The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-03-15
SLOW TRANSIT.

THE TERRoRs OF WINTER FOR RESIDENTS OF
THE WEST sIDE-THE MISERY OF TRAVEL Up
AND DOWN TOWN.
OF all the people in New York compelled to use
the street cars those on the west side must b
considered the most docIe and long suffering.
During the past three months their daily con.
nnement OF an hour and half or two hours
has been attended with untold horrors aud
on investigation 1t could doubtless be proved
TO be more hurtIul TO the system than
eight hours OF ordinary labor Take, for in.
stance. the Eighth avenue road. The cars leav
ing the depot between the hours OF eight and
ten In the morning are generally filed at the
moment OF starting, so TAR as the sitting accom-,
mediation is concerned, and in any other country
except our own the passengers themselves would
see 20 II that no further addition should be made
to the company. BY dlnt or welLtimed dawdling the
conductors generally manage to treble the legal
carrying capacity or their cars by the ttmo
Thr:y-iourth street Is reached. No mat.
ter II there seventy-fve persons already
en- car and that men and women are
promscuously huddled together in q state OF
Standardization, all passengers halling must be
taken on. Thus crowded to three times lis proper
capacity the car proceeds down town. Most Of
those on the car desire to reach their places of
business at certain hour, the allowance Of time
to Vesey street being lorty-dve minutes
longer time than 1t takes to reach Newark. Apart
from the inconvenience OF standing and jostling
OF vile TOBACCO tunes and corrupted breath,
which thirEy-fve or forty passengers usually ex.
perlenced on each trip during the recent bad
weather. the atmosphere in these cars has been
disgusting partly arising from the melted suoW
carried on TO the damp straw in the vehicle.
partly IRON the deficient ventilation and partly
ana especially rom the abomlmabe system Of
Gro "dlng If Jm fifty 30 sixty persons into space
thar should contain no more than twenty live at
81 NO
at four O'Clock 10 the afternoon and continu.
ing to hali-past SIX, are conducted with the same
disregard Of the puolc convenience, 1t being an
understood practice that each conductor snail
have his 'fair snow by his follower" hanging
back Oy all kinds o. tactics until ''Dig load" u
obtained. Whether this is to the advantage OF the
company time alone wli prove; certain 1t IS that
that any system OF rapid transit VIII welcomed
most heartily as release from this most audae
one morning last week cars leaving the depot q
about naltpast eight did not reacn Vesey street
to RSas 1 ns sspaa IN
street, blocks Canal street from South Flftn ave.
nue., literally, TO the river, every morning. stop.
thus shutting the passengers by the Broauw way,
sixth, seventh and Eighth avenues IN their close
quarters, In some Instances from thirty to
lorty minutes. The young and active can
leave the cars and plunge into the slusn
persons advanced In life were compelled to walt
until the road is opeoed. At the smallest esti.
mate 1900 persons In business are thus detained
Tor thirty minutes and how many disa ppolut
ments and losses result from The delay may
perhaps. be more readily imagined than 0num Or.
ated. Indeed, during tltS winter II has been i'm.
possible TO travel on the west side with either
comfort or certainty, leaving OUT OF consideration
tile def :ient accommodation oil the Elevated road.
1t has been suggested that nalf dozen policemen
should be regularly employed TO keep open the
traffic OF Cana street, West Broadway and Church
street, placing them at the points where ''blocks"
most frequently occur, as Is done in London and
Paris aud sometimes In Broadway. These men
might ut least save people the discontinue Of
tedious delays. whicn. coupled with otner disad-
vautages, tend to render existence on the west
SHE simply tntOlerabe.