The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-07
SOLVING THE
TRACTION PROBI EN-
NEW YORK CITY Is SPENDING
oe5O,0o0, 900 ON TRANSIT LINES.
Matrimonial Epidemics Of Metropolis
-Industrious City Omcers Get
Basy-Manhattan Builds &C.,
100000 Worth Of Flats.

VvV,VVV wVktm Oh FIa0os
New York, Oct. s.-To solve New
York's rapid transit problem. which
include ingress to and egress from
the city. as we'll as transportation
within the city limits, the city and
certain public corporations are spend
Ing or planning to spend S650.000.000.
This enormous sum IL Sbout $250,000,-
900 more than the present funded debt
of the city. It represents about three
times the cost of the Spanish Amer;-
can war. 1t makes the $55.o00.000 ex-
pended On the present subway and It's
equipment and the $23,000,10 for tho
two big suspension BRIGGS over he
East river, dwindle into insignificance.
Nineteen proposed routes for subways
in Manhattan and ,Brooklya will cos-
1920. 100000 and the necessary equip
ment will foot up $100.00O,000 more.
In addition, four rapid transit tunnels
will be built under the East River to
cost $50. 100000. Eight new giant
bridge structures to span the East
River and weld Brooklyn to Manhat-
tan, will consume $S5,000.000 OF the
citys money. The Pennsylvania Rail-
road tunnel now nearing completion
will cost $50, 100000 and other tunnels
and bridges will make up the total.
These plans indicate that New York
is entering upon a period of construc-
tive engineering work such as the
world has hitherto ne!.r seen o.
dreamed Of.
There have been severn: eplienics Of
matrimony In evidence in the metrop-
oils Of late which go to show that
Cupid Is no respector Of BUSINESS A
short time ago one Of me big Hfo
insurance companies. which employs
scores Of stenographers. announced
that its office force was being serious
~ depleted from the fact that all the
stenographers were getting married to
the young men Of the office staff. Soon
after the public school term began 1t
was discovered that seventv-four Of
the city's women teachers had mar
ried during the vacation. Practical
ly all Of these came back to work. A
bylaw Of the Board Of Education for
bids any woman teacher to marrv un-
der penalty of losing her JOB. but thu
Court Of Appeals has sided with Cuplf
and declared the bylaw null and void.
In the third and last instance OF tho
matrimonial epidemic the course OF
true love ran more smoothly. One
year ago the menager OF one OF the
most popular French restaurants and
cafes on Broadway announced that ne
would give 500 to each Of h's en-
ployes that married and $50 fo- eac,
subsequent visit Of the stork. since
making the offer he has had to hire
a. special bookkeeper to keen account
Of vital statistics. Up to October l
he had paid out 5000. Of which 80, :
500 went for marriages and the rest
represented the mystical ndmocr or
twenty-three babies. There is no rac>
suicide in that particular BROADWAY
Now that the heated days are over,
the CITY oficials who enthusiastically call
themselves the servants of the people
can be expected to spend reasonable
number OF hours per week at their
desks again. During the summer months
the second largest city In the worid
was allowed practically to run itself
Dust gathered on the elaborate desks
with which the city offices are decked
and spiders wove their webs across the
handsome swivel chairs. Some city Of
fcers, like the Mayor. took extended
trips abroad. others, like the District
Attorney, toured their own country.
while a whole host of Mr.. Commission
ers simply FILTERED away the summer
in little visits to country resorts or
daily attendance at race track meets
About the time they all got back ia
town the Democratic State Convention
at Saratoga was at hand, and of course
all the oficeholders. big and little. took
a week off for the tremendous occa-
sion. Two city officers sconspicuorsly
stuck to their desks during the SUMMER
Just like ordinary business men
These phenomenal public servants were
Acting Mayor MCGOWAN and Controller
Metz, and Father Knickerbocker Won
ders at and admires them. Incident
ally he is trying to figure out how
he would stand II his street railway
and lighting systems were run by pub
lie officials who took to the woods in
~ h.
office holder and failed to return until
well into September.
Probably the time will come when the
private house Is a rarity on Manhat-
tar Island, and all those hardy indi-
viduals who still dare and can afford
to live in what was originally New
York city, will dwell in fats and ten
ements The present rate at which
apartment houses are building in the
city would seem to justify this con-
clusion. Since January 1 plans have
been filed for tine erection of about
/ 900 apartment and flathouses in Man
haitian at an estimated cost of close
to $50, 1000. 900. These structures range
all the way from the fve-story fiat
house without an elevator. with suites
of from two to four box-like rooms,
to the apartment palaces on Riverside
Drive, with private garage and yacht
landings attached. where all the lat
est mechanical devices are utilized to
reduce housekeeping cares to a min
imum and ensure the highest physical
comfort. Some Of these apartments
rent as high as $4,000 a year. House
keeping in a fiat is a distinctive fea-
ture of New York life. 1t is undoubt-
eddy coy. but the confirmed HAT
er loses the idea OF home This Is
because the fiat-dweller Is nomadic.
The family that has dwelt In the same
apartments for decade would be hard
to find. And there are hundreds of
thousands of New Workers who change
their homes every year.
New York has disposed of its tr0u-
blesome little black man at last. The
unassimilated citizen, whom Father
I'll L. "a HpIo ~