The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-12-18

| inc faCl1C nave ueeu W Udko Ill uuo Fi8i-
lance in guarding the country against the
various plaques by which foreign lands ore
afflicted.
Rapid Transit.
Mayor GRANT undoubtedly expressed the
feeling ofthe people when he said that they
object to travelling through hole In the
EARTH II the tunnel scheme Of the Rapid
Transit Commission were submitted to
popular vote. the majority against 1t would
settle that question very emphatically.
AS the people must get up and down town
in this long and narrow city. and 1t is Of
the highest Importance to them that they
| should be able to make the journey rapidly.
they would be obliged to endure the dis
comforts OF underground travel II no other
means Of quick transit were available. Be-
fore the elevated railroads were built they
put up with comparatively slow.goinR sur
face cars and omnibuses. bearing the hard.
ship with truly American patience and
cheerfulness, though It involved o serious
In spirit OF philosophy. and in the same
spirit they would travel through hole in
the ground II no better way Of accommo-
dating them could be devised. They would
even muster up courage to be shot through
tunnel under the North or East River
from the Battery to the Harlem. though
they had to descend o hundred feet to reach
the stations. SO necessary to them IL rapid
ity Of travel. But when they have the
choice Of making the journey above ground
and In the light and air. OF below ground In
stuffy and repulsive tunnel. their prefer
ence Is decided. and it would be expressed
In very practical way.
The popular aversion to underground
travel is so strong and so reasonable that
capitalists may well hesitate about putting
up the enormous amount Of money requisite
to carry out the tunnel scheme Of the Com
mission. 1t would be O dangerous invest
ment anywhere and under any cir
cumstances. but after the feasible
ity OF rapid transit above ground
has been demonstrated to the people
Of New York. it would be peculiarly hazard
Gus here. After We have been travelling
for so many years in the free air and broad
light Of the elevated railways. we are not
going to descend into the bowels of the
earth in order to take train. as Mayor
GRANT has we'll said. We have had expe-
they would endure cheerfully the discom-
forts of even greater crowdlng on the ele-
waited roads rather than make the descent.
The cable roads. also. will be in opera
ton by the middle Of next year. and they
will much increase the facilities for trans
portation above ground. They will not
furnish strictly rapid transit. 1t is true, but
the speed will be enough greater than it is
now by horse cars to save a multitude Of
people from the dire necessity of travelling
through the proposed tunnels. The luxury
Of journeying in the upper air will compen-
safe for the slower going as compared with
the underground roads. To avoid the tun-
nels. too. people would transfer their resi-
dences to Brooklyn or New Jersey. for they
would put themselves to much trouble to
escape them.
The published calculations as to the
amount Of business the tunnel roads would
do are accordingly very deceptive. They
do not furnish basis on which capitalists
can rely for estimating the probable returns
from the Investment.
Yet it Is obvious that New York needs
larger facilities for rapid transit. and needs
them at once. They must be provided. or
the growth and development OF the town
will be checked. Tho only place for
any great increase OF population Is the
upper wards. and that increase cannot
come unless the means of speedy trans
portation are extended proportionetely.
Even II the tunnel scheme were unobjec.
tionable and wholly desirable. there would
be long delay in carrying it out. It would
take ten years to get the underground
roads in running order. and the demand for
tho further facilities Is immediate and i'm
perative. The elevated roads under their
present restrictions have nearly reached tho
limit OF their capacity. and ct best thcy can
only meet tho demand upon them at the |
hours when the traffic Is greatest by crowd. |
ing their trains to the discomfort of every
passenger. |
What. then. should We do to get the neces.
snry additions! facilities? We must i'm.
prove the system Of rapid transit We have
already and increase its capacity. It is
hero to stay. Tho streots occupied by its
structures will continue to contain them for
IN indefinite period in the future. whether
the underground rouds are built or not. It
furnishes the most comfortable means Of
intramural rapid transit In the world, and
proves that Its safety IL un-
pnralleied. Hence wisdom and necessity
compel us to mike the most out of the ele-
waited ronds Of which they ure capable,
Undoubtedly their carrying capacity can
be incrensed enormously and with great
lapidity. IN could have been done In less
limo than the Commission Inns expended IN
Trnltless debate over Its obnoxious tunnel
scheme. so simple and Obvious are the i'm
provements and extensions requisite for
The purpose. A very important measure Of
relief by which many thousands OF people
would have benefited. has been retarded
BY set OF cranky reformers who raised
'enseless cry against granting to those roads
he use of few inches OF the Battery. from
whose loss nobody AMI no public interest