The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-09-04
Rapid Transit Ian New York.


and futile chimera To-day ther,
are two elevated railroads. Whel
the irst iron pillars were raised slon,
\ Greenwich Street and up the NiHtl
Avenue, it was declared that il ws
an intoleFable nuisance and dis6g
urement of the street. To-day mali
streets are occupied with the trestle
work of the railway, and the seria
traveller shoots by steam through tb,
thoroughfares from Central Park I,
the Battery and from the Battery Il
Harlem. No spot in the world
withia the same time, can show 9
more miraculous change than that oI
the New Amsterdam OF Governor
Stuyvesant to the New York Of May
or Ely; and as the passenger whirll
across the island in the time that old
Governor Peter used to stump from
end to end of the Battery, be may
curiously wonder what municipal
marvels the next two centuries will
produce
Should this printed leaf autter
down to the reader of that day, he
viii be glad to know something OF
the beginning of elevated street
railways. If he viii imagine, then.
going down q little street by the
south side of Trinity Chureh-yard,
wnich now surrounds Trinity Church,
be will fnd in the next street parallel
with Broadway q structure which
covers il like massive long bridge
He looks up the long perspective Of
rafters underneath, and that is all be
sees Of the street. Ascending G
wooden staircase 10 the top of the
bridge, be fnds al Office, where be
pays tea cents for o ticket, and pass
es Immediately into car remarkable
for its light elegance The form Of
the seats and the woodwork is grace
ful the seats-for It is summer
are of cane, and there ia a general
freshness and coolaess Of aspect
which is very agreeable. In a mo-
ment the train is moving with a Gu
rious solidity Of action, the wheels
running in grooves that would make
the mishap most to be feared-thst
Of leaving the trsck-quite impossi-
BILE There are a dozen passe gers
in the ear, and as macy more in
each OF the three cars Of the train,
and there is a train from she station
we have just LEFT every three min
utes.
We roll along at the J.. sl Of the
second-story windows o. he larger
houses, stopping at frequent stations,
which are gay and pretty We den
buildings, with gates and warnings
to prevent needless steppiD. il 'front.'
of the constant trains Suddenly
our speed is slsekened almost to stop
ping, and we turn at right angles
down a street, aud presently, At ibe
same angle, resume cur northerly
course. This involves great loss Of
Roadway, and consequently Of speed
which will be remedied some day
As we roll on, cur view is confined
to the faces Of the houses and the
glimpses and yistas Of the crOss
streets. Bot as we reach the broad
Sixth Avenue we see more Of the
life Of the shops and sidewalks; we
are opening out into the broader
parts of the city; there are stately
churches and lofty houses; and sud
denly there is the green country be-
fore us-ve are at Central Park, and
it is twenty or twenty-five minutes
since we left Trinity Church
To the passenger there has been
but one discomfort-the smoke and
fne dust from the locomotive. II
has been a surprisingly delightful
journey. Omnibuses and street cars
are the monsters Of distempered
fancy Going down town or gong
home is a charming excursion. But
while this is his own personal expert
ence, the passenger, as be has caught
sight in his flight of a chamber 10
an upper story, with the bed toward
the window, the bureau, the table
and the cbair-a seelusion invaded
every moment by hundreds Of care
less eyes, by q continuous roar, and
a puff Of dust and smoke-has won
dered what the lodger may think Of
il all, and what the lodger, with ru-
ined privacy and murdered sleep,
may have to say to the landlord, hot
and profaae from the mere apprehen-
sion Of complaint and warning.
These rooms are darkened some
times there are sickness, suffering,
death in them bat the rattle and the
jar and smoke and dust 90 storming
by necessarily. The passenger sees
also the shops below, and his imsgi-
ua:ion goes into them, accompanying
the shopper, wipiog dust from her
sacque and cinders from her eyes,
and "cheapening the goods" amid
the rumble of the train, and be won
ders If the noise and the smoke aod
the dust promote the prosperity of
the shops. The carriage horses pass
ing under the frame work of the rail-
way do not seem TO be frightened.
They lift their heads, perhaps, as the
train comes laundering over, bat that
is all Indeed, every body is COIN
PEELED to observe that here is new
thing, another step forward, another
Of the nineteenth eeniu
~ which has come, and, despite
chambers and dodgers and landlords
and shop-keepers. has "come 10
stay"
There have been protests Of prop
erty-holders and physicians, and suits
have been brought and meetings
held The railway has been de-
as the resul. Of monstrous !
1surpation Of public force over pri- |
vaie right, foreeasting the Commune
itself But the conviction Of public
will probably prevail
over all, and the problem Of rapid 1
transit viii have been solved by the
aerial method Il must produce
great changes Of value Streets
through which such railroads run
will cease TO be streets Of dwelling
houses or Of small shops. These
will withdraw into the neighborhood /
adjacent, near enough for the use
and out Of the reach Of the noise
The current of increasing population
will be turned from New Jersey and
Long Island to the region between
The North River and the Sound,