The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-08-29
TROLLEY GAR VAGARIES|
Manager David Young Dis
courses Upon Satur-
day Half Holiday
Results.
MAKES HEAVY SUNDAY TRAVEL
The Tremendous Rush This Sum-
mer-Motorman at His Post
How Accidents Occur.

hVH ACt1VUAkD Qttu1s
Men will make mistakes. remarked
General Manager Young, of the Traction
Company. He mad just turned this morn
ing from debating an answer to a corr
respondent to talk to a Newark DAILY
Advertiser" reporter. The remark was
called forth by an inquiry of that corres-s
pendent, A. r. Milliker, of Orchard
street. as to the effect of the Saturday
half holiday on street railway travel.
Precisely. the question of Mr. Milliken
was whether during the period Of the
half holidays street railway travel was
increased Saturday afternoon ana dinin-
ished Sunday. Mr.. Young,s answer was
that, on the contrary. travel was much
diminished on Saturday afternoon ana
greatly increased on Sunday.
This was a result of the h~alf-ho9faay
not foreseen. Everybody who thought at
all upon the subjece athougrt the reverse
state of things would follow. Some of
those Wink chanpioned the half holiday
cause did so expressly for the reason that,
with 1t, Sunday excursions and picnics
would be fewer and Sabbath observance
more general. They reasoned that those
who received the holiday would take adj
vantage Of it to seek the country or sea
shore on Saturday, n take Sunday for
rest and quiet. Clergymen. particularly,
urged the benefits to be derived from the
half-hoEiday on this ground.
But If the accounts Of the Traction
Company prove anything, the contrary is
true. The half-holiday was spent at home
in rest: Then, refreshed and recuperated,
the aaalf-froliday crowd sailed forth on
Sunday for enjoyment. They scattered
IN every direction, sought everywhere for
amusement or pleasure. The cars bound
countryward to groves. hills, fields, were
packed. Those which ran shoreward were
else crowded.
1t stands to reason that Saturday af-
ternoon travel Mould be diminished
said Mr.. Young. The markets and
stores were closed. Those who used to
DO their marketing or shopping on Sat-
urday night. had to do it on Friday or
Saturday morning. There was a large
diminution of travel for that reason. If
the half-holiday supporters had but paus-
ed for a moment in their zeal and given
that moment to thought they would
probably have come to the conclusion that
"a dt4Q O4tiEH ElIGQ DE WORK Hi IDe
week would take the opportunity offered
by the Saturday half-holiday to sleep and
rest.
During this summer there has been
a heavy volume of Sunday travel, par
ticularly on the New York division. The
Traction Company has run cars at one
and a half minute Intervals. The number
of cars in use has been about seventy.
On the Bayonne line sixty-four cars have
been run on Sunday since the Saturday
half-holiday began. on account of the
tremendous pressure of travel toward
Bergen Point. On warm Sundays the
great crowds that rushed upon the Trac-
ton line was almost beyond handling.
Notwithstanding the immense crowds
the number of Sunday accidents was re-.
markedly small, that is, OF accidents
serious enough to report. Summer n
days are usually days of anxiety and
cause OF accidents. children playing along
the tracks, Is particularly in operation
during the hot months. Here IS one
point which is rendered useless all the
watchfulness and care of the most cau-
tious Ynotornan. A child digging in the
| gutter viii capriciously leave its play
without any sign to forewarn the man at
the motor. 1t is well nigh impossible,
therefore, TO guard against accidents
"As a rule. the motorman knows just
when and where to down brakes and
cut off the current. When he first takes
his place on the front platform of the
car he is timorous. runs his car so slowly
that he is able ito bring it to a stop al
most Immediately and keeps his head con-
inually on the turn. As. he becomes
on the track ahead and yet take in every
thing on both sides of the street. In
time the hastiest glance tells him whether
danger of an accident turks in the street
for blockssahead
HE comes to know, too, just how fast
he can run with safety, he knows at
what point to look our for children, can
instantly tell whether a person is going
TO cross the street or is about to board
the car. ~Instinctively he feels at this
point that he ought to slow up; at that
point to let his car go whJzzing along.
"But occasionally men and women.
and frequently children, act so capri
ciously that knowledge and instinct are
alike useless. and then accidents happen.
1.-THE most prolific source of accidents
is the getting IN and off of cars the
victims of such mishaps. They never
will understand, 1t seems, that alighting
with the back to a moving car is likely
to give them a somersault. A woman
overthrown and injured today in that
way will alight in the same way to-
morrow. But accidents of that kind
are very rarely serious.
Where a wagon is driven across a
track at right angles the possibility of
accident is very small. The running
down of wagons takes place almost
universally where the tracks are crossed
d~iagonally. In that case the motorman
going to cross and is not prepared for
1t. The great majority of wagons which
come out Of a cross. street usually turn
and run parallel with the tracks. I'm
less IT is evident that a wagon is going
to cross the motorman, presumes IL Is
not, and thus many accidents occur