The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-11-02
Mr.. John A. Stewards InexpIicable
Course.

As we have already reported, a special
committee Of the Chamber Of Commerce
have issued an address to the citizens, urg.
ing them to vote to put the money of the
city into the underground rapid transit
scheme as al absolutely secure investment.
There is no hope of any immediate re-
lief says this remarkable address, unless
the proposed law is sustained by your
votes" IAN supposed engineering diff
culties in the way Of disturbing adjacent
buildings" it proceeds, are without foun-
dation, and can be readily overcome
Moreover, in a series of years the city will
own the road free of all debt and encum-
brances, thus making good the security for
the bonds issued for building the road
Among the signers of this address is Mr..
JOHN A.. STEWART. the most distinguished
of them all in the financial world; and
he, the President of a great trust CON-
pany, puts himself before the people with
out reservation as endorsing the security
Of an investment Of an untold and in
determinable, but certainly vast, amount
OF the public money In an undertaking
as to which neither he nor they have any
precise Information We shall, therefore,
address ourselves to Mr.. STEWART as the
most responsible man among the signers
of this address, in the opinion Of many
financiers.
In the first place, Mr.. STEWART, how can
you honestly advise the people to make this
enormous investment on the ground that
your scheme will give Immediate relief"
in the way Of rapid transit Such relief
could not come until the road is built,
equipped, and in actual operation, and you
know that 1t is not possible for it to be in
running order before seven years at
least. Instead of Immediate relief"
it would not afford additional rapid
transit facilities, as you we'll under
stand II you have given the subject
study sufficient to justify your expressing
any opinion on it, until after the beginning
of the next century. Meantime the people
would be without the rapid transit, and the
interest on the many millions put into your
scheme would go on accumulating. Would
you risk your reputation by advising private
investment in such a scheme on such
grounds
You say that there is no foundation for the
supposed engineering difficulties in the
way OF disturbing adjacent buildings"
Would you practically deceive private in
vestors by keeping from them the other and
universally acknowledged engineering diff
ficulties," which promise to increase the
cost Of the undertaking far beyond the esti-
mate put forward by the Rapid Transit
Commission That estimate you know to he
utterly insufficient, unless you signed
this address without the thorough
understanding of the project, which alone
could have justified your signature. No
engineering estimate deserving of any con
idence from you or anybody else, puts the
cost Of the road at less than $50, 600, 900;
and 1t Is not true even thai the difficulties
in the way of disturbing adjacent buildings
can be readily overcome as every com
petent engineer who has investigated the
subject knows. Those difficulties would
also provoke long and vexatious legal OPP
position, of which you say nothing in your
circular as a promoter OF the enterprise.
The geological formation of this island, the
frequently occurring quicksands and the
character OF the rock, for instance, would
make the difficulty of constructing such an
underground road peculiarly great and ex-
traordinarily costly, as you must have
learned il you are not recommending \ gi-
gantic scheme as to which you have no in
formation emitting you to express an Opin-
ion upon it as an investment.
On the strength Of your reputation as the
President of a great trust company and an
expert in determining the value Of securi-
ties, you invite the people to make this enor-
nous investment Of their money by declar-
ing unreseryedly that the security for the
bonds issued for the building of the road" is
" good" You commend the investment To
them as safe and secure as sure 10 pay them
both their interest and principal. Why,
then, did you not issue the same assurance
To the private capitalists, who put confidence
IN Your Judgment aud conscientious