East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-01-04
Interesting Letter From
J New York City

New York. Jan. 4.--Falls or volun-
tary leaps from the high bridges
over the East river are not unusual
occurrences. but the experience of
Charles Summerfield. an iron worker,
who fell from the WILLIAMSBURG
bridge the other day INTO the East
river, a distance OF 1876 feet, was as
remarkable as 1t was thrilling.
Summerfleld was at work on a
girder when his foot slipped on an
ice-covered plank. He clntohedr for,
the girder. gave a yell and blid off
through the network OF steel. He
turned two complete somersaults be-
fore he covered half the distance to
the river. Then he seemed to gather
himself as one would do IL he were
preparing to take leap. He doubled
his knees against his chest. clasped
his hands around them and ducked
his head The mans composure was
remarkable. and those who witnessed
his acts were astounded' that he could
control himself in midair. He evi-.
IDENTIFY clearly saw his danger. and
did his best to save his life. Striking
the water on his side he disappeared.
In a few seconds he came to the
surface. and began swimming for all
he was worth. Those who were
watching from the bridge saw him
take several strokes and then turn ON
his side.
In a few moments he was pulled
aboard tug and taken to a hospital.
When he regained consciousness Sum-
merfield said that he was formerly d
circus performer. ana that his train
ing In the ring probably saved his
life. This fact explains his remark
able actions when In midair. lii al
An Artificial Island. I ulfsa
The proposition to build an artifi-
cial island In that part of New York
bay where the water is so shallow
that great difficulty is experienced in
keeping clear the channels used by
large steamships. has been revived.
and Brooklyn congressman are pre-
pairing to present the project to the
national Legislature, For IL years
the government has been engaged In
deepening what is known as the Am
brose channel. but the work has pro-
ceeded very slowly on account OF the
continued filling in of the excava
tions by cross currents. 1t is now
proposed that q part Of the harbor
be filled up and to build two long Jet
ties that would guide the currents so
as to sweep wide channel deep
enough for the passage of the biggest
ocean liners at low tide.
To Build Moving Platform.
AS the development Of New York's
present transportation boom. which
includes plans for the extension of all
the existing systems and for the
building of new lines. overhead,
underground and under water. a
great moving platform now looms up
us more than probability. The
novelty is part Of the Pennsylvania
railroads system to handle the thous-
ands OF passengers coming from and
going to its new terminal station, and
will be operated across town under
Thirty-fourth street, or from First
avenue to Ninth avenue.
According to experts the moving
platform Will permit the loading and
unloading OF 750 passengers a minute
while the train is in motion, or the
delivering of 1880 passengers an
hour at given point, which is about
double the capacity OF the INTERIOR
ough. The time saved In making the
cross-town trip, based on the speed
of the present trolley cars, will be
about four minutes. There will be
two platforms, one running east and
the other west. Each platform Ia
really a set of four. three for constant
use and an auxiliary, which may be
used at night or any other time when
needed. The first OF the three regu-
lar platforms, II Is proposed, will
move at a speed Of three miles, the
second at six and the third at nine
miles. The third platform will be pro-
vided with seats placed crosswise.