The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-03
TUNNEL SCHEME HOPELESS.
JAMES TURNER TELLS OF a PRAc-
TIOlBLE RAPID TRANSIT PLAN.

,bs r,-,i.ate, weuia vet Pay Expenses,
ana vyouia swamp the CITY In Damages.
Among the taxpayers Of New York who have
a more than ordinary interest In increased
rapid transit for the city Is James Turner OF 7OS
East l3eth street. For many years Mr.. Turner
was the senior member Of the banking firm OF
Turner Brothers, whose banking house was In
the building now occupied by the Fourth
National Bank, at IA Nassau street, which
building Turner Brothers built. Up to the time
Mr.. Turner retired from Wall street he was
largely interested in railroads. He built the
hrst surface road that the city OF Buffalo had.
ne was interested In the Central Pacific, the
Southern Pacific, and other Western roads, and
he was also one Of those to furnish the money
for building tho first elevated road in New York.
That road ran up Greenwich street, from the
Battery TO Cortlandt street, and up Ninth avenue
20 Thirtieth street.
Mr.. Turner, believing that no sane person can
question the city's need for increased rapid
transit. Ia unable to understand how any sane
( person who has given the subject any attention
can approve the underground scheme proposed
By tho Rapid Transit Commissioners Having
been interested In the building Of several rail-
roads, Mr.. Turner believes that when he talks
about rapid transit he 10 discussing o subject
about which he knows something. In CONVERSE
tlon with o reporter of THE Sun on Friday no
paid:
Before l give my views on rapid transit, let
MS understand each other clearly. Such an un.
tderBtanding may prevent q misunderstanding
later on. It 10 many years since I was In active
business. I Am an old man now, and l don't care
10 engage in any controversy with any one. To
attend to my own affairs keeps me quite as
busy az I care to be. do, however, take ON in
tferest in all that affects tho city, because 1 love
It. / feel that what is good for the city Is good
for all It's citizens, and / also believe In the con.
verse OF that proposition. Because 1 hold these
two beliefs is the reason that / am unalterably
opposed to tho underground system OF rapid
transit proposed by the Rapid Transit Commits
nioners. My opposition 10 not based on the fact
that / have an axe to grind for myself or for any
one else. I do not own stock and I am not inter.
osted, directly or indirectly, In any Of the com.
panies, elevated or surface. now furnishing what
A. commonly called rapid transit to the citizens
s.OfNew York.
sHaving thu prefaced what I am about to
BAY, lot me add that 1 am opposed to the under.
! ground system of rapid transit for three reasons.
First. the proposed road cannot be built for any
thing like the proposed estimate OF $50, OOO,-
/, 600. and It cannot be built In anything like five
years, the time estimated by the engineer of the
Rapid Transit Commissioners for the construc-
tion Of the road. Second, the road will not pay
s whom constructed. and. third, the damages to
The cityfs treasury would be swamped In paying
them. -
to make in support Of these reasons for my op.
g position to the scheme. 1 have. though. some
s snH ab naT ,Seie rosd n esn bs bu liz for Ge$ Ssb .ooo. ooo,
and. perhaps, for less. Tho work is TO be almost
altogether underground. That, Of course. Il
you don't believe it. ask any railroad man who
: has over had. to do any tunnelling which is the
underground. That fact having been estab-
Iiehed to my satisfaction; at any rate.
, Work. me extending asm you over sP s 3 period On" u y sasa.
which. has been undertaken by the city,
ssiies si fOr. i Don' %S ssf i ms Why sss G shia IS s sSn'f H:f
some contractor, Any one OF them can tell you
INV 70 Est e bill q n extras q .h IU% In,t Look &C ;S at
Aaueduct. Both of these works were to DO
done BY o certain time and at a certain cost.
Il iraet price hus been greatly exceeded in each
case. These are surface works: What may we
ture .se nD Drs aHsh s,t tsat u Il p tSs propcs ea1 road xsh Is
he amount oftho ' highest estimate made By the
engineer OF the commissioners It seems obvious
6 ssa %s that nat n shS sSsS aS ESn .sd pay cost the Of N aonss4nsti sn;
may be; If men Of sound business sense thought
the read would would pay, do ySn suppose there
proceedinEs before work on the job eouid. com:
mencef Why. Young man. 4 this scheme
enough money from, private sources would be-
subscribed In q week. to build and equip IL.
amount. would be a mere b:iestelle to twenty
i've men could name, could they see any
prssd n y " Pp sno% a IL Y e nSl sb s1 sh th s!1 pSas: of the
proposed road, you know that the plan is to run
Eas and water pipes through ought the tunnel h,dUl. pid
res pipesj r you aid, were you pleased with
y soS Gec Just III the 'f fellow " to o' patronf}zsS that Sets linden sasn
ground railIoad II it's over built. Nc. matter
t tSsrs' Ssf Soana t to BE- soma sas I %sias are Let sSth tSSt
leakage germeste q tunnei, no matter how we'll
!, Who . r yS1 shraSsh a Il viii III have %as 70 S SFss q ar E saHsS
people would not patronize II. or illness through
put the city would increase In a manner calcn.
satisfied class in tho city.
tTnrthsrmore. this proposed road will end at
% tho city until It reaches Forty-second street.
Then 1t Swings around TO- and under Broadway
fose Il branches to the cast and west. During
thearIsh hours the line iaSs OF rPbp ptb transit aIaat tha a VIII 4
city. In the morning the great majority
Of people want to 60 below Forty.secold
side Of. town. But II they were to travel under.
ground. those whose businesses are on the west
where they wanted TO-. Does It strike You that
Q road that dumps its downtown passengers q
ness would be popular enough to attract a mad
ding threng Of Passensersd on. - =.
Tho RAPID transit COMMISSIONER seem To
have touched lightly on the damage suits that
may 30 brought b., persons under whose prop
mel will abut. 1t Is, perhaps. well that they
have done SO for the success OF their scheme:
Had this question been very much agitated 1
fancy we would not now be hearing much about
underground roads. They may say that all that
matter has been arranged. or that they have
provided for damage suits in contingent ex.
penses, or that 80 many property owners along
the line Of the proposed road favor IL that the
damage suits ri be few. Or they may say that
the plans, which have been approved will not
damage AUDITING property.
That's all very we'll. That sort of talk may
40 for lawyers, and IL may have weight with
courts; but, / tell you. II won't go down with men
who know tho ways OF folks who own property
~abutting op q new railroad. underground, ON
the ground, or overground. Damage suits. in
such instances, are things upon which no wise
man will attempt to figure. Why, young man,
damage suits can spring from the Lord knows
where. Let that road be built and then see
tne city wont have stopped lighting ana paving
when Gabriel blows his trump! The Rapid
Transit Commissioners may say to this:
"'Poohi That's all talk. rIere assertion, and