Evening star., 1901-08-24
WASHINGTON VS.. BROOKLYN
CRITICISMS of THE LATTER RE-
sENTED BY A RESIDENT.
Street Cars, Theaters, Payements and
other Items of Municipal Equip
ment Compared.

A few days ago The Star published q
short article giving an interview with a
government official, who told Of his graft
tude for having removed to this city from
Brooklyn. and giving his reasons for pre-
ferring Washington as place of residence.
This matter was copied in the Brooklyn
Eagle, which took occasion to point out
the superiority Of the Washington street
car service. The Eagles reproduction of
the criticism of that city has evidently
aroused the local fidelity of resident OF
New York's bed room,' as it Is often
called, for letter has been received by
The Star from Brooklyn which reveals a
certain degree of agitation. That letter,
signed Jas. F. Duhig,'' is as follows:
After reading your article, it occurred
to me that, from Brooklyn standpoint,
there were one or two things contained
therein which required answering, and if
you will permit / will endeayor to show
that this man who took his clothes and
went was a trif1e off on some of his flings
at Brooklyn.
True Bill About Cars.
In the first place / arrived at the con-
clusion that he had not lived very long
here, evidently could not wean himself
from the customs of your city. and SO went
back. Most of the conditions as described
by him exist here. it is true, simply be-
cause Brooklyn. unlike Washington, is a
great big hustling community. the over
powering StrenuouSness of life, the mad
daily rush being absent from the capital,
according to Mr.. Clerk. He speaks of hav-
ing been compelled to ride, while in Brook
lyn, in Jerky, overhead. child-lkilling and
man-mangling trolley cars Well, would
ask him. do the underground trolley cars
in use in Washington carry with them an
assurance that he or she will not be hurt
II struck by them? We have the same sys-
tenn Of transportation in Manhattan Bor-
ough. but they manage to kill or mansle
a few people over there, and they will do
more of 1t when they take the horse cars
from the crowded tenement districts and
substitute the trolley. We kill more peo-
pie here with our trolleys because, CITY,
like, our streets are crowded. II you have
a low death rate in Washington, due, as
Mr.. Clerk would have us believe, 20 your
trolley cars, it is because you have Ge-
serted streets and fewer people to DO put
out of business
HE comments upon the crowded condi-
ton of the Brooklyn cars (Which is fact),
and criticises the company therefor. But
where, I would again ask him. would the
Washington car manates get of If they
had to manage such vast system as the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit? Why, one Of
our Coney Island lines carries more peo-
pie on a Saturday or Sunday than does
the whole system Of trolley cars in Wash
ington. And when one considers the num-
erous places Of recreation which abound
in or near Brooklyn, in addition to Coney
Island. and which are reached by this sys-
tenn Of cars, it is not to be wondered at
that there are not troleys enough to carry
all the people and that they consequently
have to stand between the seats. During
business hours (when this government
clerk appeared to have his kick cOming)
the same conditions prevail. Some OF the
lines run cars only a block apart, but even
this does not seem to help matters. We
have the people and are simply getting so
big that after while there won't be troll
leys enough in America to carry us. II
you have such thoughtful management in
running of your trolley cars in Washing
ton. as was stated in the interview, then l
must say they have more time for think
ing than we have in Brooklyn.
Pavements Here and There.
''Now we come to the question Of pave
ments here. described by Mr.. Clerk as
being execrable. cannot deny that Brook
lyn. as a whole. Is poorly paved. but this
evil is fast being remedied. But will say.
however. that such streets as are well
paved in this town generally lead to some
where, which cannot be said Of Washing
ton. Your city may be a wheelman's para
disc. In that all the streets are like
fioors." and there it ends. But where will
YOU find the equal of our cycle pathi
There may be others, but none with such
a beauty spot as Prospect Park at one
end and gay old Coney at the other. And
this patch can be reached by good pave
ments from all part Of the borough. /
wonder If Mr.. Clerk ever took that spin:
IL you trayersed Eastern parkway, its ex-
tension and the numerous boulevards 1t
leads to; il you ever pedaled down I'D,
Cropsey, Fort Hamilton avenues. or the
other havens Of wneelmen in that vicinity ?
II from a wheeimans standpoint this
clerk prefers Washington with It's good
pavements, which lead to nowhere in par
ticular, to Brooklyn, with its diversity Of
md nyVf frnn nj
a few mental volts shy.
Theaters, Too.
"In another part Of the interview we find
him saying that Washington has finer thea
ters, and more Of them, than Brooklyn.
This in itself brands him as short slayer
here / would say to him that have been
in all the Washington theaters, and be-
tween them and our Brooklyn houses there
is no comparison. We have at least three
here that have the best In Washington
beat to death. Even our vaudeville houses
are Dreams one of them not being sur
passed by anything in it's line. And how
does he count when he says there are more
theaters In Washington than Brooklyn?
Your city has. or rather did have, when l
was last there, seven temples of this kind
while at this writing we have in Brooklyn
sixteen, namely, Columbia, Park, Hyde &
Behman's. Bijou. Star, Grand Opera House,
Montauk, Orpheum. Criterion. Gotham.
toms and Lyceum. In addition we have
Haverly's Musee, with it's waxworks and
vaudeville: the Academy of Music, which
Is sometimes used for theatricals. and the
new Folly. which opens the latter part Of
September, making total Of nineteen the
aters prepared to run full blast this sea-
son. Can Washington beat that? Why. in
one end Of Brooklyn alone We have more
amusement places than in all Washington
And, mind you. Brooklyn supports these
houses all by herself. Because Of our
nearness to Manhattan we have very little
floating population. SO that when our thea
ters prosper, as they all do. 1t Is because
Brooklyn people are fond of amusements
and do the supporting. When 1t comes to
a lay-down on theaters. Brooklyn has
Washington looking like dollar with sew
enty cents missing.
'There is one thing would not attempt
to argue with Mr.. Clerk, and that is his
assertion that there Is only one Washing
tom Any one who has been there will not
dispute that. except. perhaps, some Phila-
delphian."
balance of Power In Nature.