Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-01-04
NEW YORK LETTER.
A Cable Road for BrOadway-HOspital
Saturday and Sunday.
NEW YORK, Dec. 30. lSSn

Saturday and Sunday.
NEW YORK, Dec. 80. 1889.
AT last we have a plan for an ele.
waited railroad on Broadway. This
time ii is to be cable road, and to
be operated more rapidly than the
present elevated roads, or for that
matter, faster than any other cable
road in use. The Rapid Transit
Cable Co. is the name of the concern
which proposes to do the business
for us, and its promoters have their
plans almost perfected. They are
to Introduce some entirely new fea-
lures in the cable principle, and also
some Improvements on the elevated
road system. Among others are the
doing away with ties, thus allowing
the light TO shine through, self
switching motors, a new kind OF
grip, and more real rapid transit.
sufficient power to work the brakes
will be stored in each car. There
will be duplicate cables SO that, in
case of accident, transfer can be
made from one to the other in .ss
than five minutes. The expense ot
operating the proposed plan is CLAIM .
ed to be much less than that o!
present methods. 1t took twenty
years of persistence to get an ordin-
ary horse-car road on Broadway
and there will no doubt be vigorous
opposition to the present scheme,
but l suppose that, in the nature o:
things, it will come to it some day
anyway.
HELP FOR THE HOSPITALS.
Saturday and Sunday, just past,
were what is called Hospital Satur-
day and Sunday" They are des-
lgnated as the days on which the
annual collection for the benefit of
The hospitals is taken up. There
are twenty.seven hospitals now be-
longing to the Saturday and Sun
day association, covering every
branch of medical and surgical
work. During the year now closing
these twenty seven hospitals cared
for 1880 bed patieuts. of whom
10000 were free. They also gave
medical aid to 128, 700 free dispensary
patients. The expenses of caring
for all those have been more than
100000, of which about one-four-
teenth, or $4,000, is raised by the
saturday and Sunday collections.
The remainder is made up by In
come on invested funds, paying pa
tents, and the city. The collec-
lions are taken up in churches,
,ynagogues, trades and professions.
rhe collection boxes are also placed
on the elevated railroad stations aud
other PLACES for several days.
NO STREET SIGNS.
This city is suffering lamentably
from lack of street signs, and not
only strangers but old residents,
merchandise and Others are complain
ing bitterly on account of the in-
convenience caused thereby. There
are 50 many streets in this great city
that it would take an experienced
one indeed to know them all. This,
Of course, practical impossibility,
and hence all the streets are sup
posed to be labelled properly. Be-
fore the advent of the electric light,
this was admirably accomplished
uy painting the names on the sides
Of the street lamps, so that they
could be read as easily at night as in
daylight. The electric light lamps
make vey poor substitute in this
matter, ami therefore travel at night
IN some districts is extremely incon-
venient. Worse than this, in some
localities 10 names are to be seen /
whatever. The same nature of COM
plants is applicable in the greater
degree t. the numbering of
houses. Tiis is done so poorly that |
one often Valks for nearly block
without beng able TO discover the
number oflny house. The citizens
are protesting against these neglects
and they lave good cause. There
seems to btno well defined system,
and it is high time there was.
EDWARD ARLINGTON.