The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-30


uted to him. He was entirely power
less to prevent it and could not possi-
bly, have foreseen it.
Yet from that time the people began
to speak about him, and the newspa-
pers, which hitherto had bestowed
continuous praise upon him, began to
berate him. Ever since then the num-
Der of hard words thrown in his direc-
ton has grown steadily day after day
A few weeks ago, when the building of
a spur down Broadway from Forty
second street to Union Square, by
the open ditch method, was first prac-
tically considered. his unpopularity be-
gan to increase with enhanced rapid
ity, and to-day he is "a Kissing and a
by-word'' in the mouths of the people
There is hardly a reporter in all the
town who would think of writing a
commendatory para graph about him,
and If such a paragraph were written
there is probably no editor who would
print it.
In fact, the contrast between the
reputation of Chief Engineer Parsons
three years ago and to-day is pro-
nounced in the extreme. Then he was
the most skilful,' accomplished.
progressive" young man before the
public. Now he is narrow" "unskil-
full "unresourceful, in short entire
ly unfit to supervise the great under
taking that has been intrusted to his
direction.
Yet Chief Engineer Parsons to-day
is precisely the same man he was
three years ago, with the same aims,
the same progressive spirit, the same
skill. If there has been any change at
al I,ae, hAA, l..
he is now broader, more progressive,
more skilful than ever before.
Probably this is the case. 1t would
be difficult for any man to do what he
has done since the first spadeful of
earth was turned in the tunnels exca-
walton without making progress in
many directions.
1t must be admitted, though that the
people of New York have mighty good
grounds for finding fault. It is true
that the streets through which the
great subway ditch have been dug have
been practically ruined as business
thoroughfares for the third of a decade.
Literally millions of dollars, besides
the money spent in subway construc-
ton, have been sacrificed, and the end
is not yet.
1t is no wonder that the business
men of middle Broadway-every one,
without a single exception-have risen
part of the thoroughfare. 1t is no
wonder that the business men of the
great streets most southern mile are
watching the beginning of the work
in their section most jealousy.
1t is no wonder that the business men
in Fulton street. Brooklyn, are MAX
ing a great fuss at the prospects of an
open ditch in front of their establish
ments.
1t is no wonder, either, that they and
the papers are all jumping on poor
Engineer Parsons.
But that gentleman has an opportu-
nifty to confound them all in the way
he shall do the work in lower Broad
way.
He and the members of the Rapid
Transit Commission are a unit in de-
claring, thanks to what they have
learned in the work already Done, that
they will be able to do their subway
building from now on with much less
inconvenience to the business men and
the general public.
Their plan of operation in lower
Broadway differs materially from the
plan as adopted further north. Hither-
to the work has been carried on in the
day time mostly. and in the narrow
streets, where there are no car tracks,
traffic has been stopped completely. In
lower Broadway the work is all 20 be
covered IN the daytime SO that wagon
traffic may be carried on between 8
in the morning and at night, with lit
tie or no interruption.
Should they succeed in doing this
| Chief Engineer Parsons stock viii
begin to rise from the moment they
have begun to demonstrate the feast
bility of their plan. and he will be fully
rehabilitated in the eyes of the public
long before the entire completion of
the great enterprise.
There is no doubt that much of the
! feeling against Parsons arises from
the fact that the profits both of Con-
tractor Mcdonald and the Belmont
! Syndicate, which is to run the Rapid
! Transit Road, will be enormous.
At the beginning there were many
who predicted financial loss, and IL
| these gloomy forebodings now seen
ed likely of fulfllment the people at
/ large and all the newspapers would
/ undoubtedly be far more lenient in
/ their Judgment alike of Chief En-
! gineer. Contractor and Rapid Transit
! Commission.
I The terrible disaster in the Paris
, subway, by which upwards of a nun
, dred lives were lost two or three
weeks age, aroused many apprehen-
/ sions of similar accidents here after
! our subway shall be in operation, and
/ cont AIRY to the general course OF pup
: lie sentiment in such Clses, these APP
prehensions are growing rather than
( Gccreasin with the lapse of time
/ AT first, when the Rapid Transit
people made the statement that their
cars would be entirely tireproof, the
Feeling of dread changed to one OIL
/ security Men said that of course
American enterprise would never
think of putting inhammable cars on
an electric railroad to be operated oe-
! low ground.
But, later, when in an excess OF eX-
planatory zeal the exact construction
/ of the cars was made clear when 1t
| was known that like the Paris subway
cars. ours We're to be built practically
| ali of wood, the fireprootiing to be
wholly in the nature OF surface protec-
ton. all the original apprehensiohs
! returned. -.
To-day there is practically a unani-
NOUS demand that the programme OF
construction be changed; that cars
practically all Of metal be put into the
subway. And there Is "A fair chance
that this demand will be so pushed
! ss ~ e,,huvov authorities will be