The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-10
WHAT Ais THE EXPRESSMEN:
Sample Complaints OF the Slow Delivery
OF baggage I'm New York.

New York is a good deal faster thar
Philadelphia in some matters. said a Phila
delphian, "but II is the slowest city know
of in the matter Of moving personal lug.
gage
Then he went on to illustrate his griev-
! ance with specific examples. He could
go to the Pennsylvania ferry from the
Grand Central Station by trolley car in
twenty or twenty-five minutes, but il he
had heavy bag he had to take cab which
made the trip in rather more than half
an hour. and If he had heavy trunk he
could never be sure of getting 1t across
town in less than two hours.
If he went to the Jersey Central ferry Mt
Whitehall street by the elevated road. he
could make the journey in about half an
hour. but to make sure Of having hia bag
with him he had to take a cab, which seldom
completed the journey in less than an hour
and sometimes took an hour and half.
He found that it ordinarily took from
three to four hours to get trunk from the
Grand Central to Whitehall street. whether
he paid free lance expressman rs cents or
the regular authorized express company
~ cents. He saw express cars on the ele :
waited roads running apparently "a fast
as the ordinary elevated trains: he saw
express trolley cars running as fast az the
passenger trolley cars. but apparently
these express cars would not carry his
trunk to any OF the ferries.
Philadelphia pretty slow" he said,
but she beats that
The New Yorker who heard the com :
plant smiled superior. He took a certain
satisfaction In telling the Philadelphian
that he had not told the whole story Of
baggage delivery in New York.
Il found once" he said, that could
not be sure OF having trunk delivered
from Harlem to a downtown ferry in less
than five hours, though hundreds OF trains
we're daily ma king more than half the dis.
lance in about twelve minutes, and the
elevated road makes the whole run in a
little over half an hour. Any strong active
from l2sth street to Whitehall street In about
the time that the express company will guar
an.ee TO perform the service he said,
while the Philadelphia gasped and stared.
you know nothing about slow baggage
de Ss hdpn In from the legion
friends from out Of town / warn them to
come by an early morning train or fetch
along their night togs In q handbag have
to keep an extra supply of pajamas for
fellows who pay no attention TO this advice.
THE average time Of delivering baggage
from any OF the downtown ferries to points
in the upper part Of The Bronx is about
six hours. Many time trunks coming into
town early on Saturday afternoon are not
delivered In The Bronx until Monday morn
ing, because the baggage delivery business
in The Bronx suffers a sort Of paralysis all
day Sunday"
"Ever try getting a trunk in hurry from
New York TO Brooklyn?" asked Brooklyn
tie who had heard the other three men.
Now and then have friends from New
York come 70 stay overnight with me.
Sometimes they leave their business offices
late and have their evening clothes sent
over to the house.
Those who know the ropce send their
clothes the day before. Those who don't
have to borrow h,ine.
I've known New York women to 60 to a
wedding reception in Brooklyn In borrowed
gowns because they had supposed three or
four hours long enough time to allow for
the delivery OF trunk from their home
to mine. .,