The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-21

method, unless unforeseen obstacles are
encountered, and the job be completed
at some time in the future; but, just IA
obviously, the progress made will have
to he slow and tedious.
The increased rapid transit facilities so
imperatively required by New York are
needed now To postpone their pro-
vision ten years, or even five wears, will
be to retard the growth Of the city and
to subject it to a multiplication Of the
hardships due to the deficient means OF
transportation from which il ia now
suffering 80 grievously. During the
decade from 1880 to 1850 New York in
creased in population by :7,l per cent.
II it continues to grow at that rate, its
population in 1910 will be close upon five
millions. The extraordinarily great in
crease through immigration since 1900,
when larger percentage OF the stream
than formerly has remained in New York,
seems to give assurance that by 1910
many more than one million will have
been added to its inhabitants.
Already every line of public trans
portation is gorged with passengers, and
no sooner will the new subway now near
ing completion be opened for travel than
it, also, will be overtaxed to meet the
demands on it of a population increasing
at the rate of more than 100000 a year.
II that system is to be extended to meet
this steadily and rapidly growing demand,
the work Of construction must pro-
coed expeditiously; and the demon
strated slowness Of any construction OF
a subway dug from the surface which
will not bring intolerable affection to
the citizens proves that that particular
method must be abandoned in all future
constructions. We must have the addi-
tional rapid transit facilities and they
must be provided as speedily as is posi-
bic to sound engineering.
II, as Mr.. MCDONALD said to the Rapid
Transit Commission so bluntly and so
honestly, work under the restrictions Of
Contract No. - in Broadway below
Ann street does not amount to row Of
pins" that method is not practicable in
any street or avenue-neither in upper
Broadway nor in Seventh avenue. 1t
must be dismissed from consideration as
an unsuccessful experiment.
That is, as we said at the beginning Of
the agitation over the extension Of the
subway, no underground road dug from
the surface which is not insufierably
offensive to the public interests is an
engineering possibility. We gave this
warning, now demonstrated to have
been justified, not to retard the progress
of underground constructions for tran
sit, for these are absolutely necessary to
the development of New York, but TO
accelerate it. The subway now nearing
completion, from the method OF whose
construction the citizens have suffered
so terribly is only the beginning of the
underground construction which will be
required; and it must go on without in
Permission for many years to come, until
Manhattan Island and the rivers on
each side of it are honeycombed with
tunnels. We must have the new tram
sit facilities, and the only question is AZ
to the character of them.
No modification being possible by
which the old method can be made
tolerable, the Rapid Transit Commission
will have to turn its attention 10 a radi-
cally different method-or to the deep
tunnelling which We suggested at the
beginning.