New-York tribune., 1901-05-31
1T WON'T DO, Mr.. TREELAND.

Tn the course of his interesting but inconclu-
s!ve talk with Tribune reporter, which we re-
ported yesterday. Mr.. Vreeland, president OF
the Metropolitan Street Railway Company, had
much 10 say about the impossibility of COM
nellinS the free citizens of New-York TO observe
such regulations against the overerowding of
streetcars as his company is urged 10 make.
Our conductors" he said, would be maued
half 10 death if they undertook TO eject from
"their cars passengers who wanted to ride
standing up We could not undertake TO make
"our conductors do police duty by throwing
these people off and enforcing such a law If it
were passed" Thereupon The Evening Sun
asks this short and searching question: How
"do the motormen keep passengers from riding
ION the front platforms of c6rs| When the
eompanys servants judge that the absolute
limit has been reached inside a car and on the
rear platform. passengers are usually allowed
TO occupy the front platform, because otherwise
several fares would be sacrificed. But it is per
fectly true that at other times passengers are
excluded from the front platform How Is
this accomplished: BY force and with diff
Guilty: Never. Are the companys servants
''mauled half 10 death: Certainly not. The
motorman simply says. You can't ride here"
and that settles il.
II may be convenient for the transportation
managers to assume that they have TO deal with
an obstreperous, fighting public But the argu-
ment based on that assumption has no weight
1t is in fact absurdly false, as the managers
themselves are continually demonstrating
Nothing could be more fantastic than the hy
pothesis that the very persons who bitterly
complain of the grievous abuses they have TO
suffer in streetcars, and yet peacefully and
even tamely submit TO them, would forthwith
turn around and violently refuse TO observe
rules designed TO promote their comfort. The
human animal does not thus suddenly and ca
priciously pass from habtual gentleness TO
habitual ferocity.
This is not a mere opinion. II is fact estab-
lished by actual tests. Mr. Vreeland asserts
that a conductor who should try TO eject pas
sengers who wanted TO ride standing up would
he mauled half TO DEATH" The example to the
contrary of the front platform has been cited
But that is not the only one. How about the
conductor of car which it suits the conven-
ience of the company 10 withdraw without
warning, perhaps on freezing night or in a
drenching rain? Is he mauled half 10 death
when he abruptly elects its passengers, com
pelling them to walk or, after more or less de
lay take another car which is very likely full
tO-oEernowing already? Not at all. There may
he some audible lamentation, with an occa-
sional curse. But the conductors word is law
and nobody lays finger on him. though the
provocatOn is great. Moreover. Mr. Vreeland
begs large part of the question when he talks
about ejecting passengers who want TO stand.
What he is desired 10 do is to keep people from
crowding in between seats already filed. so
that there may be nobody who ought to be
elected.
Not everybody is convinced that il is practi-
cable either 10 provide seats for all who want
to use the streetcars TO admit only so many
passengers as the seats will hold. But at least
il is time 10 drop the nOnsensical argument that
an extraordinarily peaceful community, whose
wonderful submssiveness 10 sore trials is
known 10 every transportation manager in
town, would be changed into a herd of wild
beasts if an honest and judicious effort were
made TO render the streetcar service comfort
able and decent.