New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-03-10
CITY RAILROADS.

i The following petition is in circulation to b'
presented to the Legislature Of this State:
The undersigned citizens and property owreI Of the State
nflJs-- y.-A,
respectfully request tina. the Legislature vii at is present
session enact law declaring tie, proprietor conductor
driver person in charge Of any passenger ias. Oubr'
or other public vehicle tie City Of York for the
poraon Of passengers therein sha ask demand any
reward fare Of any description for carrying spa.engcr
unos sueh passenger shall be provided with good sad s
Client seat In said vehicle.
Your petitioners represent ts the evils Of this present sy
tenn Of packing nail and omnbues o. YEscc,d by all the
different lines in the city, without exception have become
ondurble and they requos, that further An,s Of raosd
franchises be made any legislation ia favor Of the roads
in use be considered, without attaching thereto pro
vision OF the character above stated.
For the Over-crowding of cars and omnibuses,
q nuisance that cries loudly for abatement, two
parties aro rosponsible-the directors Of the
companies owning those vehicles and the public.
The directors insist upon admitting, especially
into the cars, as many passengers as can pos
Sibly be crowded into them, and tho public
insist upon erowding in so long as there is room
for another passenger either inside or out. For
this evil there are two remedies-moro cars o.
fewer people. The people will not consent to
be abated; the companies will not provide more
cars SO long as the people will insist upon crowd
ing those the companies have already provided
1t is cheaper to run fifty cars with forty passen-
gers each, than hundred cars with twenty
passengers each. Where, then, is the remedy
To forbid by law the demand of passage-money
on any car taking more than stated number Of
passengers. OF course this will, of first, give
rise to some grumbling when the conductor,
his car being full, puts up chain, as he
certainly will, by order, against all
who propose to ride for nothing. But demand
creates supply. The company, finding their
present equipage insufficient for the public &C.
commodation, will add as many cars as ore
wanted, for if the road pays with certain num-
Der Of cara, the profit will be increased with
twice that number. If experience shall prove
that the present roads, with all the cars that
can be put upon them, are not enough, then
new roads will be built. The final, and speedy,
result must be that the public will ride to their
homes with comfort, and not as now, with the at
most discomfort from exposure and crowdng on
the platform, Or hanging up by strap in the
inside, in an atmosphere as poisonous as it is
sickening. OF course this would decrease the
Company's dividends, but public aocommoda-
ton and not dividends is, or ought to be, the
first object of these city railroads.
Let the railroad companies then be prohibited
by law from demanding pay from anybody
whom they do not provide with q seat. The
good public, not finding seats, will decline pay.
Ing anything. The companies may DO safely
trusted not to carry the good public for nothing,
and the notice will enforce their right to OK.