The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-10-06
HYLAN is NERVOUS
AND STOPS TRAFFIC
Continued from First Pdge.

Whitney, that the order to shut of SER
vice through the Turner's was gwen out
In the middle OF a Saturday afternoon,
which Is one of the quietest times Of the
week. From our reports the congestion
was not apparent much before o'clock"
The police under the direction Of Chief
Inspector John Daily did excellent work.
They covered the bridges and subway
and railroad stations 30 quickly and SO
we'll that what might well have developed
Into serious jams, and possible panics,
did not result in any serious accidents.
But tho police had tho greatest difficulty
In making many OF the homesoing
Brooklynites understand that II might be
a long time before they could get home.
They insisted upon crowding into the
minals and It was wonder that some
Of those ancient vehicles withstood the
strain.
Thousands took the advice to use the
ferries. Most Of them had forgot that
such institutions existed and had to be
directed to the terminals. Within half
an hour these terminals were damned
with people and automobiles that ex-
tended In some cases for blocks The
relics Of a past age groaned with loads
Of human freight such as they had sell
1t was the same story everywhere. The
ferries running from the foot of White
halr street to Hamilton avenue and At
lantic avenue, Brooklyn, the Roosevelt
street ferry from Manhattan to Broad
way, Brooklyn, and the ferries running
from Twenty-third street and from
Thirty-fourth street, Manhattan, to WILL
iamsburg were crowded to capacity. 1t
was impossible to put on extra boats, for
Al \ ..1A l.axs
extras"
1t was surprising what great anxiety
so many people showed TO get to Brook
lyn and to get there right away. Many
of those who finally reached the desired
shore after a long period OF struggle
found that they could have got home
quicker by waiting for. the resumption of
the regular service.
Struggle in Brooklyn.
The struggle to get out Of Brooklyn
was even keener. Thousands of per-
sons on their way to their Manhattan
and Bronx homes from Brooklyn fac
tories, other thousands going on night
shifts or hurrying to catch boats or
trims Joined in whirling, seething
throngs at the various ferry entrances.
One man at Fulton Ferry after standing
In line for half an hour to reach a tele-
phone booth and spending another If
teen minutes vainly trying to get a tele-
phone connection staggered out of the
booth a wreck. He said he had been
due to sail for France from a Hoboken
dock at 5 40. 1t was then nearly 6
o'clock.
Relating his attempts to reach his Of
flee, where important business awaited
him. another victim thus described his
experience:
II got to the Atlantic avenue station
at o'clock. and found the subway shut
down. I boarded a car to cross the
Brooklyn Bridge, and after hanging on
by my eyelashes until the Borough Hall
was reached was told that traffic over
the bridge was shut down. After cling
ing to the paint on a Fulton ferry car
found on reaching the East River thou
sands Of people extending for block or
more. The police were Advising every
body to go to South ferry at the foot Of
Atlantic avenue. It's only a mile was
their cheerful statement It's two miles
II it's an inch. I know, for I walked 1t.
"And then I found conditions worse
II anything than they were at Fulton
ferry. Automobiles were In line for
blocks and blocks and from the temper
Of the crowd it looked as though the
first boat in would be swamped and
sunk in its slip.
What was the next best bet. A taxi
tothe Thirty-ninth street ferry. 1t cost
$3.50, and when I got there II looked as
though my troubles were not over yet.
When the boat got in, loaded to the last
inch. the scenes as the crowd boiled into
the street were indescribable. When
hnally landed on Manhattan soil at the
Battery II was nearly o'clock"
There were wild scenes on the ferry
boat Columbia OF the Fulton Ferry line,
when at the Brooklyn terminal 80 many
people fought their way to the old
hulk that her captain refused to take a
chance of capsizlng in the river AS he
described II later. 1t seemed as IL several
thousand people were on the top of the
boat alone. place where passengers are
not ordinarily allowed. The frenzied
passengers tried TO loosen the chain
mornings from the bridge and even at
tempted to shove the boat out Of the
slip. The captain tied a two inch haw-
ser TO the ferry house to thwart the
plans of the excited passengers.
Tho police we're called In and tried TO
get some of the passengers back on land,
hut 1t was no use. Then the Columbia's
sister, the Mineola. drifted into an ad-
Jacent slip and wild scramble over
ratings and bulkheads followed to get
onto the latter boat As the MineoIa
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