New-York tribune., 1894-04-22
WOULD A JINGLE BELL HE'LL? ?
THE QUESTION OF SAFETY on CABLE
AND TROLLEY CARS
OPINIONS OF THE GENERAL MANAGER or THE
BROOKLYN CITY RAILROAD CoMPANY-A
SUGGESTION WORTH TRYING. AT
ALL EVENTS.

ALL INbNiS
The suggestion has been made In The Tribune and
other papers many times that safety In the running
OF cable and electric would be increased II
every car was supplied with jngling bell. which
should ring constantly while the car was In motion
The idea does not appear 10 have commented itsei
to the managers Of the roads In this vicinity on
which cable and trolley are run. IL is the fact,
however. that for the first few days after the
Broadway cable started last summer some OF
the cars at least were provided with such bells.
which rang continuously. but not in such a violent
and obstreperous way as TO be nuisance
The arguments in favor of the use Of such bell
has been mentioned are that II would diminish
the OF the loud resounding gong. and leave II
10 be employed only in emergencies; that IN passing
behind car to cross the street one would have
proper warning IL a car approaching on the
opposite track and that by the rapdy OF the ring
ing one could 1udge Oh the speeu Win WHO" " '''
In order to get an official opinion on the subject
manager of the Brooklyn City Railroad Company
who has under his charge the greater part Of the
many trolley cars now run in brooklyn. As soon
the subject was mentioned. Mr.. Bogardus eN-
pressed entire Willingness 10 talk freely about IT,
and his manner throughout the interview was tlnt
Of a man entirely ready to accept the idea provdrt
serve 4 good purpose. That he open to convic-
ton is shown by his remark before the close Of
well. l don't know but the best thing would be
10 get lot Of those bells and give them trial
He began by saying that he thought the bells
spoken OF would make too much noise, especially III
Fulton-st.. where so large number OF cars are
run. 'Jngling bells are used on the cable cars In
Chicago" said Mr. Bogardus. and so this matter
is not new subject for me. and naturally ! have
thought about 1t considerably Then. too. 1t has
people who have come in here to talk about II.
Now, in Chicago, the bells certainly add good deal
DO not guide TO enable one to tell how
fast car is going. for when the speed is high
connected Is rapid and the strokes follow each
other quickly. that the bell can scarcely be heard
Now there are people who come in here and tell
to use such bells and TO ring them by means of
electricity. diverting part OF the trolley current
for the purpose. That is all nonsense. Ii couldn't
be dGe bs e sees BE h so no no
We could use these bells by attaching them to tho
ali these bells would make in Fulton-st there would
be so much confusion that no one could tell which
cars that come TO us are in reference TO people
crossing Fulton-s and / must say that | think
the continual ringing OF bells on all the cars would
hinder instead OF helping people
"ln the outer parts Of the city. where better
be of advantage especially when cars are meeting
another.
Attention here called to the recent case OF
prominent citizen who narrowiy escaped being
run over when he stepped on rGy car on
tracks heedess Of the fact that "a an1ther on car was
rectlon: and also the fatal accident few monSs
ago. under almost Identical circumstances Mr..
Bogardus admitted that tinkng bell would serve
But he went on. people are getting used to
importance OF keeping their eyes and ears open
when about to cross the tracks. You must have
noticed how greatly the number OF accidents has
diminished lately, and how general the feeling was
in opposition to the proposal to limit the speed OF
in. accidents Is due TO two causes. In the first
place. the people are getting used to the difference
betwee trolley cars and horse cars: and In the
second place our motormen are constantly becoming
more familiar with their duties and exercising
greater care 10 guard against accidents. Really 1t
is much easier for a man 10 manage a trolley
car than TO handle his lines, brake and whip when
driving a team OF horses On a trolley car. too,
the brake is twenty times as powerful as the horse
ear brake, and a can be stopped almost In
stautly We have provided our cars with tenders,