The sun., 1918-09-16
$4,000 MOTOR CARS
IDLE ON IDEAL DAY.
New York 99.5 Per Cent. Loyal
in Observing Third Gas
less Sunday. "
DOBBIN IN HIS ELEMENT
Glorious Weather Gives Real
Test Of Patriotism-Fewer
Uniformed Joy Riders.

On q day whose perfect salubriousness
tempted the soul of tho f1lvver owner to
point where he had to think OF the
Capitol at Washington and to sing The
Star Spangled Banner" in order to re-
press the instinct to take drive in the
good little lizzie. this perfect day being
the third OF the gasl0s Sundays or
dained by DR.. Garfield. New York made
record we'll nigh perfect. Dick En-
right, chief of police in these parts. was
willing to be quoted last night to. the
general effect that New York, in his
belief, was e95 per cent loyal.
ut Is all the moro gratifying" said
the chief, because the day was beauti-
full enough to corrupt anybody except
the real patriot. Last Sunday was a
bad day, wet and dreary. Few people
would have cared TO go Joy riding. It was
no real test Of the loyalty spirit any
more than the first Sunday was a real
test. because on the first Sunday lots OF
people didn't seem to know what was
expected Of them But yesterday was a
real test New York Is standing by Tn
Gle Sam In every way"
Observations made at traffic centres.
at the bridges and the ferries, and along
the fne. wide boulevards which for
merry on Sundays were SO congested by
cars going and coming. proved the ac-
curacy OF Commissioner Enright's es-
innate. Between A. NJ. and p. NJ
only eight private cars passed over the
Williamsburg Bridge. and the police
took the names and addresses of the
drivers and the numbers OF the cars.
This was just about the extent of pri-
vate car traffic over the other bridges,
1,sta
one might have waited an hour without
seeing pleasure car.
Like the Days OF OLD.
As on previous Sundays the absence
OF motors cars gave the city a curiously
interesting old time atmosphere. Most
people seemed TO think the absence of
motor car traffic was a great blessing
Riverside Drive, Fifth avenue. l25th
street and the other main arteries OF
travel were deserted by the throbbing
pleasure cars so numerous on week days
and so familiar before DR.. Garfield is
sued his plea to save gasolene. Now
and again one saw a hanson leisurely
cruising for business. its none too plump
horse guided by a red faced cabby: or
observed an ancient four wheeler res
cued from dust and cobwebs and
polished up to meet new conditions.
One who wished to avoid walking took
one of these, got into one of the green
buses conducted by the Fifth Avenue
Coach Company at what It states Ia a
singularly attractive saving of gasolene
cit has printed little booklets about how
many gallons 1t gets out OF a mile. or
miles out of a gallon, whichever It Isl ,
used the subways operated by the
Laureate Ghonts, or the overhead lines
which straddle the town east and west.
There was no other way.
The real pinch was felt not IN the city
but on the outskirts of the city, In the
seashore and hill resorts SO favored by
New Workers with two or three dollars
to rub against each other on a Sunday.
These places starved. There wasn't
enough business to keep one waiter
going. Making the whole round. from
the Hotel Nassau on the boardwalk at
Long Beach TO the Gramatan Inn at
Bronxville. II would have been hard to
find a pleasure car parked at one OF
these resorts. Men and women who had
been accustomed TO spend their Sunday
afternoon and evenings at such places
stayed at home or took n stroll in the
streets,
There, was no taxicab service what
ever, the companies observing Dr. Gar
fields order even more strictly than on
the previous Sunday From the Penn
sylvania Station a few cars were run by
special permission, but nobody out OF
uniform cared to be seen in one Of these
This feeling indeed marked the whole
day. People were ashamed. obviously. of
being seen In car which could not show
an imperative or an official GRAND.
Another characteristic of the third
gasless Sunday was that fewer men in
uniform were JOY riding. on September
s the number OF soldiers and sailors who
were taunting about and wasting gaso-
lene simply because they happened TO be
soldiers or sailors amounted to a scandal
The police were disguised with the situa-
ton. The Fuel Administration repre-
sentatives spoke sharply about It, Evil
IDENTIFY these reproofs had their effect and
apparently men in uniform comprehended
that II was as much up to them to save
gasolene for the troops in France as It
was up to civilians.
1t was estimated last night that the
police had taken TIE names OF about
1000 persons who had not been able to
give good reason for being out in their
pleasure cars. Since there are about
$4,000 cars in the city II Is easy enough
to figure the percentage of violations.
Fort Lee Ferry's Count.
was particularly noticeable at the Fort
Lee ferry. where pleasure seekers cross
the river to Palisade Park and Camp
Merritt. On the SUNDAY preceding the
first gasless day 1890 vehicles we're
registered as having gone over from mid
night Saturday to noon Sunday. On tho
first OF the gasless Sundays the number
was reduced to 2l3; on the second 1924
and yesterday only ffty-three crossed
These figures were taken from the rec
ords OF the gatekeeper and include
motorcycles. milk trucks and all classes
OF motor driven vehicles. A garage near
the ferry, where anywhere from sixty TO
hundred gallons OF gasolene ordinarily
are sold on a Sunday. was closed yester-
day.
During the period from 3 O'Clock to
noon yesterday one car crossed the Man
haitian Bridge. . on the Windshield was a
placard reading funeral" The chauf-
feur when questioned explained he was
on his way to Il cemetery to meet a
funeral party.
or $50 cars stored Saturday night at
the Automobile Club OF America only
two left there yesterday and these, 1t
was said. were owned by physicians
The total number OF gasolene pro-
PEELED cars of all descriptions counted in
Fifth avenue between 9 :30 A. NJ. and
3 p. NJ were as follows: Five express
vans. six bakery wagons. three laundry
runabouts, fifteen taxicabs. twenty-five
doctors cars. eight official army cars,
two official navy cars. three amhulances.
fifteen touring cars driven by Motor
Corps chauffeurs, occupied by knights
OF Columbus secretaries; three large cars
bent on JOY riding, two motorcycles and
Fifth avenue buses every minute and a
half.