Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-05-28
MARCUS is RECOGNIZED,
His Plan for an Underground
Railway Loop will Win. Just
What Chicago has want
ed for Years.
Construction to be on plan of Buda-
PeSth Road.


The Chicago Times Herald of Sunday
last devotes over a page to the cuts and
plans of the new railway scheme which
our former townsman Marcus Pollasky,
a prominent lawyer, has proposed for
that city,
Chicago, like the other large cities of
the world has rendered to congest her
business interests into a small portion Of
her large area and during the busy
hours of the day traffic is necessarily
hindered by the mass of people crowding
and jostling between Polk st. and the
Chicago river.
The electric street car has become a
nuisance and of little use owing TO the
delays caused by the crowded tracks, so
in many cases the council has found
it essential that they refuse the right OF
way for such purposes.
Then too, the Chicago river offers a
very perplexing problem to the railroad
company since the run over it must be
made largely on draw bridges, which
the law says must open for the
ship. The increased demand has
compelled the cars to be run every
forty five seconds, so when they reach
the river in case Of vessel passage, six
or eight cars are blocked on each side.
Other cities passing through similar
experiences have tried various methods Of
solving the problem but have been only
partially successful. Marcus Pollasky
is genuine American Yankee and he
conceived an idea that the way TO run
the cars through the crowded streets
was not to run them there at all, but to
run them by means of IA loop beneath
the ground He made the subject "a
careful and thoughtful investigation
and was confirmed in his views. SO
four years ago he laid the plan for the
! loop or Subway before the council 't
| Chicago and such men as Lyman Gage,
now Secretary of Treasury, gave him
hearty support But the plan was
! laughed at by the council and PollaSky
was hailed as an idiot or as laboring
under a terrible halucination. So the
matter was laid aside. Since that time
the same system has been adopted by
Boston and several large cities and has
been fully perfected and operated by
that thriving city of Bohemia, Buda-
Petsh.
Mr. Pollasky has recently been in that
city and given careful study of the
working of the system finding it a
grand success.
Inspired by this he has made another
effort and this time Chicago receives
him with open arms and is prepared to
undertake the work.
We cannot explain the system in de-
tails as our space is limited. Approach
es or stations are placed at every corner
to receive passengers and lower them to
I the track. The tunnel through which
the tracks run will be made of iron be
brilliantly silvered and lighted by elec.
tricity so that one can see to read with
perfect ease. Air currents will keep the
atmosphere cool and pure. On emerging
from the tunnel the trains will run out
on there own tracks without any inter
ruption. The underground way viii
be six and a quarter miles long. The
cost of the project will be SS,OOO,OOO. A
company has been formed to construct
the line if the council favors the move
Furtherit might be said that Mr. Pollas.
ky is working for the city as well al
J for himself for he provides that at tn,
end of twenty years the entire plan
may pass into the hands of the city OF
payment of the cost of construction anC
expense to the company.
The plan is a magnanimous one anC
J will be a great credit TO Mr.. Pollasly
ability. The RECORD joins the citizen
of Alma in wishing for the success o
the project.