New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-01

eEIvED-ATTITUDE OF THE JERSEY CEN
TRAIL, THE ERIE AND THE DELAWARE,
LAoKAwANNA AND WESTERN.
A city with budget Of nearly 100000
and such an intolerable nuisance as West-stl ush
That's Ncw.York, the metropolis of the New Woria'
,h. financial, scientific, literary and arb capi'"i
u he Western Hemisphere. No wonder lineage
smiles when she looks at West-st, wltn lts Jan's
and filth. It's filth and Jams. II prooaoiy MAS
more of both than any other street In the UNIVERSE
In dry weather il is a Sahara OF dust Ia "eO
sea of slime Being low ana wfe'eneouy F"'eu
il catches the washings Of other streets "nu
innumerable wheels and hooks chufh 'he'h up oii.
tbev are disglstingly offensive 70 the senses OF
sieht. touch and smell.
Vol with all its flth West-st che pulse OIL
the commercial life of New>York. West-st' With
ont ts whirlpool rapids, its eddles us cstafaots
If trucks drays, vans, express wagons mai
carts. cabs and every variety and description OF
wheeled construction, means dull times in thu
wholesale trade of the island West-st
block means business and plenty of it.
And business must be pretty good just now, as the
lovely avenue seems chock-a-block all the time.
Policemen detailed for the purpose do the best
they can 10 keep the tide moving, but their best
Is Intellectual They need more help than clubs
and shields and uniforms can give. In the ggan-
nc ice Jams Of the St Lawrence and the colossal
log blockades of the Androscoggin dynamite is
literally used TO overcome the inertia, but dyna-
mite has never been tried the inertia OF
truck jam in West-st. Graham went through the
Whirlpool Rapids of Niagara In barrel, but he
3ares not face the whirlpool rapids of West-st
set the dangers of West-st. are braved daily by
thousands of timid men, women and children,
who carry home trophies of their valor muddy
shoes, muddy garments and sometimes muddy
faces Complaints are heard but they are only
individual mutterings. There is no general out
cry Moses was not as meek as public opinion in
New-York. Moses led tie hosts Of Israel safely
across the Rcd Sea wonder if he could lead the
hosts of New-lork safely across West-st. ?
The condition of this street is crying evil 1t
is frequently at the risk Of his life that man
attempts 10 cross over it, He is required TO zig
gag hitler and thither in search of an opening
between the vehicles sufficiently wide to squeeze
through He is obliged to take Lorses by their
brides and twist their heads aside, which usually
brings down maledictions from the Jehu above or
ae must stoop under them and be slobbered on.
He must climb over the front platform of one
gar and over the rear platform of another.
listening TO the tune of the conductor who sings
This car amt no theroughfare:" Somehow or
other he manages to get across with his life.
Women and children are afraid TO attempt this,
so they collect inc groups on the street corners,
waiting for the policeman 10 untangle the tangle
and open the passage. Jam sometimes lasts half
AN hour Probably il is caused by hucksters
cart ten blocks further up or down the street,
but 1t is jam all the same, no matter what
caused il; and business stands still while IT lasts
hundred thousand dollars worth of merchandise,
i'll. 81, Cfpao
III that cart is hauled out Of the way.
THE PENNsYLvANIA's OFFER.
For the convenience Of passengers crossing 10
IT'S crowded ferry. The Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany offered TO build foot-bridge over Westst
No more acceptable way OF overcoming the present
difficulties has been devised. yet Controller Myers
thinks so lightly of the convenience and safety
and public necessity of such bridge that he sug-
rests the Pennsylvania Company ought in some
wav 10 nay something to the city for the privilege
NJ buildnr it, il he insists this and is sus
tanned nv the Board of Aldermen, it Is not likely
that the bridge viii be built. It is hoped he will
not insist The offer Of the company ought 10 be
accepted immediately.
II is believed that the passenger traffic across
the Hudson is nearly, if not quite as great as
that across the East River At times it is almost
overwhelming, the ferrage facilities being I'M
equal 10 the task Of handling the vast multitudes
that come in ana go ont Of the city. During
tho Washington Centennial the PavOna ferries
alone carried over co. 900 persons across the river
daily. T. b. Thomas second president Of the
Eric road. gentleman thoroughly conversant with
The affairs Of his company, estimates that its av
srage daily ferry traffic the year round is $4,000
passengers About two.thirds OF these land at the
foot of Chambers ST.. the others at 1wenty-thrd-
St In the jersey City station OF the road over
26O trains arrive and depart every twenty-four
hours and most Of these are commuters trains.
Over tie Pennsylvania and Jersey Central ferries
IL, travel is still greater. and when together
with these all the other ferries taken into con-
s5eraton. the number Of persons crossing the
Hudson every day Is close to 10000. This en-
the army is obliged TO fight its way across the
Notifications of WeSt-st, and it is not the fault
OF the Notifications if the army is not totally
demolished, rank and file.
In Ncw-Yorlk time is money. What vast
amount of ile circulating medium is lost by the
delays in West-st.
WILL Mr. MYERS SEE FOR HIMSELF
Nr. Thomas says that the question of bridging
Wesi-st has never been officially considered by
the New-York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad
Company but he mas no doubt that his people Will
eadily join in any movement in that direction |
which may be taken by the Pennsylvania and
Jersey Central systems. He believes the idea an (
excellent one. and heartily approves it, but cons
aders the attitude of Controller Myers absurd |
md mis- position in the matter uusound.
IL said he, you could persuade the Con-
t0ller TO visit West-st between Chambers and |
Liberty during the busy part Of the afternoon
ard see for himself what the people have 10 CON
ieaa with, he would probably change his views
Why it would pay the city TO build those bridges
The salaries Of the policemen whose duty it is to
pilot pedestrians across the street and keep them
from being tramped 70 death by horses or cut
down by wheels amount to more than per cent |