New-York tribune., 1901-09-24
FINES CHOKE PASSENGERS
THE BOARD OF HEALTH INTERFERES TO
PREVENT TORTURE IN THIRTY
FOURTH-ST. CARS.

eo ,un,.rou. and SO earnest has become the
chorus OF protests from passengers forced TO en-
dure the suffocating suphuric acid gas which
eecapes from the batteries under the cars Of the
rty-rourth-st crosstown line. that the boaro
Of Health has taken action TO abate the nj
xs,oe A letter has been sent the board. so
Tribune reporter was informed yesterday, by an
orsciai of the Health Department TO the Metro
pnlitsn Street Railway Company asking II 10
remedy this crying hardship which IL inhc's
,Ipon its patrons. No reply has yet peen re-
,e,,ed from the company 1T is said. and II
none is forthcoming soon, the board Is hkely 10
take a summary STEP in the form OF a oireol
order This matter will probably come up at
,he next meeting OF the commissioners.
There are a great many people in the city VIM
sincerely hope IT will not be dropped uhti eiie
railway company is forced TO adopt pattery
for ,ts cars that will not iniict positive LOT rlu
,,non its passengers. The Tribune was the III st
TO call attention to the unbearaole iurheo i
the batteries now used
SUFFERING OF THOSE WITH "EAh
LUNGS.
rb. .Yor.esion torture is exaggeration
in this connection. thousands OF New-forA-
ers can testify especially such as have chrohi-
calIv weak throats or lungs. or those whose
breathing apparatus was in any was nhlaNoi-
ably affected by a temporary cold at the time
10 The sulphuric acid gas escaping from the
batteries irritates the throats and nostrls, OF
weak and strong alike, acutely that cough
.ng at once begins and painful sensation OF
choking or rather trying TO nreathe III
vacuum is set up. This sensation woulo result
I'm death IL the batteries gave of much more
gas than they do, but so far no one mas oeeh
actually asphyxiated. and the company seems
10 think that as long the torture stops snort
TO alleviate the situation.
II is well within the range OF POSSIBILITY
however. that the company's directors may re-
,eiye rude shock when some passenger brings
q e,,it for damages against them on the plea
shat the irritation Of his throat, produced ny
riding twice day these cars to ana from
his place of business for couple OF mohehs' mas
produced a genuine case of bronchlus OF even
pneumonia Doctors by a Tribune reporter
Yesterday said such cases were not unknown TO
them. .
BRINGS ON BRONCHITIS.
DR. C NJ. Hickey. of No. 151 East Thirty
fourth-st. for instance, said he knew OF seVerai
persons who had gone TO their physicians suffer
ing from bronchitis pneumonia this sum-
rner. ana had expressed wonder as TO how they
had become i'll since they could remember no
e1posIlre they had undergone at all likely TO
produce such results When told that In all
likelihood the disease had DEVELOPED from
chronic irritation of the mucous membrane OF
the breathing apparatus through inhaling twice
g day strong draughts of sulphuric acid gas
from Mr. Vreelands batteries, they expressed
great Indignation.
A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH.
Dr. Hickey regards these leaking batteries not
orly as painful nuisance. but as a real menace
70 the public health He has suffered from
them himself as have some of his patients. and
knows what he is talking about. Especially
dangerous. says DR.. Hickey, is 1T for babes and
children to be exposed to these choking fumes.
Women have been known not infreQuently TO
faint in these when the acid gas poured
out in more than its customary volume, ana
. persons OF strong lungs have coughed for hours
after a short trip in these yellow torture cham
bers. II is a customary sight to see the front
and rear platforms Of of these cars fairly
packed with passengers. while the interior is
deserted, all having fed from their seats to
about a new streetcar line in Picking some
other half civilized city. where the practical
handling OF electricity was little understood il
would provoke laughter and furnish food for the
joke writer and the funny cartoon artist. Here
IN New York il is a burning shame that the
municipal authorities should allow
trenched monopoly to put such insult daily
and hourly upon the citizens
Any railroad which attempted to carry cattle,
sheep pigs in such cars would quickly be
deserted by the shippers of live stock and be
prosecuted for cruelty 10 animals well: but
TO all appearances the Metropolitan Street Rail-
Its valuable franchises: We've got the only
crosstoH'n line between Twenty-ninth and Forty
second SITS. and If you don't choose ride in
our cars and choke you can walk and sweat "
The motive power the Thirty y-fourth-st line
is electricity stored in a battery beneath the