The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-01-26
Tho Traction Company and the
Public.

Inc ulSpGS1tlOH VI lHt NOibA oNASN'
Street Railway Company to meet the
wishes of the public was pleasantly illus
trated. in Newark, on Tuesday evening
Mr.. David Young, the vice president and
executive manager of the company. at
tended a meeting of the Street and Water
Board, in company with General Super
intendent Chapman. He said the visit
was for the purpose of learning what, if
any, complaints were made by Newark
citizens. and what remedies could be APP
Piled. There was. a long discussion, at
the close of which Mr.. Young made
three promises, about as broad as even
the most exigent of Newark cranks could
demand. they were:-
That he will order superintendent
of the different trolley lines to take every
car in which there are passengers to the
destination marked on the car, even IL
ii be to the end of the line, without any
change of ears on the line.
2-That when a car is delayed more
thar ten minutes at a point on a line by
accident, or a blockade. or a river draw,
or at a railroad crossing, a relief car will
be sent from a car house over that line,
Nh-CAi @Oo
custom.
&.That if passengers notify him by
roet1l oard - telenhone. or th~nfl"h 2
conductor, that a certain car "rattles" SO
as to annoy passengers, he will at once
have the car taken OF the line and re-
paired so the noise will be abated.
The first of these promises is to meet
an agitation which has been going on in
Newark and the Oranges the last month
or so. Passengers lave been refusing to
transfer from short trip cars to through
cars at various points, and in some cases
they have forced the cars to be sent on
to the terminus of the road, while in
others they have been carried back to
the place from which they came rather
than surrender their point.
There are, of course, two. sides to this
matter of transfers. 1t is, of course,
wrong tina passengers should be forced
to leave one car and have to scrap for
seats on another, already overcrowded,
in order to reach their destination. This
used sometimes happen on the Green
-viIle-Bayonne line in this city, and it was
a crying evil, calling for complete re-
form. However, it was mainly a product
of the conditions which the managers of
the new system had to deal with in the
early history of the trolley in these
parts. Traffic grew in a way to BATTLE
all calculations, while cars could not be
bought fast enough to meet it, and the
company was, besides, embarrassed by
the enormous expense of constructing its
lines. Last year, there was very little
complaint on this score, and in the COM
ing summer, it is fair to anticipate, there
will be none at all, the compan being
now well provided with rolling stock of
great capacity.
But if it is a wrong to the public to
expect them to change to a crowded car,
merely in order to afford a small economy
to the company, it is, on the other hand,
outrageous to expect the company to run
a procession of empty or half empty
at a lead loss, and merely to save half
a dozen people the trouble of changing
seats. To demand this is to rush into
the realm of crankdom; it is to demand
Of a corporation that it wilfully and
wantonly waste money, without serving
any useful purpose whatever. The alb
surdity of this position was shown in the
Newark discussion, in the following in
terchange of views, which we quote from
the Newark advertiser
President Hewson said it was unjust to
people who paid fares to be taken TO
a destination on a car to be asked TO
change cars But If a car having no pas
sengers were switched back the public
would not complain. But every car mark
ed on the outside to go to a certain place
should be run to that place If passengers
were on it, and the Board would take
measures to have this done.
IF three cars arrive at a switch to-
gether," Mr.. Young asked, does his
Board want to compel the company to
run the three, though two be ample, to
delayed by an accident and people are
waiting downtown for cars to go home?'
Mr.. Young's question draws the line
clearly between common sense and crank
mess. The entire conference shows that
the company has the right idea of it's
position and duties. 1t is anxious to do
everything in reason, and indeed out of
reason. to accommodate the public. 1t
has overcome enormous difficulties in the
last five years. 1t is making improve
ments every day. 1t has conferred bene-
fits upon this county and Essex beyond
calculation, and as fast as new needs
arise it will doubtless meet them to the
general satisfaction
srl. rc-x NaworE Cocoeeinniaf