128 HISTORY OP THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 



room cars, for admission to* which passengers are 

 required to pay a sum in excess of the regular fare. 

 These cars are luxurious and comfortable, and few, 

 who are able to afford it, neglect to use them. There 

 is no reason why they should not be attached to every 

 train. The roads using them, however, do not leave 

 their occupancy to the discretion of the passenger. 

 They compel him to use them by providing an insuffi- 

 cient number of ordinary cars, or cars which are so 

 filthy and uncomfortable that men gladly pay the extra 

 charge to escape from them. 



Who is there that has travelled but could tell an 

 eloquent tale of loss in the matter of baggage ? It is 

 safe to say, that thousands of dollars are lost annually 

 by the travelling public in the way of trunks and port- 

 manteaus, broken or injured by the carelessness of 

 railroad employe's. 



But travellers are not the only victims of the " Com- 

 pany's" disregard of private rights. The vast army of 

 shippers of freight throughout the Union represent 

 another class of sufferers; and each man of this class 

 could tell his tale of individual wrong. We could 

 multiply instances ; but to do so, would simply fatigue 

 the reader. One characteristic case shall serve to 

 illustrate this feature of railroad tyranny. It is told 

 in the circular of a Boston firm addressed to its West- 

 ern correspondents, and it shows in" a vigorous light 

 the utter helplessness of the individual in his struggle 

 with the great corporations : 



"BOSTON, October 31, 1872. 



"GENTLEMEN: On account of the unusual and un- 

 warranted action of the Boston & Albany Railroad 



