Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-02

be spur reaching 4th avenue and Broad
way at Wanamaker's 9th street store.
where it will connect with the present
subway. 1t is now possible to go from
HObOken to Brooklyn by underground
electric cars and within few weeks any
one can go way out into the Bronx be-
yond Grants tomb.
BY these means the railway passengers
from the west can reach New York city
without crossing the ferries. The same
company which built the twin HobOken
tunnels is building two others from the
Pennsylvania station in Jersey City to
terminal building near Broadway. be-
tween Cortlandt and Fulton streets. which
will receive all passengers from Pennsyl-
vania trains and discharge them on the
New York side without crossing the wa
ter. These four tunnels under the Hud-
son river or the McAdOo tunnels. as they
are called for short. to be used also
by the Erie. the Lackawanna, the Central
Railroad of New Jersey and by the sub
urban trolley cars and will connect with
all the other tunnels that are now under
construction or are proposed in the city of
New York.
They will be of much greater importance
to the suburban traffic than to lOng-dis-
lance travellers, because they will admit to
New York the patrons of system of 800
miles of trOlleyS in northern New Jersey
and give two or three hundred thousand
commuters much shorter journey from
their homes to their work in the city
which will never be interrupted by snow
storms or fogs other natural obstruc-
tons that have made the passage of the
river by ferry not only uncertain but peri
lous at times. They have already caused
great boom in few Jersey real estate
for that reason. and also from the fact
that il will enable residents within twenty
or thirty miles of the river on the Jersey
side to reach their homes within an hour
from any theater or hotel or place of
amusement or from the shopping district
in New York.
The dream Of half a century has thus
been realized The barrier Of the Hudson
has practically been removed. New Jer-
sey becomes as much a part of New York
as Brooklyn and the rest of Long Island
dius of thirty of forty miles has become
single city. with a population of be-
tween five and six millions. When all
the four tunnels are completed. so far as
convenience is concerned. one can live in
New Jersey or Long Island just as
we'll as in New York.
Years Before His Time.
Veteran newspaper reporters and old
men of Wall street remember harm
less old fellow called Crazy Luke" who
forty years ago haunted the banks and
Offices of capitalists trying 10 organize a
company and raise money to bore tun-
neis under the North and East rivers
He was a nuisance, for he was a man of
him everywhere in a long roll under his
arm. described on chart showing the
location of New York city and it's sub
urbs with detailed explanation and speci-
fications of the cost of the work. One
day Crazy Luke" was carried off to an
insane asylum where he died; but the
tunnels | rode through today from the
corner of 9Th avenue and 18th street to
| the i-ackawanna station in Hoboken in
seven minutes time We're almost exactly
as he described them. except that the
motive power was third-rail system of
| electricity and his plans contemplated
steam.
Operations of Mr.. Haskins:
| In 1874 Mr. Dewitt Clinton Haskins a
we'll known western civil engineer pro-
posed to construct two tunnels under the
Hudson river, beginning at a point oppo-
site the foot of 18th street Jersey City.
and extending thence to Morton street.
| New York. and thence to a point under
| the south side of Washington Square.
where they were to terminate in large
! union passenger station. On the New
| Jersey side he proposed to connect with
the I.ackaWanna. Jersey Central. Erie and
| PENNSYLVANIA railroads and to make ira f.
| fc contracts with those companies by
which their passenger trains could be
| hauled through the tunnels to the pro-
posed station in Washington Square A
| company of $10OOOO0O was actually in
| corporated by Mr. Haskins May 20. 1873.
! In November. 1874. he began TO sink a
/ shaft in Jersey City near the river front
but was stopped by an injunction granted
upon an application of the Lackawanna
Railroad Company. which was hostile to
| the enterprise.
The litigation prevented operations until
the latter part of 1879. when Mr.. Has
kins obtained verdict in his favor from
| the court of appeals of New Jersey.
| He resumed work in the early part OF
1850 and continued until 1852. when his
company failed for lack of means, after