Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-03-24

Necessarily. during the busy hours
there are what you call over here
straphangers in the London tube.
In London, however, we have
more area to cover than in New
York; our mileage is greater and
the hours of crowded ira are scat
tered over a larger perlU-. In New
York the office forces and the labor
ling forces must travel back and
forth at almost the same time. In
London the traffic is more evenly di-
vided. so that the unavoidable dem
ocracy of the New York crowds in
the subways here is eliminated by
these distinctive differences of Gus
tom in London.
over there we have first and sec
ond-class coaches. which diminishes
the universally Of crowds. However.
the greatest number of people travel
third-class in the underground In
London. 1t would be quite impos.
sible, it seems to me, to classify the
subway service in New York"
You don't think New Workers
would pay an extra fare on the sub
way to escape the congestion of
crowded cars?"
1T would scarcely pay to give
passengers in the subways in New
York Pullman car service, would
it?' "You don't think the New
Yorker would take advantage of it?''
There are only so many cars to
a train and only so many trains
can run on schedule speed. If you
change the one-fare system. you
would have to give better car equip
ment for the extra fare, and so de
lay the limit and lessen the trans
portation scope of the entire service.
After all. is there any serious dis
comfort to a waiting crowd, provid-
ing it is waiting for what it wants
and it gets it?
II have seen crowds in rundoA
wait outside a theater all the after
noon so as to be sure and get an
evenings amuse nent. You know it
has become tn. custom to grumble
at the slightest delay in rapid trans
it service, but doubt whether it is
ever deserved when the whole stu
alton is clearly understood
The crowding Of cars in the New
York subway is not serious dis
comfort?"
Not when you take into consider.
alton the wonderful speed of the
service. which is, after all, the prob
lem o. efficiency"
DO the doors of the cars in the
London underground close with a
lever, so as to almost seal the pass
.engers in them? In London the sub.
way passenger is a great assistance
to us The cars are fitted with doors
in the center of the car on either
side an at the ends The passen-
gers open these themselves when
they leave the cars. and the guards
close them from the station plat
form when the train is about 20
move"
Isn't that safer in case of acct
dent?"
"The automatic signals and other
devices universally in use on all sub
ways today make the chances of ac-
cident very improbable. However
the safest place in case of accident
Tor the passenger is inside me car.
ON the other hand, / am inclined
to think that the system or doors
in the middle enables us to handle
crowds, getting on and off trains,
more rapidly. On our underground
roads, which are built on the same
principle as the SUNDAY here, we EN-
ploy only four guards to train OF
10 cars, because the passengers
open the doors themselves from
within. On our tube system, how
ever, which is built perhaps 80 feet
below the surface, We have a guard
to every car. just as you have here.
There is. perhaps, something to be
said in favor of the London subway
ite who voluntarily lends his assist.
ance to the management in his egress
from trains.