The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-02-07

~ ID ueceeonTy tnat We should estaDnSn, De-
yond reasonable doubt the fact that such q
road as it is practicable to build in the city
would prove remunerative to its owners-that
is to say, that the amount of business it must
necessarily command would pay the running
expenses and repairs and leave fair interest
equipment. No sane man would risk his
money in hopelessly improbable enterprise,
and no responsible citizen would desire to
see such an enterprise undertaken as public
work. We are just now undergoing SEEM
ing revival in the matter of rapid transit.
The Mayor, the Common Council the State
Legislature, the Chamber Of Commerce. the
engineers of the city and the citizens at large
are evincing . laudable anxiety to aid for
ward the needed improvement. We publish
to-day, as we have publish for several weeks
past, communications which tend to prove
that the subject has taken q firm hold Of
the public mind. Plans are proposed
more or less worthy of consideration, and
one experienced engineer, who writes under
standingly, makes the sensible suggestion that
an important step toward definite result
would be to grant some one the right of way,
so that there may be a foundation upon which
to invite capital toward the enterprise. The
proceedings Of the joint meeting of the As
sembly Committee and Aldermen yesterday
are important, and the letter of Mr.. Evans
embodies practical ideas which are the fruit
of long study of the subject But, with
all this activity and reawakened interest,
we appear to be as far from the coveted OBJ
ject as ever, because the men who possess
large wealth, who can control credit of mill
ions and whose names would command the
confidence of financial circles, stand aloof and
refuse or neglect to identify themselves with
the undertaking. We can attribute this
apathy on the part of those whose assistance
would be really effective only to their doubts
as to the success of rapid transit as an invest
ment for it is the business of capital to
search after remunerative enterprises The
interests adverse to q steam railroad through
the city have diligently striven to spread
abroad the impression that such road coald
not pay that it is too early by ten years to
contemplate its construction that its cost
would be enormous and it's business insult
6cient to meet the working expenses. The
most efficient aid that can be afforded to rapid
transit is to disprove these statements and to
show, by established facts, that the road would
be as remunerative pecuniarily to its owners
as it would be beneficial to the city.
favorite argument with the opponents of
rapid transit is that the Metropolitan Under
ground Railway of London is not q paying
investment, or has never yielded more than
three per cent on its capital in any year. As
London, they say, which has so much the
larger population, does not support railway
running through the city, it is not likely that
New York could find business enough for such
road. The circumstances in the two cases
are altogether different The conformation
| of New York makes q railroad from the Bat
terry to the Harlem River available to the
great bulk of the population, while in Lon
don, spread out, as the city is, over large
space of ground, the Metropolitan Railway
there are fast and cheap omnibus lines rum
ming over good roads in every direction,
penny steamboats, along the line of the river
and cabs that carry passengers at trifing
rates of fare as rapidly as most people require
to travel, besides railroads, other than
the Metropolitan, to compete for the
traffic In New York, except the abominable
street cars, we are destitute of public convey
ances within the reach of the masses, and q
rapid transit road would virtually enjoy q
monopoly of the greater part of the travel.
Hence, no fair argument against rapid transit
! in New York as an investment can be based
! upon the pecuniary condition of the London
| Underground Railway. In calculating the
probable profits of the enterprise we must
rely on the facts within our knowledge as
they exist here !; for, as we have said, there
IRE peculiarities in New York, such as con-
! formation, the progress Of population in one
direction up town, while business remains
down town, the promises of rapid growth,
| the lack of other means of conveyance, which
are not to be found in other and older cities.
Although there are some who advocate an
underground road, and some who favor a
plan partly underground, partly elevated and
partly surface, the general conviction is that
an elevated rOau, on soue practlcai plan, ID
the most feasible for New York. and holds out
the best prospect of success. We find re-
markable concurrence among those who have
estimated the cost of such q work and
who are competent to form an intelligent
Judgment on the subject. The expense
of construction has been set down at one
million dollars mile. Adding to this q
quarter of O million dollars for underestimate
and equipment, and we have total cost for a
ten mile road of twelve and half million
dollars. There seems to be very little doubt
among practical men that substantial elevated
road could be built at that price. The Green
wich street Elevated Railroad put down the
estimated cost of construction and equipment
If four miles of road, in 1873, at one million