The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-02-04
THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY

as we'll as other corporations and
persons. The Press and Banner would
not wish to stand in the way of the
Southern Railway in it's effort to re-
duce expenses and to make its prop
erty self-sustaining.
But it seems to the Press and
Banner that the Southern Railway
in doing these things should have
some appreciation of the rights of
this community as well as of other
communities The travelling public in
Abbeville,, as we'll as at other places,
has a right to be heard when action
affecting it is taken by a corporation
serving the public. For that reason
the Press and Banner does not un-
derstand why the Southern Railway
should discontinue a train. from
Hodges to Abbeville and return and
impose great hardships upon the peo-
pie of this city without saying ever
word to the authorities Of this city.
AS matters are now arranged per-
son who desires to go to Columbia,
or to any point below Hodges on the
Southern Railway, in the afternoon
must go to Hodges and wait there for
an hour and ten minutes for train,
when it is on time, and generally for
an hour and a half. This is most in
convenient.
We believe that some better ar
rangement might have been made in
this matter if the people and authori-
ties of this city had been consulted
and not ignored in the matter. We
see no reason why, if but one train
is to be run in the afternoon, the up
train and the down-train on the Sou
thern should not meet either at
Hodges or at Shoals Junction at far
thest, so that this long wait at
Hodges should not be entailed on the
people of Abbeville who are forced
to ride on the Southern in order to
get to many points.
1t has been said many times, and
we have never heard it denied, that
the Abbeville branch of the Southern
Railway is a good paying piece of
property We know nothing of such
matters, but we do know that the peo-
pie of Abbeville receive a great a.
mount Of freight over the Abbeville
branch which might come into Able
vile over the Seaboard Air Line
Railway, if the people were disposed
to have their freight so routed. We
are not advocating that, this be done.
We have no desire to see the revenue
of the Southern Railway at Abbeville
reduced, nor have we any desire to
see any unjust burden placed on it,
but if the Southern does make money
out of the people of this city, this
furnishes reason why it should
make some effort to furnish the peo-
pie of the city with more accommo-
lations than it does for passenger
service. We have called attention in
the past to the poor coaches side
tracked on US by this railroad and
the want of proper equipment fur
nished the crew of this branch. We
are sorry that the Southern does not
seem disposed to correct these de-
but that instead, it is
matters even more inconven-
lent.
We suggest that the city council
and the Chamber of Commerce give
this matter attention. We take it !
that these bodies have not been con-
suited by the Southern Railway in
the matter of taking off one train on
the Abbeville branch. Let them act
in the matter promptly.
In the meantime, for the conven-
ience of the travelling public, we
may say that passengers for Green
wood and for points South of Green
wood may save a good deal of time
by remaining in Abbeville in the af-
ternoon a half hour later, and byI
going to Greenwood over the Sea-
board Air Line and there waiting for
the down Southern train, instead of
vaiting at Hodges. The trip will be
more convenient and the accommoda-
tions while waiting will be better.