The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-22

The Necessity OF viaduct Railways for
New York, and tho Policy Of Their
| Construction BY tho City an Public
| Works.
| The experience of the present legislative
session-without going back to the lobby oper-
atoms of former years-should be sufficient
to convince our representatives at Albany Of
the impracticability of securing rapid transit
for the city of New York through the instru-
mentality Of private corporation. Every
scheme that is pressed at the State capital has
for its object the enrichment of its projectors,
able franchise Is asked at the hands of the
Legislature only for the purpose of making
money out Of it for q ring of spectators and
lobbyists. No regard is bad to the feasibility
OF the proposed work. 1t may be q one
legged wheelbarrow concern, like the Green
witch street humbug, or an impossible tunnel
under Broadway that would upheave the city
for ten or twelve years, destroy its business,
tumble down half the buildings on the street,
and end in failure at last, or a three-tier
underground, surface and upper story pro-
ject, abou. as practicable as a railroad
to the moon. Such trihing considera-
tions as engineering difficulties and
hundred or two millions of cost are
cavalierly set aside; the plan amounts to
nothing what Is needed is the franchise and
the money that is in it, either through the sale
of shares to confiding simpletons or the black
mailing Of the property owners. The stock,
or the main portion of it, is divided up among
the ring and the Legislators, lobbyists and b.
hemians who support the job, as in the case of
the Pneumatic concern, and thus if the scheme
were really practicable it would start with an
amount of encumbrance that would render the
construction Of the road from its illegitimate
cost, Of no value to the masses of the people.
To-day the rival underground jobbers have
managed to divide the Senate and Assembly
between them-the one having "fxed" the
Senators and the other the Assembymen-
and there Is to be an attempt at compromise
between them. That is to say, an effort is to
be made to take the lobby, the legislators and
the projectors all into one concern and make
1t big enough to give them all share in the
really pass, uniting the corporators in one
franchise, the scheme would start in life
hampered with burden heavy enough to
build practicable railroad half the distance
between the Battery and Spuyten Duyvil
Creek.
Legislature should look upon this subject in
its true light and should set seriously to work
to secure for the m etropolis the much needed
rapid transit through the fundamentally of
the city government. 1t is notorious that
viaduct railway is the only feasible plan yet
travel through the whole length Of the island,
and it Is certain that in the best interests of
the people it ought to be built by the city as
public work. BY this policy, under an hon.
est government such as we now have and can
retain II we will, the road would be con-
structed at Its minimum cost and run at its
minimum expense, so that the laboring classes
and citizens Of moderate incomes would enjoy
the benefit of the lowest possible rates
of fare. In the hands of any private
corporation the work would be loaded
down with just such jobs as we now see
developed in the Albany lobby, and the fares
would be raised to the highest point in order
to squeeze high dividends for the stockholders
out Of the travelling public. Besides, if the
franchise be really valuable one, there is no
reason why tn e people Of the city to whom 1t
belongs should not enjoy the profit 1t would
yield, instead of bestowing it upon set of un-
known lobbyists and spectators. 1t will be
said that no public work can be honestly
prosecuted and that the viaduct road or roads,
if built by the city, will be made huge NUM-
cipal job. But the experience Of our splendid
Central Park disproves this theory, and we
can point to that work to-day as having been
always honestly and efficiently prosecuted
under all rhymes, even when corruption
reigned rampant in the city government.
Let us have honest men in charge of the
building Of two viaduct railways as city
commission of railroads-men of wealth
and character, such as are now in
the Department of Docks-and the work
will be faithfully and economically done,
the roads will be speedily completed, the
whole real estate of the island will be en-
HANGED in value, and the people will derive
the solid benefits to which they are entitled
from the roads, as they are now enjoying the
advantages of the Central Park.
Two viaduct roads arc demanded for the ac-
commodation of the population Of New York
one to run on the west side of the city, from
the Battery to Spuyten Duyvil Creek, aud the
other on the east side, from the Battery to
Harlem bridge These roads should be built
along the line of the rivers, either between the
blocks nearest to the rivers or along the new
streets contemplated in the comprehensive
and admirable plan Of the Dock Commission