The sun., 1897-12-22
A Little Common Sense About Rapid
Transit.

The underground railroad is extolled by
its advocates as great boon for the city,
on the theory that it would supply this
community with adequate rapid transit
facilities. In truth. 1t would add only
single means of transit, advantageous chief.
ly to the inhabitants of the comparatively
thinly populated outlying districts.
The noise made over the project is not
justified by its Importance to the public.
If it were built, the relief furnished by it
would be partial and limited only. The
great body of the travel of the city
would have to be accommodated by the
other means of transit, the elevated
roads, and the cable and electric roads; and
in a very few years after its completion, If
it should ever be completed, the outcry
against its discomfort, inconvenience. and
inadequacy would be loud and general.
Before 1t could be constructed, moreover,
the existing methods of transit would be
extended. with the result of providing ia
cilities for travel moro convenient and
more agreeable for the public. The COM
| pletion Of the electric system of the Fourth
| avenue road to the City Hall will help
t largely to supply the demand in q very
satisfactory way. A similar transformation
| of the Second avenue road Ii now nearly
completed, and is soon to be made in the
Sixth avenue, the Eighth avenue, and the
Ninth avenue surface roads, multiplying
their facilities and rendering them vastly
more attractive. Inevitably, too, alterations
and extensions of the elevated system will
greatly increase its accommodations for
travel. With that system as it is. there
/ kxao o1rS TO-. .s.l
there are eighteen more tracks, or twenty.
five in all. Accordingly, the four tracks of
the proposed underground road would In.
crease the total by less than one-sixth.
The above.ground roads, moreover. will ab-
sorb almost wholly the travel which alone Is
profitable to those furnishing the facilities,
or the short-stop or short-distance travel.
A passenger on a surface car will discover
by observing the indicator of fares received
that in the long trip from the City Hall or
the Battery to Harlem, more especially in
the hours when travel is greatest, it
records many more fares than could be OBJ
tanned from even the most crowded single
load. The reason Is that the car is fire.
quently filling and refilling during its long
journey; and that means profit to the road.
If the car ran from the Battery to Harlem
} with the same load of passengers invaria.
bly,, there would be no profit. A fve-cent
fare for transportation that distance does
not pay the cost. Without the short-dis.
tance travel the roads would go into bank.
ruptcy. Moreover, the proper accommoda.
: tion Of the great bulk of the travel requires
: that the stoppages shall be frequent and
access to the cars and egress from them
convenient and easy. A man compelled tc
, go five or ten miles on a stretch might de
l scend to an underground road for the pur
pose of gaining time; but If he had togo only
ten or twenty or even forty blocks the gair
of time to him in 80 doing would be trifiing
3 even If there was any gain at all, and II
: would be Offset by the trouble he would
l have to take to get it, and the disadvantage
: of travelling through a tunnel. which II
: felt wherever underground roads exist
y even In Boston, where the tunnel is th'
n most agreeable that modern engineering Inn
Q proyement has made practicable.
y Moreover, as we said, the underground
t road would be only single means Of rapiC
transit. convenient for only small part o