The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-12-31
Rapid Transit.

Now that rapid transit by newspaper has
been disposed Of. really practical ideas
will acquire an opportunity to emerge.
The general welfare and progress OF New
York have been retarded about two years.
and millions OF money have been lost to the
community. by reason OF the senseless
clamor OF certain newspapers in favor Of
their own theories and In satisfaction Of
their blind rancor and prejudice against
the late JAY GOULD.
When the late tunnel plan was first elab-
Grated in conformity with the demands al
legged to have originated with the public.
THE Sun was alone in declaring 1t to be
pecuniarily impracticable. Our esteemed
contemporaries hooted at the idea. and
forecast tho wild delirium OF capital to
plunge into the enterprise. Capital !" said
ono of them: "why the moneyed men OF
the world will form line mile long when
tho books OF such road are opened. strug-
Cling to secure shares of its stock" Here
are few OF the many things that few Of
our more conspicuous contemporaries de-
livered themselves Of from time to time:
1.-THE franchise will be OF tho most valuable rail-
road franchises In tho world The travel In that great
artery of the etropolis will be enormous
the ROAD - open, ana " VIII increase Uehuiy ana rap
idly Look a. the yearly Increase on the elevated roads
smber that the road Is to be the great pop
ular line for fast growing city"
THE proposed system IL immeda feasible from
financial point view. The probable OF construc
and equipment falls within moderate limits and
hence project appeals to men OF prudence and sta
bty instead Of to visionares There will not be tho
slightest difficulty in ensttng capital in the undsrtak
ing There likely to be livelisr competition for the
franz han he heat Ia
Tho road will cost a great deal OF money but so will
any til At shall adequately meet the need As It 10
certain to pay good dividends upon . heavy invest.
ment its will be barrier to its early completion
There is capital in plenty eager for An investment so
surely profitable"
"No railroad was ever planned any where on the face
Of the globe that such attractions capital
Never since STEPHENSON laid his rst rails from Stock
ton to Darlington has any road been surveyed that
promised to gather half As much trafdc per mile"
Work OF the kind was never more faithful
ly and ably performed than that OF the Rapid
Transit Commission. The Commission per-
soEal composition was excellent, and the
manner in which it formulated its plans re-
sembled that which would attach to the work
OF a Board Of eminent civil engineers rather
than to that OF lay commission Of municipal
| origin. The consequence was that IL ever O
| like proposition had fair chance OF success.
it was rapid transit underground In New
York. But it failed wholly. and it failed
precisely on the lines set forth in these col
| umns al its inception.
Therefore. we say. let II rest in peace and
| be forgot; and let practical ideas arise
| and be no longer repressed. Our elevated
system will afford us all the rapid transit
| that We shall ever require. and what we
want Is Its intelligent expansion as soon as
1t can possibly be effected. We want relief
| from the congestion on both sides OF the
| city. and we want uninterrupted transit
between the extremites OF Manhattan
Island and out into the new New York that
| is SO fast creating itself beyond our northern
boundary. And We beg leave TO observe
to our intelligent contemporaries who as
sert that no rapid transit can ever be had
by the elevated system, that. while We re-
spect their right to 80 assert. We must. for
ourselves. defer to the final and unimpeach-
able authority OF eminent engineers and
others besides ourselves who understand
the matter and which holds unsweryingly
to the knowledge and conviction that the
elevated system will provide rapid transit.
and better rapid transit than anything else
that science can command