Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-06-24
Wednesday, June "a, 1914.
Crowded Cars Dangerous.

that there is an apparent indlnerehce
on the part of the management TO rem
edv conditions and that they seem 10
take the view that the people have al
ready become educated to stand IN the
.ir,az uestihules or on the running
hoards and pay over their GOOD money
without a murmur
II is pointed out that soVeral 'eoi-
dents have already occurred as the is-
sult of deficient facilities tor tahil's
care of the patrons OF the ROAD "A
prominent Auburn man speaking oi
the service said: S'Why is It that the
newspapers OF Lewiston allow sueh
condition of affairs to exist without
offering a word of criticism, the man
aqer,ent of the road doesn't appear TO
care whether the people sit or staha
So long as the corporation gets theif
money. and the newspapers nave not
seemed to show much interest IN the
matter.
what can the public do? What is
eur redress? The management may
tell us that if we don't like the way
the affairs of the L. A. & w st. Ry'
are run. we need not ride on their cars.
That is true, perhaps to a certain eA-
tent, but what other means have WORK
ing people, who live one mile or sew
eral miles out of the city, to go TO ana
from their work. They work hard an
day standing at their machlnes OF
benches or cIerlling in a store ana then
are obliged TO stand. up in q ear or
hang on To the running board and en-
danger their lives in order to reach
their homes. This is not right ana
the people should not stand for it.
This is a public corporation, as
understand it and has been granted
certain valuable rights and privileges
by the city and State. What are we
TO EXPECT in return? We are to ex-
poet a reasonably safe and efficient
service. If the cars are too small to
meet the requirements of these rapid
" growing cities, larger ones should De
provided or double headers run our
ing the rush hours. l am told that re-
peated complaints have been mace 10
the management, but without avail
would like TO hear from other indig-
nant patrons and there are good
many of them, on this subject
The above from the Lewiston Sun is
published by request. We accept with
other newspapers the accusation that
things are as asserted, and the news
paper has not corrected the trouble
But why should the newspaper be ex-
peeted 10 stand as public faultfinder
any further than to provide forum
wherein the communications of ag-
grieved citizens may appear? If the
people are dissatisfied with public
service, why do they wait for the
newspaper TO take it up and secure
better conditions-why do they not
start something themselves? Is 1t
not as much their duty, with first
knowledge, as il is newspaper duty
to make a collection of complaints?
The trouble with all kinds of public
service, it seems to US, lies in the
wait-for-others disposition of indiyid-
uals. They do not like to be the one
who is known as faultfinder or COM
palmer. If they say anything they
wish 70 say 1t anonymously SO their
friends in the service complained of
will not know and be "sore"-let
George The newspaper do it.
Now we have friends in the manage
ment and among the employees of the
L. A. * w. st. Ry., and on the Maine
Central and on other roads. We know
that the service is not always perfect.
We many times walk and carry our
trunk while paying fare. But we have
done II everywhere. on occasions, and
expect always to do il until we have
our private flying machine.
The service at Lewiston may be just
as bad as the Lewiston complainant
declares, we do not know; we hold no
brief to defend the road: we hope the
patrons will secure better service, no
matter how good it is, If the road
can't stand as good service as it's
patrons demand then it must quit and
the patrons walk. That is not our
kettle o fish, but we would like to
know on what logic some people base
their claim of right to always dodge
behind newspaper.
If a man is dissatisfied with the SER
vice he is getting for the money he is
paying, why not write a straight-for-
ward letter of facts, SIGN it, and send
1t to newspaper for publication? Per-
he ps some other would follow suit and,
l~ssently, enough complaints. would
lie heard to force the delinquent COM
pany 10 give attention to the matter,
The newspaper might add it's testimo-
ny. but why should it assume the fight
and preserve all these individuals in
the background? Newspaper interest"
is stimulated by public interest 1t is
the people that ride and not the news
paper. Why do the faultfnders SO
nearly always wish 10 hide behind the
newspaper?
What an uplift it would be if all the
young men who are graduating from