The Detroit times., 1909-03-19
s8O.0OO,0O0 FOR
SUBWAY MOVING
PLATFORMS
CAPITALISTS READY TO BUILD
AND EQUIP TUNNELS " PUBLIC
SERVICE BOARD AGREES TO
THEIR PLAN.

NEW YORK. March lS.-Eighty
million dollars will be available IL the
public service commission accept the
plans OF the continuous Transit Securi-
ties company for the construction or
eight subways and their equipment
with moving platforms or continuous
trains. The engineers Of the commits
sion have begun their investigation
and will be ready To report In about
two weeks TO the board. which VIII
determine whether one or all or any
OF the routes shall be undertaken.
The project. which Lemuel ELY
Quieg. as 'accelerator." was ordered
to kill by the Metropolitan Securities
company In 1905, is backed by +. p.
Ripley. president of the Atchison, To
peka a Santa Fe railroad; Moses Tay-
lor Pine. Stuyvesant Fish, Stephen 5.
Palmer, president OF the New Jersey
Zinc company; August Heckscher,
president OF the Commonwealth Real
Estate company; Albert X. Gallatin.
Of Schmitt 4 Gallatin; John +.
O'Rourke. president OF the O'Rourke
Engineering Construction company;
Cornelius Vanderbilt and Max f..
Schmidt, originator OF the improve
ments In the new method of transpor-
tation.
Practically Adopted Once.
The old rapid transit board prac'
tically adopted the plan. but through
some influence, which never has been
disclosed, the Endorsement was with
drawn. and on May is. 1905, the plan
was rejected Up &c that time about
$4,000 had been expended in the prep
i aration OF drawings. The total expen-
diture for that purpose To date IL ap'
proximately $4,000. What attitude the
Interborough or McAdoo interests
may take when the report OF the en-
gineers comes up for action is prob
lematical. but the projectors believe
there will be no opposition because the
| proposed stihways- Wilt be feeders TOT
the existing system.
Route No. / is planned TO extend
from Battery Place. under Broad and
Nassau-sts. TO Park Row, thence under
Center-st to Delaney. and across the
Williamsburg bridge.
Route No Is TO start near Des-
brosses-st. and North river. run thence
under Canal-st and over the Manhat-
tan bridge 10 terminal at the Brook
Ign bridge plaza. where route No. 3
begins and continues over the old
bridge. under City Hall park to War
ren-st.. thence to Vesey. and under
that thoroughfore TO Washington mar
ket.
Route No. T.. 10 be the first con-
structed If the plans are approved. Is
TO run diagonally from Union square
20. - nA
Route No. 5. the original route
planned five years ago, which Quigg
knocked out. extends from Ninth To
Seventh-aves. under Thirty-fourth-st
Route No. 6 is designed to connect
the east and west sides. under Four.
teenth-st., from Ninth-ave. to Avenue
A.
Route No. Z Is to pass under
Twenty-third-st from Eleyenth-ave. TO
Avenue A.
Route No is &c extend under
Fifty .ninth-st.. from Nnth-ave. across
the Blackwell's Island bridge, to Jack
son-ave.
Experts at Work.
Two expert engineers from the pub
lie service commission spent part OF
today in going over the plans with
MAX r.. ScnmlQt AT MS once, NO. 40
Broadway. They will report TO Henry
b. Seaman, the chief engineer. who in
turn will go over the scheme and re-
port TO the commission.
Bion j. Arnold, the consulting cleo
trical expert OF the board. indorsed
the moving platform plan in report
made last May.
Moving platforms for the convey
ance OF passengers were suggested 4C
years ago. but never reached prac
tical demonstration until 1893, when
the practicability was shown at the
worlds fair in Chicago. In 1896 they
were installed at the Berlin exposi-
ton, and again at the Paris exposition
Of 1900, where 10000 900 passengers
were carried. The name gave rise To-
popular misconception. and there
was a general belief that the plan
contemplated moving sidewalk on
the open street, because the demon
stration was above the ground surface.
The actual moving platforms now
under consideration must occupy
subway, the construction OF which
would be about the same as the pres
ent subways. but the cost OF OPERA
ton, as proved in Berlin. Paris and
Chicago. is one-eighth OF the cost OF
the elevated road anc one-thirteenth