a city are de-
. eidedly more TO the advantage Of its
Business interests than one station
!. used by ali the railroads entering the
: city is the frankly expressed opinion
= of Mayor Henry W kiel Of 81. Louis
y The opinion. is given in letter writ
ten In reply to the direct inquiry Of
, W. ID. Duke. assistant 70 the presi-
! dent Of the Richmond. Fredericksburg
end Potomac railroad, st Louis is
the largest city in the country having
single or union station and inCidcn-
tally u is one Of the largest and finest
stations In the country. and what
Mayor KEEL has 10 gay from the stand
potnt of practical experience and OBJ
servation is OF interest at this time
as bearing on the situation in Rich
moud.
Only one side To fl.
Mayor kiel points out that while
q union station is the most convenient
for through passengers and bly,
more advantageous 70 the railroad.
that the single stations located in
J Various sections are better for the
> city for the reason that visitors are
for6sa to see something Of the city
I in going from one station to another.
In fact from the standpoint Of the
business man he States emphatically
that.lhere are not two sides to the
question.
Hts fctter~to Mr.. Duke follows.
Mayor kiel's Letter.
. Mr.. -W.--l--Duke, ~
H. r. q T. r. Il. Co,
Richmond, Va.
My, Dear Sir.--In reply to your
comnnunicatlon Of July nth, In which
You ask for my opinion as to the
benefits of a union station. | will
brieAy give you my views as to facil-
, tstirg passenger. traffic in city in
which z union station is located. My
= judgment is that a union station is
= most Convenient To through passen-
|" gers and probably better for the rail
road. bu. from the standpoint of the
city IN which the union station Is
located ! am firm in the belief that
the union station works to the disad
vantage of the business men in the
city This is especially the case in
large center where traffic without
uDto1 station. would have TO traverse
the Business section Of the city in
going To the station of another road.
In that way the visitors, forced to
go from station TO station, would re-
; nsa n over long enough TO spend a
! lay or two sightseeing n the city. The
. tact that these travellers remain over
means that they viii snend money in
the city which they would not spend
II they go dfrectly~1Tfbugh
A union station brings visitors TO
the city, but they inquire for train
schedules and If they can make their
train in half an hour or an hour, they
no not stop over. When they dis
coyer that, the visitor does not even
leave the station. but makes direct
connection It may be that this same
passenger has Travelled hundreds of
piles and would like to see the city
strained from doing it by the fact that
he comes in and leaves the same sta
Stion without any lay-over.
That is particular advantage
financially TO the passenger, but 1t has
kept a stranger from visiting in the
: 'rtty where he had come right up to
! The threshold Not only would il have
"A been beneficial to him TO have seen
something of that particular city but
he wanted to. though In speed jour
/ ney RETAINED from doing so. He was
ssrestrained by the accommodations of
! The union station. and went directly
Through.
/, In closing, ! want TO say that It is
sxccordfng To the viewpoint as to
witch is best, From the standpoint
Il b. the Individual passenger he prob
: a1sly was better off by not stopping
y Dyer, but from the standpoint of the
NJ passenger generally II would extend
\ perAcn's knowledge and experience by
Sxmaining over 10 visit a large city
: Iness rwo situations about balance
7 themselves From the standpoint of
! llst business men within that City--the
--sd4u-s who build up the town--there
. pre- MT rvs sides 10 the question.
q Ffres~~wnnt visitors in the city. and
i .liesA Cant get them unless there is
I s0rle .jndncement TO stay over. and
!. sctne. opportunity given. The oppor
ssinfties cannot he given through a
. union station and II can be given
swher there are different stations
From tf1r standpoint Of the city, nay
Judgment is that individual stations
!. owned by large roads tend to build
up a town more than union stations.
M Very respectfully yours,
' (Signed) HENRY w. KEEL
Mayor.