New-York tribune., 1905-06-07
SURWAY STIFLINGLY HOT.
Reached Worst atmospheric Stage
Yesterday, Sag Patrons.

That the subway yesterday haa Iei'ii@
worse atmospheric stage of its history was ."e
general opinion of employees and patrons lhz
heat underground was almost suffocating, anu
the general expression of those interviewed "a'
that the air was more humid and hotter tiiai
that above ground even in the most unconilo''
able part of the day.
ON the platforms, in the absence OF passing
trains the atmosphere lay utterly notioie''
The cooling of the outside air by the tnuhuei-
storm that reached the city in the al'ernooii
produced marked change in the AIR on t"e
,ocal rlatforn,s toward night when the hot
fumes underground were forced upward oy 'he
do,ynnouring cold air from without Even this'
however failed TO make a noticeable difference
beyond the limits of the platforms. AT lhe eN
press stations, where the draught Is ih'eicep'eN
by the turns in the stairways, there was h'lle
improvement observable
General Manager Frank Hedley. OF the inter
borough Company. said last night that wee
President Bryan and a number Of engineers
have been working the problem Of ventiiat-
ing the subway for weeks, and that they have a
1n,,n,ber of plans under consideration, none OF
which however he was prepared to discuss for
nublication He asserted that the 1nterborough
would do all in its power TO make the SUBWAY
comfortable for its patrons and that the ques-
tion now to be decided was as to the most
practical form of ventiating
Health Commissioner
day: "i
The chemists of the Health Department are
now investigating the subway air, but L 90 not
believe that they will find the oxygen and the
carbon dioxide more or less prevalent than ~
the winter when MessrS. Atkinson. Smlth anu
Iederle made their examinations under all con-
ceivable conditions -,
have no doubt that the rotary fans described
in The Tribune for ventilating the subway Woulu
make travel much more pleasant for the patrons
of the road. They would change the air rapidly
and could be run in the summer ana stopPeu pea II
believe it is. from scientific polnt OF View lhey
would not add to the purity, but they Woulu
make the air pleasanter to breathe AL InS' i1
however is matter of study. and the Health
Board cannot afford to jump at CONCLUSIONS W
act without due delibera ton. It is a problem
whether the Health Board should act, simply Tor
the comfort of the people. when q question oi
health is not involved. II we ma that the Suu
certainly take steps TO have the defects remedleo
as possible.
DR. Durand Woodman the chemist, YESTERDAY
discussing the question of heat and dust IN the
subway for The Tribune. said:
Quoting from the iafly press. it seems to be
"a fact that the subway becomes dlstresslnsly
uncomfortable place on certain days ana also
that 1.-The largest stations are more uncomfort-
a BILE than the smaller ones. which are nearer the
pavement and with only two staircases are
found to be cooler and great deal more plees-
ant than the big ones built for the express ser
vice"
The explanation or the 01ScOrnIorl OF lhe IdI %
stations is extremely simple They are large
.-srn parlors" Much of the roof is Of sklight
construction; that is. with much glass and metal
work The heat of the sun passes through TINS
in exactly the same manner as through the rooI
of o greenhouse and with exactly the same Ell
feet high temperature being added to the al
ready humid and dust laden air And the dust
is worse at the express stations because OF the
rush and hurry OF many more people than al
the way stations The dust OF the subway is
rnope disagreeabe than that Of the streets. be-
cause those extremely light portions, which,
are blown Off into space, as it were, remain in
the subway as fine mist. penetrating the air
passa and lungs does fog.
The small stations. on the contrary, are COW
cred over with about four feet OF earth. than
which scarcely anything could be better to keep
out the heat. and, they the same
height the main tunnel they do not form
pockets for the retention Of warm air. do the
high studded express stations
The probability is that distressing discom-
fort" will always be noted on those certain days
which are 90 or 20 degrees cooler than their i'm
mediate predecessors with humidity "orre-
spondingly low. The contrast such days be-
tween the outer atmosphere and that of the sub
way Will necessarily be disagreeabe, for the sub
way will then represent the heated and humid
conditions of tfe days that have passed, and the
more perfectly the system of ventilation has
succeeded in pushing the hot weather into the
tunnel It is not probable that any practicable
system of ventilation can change the tempera-
ture of the subway with sufficient rapidity 10
ments for the underground traveller.