Evening star., 1898-01-08
AGAINST OVERHEAD WIRES
The Underground System Urged for Greater
New York.
Under the New Charter for the Me-
tropoiis the Effort VIII He Made
to Bar the Trolley.

been exceedingly lavish in the last half
| century. In recent years the opportunities
| for profit on the part of these corpora
| tfcns have. been immensely lucrative. Be
fore cables and electricity were used in
connection with street travel some of the
| companies which ran horse cars on either
| side of the East river were managed with
little ability, and the revenues of such
| companies were somewhat scanty. Ere
quently the managers in those days were
| appointed on account of kfnship to the
| large holders of stock or for other rea-
sons than the possession of marked
ecutiye ability. The service of the horse
car lines in New York and Brooklyn Il
quarter of a century ago was wretched.
| and the management of the majority of
| the lines was slow. unenterprising, unpro-
gressive and actually stupid. Poor as was
| the class of the most Of the horses, the
| companies paid prices for them far high
er than the market prices of today. The
| cost of the cars and the outlay for sup
| plies in the sixties and in the early sew
enties were by no means moderate. For
| these reasons-inefficient management,
high prices for horses, for. hay and for
cars-some of tine street car lines failed
to crafty the stockholders by paying big
| dividends.
| marvellous revolution in street travel
has been accomplished within twenty-five
years, and radical changes on a vast scale
are even now in progress. In a few years
| hcrse cars Will be wellnigh unknown with
in the territory Of the present city OF New
| York and the present city Of Brooklyn.
| Kings county is covered with a network
| of trolley lines, and almost every avenue,
| almost every street and almost every space
| that can be made use of with profit Is
| afflicted with overhead wires. In this city
| 1t is evident from the work already begun
| and from the plans which have been made
| public that the underground electric sys-
| TENS are likely to drive out almost all
| the remaining horSecars and to take the
| place of most of the cables. The Metropoli-
tan Traction Company has found that the
| underground electricity is a more salts
| factory motive power than the cable. The
Sd avenue company has had better fortune
| with it's cables than the Metropolitan has
| lad In Broadway, and the Sd avenue is
making SO much money with its existing
| machinery that it may not do away with
| Its cables for a considerable period. Not
| many years have passed since the horses
| in the Bowery and in I'd avenue gave way
| to the cables, but the Sd avenue company,
| although 1t has been compelled to expenu
| large sums in the changes which it has
| made, is now paying handsome dividends,
| ard is likely to pay still larger ones in the
| future. In fact 1t is obvious that the trans
| portation companies which run cars on the
| surface anywhere on Manhattan Island
| and almost anywhere in Brooklyn are sure
| to have years and decades of SPLENDID pros
| perity before them. All this part of the
| United States is increasing steadily and
| even rapidly in population. while the num-
Der OF visitors from every point of the COM
| pass Is expanding tmpreSSiVely every year.
! Most unfortunate it is for the taxpayers of
| New York and Brooklyn that the corpora
| tionS winch are certain to amaSS prodigiouS
| riches by carrying people through ave-
| nues and streets not required to con-
| tribute more generously to the public fund.
1t would be difficult to discover anywhere
| within this county and anywhere in Kings
| finy,
| which gives to the community an adequate
| return for the privileges which ii enjoys
| The people of these great cities have been
! surrendered to the untender lnercies of
these corporations and the men in control of
| these companies show no disposition to pay
! to the cities what they ought to pay. Mis-
| takes of the worst kind have been made
! in the past in bestowng much upon
| these corporations and getting little in
| return.
Under the new charter new enterprises in
surface transportation will be required to
| do more for the public than the existing
| companies have been doing. Something
| will be gained in that way, although the
| various lines have already laid hold upon
| all the richest areas and the most valuable
| franchises in the several counties which
| will make up the Greater New York. 1t
will be the duty of the municipal officials
| ana in fact of all who have the publ: in
| tereSt in charge, to compel new corpora
| tions hereafter to give as much as possibly
| can be secured from them in return for the
| N
| more overhead electric wires should be
| strung anywhere, from the furlhest verge
| OF Staten Island to the Yonkers line or
| from the North river on the west to the
| eastern extremity of the Greater New
| YORK. Every company which now uses
| electricity and every new company which
| intends to use electricity should be required
| to use the underground system rather than
| the overhead system. 1t Is not necessary
| here and now to dwell upon the many
| dangers which the use of the overhead cleo
| tr1c wires involves. 1t has been found in
| every city in which trolleys are numerous
| that the fire departments are hampered and
| embarrassed by the poles and the wires.
| The number of accidents and disasters of
| various sorts which have occurred in COLI
| sequence of the overhead wires is appal-
| ling. No public-spirited official, no one oc-
| cupying a place of trust who honestly de-
| sires to serve his fellow citizens, will re-
| frain from opposing the addition of new
! overhead wires to the frightful excess of
| these wires which does much mischief in
| Brooklyn and in some other parts of the
| Greater New York. When the new charter
| goes into effect the vigilance of all office
| holders and of all bodies which have any
| power of restraint upon the corporations
| which the streets should be carried out
| to the utmost. New York and Brooklyn
| have been far too generous and too prodi-
| gal to these corporations. They should be
! kept vigorously within bounds hereafter.
|