Milford chronicle., 1901-08-02
NEW YORK clTVs PROGRESS
A Chicago Comment on the Enter
prise of the Metropolis.

prise OF the Metropolis.
The enterprises in which the public and
private capital Of New York city has en-
banked during the last few years and
chose which are about to be launched, to-
ge,her with those projected and certain to
be carried out IN the near future, oonsti-
tute group of municipal undertakings
which in point Of magnitude, cost and
utility are unparalleled in history.
The reconstruction of Paris inaugural
ed under Napoleon III, the creation Of
the Ringstrasse, which transformed old
Vienna into n modern city; the rejuvena-
ton of Berlin, and the building Of the
Thames embankment in London were all
great pHblic works in their way, but they
pale into insigniicance beside those which
New York city is engaged in and cOntem-
plating.
The new Croton dam, with its system
Of reservoirs, new in course OF .cOnstruc-
ton, is one OF the gigantic undertakings
of the age and may in many respects be
compared to our drainage canal. The
subways now being built are an enter
prise that would test the financial re-
sources of any great modern cities.
The magnificent speedway, only re-
Gently completed, the extension Of the
park system along the Hudson, the crea-
ton Of numerous small parks in the con-
gested tenement districts, involving the
purchase and dedication to public use OF
millions of dollars worth OF private prop
erty, and the gigantic dock and harbor
improvements carried on at private as
well as public expense, only partly make
up the sum of Gotham's less pretentious
enterprises. The Hudson river tunnel
may be left out Of the summary Of recent
undertakings, and so may the East river
suspension bridge, because everything
that New York has done in the past is
OvershadOwed by what It Is doing now
and by what it is planning TO do in the
future.
A very few years ago New York city
did not have a single great bridge. In a
very few years from now it will have
several of the greatest bridges In the
world. One of them at least will outrank
the pride OF Great Britain, the bridge
across the Firth of Forth. Three and
probably four of these structures will be
open for traffic within the next ten years.
The largest Of them, as we'll as the hand
soonest and most costly, will connect the
center Of the metropolis with the beauti.
full territory across the Hudson and will
bring tho Palisade district within a few
minutes ride of City Hall square.
Behind this enterprise are the Pennsyl
vania Railroad company and some of the
greatest financial concerns of New York
The cost of this bridge, with its ap
pTOaches, is estimated at $60,000,0O0, anC
this enormous sum does not brighten tn,
men who seem to be determined at any
cost to make the first city Of America thu
first city of the globe.
1t will be worth while for Chicago t,
take in and ponder over the magnifcen
strides which New York has been max
ing during the last eight years. In tina
period this city has been either at
standstill or retrOgrading. Since the gate
were closed upon the Worlds exposition
no enterprise worthy of the second cit,
of the continent has been launched here
and no encouragement has been offere
the capital or the capitalists that nigh
have launched them. - Chicago Int
Ocean.