The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-01-18


acres Of vineyards that grace the hill
sides surrounding Lake Keuka.
<, Aided by AirpIane Business.
AS the airplane business conducted
by Glenn II. Curtiss at Hammonds.
port gained prominence and the mum.
Der Of its employees ran up into the
thousands, the business Of the Bath &
Hammondsport gained further i'm
petus, both Of passengers and freight.
Perhaps the management grew bit
chesty over the very comforting ap-
pearance of the profit and loss pages
OF the ledgers. II you wanted to enter
or leave HammonGsport in those days
you either rode on the Bath & Ham.
nlondsport, you walked or you hired a
horse and wagon. II you wanted to
ship anything you were in the same
fx. It was the Bath 4 Hammonds-
port or nothing. y,
y with the completion OF the State
road automobiles and buses began to
cut into the passenger traffic Of the
Bath 4 Hammondsport at surprising
rate. Soon; there we're buses running
that connected with trains on both the
Erie and the Lackawanna at Bath,
and when the demands Of the war for
quick deliveries Of airplanes and mo.
tors from the Curtiss factory forced
the company to develop a line of mo-
tortrucks another deep cut was made
into the revenues Of the railroad. -
With the signing Of the armistice
and the coming Of prohibition the
business Of the B. & H. faded to less
than the proverbial shadow Of it's for
,ner dimensions, and with the raising
IL railroad wages to point where the
brakeman who made two 16-mile trips
a day drew down checks Of up
proximately $500 month, the appear
ance Of the profit and loss page pro.
vided no joyful pride for the manage
ment nor for stockholders. w.,
49, Business still IL Available. =.
Sources Of business were NOT Sreallx
Lacking In Hamnfondsport. A populn
ton .sof some three thousand people
still relied on it for their. coal supply,
which, at a rate OF more tlSan SEQ for
hauling each carload eight niles dowt.
hill, was not to be sneezed at Tor their
TODD, furniture aud other sn6cessaries.
Glenn n. Curtiss. Il +. Seely md some
others soon organized II company to
take over the former airplhne and mo.
tor factories and this concern pro
vided considerable tonnage, while
the grape crops continued to. 80 out
by rail- though not packed In bottles
- OF yore.
:, But the former patrons Of the line
had learned that they could get quick
er action and better service by auto
mobile, truck and bus than the B. L
H. seemed able or willing to aftorS
them, and business for the railroad
had dwindled to point where the
abandonment Of all service was threat.
ened when the idea Of leasing the road
10 Messrs. .Aber and Jaycox. was
throached. They appreciate better than
q foreign management the demands OF
local conditions and they believe they
can give better service at a lower op-
grating cost than the present records
show. IS - $3.50. ',,.>r 4.
/ So now the former agent and con.
siuctor arc running the trains. employ
Ing train hands. section hands. etc,
end are the real bosses OF the rail-
road. They expect to revise the pres
ent running schedules SO that the
srains can be used to some advantage
BY the travelling public. They have
been in the service long enough to
have a good idea why the B. 4 81. un-
der the old management was rapidly
failing and they are confident enough
Of final success to take full response
b,lity Cor operating the road. Can the
employees succeed as managers where
trained railroad executives have
,'thrown up the sponge'f FL
a,1ae,fAn Pr ma Daily Pioneer,