, 1884-09-05
STREET CARS ABROAD.
What an old Business Man Knows
About the Subject.
No Change In the American Car for
Forty H~ears-Street Railways
ia Germany, France
and England
tsl. Louis 0lobo-D Democrat

Isl. LOUIS Ol~oDe-DonlOcrhL
We Americans said an elderly gentleman,
well known IL st Louis commercial circles,
-wens die l Mt 10 SEQ tbs advantages Of the
.tr-st tran~Ay. but We arr tho last TO take
siynnta 70 Of tho improvements in street
cars which have been male all the world
over. Wa arr using the same style Of street
cars now that were placed upon the lrst lines
Operated in the United STATES. There may be
"A mora gorgeous display al coloTs on the exts
I!or and, perhaps. n few morn panel pictures
On the Interior. but ~ a matter OF fact the
>tge-t-rari Of today ar fli- anne as those /
rosie ia when | ms a very young man in
Boston. iorty years ago A. ! look around
me ] "a every dim -l-r changed-nothing
Il A. - lDed 10 lie ex, ePt tne street cars. The
railropd cosrhes have gone on improving
ssmblAnce between ihs elegantly upholstered
cars OF to-day. aud the plain. hAre, cheap-
looking vais II thirty years ago. The omni-
bus has improve very considerably, to. the
family ctiringe ha- kept pace with tho times,
hut The ,tr ei~car is the same.T
EUROPEAN STREE JAR
"You we're ,ayins that Improvement had
teen made In str q. ears
aye, aAi very decided ms. Ths hani-
sinie street car. I ever Jaw are Ia t-- ia
Dnisieu. Il Is really a pi-asuie ~ ride in
ono N ti.ni. The climate Of Dresden is very
much like that which We have have here on
an nv rage. although 1t never becomes so
warm here ~ IL does here. But the winters
srs 'iru. the same. Now, In Dresden the
q ol4.n street car are used except Ia rainy
or very sold weather. I may say TINT this
Is not the ease all through the continent.
Tiers Is no scn q In being boxed up in a
str,-,t car becaus, the weather happens 70 be
"A trite cold. We ride in midwintsr in an
open buggy 90 bnrOuche. and We rather like
the cold. lgIcing air. It does Us good. We
feel all ths better for a dash against the wind.
Then - no reason why The street cars should
he closei up As tight as n bank
vault Tho only opportunity n great
many OF Us nave to get n breath OF fresh air
Is whom We go down town IN the morning and
when We return ut night. We cook in a hot
store or bake In a hot office down town, and
II anybody happens 70 leave tho door ajar
coming In or going out il freezes our marrow.
How much better it would be IL VT rode in
open street cars In the winter as well as in
the summer. Comfortably sheltered, 1t
would not only be healthful, but enjoyable.
At any rate, the people living in large cities
abroad take this view OF 1t. The cars are very
long and wide. There Is no upholstering to
collert dust or dirt even in the closed cars,
all the seats being cane or rattan-bottomed.
and they face toward the horses. There Is
comfortable space Tor Ave persons on a sent,
with plenty Of leg and elbow room. A wind
In stairs runs from the back platform tn the
roof of tbs car, and as passengers, ladies and
gontlemen. pass up they pay their fares, 30
that the conductor doesn't nave 70 follow
them. The roof Is the favorite part OF the
car for tho young people OF both sexes, and it
Is u very interesting sight 70 500 tue crowded.
cars move up and down the streets In the
early morning or In the evening when the
people are going 10 an returning from their
~urk."
THE GERMAE srRKEr CARS.
ARE tho street cars well patronized
abroadf
why, bless you'll yes. More 20 than they
are here, / should say. In Germany the
strect-car fare Is 10 pfsnnigs, or ~ cents,
aud this fare will carry a man an immense
distance into the suburbs. The cars travel
fast. l never rode Oh Il dow street car in
Dresden, Berlin. Leipzic. Vienna, or any Of
the large cities of Germany. The horses
usually so at a gallop. No such Snail-lfke
motion as this we arc enjoying here would
DO tolerated. IL Is presumed abroad that
when "A passenger gets into a car he wants To
70 somewhere, and that he wants 10 roach
his destination as quick as he can. The COM
panies conduct their lines on this theory.
The tracks, too. are kept I'm excellent condi-
ton, and the cars move as smoothly as =
Pullman sleeper. The closed cars In winter
ano always well ventilated and kept scrupu-
lously clean. There is no bad odor such as
we are sometimes annoyed by on our cars
is smoking allowedf
There is one Of the advantages OF the open
cars. Passengers, OF course, are allowed to
smoke on the roof, or the upper deck, as It
IS called, US the three rear seats are reserved
for lovers of the weed. The Germans like to
smoke, and the companie3 very sensibly give
smokers all the comforts possible. Now, as
II Is with getting fresh air, there are thou
sands VI patrons OF our street car lines, who
have no other time to smoke than during the
morning and evening. They cannot smoke
At their work, and the hurried smoke taken at
noon is not enjoyed. But In order to smoke
In the morning or evening, they must walk
to and from their places OF business, for they
can not smoke on our street cars. 1 do not
smoke myself, but nevertheless / understand
fully and can appreciate the enjoyment
which Is denied tho lovers OF tobacco by our
system
II FRENCH SYSTEM.
You spoke particularly of Germany; how
is it In Francef'
The French system is similar TO the Ger
man. In Paris there are no street car lines
on the graf boulevArds or avenues. But
they have the most magnificent omnibus sys-
tenn in the world. The omnibuses are i'm
mense In size, and, for omnibuses, very com
Portable It is Il glorious sight to see one Of
these great vehicles, crowded inside and out
side, coming down the magnificent avenues,
drawn by four galloping, prancing horses
abreast, the driver guiding them with one
hand and cracking his long whip with the
other. l have stood almost entrGnced on the
stsp- Of the Madeleine, for an hour at a time,
and watched these omnihuses as they few by
on the Boulevard Malesherbes. They
seemed to he like tho Roman chariots
l had read OF when a boy, and
certainly there Is nothing in this
world that comes nearer to the picture one
sees in fancy OF the glory and splendor OF
ancient Rome than the Wow from the Made
leine in Paris Wherever street cars are
used in france they are large and comfort
able, and they travel fast Indeed, fast AS
we think we are in the United States. we can
not hold a candle Ia the Europeans Tho
'busses. cabs. carriages and common wagons
all drive through the crowded streets al a
break-neck pace, and woe be unto the man
who loitegs on the crossing, for the drivers
never slackon their speed nor turn out OF the
way. IL is worth a mans life 10 cross the
streets of Paris or London. never saw a
horse walk In the latter city, unless Il was on
the back streets. Even over Holbern via
duct, down C~heapside, and the narrow streets
around st Pauls. the cabs and other vehicles
actually fly. The London street cars are not
as comfortable as those on the continent, nor
AZ popular. The Metropolitan Underground
railway m~onopolibes n great part OF the city
traffic. and in the business center the Hanson
calls capture all the short distance paasen.
GER
swell, l must be getting on"