New-York tribune., 1902-04-16

Andrew Carnegie yesterday added his name TO
The T-fbunes petition in favor Of immediate
action by the Rapid Transit Commission pre-
riro,uary to the construction Of an East Side
branch Of the rapid transit subway. Upon being
invited 10 make fuller expression of his views.
orr Carnegie wrote this terse and characters
-ic note: 1T would not be fair not to provide
for the East Side.
That sums up the entire situation seen by
almost every from whom opinions have been
recefved. Taxpayers, property owners and all
der1nen unite in chorus that to leave the
East side out in the plan of subway construc-
+ion even temporarily, savors of unjust discrim-
nation
Among the business men who added their
,-oices TO the growing appeal yesterday was
Theodore Gilman. the banker. Mr.. Gilman said
+rentlv and by way of excusing himself. that
,a had property on the East Side, that he would
he BENEFITED by the proposed improvement. but
On heiug assured that it was exactly from such
neople that an expression Of opinion on the peti-
-ion would be fitting he indorsed The Trfbune's
position fully.
FAVORS THIRD-AVE.
1T was always surprise to me- said MI
Gilman that when the original scheme was
laid out no provision made for the densely
nopulate6 part Of the city east of Fifth-ave- 1t
seems to me beyond doubt that the interests OF
travelling puoIc demand lnal lneTe SIlo0lu
he q subway starting at the Harlem River and
running south under of the easterly ave-
nues Third-ave- I should say, the best
1+ seems to me that the line might run straight
down the island under Third-ave-. then under
the Bowery and end at the City Hall terminal
There should, Of course, in connection with this
he 2 shuttle TO the Forty-second-st- station
This East Side branch would accommodate the
travel seeking to cross the new bridges over
the East River
The location of the subway has been the only
.rnnortant point of difference in the opinions of
r,eople consulted. The plan recommended In
The Tribune lately by John B. Mcdonald called
for tunnel under Lexington-ave, while Charles
R1andv. counsel for the Harlem Board of Com
rnerce who has given the project much thought,
considered First-ave. probably the best route
Mr. Blandy said yesterday that when he had
,,ree7 First-ave. as a route aspect of the
case had not occurred to him, namely, that part
of the avenue for over q mile of its length was
made land and made land of inferior quality.
.Ffrst-ave,'' he said, from One-hundred-and-
sfxteenth-st to about Ninetieth-st. used to be so
low that the river rose and sank over it, and
,,nder the old crown charters It was time
claimed for the city The filling IN was ac-
complshed in the days of the Tweed ring, and
was quite a notorious scandal Instead Of using
good solid dirt for the purpose, the contractor
conceived the idea Of utilizing the cheaper ma
terial Of ashes. garbage and street sweepings.
Those We're unpleasant days for the whole region
adjoining 1t occurs to me that the character Of
this made land might possibly present engineer
ing difficulties. 1 don't pretend to know whether
Il would or not, but the idea occurred to me as
possibly standing in the way of the choice Of
First-ave which. because the subway would
be intended to subserve the interests Of the
large population of the East Side. seems to me
2 better choice than an avenue too much toward
the west"
NOT AN INsURMoUNTABLE DIFFICULTY
The question of what avenue to select also
struck William Colgate. Of No 13 East Sixty
ninth-st as the thing most likely to be q
Stumbling block
Personally, / hope it viii not be Madison
ave" said Mr. Colgate, both because the work
OF building would not be pleasant, and because
] really think the presence Of the park so near
on the west makes these avenues not at all fit
for the location of an East Side tunnel, which
should serve all parts Of the region equally.
Lexington-ave seems better to me. but pre-
sunle' he added, smiling, that the people there
would feel somewhat the same about under
going the discomfort Of the excavations. This
question of location. however. though it pre-
sents difficulties Will be by no means insur-
mountaDle. OrherWlSe, L lflnR you VIII Iiiu
every one Will indorse IT, and. personally. wish
The Tribune all success in the project.
l. V Brokaw, when Tribune reporter saw
him yesterday at his home, NO. L East Seventy
ninth-st was outspoken and decided in his ap
proval Of The Tribunes petition. "Of course
ought TO have a subway on this side, he
said we should have had one In the first
place AS for the location, put it in Park-ave.;
that's the place for it, fine. broad avenue
and roorny enough for both the new tunnel and
the old. But the new tunnel will be in marked
contrast to the old-no steam in the tunnel. and
all lighted by electricity. The underground
roads in Paris are a good model In those tun-
els it is cool in summer and warm in winter
This tunnel would increase the population,
too There fs considerable talk about the dense
population Of the East Side but there is a good
deal Of the territory that Is still to be built up
And this Improvement would make 1t possible
for many Of our best people-the middle classes,
/ call them pest-to live uptown here, instead
Of living in the suburbs. AS for the question OF
the debt limit that seems TO me absurd. III
the city Of New-YDrk can't raise the money TO
build Improvement Of this kind. what can 1T
90? And the road would pay for itself In a
short space Of time
ALDERMEN FAVOR IT.
While meeting Of the Board Of Aldermen
was in progress yesterday John T. Mccall
Democratic alderman from the XAHth Dlstlct'