The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-05-31
TRAIN SERVICE AND
EMPLOYEES OF MINES
MADE SPECIAL ORDER
By Board of Trade at Next
Meeting---All Interested
Invited to Attend

lace and Burke and Wallace anC
Mullan will be the subject fol
discussion at the meeting of the
board of trade next Wednesday. Since
the people of Burke and Mullan as
well as the people of Wallace are
concerned in the question, the board Of
trade not only urges the business men
of Wallace to attend and express their
views, but also representatives OF
Burke and Mullan are invited and
urged to attend and have a voice in
the discussion. A special committee
was appointed from the board of trade
two weeks ago to take up this matter
of train service, but after holding one
meeting the committee was unable to
decide upon a definite plan of action
and expressed a desire for a more ex-
tended expression of the sentiment of
Wallace business men and of others
outside of Wallace who are directly
concerned with the train service. This
explains in brief why the subject of
train service has been made a special
order for the next meeting of the
board of trade, and it is hoped that all
who are interested in the subject will
be on hand and give expression to
their views.
To Accommodate Employees.
The question of providing a train
service that will accommodate en-
ployes of the mines in the canyon who
desire to live in Wallace has repeat
eddy been under consideration by the
business men of Wallace through the
board of trade. The great value of
such a service must be apparent to
every business man of the city and it
has been advocated repeatedly by this
paper Aside from the direct benefit
it would bring to Wallace, it would
also be of direct advantage to the mi
ming companies by permitting their
employees to obtain desirable homes
and thus encourage married men to
seek employment 1t is believed that
the mining companies recognize this
advantage and will give their support
to the movement to bring it about.
But it is useless to ask the railroad
companies to put on and maintain this
service unless there is a positive and
widespread public sentiment back of
it and also equally positive evidence
that the public will ride on railroad
trains in preference to jitneys. 1t is
not presumed that this service would
be self-supporting Immediately, but it
is believed that as it became known
that the service was permanent, that
employees could establish their homes
in Wallace with positive assurance
that trains would be available to con-
vey them to and from their work
promptly at the beginning and end of
each shift, the passenger business
would steadily increase until it at
least paid the railroad companies for
the expense of the service. The board
of trade committee wants to know the
extent of backing it will have before
taking the matter up with the rail-
road companies, and that is expected
to be determined at the meeting of the
board next Wednesday.
But whatever the decision on the
question outlined above, expression of
public sentiment is also desired on the
proposal of the Northern Pacific COM
pany to discontinue all local train SER
vice between Wallace and Burke and
Wallace and Mullan. Even if the COM
mittee finds that it is justified in go
ing after the first service, it will re-
auire considerable time to get a de-
cision from the railroad companies
and in the meantime the attitude of
the people toward cutting out the SER
vice altogether should be made known.
While it is true that the jitneys are
doing most of the passenger business
between Wallace and the canyon and
Mullan. still there is a considerable
number of people, particularly women
who object to riding in jitneys and
who are entitled to consideration. OF
course the Northern Pacific is main
tanning the present service at a heavy
loss. and rather than criticising It for
desiring to discontinue it, the company
is deserving of commentator for poe
keting the loss for so long time. II
is true that the company is taking
large profits from the district through
the other branch of its service beside
which its loss in passenger service is
insignificant, but that is hardly valid
reason for asking it to continue run
ming practically empty trains. Ger
tainly if the people of the towns serv-
ed by this local service are going to
insist that the railroad company con-
tinue it. they should give some tangi-
BILE evidence that they will support It
by riding on trains in preference to
jitneys The meeting of the board OF
trade next Wednesday should bring
out an expression of public sentiment
toward the present train service for