The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-11-12

IL is, in fact, dangerous to drive in Broadway,
and still more dangerous to cross the street below
the Park No one can cross without first looking
right and left, and then running with all his might
Some say this state Of things is attractive; that
matter Of taste.
But, says one gentleman who addressed you on
behalf Of the omnibus owners there is no o,cssion
to legisate about this; everybody goes up Broadway
voluntarily, and why should you come In and help
theml OF all the argu ments used in this discussion,
that, think, is the most extraordinary what DO
nothing to facilitate the means Of com nunication
because q man uses the present voluntarily! DO
nothing to blow up the rocks Of Helle ate because
vessel goes there voluntarily Why, then, increase
the facilities of travell Why build light houses!
Why build any improved road. Whoever goe. ou On
be thought insane who should give that as reason
for not ma king it better.
So far ! have confined my argument to the CUES
is another consideration Of great Importance. and
that is the increased facilities between the upper
and lower parts Of the city which our condition
demands.
These increased facilities are demanded Of you
you are bound to give them-you must give them.
The omnibuses, OF course, are poweress to do any
thing more for us-they cannot give us increased
facilities. There are as many Of them in Broadway
as can be run there They cannot carry moro per-
sons from the upper wards to the lower. If that be
so now, how long will it shortly be?
The city is probably increasing ct the rate OF
ten years SoUGoO persons 1sbas WAL %
streets. Ten thousand is large estimate for each
street, including the adjacent avenues, and making
allowances for squares and public buildings 50 that,
years, in the year 1868 this city will be compactly
filed from Twenty-third to Eighty third street.
This supposes that the draining of of our popula
tion to the adjaeent cities, to go on as il has dons
but that ought not to continue, and the govern
ment Of the city ought to do what it can to
nom Ii. upper wards to Brooklyn, Wlilisms-
son. that business being done in the lower wards of
the city, they will live where it is convenient for
business fyou do not give them the means of easy
communication with the upper parts of our own
great mistake to consider this city confined We
are an island, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, aud
Jersey City, in fact adjuncts Of the First ward
and persons 60 over there because they can reach
the lower parts Of the city by the boats easier than
if they lived in the upper parts.
If you had means OF communication between tue
upper and lower wards, what would have been the
results now? Brooklyn has a population of one
hundred thousand; Williamsburg upwards Of twen-
ty.fye thousand Now, if these one hundred and
twenty-five thousand had remained in the city the
population would have now reached to Thirty-sixth
street. The learned gentleman who last addressed
you (Mr. Whiting) stated that he thought it unwise
to give facilities Of communication between the up.
per and lover parts of the CITY, because you ought
language is you will do great disservice to the
city by increasing the facilities of communication.
The argument is this: If you don't increase the
facilities, business will follow the population up
town" Now this argument omits important
fact, which is that persons who do business on this
island can live elsewhere
This island is not isolated, but is part of large
territory, and if you do not increase the commun-
cation between the upper and the lower wards, men
doing business in the lower wards will 80 to ada
cent places Business will choose its place all the
city government can do is to give facilities Of COM
nunication, and leave business to take its own
course.
For these reasons, insist that Broadway must be
relieved, and that You must give increased facilities
OF communication between the upper and lower
wards Of the city that the strongest considerations
in respect to the improvement, the health, and the
population Of the city imperatively require it..
como now first to the third proposition which is,
that this reiefof Broadway, and these increased ia
cilities of communication, cannot be had without
changing the mode of conveyance in that street;
that the railway will do it, and nothing else will
Now, what will railway in Broadway do? Let
us look at the figures:
Sixty cara will take, at sixty each, three thousand
six hundred passengers each hour.
l0U.. ................ ...oOO0
Az, - 80. e,Hvo
gives two hundred and seventy-one omnibuses
passing the Museum up Broadway, taking two
thousand eight hundred persons and TIVE hundred
and fifty. six omnibuses passing down, with eight
hundred and thirty three persons.
Now, supposipg each car to take sixty persons,
these would be taken by forty seven cars up, and
fourteen cars down. The omnibuses require one
thousand and ffty-four horses, each omnibus hav-
ing two horses These cars take one hundred and
twenty-five horses; therefore, by substituting sixty
one cars and one hundred and twenty-five horses
for five hundred and twenty. seven omnibuses and
one thousand and Fifty four horses, we take all the
passengers, and thus get rid of four hundred and
sixty six vehicles, and nine hundred and thirty.two
horses every hour, or during the thirteen hours
which the vehicles run, We get rid of six thousand
and fifty eight vehicles, and twelve thousand one
fy-SJX N M
Der of passengers, Will it be said that the is
larger than the omnibus, and therefore takes up
large an amout of room, and 80 we gain nothing
in that way! Let US, then, compare them
l will assume the cur to be twenty-fo feet long
and six feet wide, and how much does tina. give you
as the superficial contents of the car!-oDe hundred
and forty four feet. Now what is that of the omn
bus! will take an omnibus OF the smallest di-
men ;ions. with superices of forty nine and half
feet, that is nine feet long and five and half feet
wide-sixty one cars will then take superfces Of
eight thousand seven hundred and eighty -four
square feet. What is the superlicies of the i've
hundred and twenty. seven omnbuses which arc re-
guired to move the same amount of passengers!
The supeffces of I've hundred and twenty-sevep
onnibuses is tweaty.sx thousand and eighty. six
feet, and If you add the supercies taken up by the
horses-tbat is supposing they take ton feet in
lergth by five feet wide-hftY squsro feet, you gain
in horses twentythree thousand three hundred feet,
mokipg total gain in 5uperfcies of horses aud
vehicles Of forty thousand six hundred ADD two
feet. Ia not this relieving Broadway! Wal tho
railway give increased facilities of communication
between the upper end lover wards Of the city?
Let US see what it viii Go. Sixty cars, as have
stated, will take thirty tx hundred passengers and
one hundred cars will take six thousand, SO thst
one hundred cars moving thirteen hours, will take
seventy eight thousand persons. Now, the largest
number Of persons taken up during the whole thir-
teen hours by the omnibuses, s seventeen thousand
and thirty nine, and if all the omnibuscs moved up
Broadway during the day were filed with as many
as they could take they could take only forty.
thousand one hundred and one persons, that 10 to
say, one hundred cars would take four and half
times as many passengers as the omniouses do now
take, and twice as many as they could take il
slowed to their utmost capacity.
Ninety. four cars up, and twenty.eight down, will
take double the number Of passengers now taken in
the hour Of heaviest travel. Five hundred ami
twenty-sevcn omnibuses will take up as much room
hun bred and eighty. cars, which one hun.
dred and eighty. one cars would take ten thousand