The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-05
sreEer TRANSIT IN EUROPE.
Trolley Almost Unknown and No Ele-
waited Roads.

4 Trolley Almost Unknown and No Ele-
waited Roads.
An American living in a city, and
who has never been abroad, does not be-
gin to appreciate the enormous advan-
tages he has in the way Of rapid transit
by street railways over his European
brother similarly situated. With US a
city that still cEngs to her ancient
horsecars is considered dead slow" and
considered not up to date. The rapid
| trolley stretches its rails in all direc-
tons, traEcrsing all OF the principal
| streets of our cities and connecting
them with miles and miles of their
suburbs and often even with other
cities. In our larger cities, like New
York, the elevated railroads or the
cable cars daily carry their thousands
of passengers with the highest possible
speed consistent with safety, recogniz-
ing the great American need of cover
ing a given distance in the shortest pos
sible time.
Across the ocean all this is changed;
there the trolley is almost, and with
one exception the elevated road wholly,
unknown, and the residents of even
London have to depend almost entirely
on the primitive bus. This seems al
most beyond belief to an American, but
such Is the fact.
Let as therefore glance at the differ
emit methods of public conveyance in
this, the largest city in the world. In
London the principal means of getting
around is by buses, and it is estimated
that there are nearly a thousand OF
them in uso every day. The greater
part of them are owned by the Lon,
don General Omnibus company, and
their semi-annual report shows that in
six months they carried the enormous
number of 5a,s4a,477 passengers, the
total distance driven being 1901 $3.50
miles.
Omibuses first came into use in 1929.
Before that time people had TO get
around as best they could. They run
daily from a. ~. to IL at night,
and the fares vary, according to the
distance, from 1 pence to 6 pence in
English money, or from cents to IL
cents in ours. Contrast this with our
elevated trains running all night and
on which one may ride from the Bat
terry to Harlem for & nickel.
The London bus is a huge numbering
vehicle drawn by two or three horses
and plastered over with advertising
signs. They arc all double-deckers-
that is, they have seats both inside and
On top, the inside seats running length'
wise, and those on top cTosswise, with
an aisle down the center. These top
seats are reached by means of spiral
stairway from the rear. Zach bus ac-
commodities about 10 passengers. each
person being entitled to q seat, and
when all are taken the bus is declared
full and no more passengers are admit.
ted, there being no such thing as hang
ing on to strap for three or four miles,
or providing a hundred people into a
place intended to hold half that num-
Der, and there is no necessity for
gentleman to rise and give q lady his
seat.
AS soon as passenger mounts bus
he takes seat inside or on top, as he
may prefer and there is room, both be-
ing the same price, and the conductor
immediately comes to him, inquiries his
destination and charges him accord
ingly, and gives him ticket which be
is required to show in case of dispute,
and which contains the principal sta
tions of that line, the one nearest his
stopping-plaee being punched. tbs
ticket also contains the amount of his
fare. In case the passenger should let
himself be carried beyond the station
punched, another fare Is Immediately
collected. The conductor does not an
nounce any stops, So each persoa has
to look out for himself.
Undoubtedly the best method Of
transportation in London is the under
ground railway. This, however, only
serves a certain portion of the city,
and its stations are quite widely sep
arated. Its fares are a tribe more than
those of the omnibus company.
In sumner a great deal of travel for
points near the Thames is by river
steamboats,. This traffic is all in the
hands of the Victoria Steamboat es-
ISOLATION. whose boats run every few
minutes from London bridge to Chel-
sea, calling at Is intermediate piers.
The fares are from one penny TO six
pence ON week days. and double that on
Sundays and holidays. These boats all
set low in the wnter and have only one
deck, which is ali open, the only protec-
ton being an awning which is stretched
over a portion of the stern. AS most
of the bridges are very low, the boats,
in order to pass under them at high
water. have TO have joint in the smoke
stack which enables it to be lowered to
the deck while passing through the
arches.
For those who can afford it nothing
can beat cab as means of getting
around. There are two kinds of these,
the four-wheeler and the two-wheeler
or hanson. The hanson is by far the
easier riding of the two, and as the driv-
er is perched up behind there is nothing
to bbstruct the view. The fares are
fixed by law. a cab hired by time cost
ing two shillings sixpence( about 60
cents) per hour. while those hired by
the distance charge accordingly, no
fare, however. being less than one shil-
ling. In addition to the legal fare the
driver always excerpts tip of from two
pence to sixpence.-Leelie's Weekly.
-.-------------
CHRONIC Discomfort,
It Robs Life Of Half the Good There Il
In Il.