Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-09-26
MORE TROUBLE
On The ISLAND
Baggage Cannot Now be Checked
All the Way Through 10 New
York People Complain.

Troubles multiply on Staten Is
land. Just now it is the refusal OF
the municipal ferry to check luggag;
to and from the trains of the Staten
Island Rapid Transit Company that
is agitating hat usually peaceful
neighborhood and getting itself con
demned in revolutions.
Under the old regime, when the
ferry system and the railway were
one, baggage was checked through to
and from the Battery at will. This,
1t seems, was a great convenience for
the rather considerable population of
the southern part of the island, as
well as those from Perth Amboy ana
other neighboring Jersey points who
come to New York by way OF the
Staten Island railway. Now, all this
is done away with. The railway com
pany will check only to and from st.
George, and baggage to and from that
point to Manhattan must go by eX-
press or not at all. This, of course,
entails an extra expense, which is nat
urally resented by those upon whom
it falls.
When the Raritan Bay PARK Asso-
citation took up the matter AMI ap-
pealed to the railway company. they
were informed that the company had
no control over the municipal ferry
and could check only we their own
lines. The dock department was then
appealed to, with results lite as
cherries. The secretary of that body
wrote: II am directed by the comm,s-
sioner of state that he does not thinN
1T is the function of the city in the
operation of the municipal ferry to
undertake the handling and checking
of baggage"
All of which Is not at all relished
by Staten Islanders. Frank Ruther-
ford, secretary of the Raritan Bay
Park Association, voiced what is ap-
parently the general opinion in speak
ing of the matter.
Formerly" he said, before the
municipal ferry was put in operation
we could check our baggage through
to Manhattan. But now that the city
refuses to permit checking on the
ferryboats we have to turn our bag
gage over to an expressman. Thus we
have to pay twice, and when an Or
binary box costs from fifty to sixty
cents 1t will be seen that it is a some
what serious matter. 1t looks to us
as though they were playing into the
hands of the nited States Express
company.
Our association appointed a COM
mittee of lawyers to look into the
matter and see what can be done. All
that we have been able to learn so
far is that the case is entirely with
out precedent. You can check bag
gage across the continent and con-
Meeting lines are compelled by law to
take it. But no such case as this
ever arose before, for the simple rea-
o that there have been no other |
municipal ferries.
Just what we will decide to do has
not yet been determined, but we shall
make an effort to get the city to make
some arrangement with the railway
company by which baggage can be
checked across the ferry"
Meanwhile the question of postal
facilities still continues to perturb the
southern part of the island. Not
content with being officially informed
that Staten Island is better off than
the island of Guam, they have now
written the post Office department ex-
planning the situation and making
some suggestions. They point ont
that the township of Westield, at
the southern extremity of the Dor
ough of Richmond, Greater New
York, has a population in round num-
bers of $4,000. Two-thirds of this
number, or 5000, are in the immedi-
ate vicinity of Tottenville, and Rari-
tan Bay Park. There are at present
six postoffices in the township of
Westfield, i.e., ~Tottenville, Princes
Bay, Huguenot, Seaside, Rossville
and Krelscherville. The first three
are on the line of the Staten Island
Railway and the others are some dis
lance from T~ottenville and the rail
way. The five offices mentioned ont
side of Tottenville answer the pur-
pose of mail delivery for their imme-
date vicinity. What we require is a
house to house delivery for the thick
ly populated district around Totem
vile. Such delivery is already in on
Grafton at the northern extremity of
the borough of Richmond, at New
Brighton and Stapleton.
While we speak of the township of
Westf1eld and T|ottenville it must be
borne in mind that these places are
no longer recognized by the state of
New York, under their old names.
ut Staten Island, with all its town
fps and villages, is now one of the
re boroughs of the city of Greater
NY York, known as the borough of
chmond.
<, The association suggests that the
~Nottenyille Office be considered as n
sub-station of a main postofice to be
located in the borough of Richmond.
at the point of greatest office receipts.
and that all other stations or offices
in the borough should also be consid-
cred as sub-stations and all enjoy the
privileges and facilities obtained at