New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-26
No MORE 0rERHEAD TROLLEYS.

4 word Of hearty commentator is due to MY.
Walton. the Deputy Commissioners of Buildings,
Lighting and Supplies in the Borough of Brook
lvn for his action on Wednesday in declining 10
Issue n permit 10 the Brooklyn Heights Railroad
Comnanv 10 change the motive power OF It's
Moptague-st. line from underground cable TO
overhead trolley No doubt his action Is disap-
pointing and peculiarly annoying. TO the rail-
road comnanv: in which there Is no occasion
10 oXult since that company IS In the main
managed on liberal principles and with view
TO giving the public the best possible service
compatible with securing for Itself the largest
nossible profts Nevertheless. Mr.. Walton is
exactly right. and 1t il 10 be hoped the stand
he has taken will be scadfastly and peg
monently maintained. and even advanced so
that not only will the Moniague-st line not be
nermittcd 10 adopt the overhead trolley. but no
now lines or extensions Of old ones will be per
mlttc1 70 do SO The situation IS. no doubt m
irritating one 10 the company All its vast Sys-
TEN. one OF the largest in the world. Is uni
fornlv equipped with the overhead trolley eX-
centinc this little bit. less than mile in length.
So. while cars can be run at will from one line
70 another on all other lines this one must re-
main separate and isolated. It's cars can run
street can run on IT,
But If the mountain viii not. or cannot come
10 Mahomet. why then. Mahomet can. and
must 20 10 the mountain. II the company IS
not permitted. and il is 10 be hoped it will never
be. TO make the Montague-St. line conform win
the rest of it's system. II will be permitted 10
make all the rest Of its system conform with
the Montaguest line; or. rather. with what the
liz lao ust1p
Walton is ready TO issue permits for an under
ground trolley system on Montague 81. md the
establishment of il on what Is now cable road
would be one Of the simplest and least eXpen-
slve Of Jobs for the cable conduit and slot
could undoubtedly De made 10 serve The pur-
poses Of the electric conductor and connections.
OF course 10 make that change on that one bit
Of road would not help matters: that road would
be inst NJ much divorced from the rest Of the
lines as ever. II would be necessary 10 change
all the other lines. and that would mean TO re-
build the entire roadbcd Of them all And that
IS exactly what Mr. RossItcr's company ought
10 DO AT the earliest possible moment. II would
be a big job and costly one. 50 j. That now
going on i'm this borough on Sixth AMI Eighth
ayes. and so have similar transformations been
on Fourth and Third and Second nves. ana
Broadway from cable go underground trolley
or from horse TO cable II would De move
mcnt forward TO a better system than the pres
en', and TO- It may well be believed. The best
system yet devised by the ingenuity ~ man.
Years ago The Tribune urged the adoption 81
the underground trolley on all orr city rail
roads But railroad men shook their heads. i
would be hazardous experiment. they said.
II might work. and II might not And New
York the greatest. richest. most cnterprisng
city Of the greatest. richest. most enicrprising
Nation. was no place for experiments, We then
gave them the information. which 10 them must
have seemed most startling. that the expert
ment had been made long before in Budapest.
and that It's result was conspicuous and brill
liant success. Well, they said. but New York
IS not Budapest. and what works there might
not work here. Our severe winters, with 50
much snow and ice. would interfere with the
operation Of such system. To that we replied
that the climate OF Budapest IS considerably
colder and more trying IN such respects than
that Of New-York. So AZ last they tried II. tim
orously and tremblingly. on a single avenue.
And 10, II worked perfectly: and when heavy
winter storm blocked all other roads. that one
went on without trouble. And since then two
other big lines In this borough have adopted the
system. and two more are nj this moment
working night and day TO do 50. and there is
not a road Of Importance on Manhattan Island
that Is not planning TO do IT In the near future.
Surely the Brooklyn roads, which have almost
always been better equipped and managed than
those Of Manhattan, will not long lag behind.
Let us hope Mr.. Watons judiclous stand will
cause the grateful change 70 be fastened.