The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-14
GIANT CONTEST
Electricity and Human Force
Combat the Wind and
Snow.
OPENING TROLLEY LINES
Drifts Too Much for Ploughs
and Motors Last
Evening.
TRAFFIC RESUMED TODAY
One Street After Another Dug
Out of the White Mountains
Hundreds at Work.
TRAFFIC RESUMED TODAY

Superintendent Harry Fuller of the
North Jersey Street Railway Company, by
perseverance and plenty of hard work,
managed to keep two lines of cars rum
ming all night. They were the Montgom-
cry street and Belt lines. The Montgom-
cry street line ran as far as Bergen ave
nue.. Until this morning the other cars
were only run as far as the car stable
by way of Lafayette.
The Newark avenue line was complete
ly blocked. Shortly before eleven o'clock
last night four cars hat were sent to
gether up Newark avenue, preceded by A
sweeper, were stalled. A gang of men
was sent to dig them out They did not
succeed until long after midnight. All
other lines were completely blocked and
were still blocked this morning.
Mr.. Fuller hopes to have the Erie street
line and those which-he kept open running
under fairly good Roadway all day The
Bayonne and Newark lines he does not
hope to have running in good order until
tomorrow. The snow drifts in many
places are over seven feet deep. In some
localities the snow banks are even as
high as nine feet.
Mr.. Fuller and the other officers of the
North Jersey Street Railway Company
did all they could for the comfort of their
patrons and their employees. The offices
of the company or the ground floor were
abandoned for business purposes and were
utilized as waiting rooms. They were
crowded all day long.
Last night there were a number of per-
sons waiting for cars to Bayonne and
points where there was no service. Sew
eral OF them spent the night in the wait
ing rooms. They made themselves as
comfortable as they could in their
cramped quarters. They secuted about
for hotel accommodations but could find
none. The drivers of sleighs did a rush
ing business. Many of them had been
employed by guests at the Lincoln ban
quet in Taylor's Hotel. The banquet
was not over until nearly midnight. The
drivers instead of standing around in the
cold did a big business in taking persons
who could not get trolley accommodations
to their homes. They were not at all
backward in raising the prices either.
In the room at the ferry reserved for
the motormen and conductors huge
caldrons of coffee were kept for the men.
On a table were plenty of warm rolls. AS
NAAC A4AS NcAA4C ~ SltOAA iAPos SOAAiO III
which took several hours, they were given
coffee and rolls. seventy gallons of
coffee were distributed among the men
yesterday afternoon and evening. When
any of the men got stalled in out of the
way places Superintendent Fuller tele-
phoned them to get food and drink and he
would settle the bills. The men appre-
ciated the kind treatment they received
and did their level best to cooperate with
Mr.. Fuller in an effort to keep the road
open.
They were more successful thar the
men ON any other division. The storm
has thrown three fourths of the con-
ductors and motormen out of employment
for the present. The one fourth remain
ing at work are engaged on the few cars
that are running and on the sweepers and
ploughs. The men on the sweepers and
ploughs are paid twenty-five cents an
hour and are permitted to work ten hours
a day. thus they make $3.50 in one day.
The motormen and conductors are only
paid $500 for a twelve hour working day,
so those who nave found employment on
the sweepers are better off than at their
ordinary work.
Many of the men who have been thrown
off their cars by the storm have applied
for work at snow shovelling. They have
been hired in preference to outside labor
ers. It is not an thing in diff
ferent parts of the city today to see the
familiar faces of old time conductors and
motormen in the streets.
Mr.. Fuller started yesterday morning
with ten sweepers and three ploughs.
They were kept going from three o'clock
yesterday morning right through. Those
that are not blocked are going yet. Last
night three sWeepers and two snow
ploughs were useless. Men were at work
all night repairing them. Another sweep
er was stalled at Pavonia avenue and
Erie street. Two cars were with it. They
had to be dug out of the drifts. Nothing
could be done toward clearing the tracks,
except such work as the ploughs and
sweepers could do, until the high wine
abated.
Abou three hundred men congregated
in the car sheds at Montgomery street
and Jordan avenue and in G%reenville
ready to start out with shovels to clear
away the drifts as soon as the snow fall
ceased. 1t stopped showing at about five
o'clock this morning, and the men were
started out without delay. They have
been working steadily ever since and
they are making great Roadway. The
Vast Side and Craenyille lines will havs