New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-11-19
RAILROADS IN OUR CITY.


in every direction with streets broad enough TO
aftrd ample room for good doubIe-traek railroads,
for the conveyance alike OF passengers and goods.
Were this City to be laid out afresh, such railways
wolld traverse the entire length Of the island on
eiler side and at intervals Of not more than sixty
rods throughout It's breadth with ntersectog tracks
crossing The island at Wall-street and at intervals
of not more than mile thence to Harlem. With
The City thus grdironed millions would be saved to
IL people and added to its trade, to the profit OF
everybody, the disadvantage of nobody.
If Broadway were perfectly straight from White
nall to the High Bridge and were as wide through
out as Pennsy lvania Avenue, with a good double
track railway through its center, and il there were
similar avenue east of it, down which all the
trains OF the Hudson River, Harlem and New
Haven roads could be run by steam TO FOrtieth-
street, and thence by horsepower to the Battery,
the value of the real estate Of our City would be
many millions more than it low is, and its trade
would be sensibly augmented. For want OF such
facilities, property in the lower part of our City,
especially on tie east side, il decreasing in value
while uptown lots have risen rapidly for the last
ten years, and are still rising
FIVE had single-track railways from the Park 10
the Jersey, Erie, HOboken, Staten Island, WaIlst.,
Fulton and Peck-sip ferries, taking passengers
thence to the uptown railways, and so to any part
of the CITY for fare OF six cents, the saving to
persons visiting our City would amount TO hundreds
Of thousands Now, a stranger pays half dollar
to be landed at one of our wbarves, and perhaps
dollar aud half to be carried thence to friends
house a mile or two uptown. Ii is not merely
shame but damage to our City that this should be
sufitrei to continue.
We believe that railtrack through Broadway
with its counterpart in the most convenient side
streets running q car down the great thoroughiare
each half minute from A. 81. to ] p. NJ. and up
the side-streets; then up Broadway and down the
sidestreets from P. NJ. till A. NJ. as aforesaid,
taking the Seventh avenue above its intersection
with Broadway to the Central Park, with omni-
buses utterly excluded from its route, would save
vast sums now wasted in grinding out granite pave
ments under hoofs and Wheels and sprinklng the
resulting dust over the fine fabrics exposed for sale
in the stores or worn BY pedestrians on the great
promenade.
We have thus a clear conviction that Omnibuses
should wholly and Hacks mainly be superseded in
cities by railways-that the interest alike OF citi-
zens and visitors, of prOperty-boders and workers,
imperatiyely demands this labOr-saying, money
saving change. At proper time, under fayoring
circumstances, we shall advocate and urge it.
Yet we entreat our new Legislature, especially
the Republican majority therein, to do Hstsing
uhatrer respecting Railroads in our City unless
on the undeniable requisition of the City ITSELF Ii
there should be petitions or other opportunities for
City Railroads, just refer them all bodily TO the City
DeiegatiOn and do nothing which that Delegation
does not distinctly, emphatically recommend. Put
the responsibility of action or non-action on those
whom our people have chosen TO represent them,
who are of the same political faith with the major
ity of our voters and who may fairly be supposed
TO know what they want. 1t may not be advisable
to charter new railroads even the report of the
City Delegation; but it is certainly unadyisable to
do anything without that Endorsement.
For this matter of City Railroads is the bugaboo
of the dirty little cabsl which has sold out the re-
mains of the American party to the Sham Democ-
raey, and is with reasoD) becoming nervous as to
its power to deliver Working in the interest, and
probably in the pay of the existing City Railroads,
which are making their ten to twenty per cent per
pnnum, and can steadily increase it if they can
only prevent the construction of rival roads 1t cries
No Monopoly Of the Streets for purposes of phi
{" yate gain aud thereby uphOlds and strengthens
the monopoly which already exists. Then there
are various other private interests certain to be
alarmed and disturbed, very possibly to be injured,
BY the creation Of more Railroads in our City. We
a. then, most emphaiically to the members of our
rev Legislature, Hands of Put upon the Demo
cratic City delegation the responsibility OF deciding
that more City Railroads stal shall not be char
tered and, if any shall be, prescribing the eondi-
tons 1t was the cry Of " Republican plumber,
and sus slang that kept thousands from US at the
late Election who should have been with US; lei us
LOW silence that cry turn it against its authors.
Let the City Delegation uphold the existing mo-
nopoly if it viii, and deny to our laborers the en-
ployment which constructing new railroads would
give them, or let that Delegation devise the ways
and means of building new railroads so that the
outlay and risk shall all be borne by individuals,
while the profit shall all go into the City's Golfers.
Let il give charters, if it will, to those who have
been desperately fighting against having any more
Railroads, and let these thereupon show our adj
mirirg citizens How Not to Do it. At ali events,
we protest against having any Railroad Issue
Railroad cry raised against the Republicans Of our
City. They have quite enough odds against them
already.
THp pgnpUE,a CoEEEGE.