New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-15

problems of ventilating and lighting any under
ground road will always be vexatious.
Are there any other engineering problems
which would prove insurmountable to engineering
skill in the road projected for the West Side ?"
/ asked.
II think not"
Are not the engineering difficulties Of such
character largely to increase the cost Of over
coming many Of them?"
81 think it must inevitably prove So"
"And the expense of overcoming these and tne
long time required TO build the road before any
return could be looked for would naturally
make the cost of an underground road IN 'ne
interest, etc., very heavy"
Undoubtedly; but aside from any Cost NEW
York needs, and must have in the near iuVuie' "u
ditonsl facilities for rapid transit Inc eieN"'ou
railway directors are perfectly willing 10 see .lie
underground and the viaduct systems compie'eo-
in fact, any system which WILL attract oapitai
ought to be encouraged and constructed we
should be glad to see built any sor' VI iinoS
which capital will touch"
"Do YOU think that there is anything In the
underground scheme which would prove attractive
to American capital?"
at don't know II would not appear gracious
In me to say anything on that subject"
.Would foreign investors be likely to be at
tracted by il?
81 can't saw" was the cautious reply. Capt.
tai is just now going to Europe not coming 10
America But there ought to be no difficulty In
raising the capital here for these enterprises
Why. l understand" said Mr.. Gould, that there
are several newspapers here which woulo unoer-
write the underground scheme.
Underwriting" means, in its purely commercial
sense. undertaking to pay for all the stock in
new enterprise not subscribed for by the public.
"If all that the papers say of the enormous
profits of the elevated railways is true, would they
not, by being able further to reduce fares. be
standing menace deter capitalists from investing
in the underground schemeP"
Your question involves two prevalent mistakes
about the elevated roads. In the first place, the
new scheme is not regarded by us as in any sense
antagonistio. Our best advantages come from the
great development of the city. We have had to do
this work of development heretofore for our
selves and at our loss before we could derive any
benefit from the increase of population along our
lines The new road, and all additional roads, too,
would aid us in doing this work, and we should
gain more from this development Of the whole
city than we should lose by any possible compe-
tition of any new roads. Past experience salts
fes me of this Why, at one time-in 1850, after
the Sixth-ave line had been running for three years
we seriously contemplated disseminating trains
above Fifty ninthst. There were long stretches
of uninhabited blocks between that point and Har-
lem, and Harlemitself over about Elghth-ave.,was
only q few scattered houses, and we operated that
part of the line at that time and for several
years at a great loss. Now, there is great,
compactly built city at the point have named,
and palaces have been built all over the West
Side in the places of the squatters' novels which
stood on the rocks away above the street levels,
and were occupied by the unfortunates who could
nav neither rents taxes fares over any road.
1t would have been great mistake to dis
continue the trains above Fifty-nlnth-st. The
CITY away up on the West Side has been almost
wholly developed by roads. The benefit was
primarily that of the city in increased assessments
and that of the property-owners in vastly In
creased values and revenues ours was secondary
or resulting benefit, coming long after and yet
due as 1 claim, almost entirely to our efforts.
Another error you make is that we could further
reduce the fare. You cannot run through train
from the Battery to Harlem for cents fare
without loss on each trip. 1t is an impossibility
The trains must be repeatedly emptied and filled
again before through trip at cents can be
made profitable to the company. 1t is the way
travel the short trip which pays; and 1T would
be the height of absurdity to attempt to run a
through train at express speed the whole length
of our line without several stoppages."
lis there really any demand for rapid through
transit except for two or three hours OF the
dayP"
Little or none, except on special occasions
The heavy and through traffic is confined to Two
haurs in the morning and two hours in the AFTER
NOON"
Here Mr. Gould referred to a report giving the
number of passengers each of the four elevated
roads at each hour Of the twenty-four hours OF
the day-an elaborate table which is furnished
him each day, showing comparison between the
previous days traffic and that of the same day
of the previous year. In every instance the busy
hours were from to z and TO a. NJ, ana
to and TO p. m. Except on rainy days, ="
Mr.. Gould went on to explain, when our receipts
fall off $4,000 a day We estimate eacn family
at twelve fares a day, but on rainy days the
children do not 60 to school, the NSves do not go
shopping, and the servants do marketing, 80
we get only two fares from the head of the house.
The figures .Hfe," resumed Mr.. Gould, as he
called attention 10 those on the tabular state
ment which represented the heaviest travel OF
the day. are the totals of passengers going both
ways and do not show the direction Of travel,
but observation will show conclusively that in
the morning the stream of travel is downtown, and
in the afternoon uptown. The people are going
to business in the morning and TO their homes
in the afternoon. 1t is not, however, to be in
ferred that they are all through passengers, though
many at these hours are long-distance travellers.
An underground railroad might get many Of these
passengers if it gave them really quick transit
but that class would not pay at 8 cents per
trip, and we could underbd any company charg-
ing higher price. AS this demand for rapid
transit is for only four hours day, the road could
not live off that patronage"
Few persons would use the underground fol
short trips" suggested Mr.. Gould made nc
reply to this, and l repeated a remark which Mr.
George Roberts, president of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, had made in reply to question Of mine
as 40 the probability OF the Pennsylvania Rail
road using the Hudson River tunnel when com
pleted. Mr. Roberts had said in substance thai
while freight would pass through the tunnel h(