New-York tribune., 1896-01-14
4 TRIP on TRACTION CARS.
THE OBSERVATIONS OF A TRIBUNE RE-
PORTER
. t,1.xDnrD PERSONS IN A CAR INTENDED TO
SEAT TWENTY EIGHT-CROWDs. lLL.-BKEED-
ING AND POOR vENTILATIoN-WIIAT

|
the cars OF the Consolidated Traction Company has
been taken by the Newark Aldermen. II is likely
that way 10 overcome the EVIL VIII De dls'o'-
cred by the oicets OF the corporaticn ProhapF III
no other city in the country 90 such opportunities
for fatal accidents may be found any even
| ing a; Broad and Market sts. the two chief thor
ouvhfsres OF the town Here ali the lines OF the city
ana OF the suburban towns pass in continuil ana
unbrOken chain. tr;ss-crossing from east To west
AMI from north SOUTH with ears frequently
! swinging around the curve from Broad to Market
! st That no shocking calamity has taken Place at
| this corner is due gracious Providence ana the
vigilance OF two of Newark's most stalwart police
! men, Thomas Lotus and BENJAMIN Knapp. Many
accidents Of minor importance have occurred ana
probably score Of citizens are to-day carry
ing with them bruises and dlsfguremehts receNcu
| at this busy crossing.
| In the early morning and at the closing hours OF
business when traffic is heaviest. the parsimony oil
! the Consolidated Traction Company j. most APP
parent. Cars then roll up to the crossing from
north east south and west, filled % Overlooking.
| but before they allowed 10 continue on ther
way many more unfortunates are thrust ana
/ bundled upon the rear platforms, Un;h there IS
| hardly enough room for the passenger" 10 s'ahd.
Complaints have been frequent. letters TO the Local
press have been written by the scor" ana the 'iu-
zens have expressed their indignation in many ether
ways bat the traction people have seemed above
criticism. If not indeed Indifferent to H.
PEOPLE AS sARDINES
Tho cars used by the Traction Company on It's DIFF
frer, lines vary largely IN their carrying capacity
some OF them are larger than WI be found in other
cities while others are small seating eleven pas
| sengers on each side and having narrow ana con-
tracted platforms that become crowded with SIN
passengers Most OF the cars. however, are OF a
size that Will seat by crowdng. fourteen passengers
on each side and have wide. roomy platforms. The
capacity OF these cars allowing twenty-eigh' 10 Inc
two seats and as many more standing up INSIDE
with ten passengers on the rear platform. gives a
! to,a, Of sixty-sx Even that number makes each
passenger uncomfortable Yet the facts warran. the
assertion that from $50 $50 o'clock every nigh:
| barely one car in running north o' Mar
! ket-si in Broad-si. carries less than
score more than this number. and many Of them
Will show a register number OF near.y or quite io'
Yet the companv owns plenty of cans ana th@
| power house in Rver-st could easily supply e.ec-
| ,r!city for a city twice as large as Newark.
| For purposes OF information Tribun, re-
porter recently took short Journeys or the Broad,
Orange Bank. South Orange. Arlington. Springfield
| and Irvngton lines In the busy hours. north
bound Rroad-st. of medium size, seating twenty
eight passengers was boa rded at the Central Rail
| road station and seventy-eight passengers w"r"
| REGISTERED on the "clock" 1t was difficult to find
room for his feet. although they were not OF un-
usual size so the reporter took hazardous position
on the guard rail outside the platform da'hboaIC.
| At Market-st. seven, passengers alghied on the
south side of THAI thoroughfare and the car crossed
| Immediately TO the north side. "heif an
ulstcr-coated Individual who is constantly stationed
AT that point retained the until twenty six addi-
| tiona passengers had been wedg.d between the
had joined the reporter the guard rail ana even
that dangerous place was crowded.
WOMEN IN THE CRUSH.
ON the platform were several women. and the
| car went on its way they pushed and squeezed
| until their hats and cloth.ng were disaIranged no
opportunity was theirs for adjusting hats or
dresses for the reason that they were 50 wedS'd IN
as TO make the use of their hands impossible
Think Of it," said passenger near the re-
| porter. carrying the equa. Of run r'El-
! mental company of ninety men w'th all th''r equip
The speaker could not sec the CLOCK" bat the rc-
| must be- with motorman and conductor Just ninety
nine people aboard al he tnr oUi1 b o' crnwdmg r.
th- noticeahly 50 Of on man %nS sboo| So can ,' he
o1h,ed 10 T, his vr,Igar breeding by throwing his weight
| upon the woman who. by her heightened Sooi
cro,vded N os TO be unable to escape. Such inc-
dents" said friendly conductor later III 'he "'f"'
On an Orange-st. car equally bad crowdng Wa
with rassensers sHoken to rhey sad that
loads exceeding one hundrea passrnsais W, y, the
The ear the repefsr rSoK M nsna at Broad
ST by the Of the big ulster and the faf ar w
piled On nd un' crehed into the car This crowd
| ,inued until Orange-st was reached VIII ,t wv - -,
III ,ake DeIawaTe Lackawanna and Western train
Al Norfolk-st passengers began TO leave ana lo ny
The time the car reached Rosevlle 1t was about con-
fortaby filled An added horror Of these cars nls N
cold weather is the poor yenuauon, rban,cs nt u and
theil soiied clothes add aroma to the hea'eu III
'erO' D ,ha Aleton line loads of from ninety to on
| hundred passengers are common During INC non, non-
S nSA ir, he crush some Of these were broken Tn.
passengers were usually goodhatuieI al''G ,b7r co.
siqnation at the crowds allowed to remain on the
back platform
AN INCIDENT OF THE CROWD
Upon one occasion recently woman passenger
| an this line desired 10 aght at Bergen-ave, IN
Kearnv The car crowded as usual, ana on
| the back platform were dozen or fifteen men.
| most OF whom were smoking. The woman essayed
| to leave the car. but found the passageway I'm
passable She appealed to the conThc,oi % M "o .o IN J
eisGrely manner. taking probably Two rm,nes f % 80
marks upon the woman Presuiip,%lon ION ~ III ~ y,,, @
! them When she had finally made her exit tntrneh
e"n@ ns1e they remained on platform to the
| discomfort Of each passenger VINO a"sh"u '''''
The lrvington line cars are known 9taliy "a as
arks" They are about toryise' ,9ns a,r ~, n'r
ing the busy hours OF constant occurrence lhese
rnntiIaion is rven worse than on the smaller ana
modern car. The line runs inroqeh ,cbex lnex
Poles and other foreigners some OF whom are no,
rmarkable for On a % coa n Ynarp nss f' m
ark is better imagincd than dcscrnDrG hour
SO, every line In Newark commission "oW
| finds the Traction Company's cars filled TO over
flowing with contributors of white nckeis taken as
complacenfly by the corporation as though 1t gave
full value Ia return.
THE EMPLOYEES DISSATISFIED.
| In the reporters ques, for information many en-
ployes OF the various lines pressed great dissas-
! faction with the treatment accorded themselves
They say that the runs are changed almost
| weekly and that the present time almost every
conductor and motorman Is away from his home
| eighteen hours each day. many OF them for thirty
dsvs continuously. one conductor sad that he LEFT
his home about O'Clock in the morning worked un-
iii noon then swung until O'Clock. when he went
on his again to stay until II o'clock at night He
| sail ahnnt a and thai