The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-10-14
TIL T. NEU YORK ~ US.

Ats DaSs Oh broadway numbered "A Ven
cradle Nuisance "I, its Last Logo Giving
Place to Street E.,ilroads.
correspondence OF the New York Timcs.l
1t would hardly be supposed by the
stranger ut Il distance that with all the
recent march of Improvement in mu-
nicipal locomotion the streets of tho
metropolis should still be cpcumbcred
by such clumsy vehicles as the old =.
fashioned omnibus. TO our great un-
noyancc aud disgust, it is so, and the
contrast between The rdttlcsumc lIirgs
and the elevated railroad t.ains is both
striking and ridiculous. New York
always ]ovcl its omnibus system, and
refused TO throw it overheard when
the street ears were introduced, some
twenty-five years ago. The strong
hold which the omnibuscs had on the
affections OF The city had its origin
principally in the opposition which
IVES felt TO Il railroad in Broadway.
Many hundreds OF thousands ofdolI;;rs
have been spent in fighting this Broad
way question. The propcrty-holdcrs
and the omnibus men iorycars opposed
the laying of the rails on the street.
Now the propcrty-loldcrs are con-
WINGED That they made q mistake. The
retail trade has nearly left that part Of
the magnificent avenue which has no
rails on il, and has gone above -Four
tCcnth street, where the horse ears
travel freely, although The street is
narrower than below Fourteenth.
The omnibus men arc no longer DOW
criul to oppose the lay ling Of ;hc iujt:.
Their DAYS arc numbered and their
doom is sealed. The twenty or thirty
lines Of omnihuscs, which used to rat
lie thcir noisy way through the city
streets, nave dwintllcd to three. When
the rails arc laid on Broadway, as they
soon will be, these three lines will be
among the things Of the past, and few
people will lament them. When the
old uings shall have gone VIC will
wonder that we ever permitted such
rumblous and inconvcmicmt vehicles TO
crowd our streets.
TIE OMNIBUS ITSELF.
No material Improvement has been
made in tho omnibus for Il quarter of /
Il century. 1t is the same clumsy
thing that it always was. 1t is too
high from the pavement, and is diff
cult TO climb into and out OF. lis roof
is too low, and knocks over their eyes
the hats Of nearly all the men who get
in. lis receptacle for fare money is
not easy OF approach, and the driver
cannot conveniently make change from
his box on high, willie he is racing
with some other driver. The wear
and tear ON The wheels is so Great { hat
they have 10 be very heavy, and fright
Iul is the noise they make as they roll
furiously through the streets. The
ol,l-timc onMihuscs were in many in
stances painted in gorgeous colors and
with elaborate artistic devices. Mod
crm omnibus owners found that the
people would pay as much for ride in
Il plain white coach us for riding in
one whose decorations cost Il great
deal ofmoney. So two Of the three
lines which still exist are modcstly
white, while the ihirt, which runs to
Fulton ferry, is Il bright blue.
None but Il Skili'ul driver dare un-
dcrtalIc to navigate an omnibus
through the sea- Of carriages, wagons,
trucks and express carts which rush
through broadway. a man who mas
had fair experience in driving almost
anywhere else would, if at once put OH
the top of Il broadway bus, soon find
himself the centre Of an cntan9lcu
mass Of vehicles and horses, and the
object of much unpleasant profanity.
10 a great extent profanity is rccog-
niZcd as motive power in unloosing
Il tnnGlc OH Broadway. If hub hits
hub drivers Immediately begin 10 exc
crate each other i'll their most polysyi-
liable cpithcts. When several carts
and wagons and omnibuscs arc locked,
the scene is as lively as anything
which could have occurred at the
Tower Of Babel. With the aid of a
few i.npcrious policemen and their
clubs, tho tanglc is soon unloosed, and
the c0untrvmm stranger who stands
on the sidewalk, expecting to sec
nothing less than battle and bloody
murder, is astonishcd to find that it
was all roc etprctcrcU nihi2.
When the Broadway races take
place they arc spirited. Nothing &C.
lights two drivers more than an unill-
tcrrupted trial of speed. But no rae
ing is liable to interruption. A pas
scngcr from within pulls the strap, or
an applicant for q ride bcckons from
curb. Then the raccmus suddenly
stop, to The great disgust Of the chari-
otccrs. Ifthc omnibus is going at full
speed, the passenger who wants 10
get out has 10 pull tho strap with all
his might and main. Tho driver takes
10 notice of the first few pulls. Then
the passenger, if he is little man,
begins to storm and scold. Ii Il
big man lie pulls moro violently and
tugs at the strap as if he would pull
The driver, like an elongated sausage,
through the round hole in the top win
dow. The driver stops all Of o sud-
den, kno cks tho angry man down by
the concussion, throws him into tho
laps Of The other passengers and mash
cs his hat. The man then leaves the
omnibus, stroking his hat, shaking his
fist ana vowing against the driver d
vengeance which he never executes.
Thc driver whips up his stccds to over
take the opposition omnibus, into
whose rear door-pancl hc delights to
thrust his polo.