New-York tribune., 1909-01-15
SUBWAY TRAVEL WOES
Men and IVomen Complain Of Poor
,Ser1qce TO p. S. Commission.

The Interbcrough Rapid Transit Company got q
,-e black eve yesterday afternoon. but it promises
TO hit back next Friday. January 2 -,
The rnsltreatnent sustained al the liaIlN9 "
the public safety committee OF the IllS
f -yon,ar's Clubs and the rapid transit coIiHll'-
zee Of one hundred the Public Service Corll'"eNioi
having granted hearing TO those pooies 'N =
5nadequacy of subway signs Inc l"'ei -,
through, its counsel, Theodore l. waugh oe'eu
81. co-nnatencv Of the commission to go lnto 'he
matter but the chairman. John r EusuS' o'e'
ruled the objection. ,...;
20 its other s1frerings in the subway the unhApp'
,rtlic does not know where It is going nan Ine
time To remedy this condition OF anans 'neS
recommend illuminated signs at the heaoS "a '
,.,5,,, xis77s in every car indicators In the cars
announcing the coming station and olTectoi' '0 ~
,-.,s g., the stations and cars. Mr- Waugh saIo
that OF its OWL voition the 1nteroorouGh haN
Gently placed additional signs in the trains ai,
recommended that be dismissed nut po''
ro-,rn,ttees declared that they were oy no lIiea
s.,,.6ad with what had been done. and the hed'
ing went on 49, -r,i++es
ef One Hundred, took the chair nrs' anu 'o %
4,,-ssao,,e and vyosful tale about his efforts 10 ger
ho-,s I, time Tor his dinner Starting from wan
.,ree. with No. sls West 10Sth street as ms oU'e
tvs poInt he has to choose among three u",--s .I
The platform is always crowded al Ihat ',
As .sss s,sod I can't tie signs without d pc
- .,oraict with those who Obscurins my
-tsx think fairly intelligent DIX ooI :
know what the lights mean. even II coulu
To ssk the guard IS impossible. ana Inc 1|Ae
ho,,er hes ali he can attend to- Sometimes
-, ,bs .rain in trynS to ascertain its destination
It enter without finding out where II Is e0ine. :
must leave nv seat as the train approaches ''I
+-.s. ,o-cs nv way TO the door and ask the guard
lf cnrrse 7 lose my seat and II nDo dlh III '-te
v4z+. train 7 have 20 stand the rest OF the way
II happens about once month on an average t-at
an carried out Of way from one 10 I"o I'iiie
me last time IT happened recognized on the down
A-A redyl [pl1
.,z,rnsv They didu't look If they were perfect
esseG and one crippled woman Win
<--J.ch. whom ! had - help UP the sla1rS anu
ncross the street
Mrs Robert Francis Cartwright testified TO nav
snz ,esn a man seriously crushed in the effort to
escape from car that he had entered in ignorance
Of it's destination She declared that the aho1uonaI
signs which the InterAorough had placed in the
stations we're altogether inadequate, ana aooeo
That according TO intelligence, they were try
sng 10 beg the question:
That's what they usually de-" remarked Com
missioner Eustis.
sicators Mrs. Cartwright declared TO be perfectly
practical as she ha5 various devices In oper-
mon and had been informed by the presidents or
street railways il Cleveland and Cincinnati that
they are in USE in those cities
Mr.. Cartwright was followed by Mrs William
Cumming story, president of the City Federation
os wonen's Clubs. who said that even when 1t was
possible esk the guards for Information they
often unable to give il
.'On one occasion asked three in succession for
some Information. They were foreigners and did
not even understand the question
Do you think asked Mr.. Hodge. that it would
bs possible get out Of 8 crowded car If you
cid not make your way TO the door before the
guard announced the statton2"
Not unless you got out Of the Ttndow,' an
FV-ered Mrs. Story
--Don,t you think suerted Mr. Waugh that
tine and q modification OF feminine headgear will
solve some Of these probems?"
Z don't understand that I am here to DISCUSS
feminine aeedgear," answered Mrs. Story, who was
1earing one Of the Objectionable hats herself.
Mrs Belle de Rivera testified that, although per
sectiy familiar with the City, she was constantly
hearing the guards call ont the names Of streets
she had never heard before.
Yes" said Mrs Cartwright afterwaTd, an Eng
1ish friend OF mine thought the guard was asking
him 70 break his neck It turned out that he
vas trying say 'Bleecker street not Break
yer-neck'
The public safety committee also asked for eK'
tensions TO the platforms at the curved stations
70 bridge the hiatus between them and the train
and Mrs Cartwright told of having seen a young
woman fall between the platform and the train al
I4tF7 street
DR. Kenneth r. JUNIOR, who represented himself
ssid ne had himself fallen into of these spaces
He started TO say something else but LIE Roy 7
Hardness counsel for the commission shut him of
What were you going TO say. asked MI Waugf
later when the counsel for the commission stopped
your"
II was seing say" answered Dr. JUNIOR, thai
fe people who control the advertising space in thf
subway won't permit the 1nterborough companE
TO put in signs 1 know an indicating device tina
- =e-fscty practical and could be cheapy Installed
hut this company wont permit it I'm not inter
s.ed in the device myself, but friend OF mine is
THAT isn't what you expected, remarked tl'
chairman. with some malice. az he turned TO Mr.
waugh.