The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-05-24
Tho Prsliminaris. OF Rapid Transit.

two bills now in the Governors hands. He
will certainly sign the Hustled bill; not merely
because it has his individual preference, but
because it is the last and mature expression OF
the will OF the Legislature. The methods Of
starting rapid transit are quite different IN
the two bills. Under the Moore bill it would
be the duty Of the Mayor to select the COM
missioners at once and submit their names to
the Common Council for confirmationi but
under the Hustled bill, which is certain to be-
come law and extinguish the other, the
Mayor has no power Of initiation. He can
only act on petition Of citizens. The Ian
| guAge of the bill is, whenever it shall APP
pear by the application Of fifty reputable
householders and taxpayers, verified upon
oath before justice of the Supreme Court,
that there is need Of steam railway" &C.,
the Mayor shall, within thirty days, appoint
five commissioners. Notwithstanding the
necessity of waiting for such petition under
the new bill there is a better chance Of expe-
diting business under it than under the
Moore BILL since it will require less time
to get the requisite petition than would be
consumed in wrangle of the Common Council
over the confirmation of the commissioners.
Their free selection by the Mayor is more than
a compensation for whatever delay may have
attended the petition. With proper exertion
the petition may be prepared and signed
by "ffty reputable householders and tax
payers before the end Of the present
week, and while this work is going on
Mavor Wickham can look about him, take
advice and be ready to name the commits
sioners as soon as the petition is presented.
There may, perhaps, be some delay in get
ting fit men to serve as commissioners, since
the bill makes their compensation depend on
the success Of the undertaking. They are not
to be paid by the city, but by the company
which constructs the road This salutary
protection against sham movements may,
perhaps cause some delay; but it is better to
wait little for an organization that will
really build the road than to waste time in
going through empty forms Commits
sioners who must look for their pay to
the company which accepts the conditions
they prescribe will have a strong motive
for making the enterprise acceptable to CAPT
talsts, and, in the present posture Of affairs
rapid transit is simply question Of enlisting
the requisite capital Unless the commission
ers select route and adopt plan which
afford a reasonable guarantee Of remuneration
the scheme which they put on paper will amount
to nothing in practice. 1t is good feature
Of the law which makes their compensation
dependent on the adoption of plan which
will secure the confidence Of capitalists. A
rapid transit road cannot be built without o
large investment Of money in expectation Of
reasonable profit, and the pith Of the problem
consists in finding route and plan in which
money can be safely invested. Men who are
fit to be commissioners will not consent to
serve unless they see their way tolerably clear
to subscriptions 70 the stock Of the road which
they recommend
We shall, sooner or later have several
rapid transit roads under the new law; but,
for the present it is better to concentrate
efforts upon one. Until one road has been
constructed and found to pay dividends there
will be no encouragement to embark capital
in more. The commissioners to be appointed
by the Mayor must therefore bend all their
efforts to one profitable road. They must
select the one route on which rapid transit
road is certain to have the largest business,
and their plan Of construction must be
the cheapest which is consistent with
safety. These obvious rules require the
first road to be built on the east side Of the
city, for the reason that on the east side the
city Is continuously built oil the way from
the City Hall to Harlem, whereas on the west
side the greater part OF the lots are vacant
from Flfty-ninth street to Manhattanvllle.
There is another strong reason for beginning
on the east side. The Elevated Railroad on
Green wich street and Ninth avenue partially
supplies the wants Of the west side and would
diminish the profits Of a new road; but on
the east side there is no competition and
above Fifty-ninth street it has an
altogether larger population. AS the
great obstacle to be overcome is the hesita-
ton Of capitalists there ought not to be a
moments doubt as to the expediency Of begin
ming on the east side Of the city. The same
necessity Of attracting capital Is equally deci-
sive for preierring an elevated to an under
ground railroad. Quite as high rates Of fare
could be collected on one as on the other, but
the cost Of constructing an elevated road
would be bagatelle in comparison with the
cost Of one underground. Over these two
points there will be no excuse for
delay on the part Of tho commission
ers. The first road must be on the
east side, and it must be an elevated road, for
the obvious reasons that no road can be built
without capital and that capitalists invest
their money only in the expectation Of profit
An elevated road on Third avenue would yield
such dividends that before it had been three
years in operation there would be no difficulty
in securing capital for building other lines.
The first great step is the construction Of one
profitable road, ard Mayor Wickham's com