East Mississippi times. (Starkville, Miss.) 19??-1926, 1913-04-04
TWO DEPOTS.
A Proposition From the West Side

the arguments offered in an articl,
in last weeks Times for the loca
tion of the M. & o. freight anc
passenger depot at the east side
of the overhead bridge.
When we met in mass.meetine
and we all, with one accord
clamored for a union station, and
when we again met with the May
or and Board of Aldermen and
sent a delegation to jackson with
a lengthy petition to the State
Railroad Commissioners, and when
we gave rousing reception to the
State4and Railroad officials in the
courthouse, we were all laboring
under the hallucination that we
wanted union passenger service.
We were all led into the very com
mon mistake that railroad depots
are primarily intended as a con-
venience to people who get on the
cars and 60 somewhere, or get off
the cars here when they come to
Starkville, We had all fallen into
the erroneous belief that RAILROAD
dep0ts are intended to serve peo
pie who travel, whether homefolks.
college students, college trustees,
college instructors, isitors, pros
pectors, homeseekers or drmmers.
It's u mistake, Mr., Editor, a
sad, sad mistake. We were maxi
ing the same fatal mistake that
West Point, Corinth, Tupelo,
Memphis, st. Louis and many
other hamlets, towing and cities
have made when they have worked
and cIamored and striven and
fought for union passenger sta
tions. Then according to this
new found logic, what are railroad
depots forY
Railroad depots are: Firstly,
to build up some neglected or un,
slightly part of a city; to keep a
town from becoming lopsided, like
a peddler who has so' long toted
his pack on one side that he has
gotten a hump in one shoulder.
Secondly, railroad depots are
built in order that some more
taxes may be paid into the town
till.
Thirdly, and quite incidentIy,
railroad depots are for the con-
ven,ence of people who travel
this, of. coure, is a mere minor
matter which hardly deserves Sc
rious thought at this time.
Now just think for minute,
gentle reader, how lopsided and
catawampous Starkville is built up.
les all on account of the mis-
placement of the depots. And now
while we are shutting them up
preparatory to new deal, | want
to put in a word for the West
side. We West -siders have never
had depot, while the East siders
have literally grown fat on them.
This is an actual fact: Just OBJ
serve the physical leapness that
prevails on the West side and the
rotund corpulence that prevails on
the East side.
Mr.. Editor. we have grown lank
and lean from making so any
helatej hurry runs to the M, & O..
depot a mile and a quarter away.
You are about the only exception,
Mr.. Editor, to the prevailing lank
ness Of the West-siders; aud you
are of such a philosophical turn of
mind that You never hurry; if you
should be left by Hi NJ. & O. train
you would placidly take the next
|, G train and go somewhere else.
just observe on the other hand,
what prevailing unwieldy corpu-
lence there is amoug the people of
the East side. Too many depots
over there did it; no question
abont it. It's the most natural
thing iu the world; town built
lopsided will shaw marked effects
upon its people.
Now, bere isia fair proposition, |,