New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-18
THOSE ELEVATED ROADS.
TIE PEOPLE ARE SICK OF THEM.
,yy PEOPLE DO NOT AGREE WITH MIR. GOULD

eri,dt has lately grown rapidly. developing INTO a
sin strdier spirit for which there Is no better name
., ,or,,lo- INDIGNATION The people on the West
side know extremely well that the fnture oil uat
pa,1 Of the city depends largely upon SATISFACTORY
linton ~ +he rapid transit problem. They know
even more thoroughly that the elevated roauS lo LAT
short of that solution. There was tihe "neu 'ics
bonod for better things and while dsconten"d Win
fine trans pOrtation afforded, they stll hop'u rs
those homes have been long deferred disappointment
n, a first impulse, has been fooweq d! a"scI' "'''i
now, the 81 stem Is universally condemned Inc Veo
nIe have seen the system degenerate from whau was
ORIGINALLY bad TO what is now much worse ana IL Is
unusual today 10 meet north or fliN-hIhul-sl'' d
man who if he swears at all, does not curse the Sys-
tom npon which he must depend for daily ranspoTti-
lion hack and forth between his place OF business ana
his home .
"A a rule. the patrons OF the elevated ROADS care
nothing for the policy that the management may nave
I'm view in so ordering things that the puohc are
orst Inconvenience then grossly imposed upon. ana
rn,i,, ovaenerafed almost beyond endurance. What
,h.v want is prompt comfortable and cifcient means
~ transformations That is what they pay Tor, Dut
what they say. they have never mad Inc Pcop" VI
thc West side particularly need prompt scrN'c' y
majority Of the heads Of families living in tAat par OF
,Ic civ are men who have business cares ana re-
spon,lbilties and OF their eravcSt g "''o'S j
rnrc,ualty in their Office engagements. There IS no
rrch thing in these DAYS as being sure OF 9cthns
downtown within certain time.
fow weeks ago the management diSconihucn me
mining Of through trains in Ninthave south "I f"'N
ninth,t.. except during the rush honrN Inc 9iA'"
AGO. trains from north Of Fftyninthst. were allowed
to rim hroush branching off from Ninth-aVc' Dy W"
If Fifty -thrst to siXtlIaye. All passenger "lS"IS
.o contjnuc on down Nnth-avc. during greater part
- Emo do, were coupclled 10 change car at Fly
nirth.t Tlf was tried at first in the middle OF the
d.v after the rush hours over hut there was 80
mnch complaining that, contrary 10 pIcoc"'"' WIN
Tho management tho Ninth trains werr run throu-h
ocan but only temporarily " the present u"e
fc,y Ninth ave trains are run throngh III inc carly
morning hours and for an hour or Nv" IL the 'Ne"''
ON the dav that William Waiter Phelps. tni'ed stare
y,is,ar IN Cernanv sailed for Ercmcn on the Werr'
,or, Uoholcn friend who hid agreed to meet hi1 on
the deck Of the steamer to report on some husluc'>
affairs and 10 say farewell. boarded Halh al "''
,.,rotv third station AZ 10 30 This gave him
an hour ard forty minutes 80 reach li"poAeh lh' -"
ing time of the ship being Il noon II was nor clo"
day. bat there was no storm until nearly noon "heh
rain began 10 fall. II took just twenty minutes for
,ho train TO reach riity nuth.s. where the guard
.nout.I thnt everybody must change for Ninthave.
trains, Of course passengers have 10 60 Nrai-ht on
down Ninth ave 10 reach the steam hip piers ana thc
ferries ~ Ninety third II. this train was Ninih
ave train bu at FINS -unth>t it became sixth ave-
train and everybody had n &c; ont There was fi''i
deal Of erumbling Of course, and II ala not make the
Messengers any mora cout-ntcd e. hear guard shout
Come along, step lively there dph DC ~" "", F'''
out"
II was ~ when the train was cmpii d ana con
timed ON down into Fifty third->t toward sixth ave
Already the platform Of tie FLY ninth-t station was
crowded with people who had been 1T there hy former
trains a. We'll as 10y others who had come nap from
the street Train after train came down. lu a!l were
lound down siNthayc. and from each score, Of pa'
.cngcr, desiring t. Lc'p on down Nutay". "'r" con-
PEELED 10 alichL Tie Platform became NOR crowded
a, each train went ly until there did NOT seem - hc
room enough LETT FOR one more suffering pa'-r- r.
The minute went by AID 20 did SIKH ave train. hu'
no Ninth ave trains appeared 10 relieve the now swear
Ing and cxaspciatcd tArong at Ffy ninth I. hun
drcd ycs. two hundred men would wear {" y that 40
Nnth-ave train stopped at that station TO take Oh %
passenger until II 10 Just thirty tWo minutes aft'r
the second train had discharged 81, load at thai station
Then the nI-i train that "f three cars,
When il had Become filed ana had moved away itc.c
seemed 10 Ice q, many people on TN stat ~ platform
a. there were before, great was the jam.
During the more than half an hour tnrt th" crowd
wa, kept waitius scores Of I've, wcf. In jeopardy
People coming TO the station from the -tet crowded
upon the already oyercrowdcl platform. forcing those
I'm front nearer TO the edge next to the rail-. little
unccntle shown, in the Of the crowd would have
sent large numbers 81 men and women down To the
track, in front Of approaching trains. As 1t was one
man got hi, foot caught between car and the station
platform by being pressed against moving train and
narrowly escaped being badly hurt. He wa, wise
enough try TO extrcatc his foot until car had
passed! leaving a space between the two platforms wide
enough % allow him 10 withdraw the member While
the Jam Wa a; is wont women were crushed and
hurt until Of them cried ont with pain ANY
number of there who could testify that there
was room the platform for no more pas-cnScrs. yet
A. the sxth.avc. trains came along the guards
Tt,.t, ,aft'-, hin dorm
Ninthavc you'n have 10 change here \ few men and
women tried get into the crowd the station plat
FORM being unable accomplish this by their own
strength the guards helped them by showing them into
the Jam by brute force.
Afcr the first Of the thi.e train, left the Fifty
ninh-st. station II cawcd along al a snail HE pace.
light IL and II II 10 when Christopher Il.
reached II had taken an hour and twenty five min
utc 10 down from Ninety third IT. ~ Chri toplcr.
lr. phrp,s friend rI,hcd,to the ferry, caught bo1t
promptly and reached thc steamer pier In.t rs The
Vera backing into the stream. He loaped upon
Il tug lying by TIC wharf and taken alongside
the ship at the rail oi which stood Nr. phrp, waving
adcu 10 his family. \ few hd,ty word finished
the business Of the two men before the great ship
had ,athcrcd hcadway her long vOya-c acro,, the
Atlantic The friend had no, had time 10 Feel very
angry until hs worry about seeing Mr. Phelps had
ceased. but when the ship had gone l, anger burst
forth in torrent. he denounced the manage, OF
the elevated road by name and by ti'c and declared
pcrp ,tua cnmy for the elevated railway system a,
at present operated. 70 the rrporors - the wharf IT,
whom he related hs experience, ho sWorc That lac
would rest until the clty had assumed control Of the
railway line, within it, border, which make rapid
transit not only a farce and fraud but dclI,ion
and a
! This is only one Of many Of such cases. 1t IS ia
| be doubted If there is man in the northern IaIt
Of the city who has not suffered scriOu, inconvenience
by the same sort Of disbursement. \ man living in
Ninoty-frst IT,. whose bushes, requires prOmpncs,
IN spOation whether the system is or j. not oi the
rapid transit order arrived at the Eighty irst--t
station at II 80 p. III. on Wednesday, December -
10 tahc a tain downtown. train in starting
a. ne arrived. II exactly 100 when the next
train came down, and il va, 50 filed with passenger,
that the guards unable T. open the gates, and
/ after stopping a Minute The tain went OF. leaving
/ the station platform Md with and wht