New-York tribune., 1901-10-12
STREET RAILWAYMEN DINE
NREELAND'S SPEECH TO THE ACCOUNT
ANTS EXPLAINED-W. c. WHIT
NEY JOINS IN A SONG.

association at Sherry's. The members and guests
Of the association numbered nearly four hundred.
President Vreeland, when seen at the dinner
garding speech to the accountants in the after
noon. in which he told the accountants certain
things ought not to appear the books refused to
allow the stenographer to give his remarks.
1t was explained that what Mr. Vreeand said
was that the accountants should keep their
counts so that one would need to have an ex-
pert accountant present to interpret them, and that
he said nothing about franchises
Mr. Freeland presided at the dinner After the
installation of the officers the following toasts
responded to: THE Street Railway in Law and
Politics." by Job E. Hedges; Our Friends the
Steam Railroads. by c. S. Gleed director and at
torney of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe
Railroad Topeka. Kan; THE Kickers'' by Simeon
Ford; The Technical Press" by T. Cummerford
Martin, of The Electrical World" West Point
and Annapolis" by General Eugene Griffin, vice
president of the General Electric Company; THE
Mule in the Field of Traction by ex-Representa
tive John S. Wise; The Only Railroad Man Ever
Knew" by Assistant District Attorney Martin w.
Littleton. of Kings County and THE Press" by
Albert Miller.
Besides the speakers there at the guests
table William c. Whitney. T. E. Ryan. H. Sander
son, president Of the New-York Electric Vehicle
Transportation Company; j. B. McCary of Bir
mingham, Ala; f. L. Fuller manager of the Wyo-
ming Traction Company; G.. W. Baumhoff, Of the
st. Louis Traction Company; A. Skitt. vce-presi
dent of the Manhattan Elevated Railroad E. n.
AIaher of the Union Railway Company; John
r. Beetem. of the New-York and Queens Com
pany: n. H. Heft and F. n. Taylor
William c Whitney joined in the song. "A Hot
Time in the Old Town Tonight" and when it
ended there were cheers for Mr.. Whitney. to which
he bowed acknowledgment.
l came here tonight at the solicitation of Mr..
Vreeland. He is TO blame. The papers say he is
self-made man. and he looks If he rather
did the Job. He began at the bottom of the lad
der parted from the top rung long ago. and is
| ,Iy,,
may yet live to have cigar named after him.
Every Christmas morning he wakes up and finds
fifty thousand dollars in his socks-twenty-hve in
each sock. VreeIand always lands with both feet
This is Just little tribute of affection from his di-
rectors When they give him anything they sock
It TO him ! hope it doesn't out of the stock
holders. am stockholder in that road, too. Oh,
I'm easy mark!
But Vreeland has instituted quite lot of re-
forms in our streetcar system. 1t he who
conceived the idea of making the seats of the open
just too wide for four people and just too
narrow for five The consequence is that no sooner
do four people get comfortably seated than a NTH
appears usually large sprightly lady, quite broad
across the narrows-who. with an air Of careless
abandon filings herself boldly into the breach This
is good thing because it brings people into closer
touch with each other-so close, indeed, that one
often gets touched for 4 watch pocketbook.
In another Of his lucid intervals he got up the
scheme of heating cars by placing at intervals
der the seats electric broilers thus applying the
heat direct where 1t viii do the most good Con-
seQuently when man gets home at night he has
ch5lains his feet and bIisters elsewhere. On
warm, humid winter days the conductors hermeti-
cay seal up the cars that afr enter.
and then turn these electric broilers on at a pres
sure OF 5000 amperes. On cold days the heat is
turned off and all the ventilators opened wide
T-is has tendency 10 make hardy since
only the strong survive
One hundred automobiles stood IN line from Mad
ison Square Garden TO Tartyfourth-st. yesterday
forenoon, and when the delegates the American
Street Railway Association Convention and their
wives entered them rolled off in an unbroken
buzzing line 10 Claremont Park where the party
had luncheon
The morning session OF the convention was de-
voted the reading OF papers on street railway
topics The Best Means of Conducting the Return
Circuit 10 the Power House was presented by r.
c. Connette ce-prestdent and general manager
of the Syracuse Rapid Transit Company, and The
Value Of Storage Batteries Accessories TO Power
Plants the title Of the paper presented by
w. l.. Harrington, vlce-president and general man
ager Of the Camden and Suburban Railway Com
pany.
At the afternoon session ]. H. Vail Of PhIla-
dephia. presented paper The Modern Power
House. Including the Use of Cooling Towers" An
other paper. The Adoption of Electrical Sig
nails Suburban and Interurban Roads. Single or
Double Track. and Their Economy OF Operation"
provoked a lively discussion. In which President
Vreeland of the Metropolitan Railway Company
took part.
Mr.. Vreeland said that after examining a street
railway system on the Pacific slope. he con
Vinced that the safeguards adopted there were far
superior 10 those in use suburban street rail-
try Mr.. Vreeland said he attributed this superior
;ty 70 their later construction. Il think II pertinent
that the suburban railroads here are not opev-
Mr.. Vreeiand declared he would not carry any
mail for the government on his lines until there
Postofice had called on him. and that he had told
him to get an appropriation first and call on him
afterward Mr.. Vreeand said he not in favor
of the convention memorialzing Congress TO pass
appropriation that that body ought to pass of
Mr. Vreeland was elected president of the asso-
citation before that body adjourned sine die The
following other officers were elected: First Vice
yice-president. H. NJ Sloan. of Chicago. ana secre-
tary and treasurer. 7. {. Pennington, of Chicago
The following were elected to the executive com
Readi9g' Penn. te D b Over Of Augusta ga Gas T
J. Nchon Of Rochester. T. " and T. " Dickin-
The Accountants. Association elected the follow
ing 9cgTs frs: III MaskaE rsev Of Mil
PhiladelPhia; second president Y. B. Long
year OF BF9okiyn third C.
The following members of the Accountants Asso-
Of that body: W. T. Ham, Of Washingtoni F. R.
S' and B. D. Bartlett ' of % Boston u'el'O" OF De'o''
The next convention will be held at Detroit
said !" that there re
e FROM carried m on he 16n 81 mgR a hoe look 0G
be better II left out as they might be hard to get
body to explain what they meant In connection
R @ III m ree wdR 9T Rat m hS
all the subordinate c0qmpanies had disappeared
pany alone appeared in the accountants.
Taned sailed s on on o to SP n M M
accountants and not the press. The steInograPher
lands speech. although the meeting was a public
one. to which the newspapers had been invited to