The sun., 1919-08-19

turing places to carry their employees
home.
On the outer avenues, First. Second.
Seventh. Eighth, Ninth and Tenth, traf-
nc was extremely light Seventh ave-
nue., we'll paved and wide. was almost
empty of traffic at o'clock at Four
teenth street. Those cars which did use
these thoroughfares made rafting time
and the police let them go the limit
The surface cars, the B. r. 7. and the
Hudson tubes put on every car whinn
they had the power to operate. The
surface lines concentrated on Broadway,
! Madison, Lexington and Third avenues
and the police made some EFFORT to
shunt the motor traffic OF these streets,
but they were not wholly successful,
and by actual demonstration It was
much quicker to walk Broadway from
Wall street to Grand street than It was
to ride at 8 o'clock.
Thousands of people used the Hudson
tubes to get from the financial district
to Herald Square and the Pennsylvania
| station. They went under the river TO
Jersey and crossed back again. Thou
sands more took the tubes and went
clear up to Fort Lee on the Jersey side,
to return to upper Manhattan by ferry.
Army trucks made their appearance
all over town. but they were available
for Government employees only.
Despite the fact that tho b. r. T. SUBJ
| way had increased its rush hour traffic
| by 76 per cent. Il was forced to carry
| from Central Park to downtown Man
haitian not only thousands Of local pas
| sengers but a million or moro Brooklyn
| ties who ordinarily would use either Of
the two marlborough tubes under the
| East River. The bridge traffic was
never very heavy, indicating that Brook
| iyn was relying almost wholly on the
| B. r. T.
Grand Central II damned.
The most congested spot in the city
was the Grand Central terminal between
| the hours Of s and last night.
From all directions q steady stream
of people turned into Forty-second
street and headed for the railroad ter
minal. so that at 8 40 the north side
| of that street from Vanderbilt avenue
| to Lexington avenue was a showing.
i, anxious mass OF persons seeking Har-
| lem, Bronx or suburban trains.
The Vanderbilt avenue entrance and
| the two entrances on Forty-second street
| were closed and guarded by details of
| policemen, who kept yelling to the
| crowd to use the Lexington avenue en-
| trance. Many persons did not hear this
| order and began to form lines before
| the closed doors-long lines on which
people waited half an hour or more
| before they understood.
Suddenly many discovered that the
| Lexington avenue entrance was open.
| The bend In the line ut Forty-second
street and Lexington avenue broke and
| there was wild rush. In no time
there was a crowd before the Lexington
| avenue entrance. which the police lost
no time In lining up In twos 30 that
II led TO Forty-second street and back
like a hairpin.
Every minute the crowd on Forty
second street grew and was thrown into
confusion by the impossibility Of en-
tering the station. An old woman drop
| ped package and pleaded with some
one TO pick 1t up for her. The crowd
kept surging. The package was kicked
along and then trampled under many
feet. No one dared to stop and bend
TO pick It up
SO close was the press before the
| second entrance on Forty-second street
about o'clock. that q mounted police
man rode his horse through the crowd
to the doors at which they were clamor-
Ing and drove them back in the direc-
ton Of Lexington avenue.
All the entrances through drug stores,
/
stairs from the upper level to the lower
level in the station were also closed.
Oficials said that they had done this
so that the crowd in the lower level
| could be regulated, and to avoid the
almost inevitable injuries which would
occur II the crowd ever started down
! stairs.
Traffic all along Fifth avenue moved
| slowly. The sidewalks did not appear
| 10 ha anv mora arOWdad than during
ordinary rush hours.
| Crosstown cars at Thirty-fourth street
presented much the same Appearance as
those on Third avenue, and again the
sidewalk traffic was not abnormal.
Where Broadway and Sixth avenue
cross motor congestion was heavy, and
continued SO along Broadway to Fifty
ninth street.
In Times Square. with the theatres
| closed. traffic was not nearly so great
| as usual.
d. Il. T. Trains Increased.
1t was estimated that nearly half a
million Brooklynites who ordinarily use
the marlborough tubes we're carried on
the cars of the B. r. T. The principal
points of congestion were at the Pacific
street and De Kalb avenue stations OF
the Broadway subway.
| A 10 per cent increase was made
in the number of trains operated on the
Broadway subway line In Manhattan.
] The Sea Beach, West End and Fourth
avenue trains were made up of seven
care each. Much OF the extra equip
ment was brand new.
In addition to the increase Of service
on the surface lines the B. r.. I. ex-
tended the runs OF many OF its lines
that usually terminate at Atlantic ave-
nue. and Borough Hall to Park Row.
The 10000 Bronx homegoers all
seemed to be using the transfer points
at 129th and 14sth streets last night.
The Union Railway had every available
car in service. Those who lived at West
Farms, City Island and in the White
Plains sections found themselves con-
fronted with the greatest difficulties
4 Reserves from the Alexandria avenue
and Morrisania police stations were
called to handle the throng at 14sth
street and Third avenue, which was
damned with mass of humanity from
o'clock until nearly Q. The conges-
ton OF vehicle traffic was appalling dur
ing the height Of tho homeward -ush
hour.
In Harlem the homeward rush last
, night was duplication OF that seen in
the morning. There was such steady
. stream of improvised buses automo-
biles, trucks and taxicabs at Broadway
and 125th street from shortly before s
o'clock until after 8 that pedestrians
wishing to cross had to wait many min
utes for an opportunity.
Probably no other section of the city
was more seriously Inconvenience by
-. -. A.,..I -. Alt a.