Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-06-21
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.
Doubts of the PracticabiIity of tn,
StrucfnrR.


Structure.
Ne'o York Special PAi1adelpAfa Press. 1sth
Now that the fire works have all
gone off, the fizz speeches made
and New York is business end
up again, the utility of the $4,000. .OOC
brooklyn bridge becomes a subject which
may be thought of. There is a great non.
ulation in Brooklyn which, doing bust.
ness IN New York, is compelled to cross
the East river at least twice day. ANY
means which will make the trip more con.
venient to this crowd of workers would
be blessing even at fifteen millions OF
dollars. Whether the bridge will do this
is conjectunal.
The bridge is not success vet. In
mining parlance it is only fair pros
pect." Already it has proved TO be too
hot i'll summer, and there is no doubt
whatever but that it will be too cold i'm
winter for pedestrians. Ordinarily a
bridge is the most cOnve lent means of
crossing water, but this is not an or.
binary case, To prevent interfering with
navigation, it is necessary to place the
structure high in the air and make it a
mile and quarter long
The persons who are expected TO be the
patrons of the bridge have been in the
habit OF using ferry boats, which run from
central points in New York to streets
all along the water front from Hamilton
avenue to the northern limits of BROOKLYN
on one side and New York on the other.
The rates are low, the highest being three
cents, and passengers generally have a
comfortable seat. On the Fulton ferry,
winch is probably most used, seventeen
tickets are sold for TWENTY-FIVE cents. If
these people desert the ferry boats tbev
will have to walk to the end of the bridge
III either city, which may be presumed to
be as far from their places of business as
the ferry slips, and pay one cent to walk
the mile and quarter over the bridge. or
when the cars get to running five cents to
ride.
Most OF the people are poor, to whom
the money 1t costs to get to and from home
every day is a considerable object, Is If
likely they will as rule pay as much to
walk over the bridge as to ride in Il ferry
poaty Ii they do this, the bridge will be a
success, When some system of car traffic
is arranged by which people can be car
rled over the bridge and to different points
In Brooklyn for street car fare. the struc-
ture may be more universally used, but it
is almost sure proposition that it will
never pay interest on the cost if there is
no improvement on the present arrange
ments. In New York what does not pay
is not success. 1t is certain that a great
revenue will be derived from wagons
Generally it will be more convenient to
take teams across the bridge than over
the ferries, and this traffic is so enormous
that the tolls will be heavy.
There is another matter in which the
Brooklyn bridge is singular. Its running
expenses will be heavy Ordinarily when
a bridge Is built the only cost is for re-
pairs, but in the case of the great Brook
lyn span there is large corps of police
men to support. Their services have been
proven to be necessary on most disastrous
occasions. Probably by giving greater
accommodations to foot passengers, who
will always be likely to crowd the bridge
on holidays and other special occasions.
this expense can in part be done away
with.
The receipts from tolls show a steady
falling off during the last two weeks, and
travel has now fallen to its legitimate fig
ures.
There is one thing to be said. The
bridge itselfis one of the most magnificent.
beautiful and graceful structures in the
world. The great amount of money which
1t cost seems to have been spent with
great judgment and taste, and its engin-
GERS and builders are entitled to that
credit which the creation of a thing of
beauty should always bring