New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-09-06
RELATED PROPOSITION.

In the course Of a. long amusing ana not
altogether inaccurate article on rhplu u""N"
in the boroughs Of Manhattan ana Inc p'o"N
"The Brooklyn Eagle" remarked last Mo"u"S
"Our people persist in believing thar Nn''
"caus will never travel underground u" 'n'5
"die and that most Of them even then VIII 90
"au they can TO travel in another dlre''o"'
The nronoun which begins the quo'a'l"" "P
nears from the context to indicate that Inc
neonle referred 10 are the people OF hr"oh' H.
hut why our esteemed contemporary "n''n
exists for their use and behoof. should take sue"
pains to proclaim their unwllhheheSs VI J"
ability 10 confess an gorgeous error ""'" W
perlence has abundanty confuted we '""""'
undertake 10 explain. Al hrst giah'e W.
Thought we had fallen on heneV0ient au
,.orttsou,ont If Greenwood Cemetery. hut the
lottor half NJ the sentence implying that there
ts q conceivable destination preferable even to
Greenwood makes that Interpretation unten
ohlo Another fugitive suggestion was that III
,ho oninion Of "The Eagles constituency
rndercround roads on this side Of the East
River would never he built in spite or pro
lonccd talk and occasional encouragement' ana
we wish we could think that merely this Is WhA'
orr contemporary meant, for such h'n'l
would not hopocssly dscrcdit anybody holding
il Rut i'm point Of fact tho thing asserted Is
,bo. tha noonle Of BROOKLYN persist in believing
that Americans do not want 10 travel on under
Ground roads and will refuse TO patronze them
If they are built.
perhans II IS foolish to he surprised Mt any
th,nc hut we arc not ashamed to admit that
this proposition. even though II emanateS from
BROOKLYN. is astonishing II was formerly the
custom Of certain persons and newspapers from
obvious motives which cannot possibly no at
trhnted 10 THE Eagle" to announce at fre-
ouput intervals that the scheme or RAPID transit
hv underground roads was fantastic ana prom
qote Inasmuch as nobody wanted 10 travel
through foul and gloomy tunnels. and abundant
means Of TRANSPORTATION in the light ana ar
already existed The number of variations
PLAYED upon this theme was Infinite. hut 10 the
close observer they all appeared TO have thcr
jnsrirat!on in tho Offices Of the Mammalian
companv One point which was made with
qreat frequency and fervor was that II would
no an insnferabe nuisance TO have To Walk
down q flight Of steps IN order 10 take train
and that aged and inirm persons would ma
such an imposition peculiarly burdensome ana
offensive When the industrious producers OF
this argument had finally got il through their
beads that there was nothing inirnSically re-
voltinc in a reversal Of the processes Of mount
inc IN and dismounting from an elevated train.
thev nursued I'm succession various other lines
Of attack. hut they were seldom much more
sensible For a long time after electricity be-
came common motive power. and all idea OF
usinc steam on the proposed roads bad been
abandoned. people were sOlemnly warned that
they would be poisoned by the products Of com
hustion If they were not actually choked ~
death I'm the tunnels. which. moreover, wonh
he hideously dark Shiny and stenchful.
But as time went on these assertions carried
less and less weight. for all the while testi-
monv to refute them was accommodating. ana
not only testimony hut practical proof FINALLY
poston's experience with her subways reduced
rho last Of the croakors who had iourished on
this side " the East River 10 silence. and we
doubt II outside Of Brooklyn anybody would
now venture to predict that in case under
ground roads should he provided In Manhattan
and The Bronx the people would not welcome
and use them with Joy and gratitude Why in
the world shouldn't they he hailed as bless
ing They would be light clean and sweet
cool in summer. warm in winter, and unim-
NEEDED by The traffic OF the streets. They would
furnish all the conditions essential to safe
TRANSFORMATION al a high speed. and they would
weld in The estimation Of the most competent
Judges including the Metropolitan Traction
Companv. large return on the investment.