The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-28

CilSion.
THE Mayor was interrupted several times
by bursts OF applause. Turning to the side
where the Rapid Transit Commi ssioners
nhd their engineers sat he said finally:
s"Wiliam Barclay Parsons [applausel !
call upon you. as the law requires, to state
whether the rapid transit railway u fin
ished, whether It is safe, and whether 1t
Is ready for operation @.- , r'.;.
Road Ready, Mr.. Mayor.
ISr l-afsyns stood up and the handclapping
which had greeted the mention of his name
was resumed. 1t was some time before
he could be heard Then he said:
.'MR- MAYOR AND Mr.. ORR; haye the
honor and the very great pleasure to re-
port that the rapid transit railroad is COM
peted for operation froin-the City Hall to
the station at l45th street on the West Side
line Loud applause.l T.,
Then President Orr made long speech,
In which he gave many details Of the his
tory of the great enterprise, spoke Of the
value of the franchise to the city and APP
portioned praise all around. Especially
he spoke OF what the late Mayor Hewitt
did for city rapid transit His speech and
the other speeches are printed elsew here.
John II. Starin, vice-president OF the
Rapid Transit Commission, made another
speech He WAS a member of the original
Rapid Transit Board appointed by Mayor
Grant in 1890, and he knew his subject thor
oughly. 81. -
Mcdonald, Blushins, Reads q Speech.
And then came John B. Mcdonald. the
man who built the subway. and he proved
TO be easily the hero of the day. The au-
dience applauded and cheered for several
minutes when the. Mayor introduced him.
Mr. Mcdonald FLUSHED like q schoolgirl as
he came forward TO the rostruIn.
At that moment, appropriately enough,
the factory and steanD boat whistles began
To blow and the bells to ring. This started
the audience to cheering again. MIR.
Mcdonald got out his manuscript and
fumbled for his glasses.
This part is not in the contract, / assure
YOU he said and the audience howled
With delight.
Mr.. Mcdonald read his speech He
confessed frankly the uisgilihs with
which he approached the great task, spoke
Of the distinguished tinancier, August
Belmont, and his associates who we're
brought to my aid, -and o.asto we'd unstinted
praise on all who had helped in the great
work.
One sentence in Mr. McDonalds speech,
which 1t onc.a seemed would never Oe made,
took the fancy of the thinking among the
audience. This came when Mr.. Mcdonald
formally expressed his obligations to the
press of New York, that censor of public
opinion which has not only helped me
by the truthful presentation of facts
but by HscouragtnS untimely and unwar-
Tanted STATEMENTS.
Belmont Gre dts Free oman.
There were morn cheers when Mr., Melon.
aid sat down and the Mayor then called
upon August Belmont for speech Mr..
Belmont began by saying that there was
glory enough for all in the completion of
the subway. Among those to whom he
said credit was due was Andrew Freedman,
who was am!o;,ng the a., mrs. to appreciate
Mr.. Freedman name was the only one
mentioned by Mr.. Belmont out side Of the
city officials and those directly connected
with tbs work, He was not there to hear
the compliment.
-EE..at closed the oratorical part Of the
programme When Mr. Belmont had I'm
ished. the Mayor arose and said:
Il now declare the subway OPEN
roar Of apps,lse went n up FROM fnrr the
with a black box in his hands. In 1t re-
posed a silver lever.
Mr. Mayor" he said. sit gives me great
pleasure to present to Won this controller,
and whit ask you II start the first train
The Mayor took the box with smile OF
thanks Archbishop Farley pronounced
the benediction to close the meeting, and
The procession marched out Of the City
Hall through a cross ire OF clio Nng cam
eras to take the first official journey in the
newly opened road. Iva
- Mayer Turns Mctorman.
The special train in which tie specially
hidden were carried up to i45th street aud
back for what was officially called an of
in three So tons. eight cars to section.
asSh ear having seating capacity for fifty
two persons. 1t was notable that there was
standing room only" in the first section
.IF -,
Of. the first section. and whcr he left the
motorman's box at l03d street Fte-Presi-
dent Eryan and General Manager Fedley
toftf m. Honor hat any time he wanted
to leave the place he now hes the Inter
ma Ms fob in h hurry, and throw in a suit
of tdue Jeans wiihthe job
The special was composed pf: the finest
ears on the road These cars were the
ne& steel ones with which the road will
hezentun,ly epnipped rs soon as the com
par VI can gst enough of them. Everything
about them that is rot made Of steel or
aluminium. except the hanging straps,
has been submitted TO a fIepnoofng proc
ess.-. The car at either end of the section
waS q motor car.
The FIRST section started out Of the City
Halt station at exactly 2:s4 o'clock The
soifd silver controller, provided by the
company for the Mayors special use, and
given to him after the trip as a souvenir
of the opening. was put in place Conductor
james {. Harrington gave the Mayor two
bells, his Honor slowly turned on the power,
and the start was made as smoothly as n
Il veteran had been at the lever
The Jor,rncy Uptown.
The loop was ryuuded at clip that rather
startled those aboard who had never been
ina subway train before. But the chances
ayer that they wouldn't have noticed the
curve. anyway, If they hadn't known that
one was there. II is one Of the peculiar
features of subway riding that the passen-
ger seldom realizes that the train ever
rounds a curve. There are plenty of curves,
heweyeri some OF them are pretty sharp,
and they are all made at a fairly high rate
Of speed, ...
As the section approached the Bridge
station there was "A sudden slowing down.
Everybody supposed that there was a
train ahead or sumet',ing OF that sort.
ItiSas found out later, however. that the
sl6wdown came as the result OF the only
false move that the Mayors motor hand
maze w!Iiia he wn< in the box @
The souvenir controller didn't fit the post
as it should and. tIst before the Bridge
station was reached the controller wab
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