The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1894-09-05
RIDING IS. TORTURE.
Evils Which Are Met With On
the Broadway Line
Passengers Squeezed Into an A.
most Compact Mass.
Lots OF Money for Dividends, but
None for Public Comfort.

In taking up the cause of the travel.
ling public of New York and entering
vigorous protest against the shameful
oVercrowding of the street cars, which
Is practised by all the companies operat,
ing surface lines in this city. THE EyerH>
ing World' has touched popular choir
The grievance has been one of su,G
long standing. and the residents of Il
city who are obliged to employ tn
means OF travel have become SO inure
to the discomfort and even suffering t.
which they are daily subjected, thai
they have almost come to regard the
infiiction as inevitable.
There IS plenty of grurnblng, as every
one knows who takes trip up or down.
one of the Broadway cable cars during
the busy part of the day. either in the .
morning or evening. The disguised pas
sengers are continually breaking out
with indignant protests against the UNI
,ivil manner IN which they are treated
by the employees of the Company. and
they do not hesitate to speak out their
mind freely dozen times during a
single trip.
In fact. the complaints made against
this Company are more frequent and Bit
This is the line for the franchise of
which old Jake Sharp spent his lifetime
n acquiring, and for which he is said to
have pad the Aldermen of the city
II ,Woe U0 in hard cash.
Probably no street railroad In the
world pays such an enormous profit to
It's stockholders as the Broadway line.
Nobody but those who receive them
know actually what the dividends are,
but fabulous stories are told of the
money which Is divided between the
owners of the road each year.
IT Is said that every car operated on
for every trip which it makes during the
daytime, or, rather, that Is the average
profit made during the day trips. Juds-
cars car are packed during the busy hours iouSs
OF t'avel this estimate cannot be far
out of the way.
Passengers have to hang on to the
| showed and jostled forward into such a
compact mass that with every lurch Of
the. car they are nearly thrown of
their feet in a body.
The condition of those who have Sc
cured seats is even more deplorable than
that of the standing passengers, for not
| only are their feet being trampled upon
by every movement OF the crowd, but
are in continual danger of being crushed
out of recognition by having their fell
In mass whenever Jolt occurs.
Many ladies who patronize the line
| prefer to stand for this reason, instead
of risking their toilets and even their
necks By accepting a seat which may be
offered to them by some courteous pas
| senger
No matter how large may be the crowd
| aboard. there Is always room for one
| more on the Broadway cable cars, and
they will stop for every one who signals
to the conductor or driver from the
street. The victim will be hustled upon
me platform and shot into the crowd and
| pushed aid SHOW I'd by the conductor till
| he finds himself with about six inches Of
standing room before he knows what
has struck him, Then with prodigious
| lurch the car Is on its way again.
| Getting out of the car at any point on
the route is an undertaking that requires
| as much nerve and strength pene-
| trating the Broadway crowd on a CEN
| tennia parade. A passenger who ac-
| complishes this successfully looks like
| a wreck when he finally energies, and
| leaves behind him about fifty enraged in
| dividuals. whose remarks leave a blush
tinge in the air as the car moves off.