The sun., 1919-05-31
MEMORIAL DAY
RUSH FROM CITY
BEATS RECORDS
All Railroads and River and
Sound Craft Are Taxed
to Utmost.
TURN CROWDS AWAY
West Shore Official Says
Exodus Was 200 Per
Cent. Greater.
RELIEF TRAINS MADE UP
Thousands Of Pleasure Seekers
Shunted From Original
Destinations.
RELIEF TRAINS MADE UP

The exodus Of holiday crowds from
the city which began Thursday after
noon continued with unprecedented
heaviness until well past noon yester-
DAY. Traffic on the railroads, the river
and Sound craft taxed all their facili.
ties to the utmost capacity.
While the local traffic of "day
trippers" on the railroads was ex.
tremely heavy, the number Of people
who travelled to resorts for a more
prolonged stay greatly swelled the
volume Of tho ordinary passenger
traffic, necessitating the running oi
many additional cars and sleepers or
most OF the roads.
The Hudson River boats. though
prepared TO take care OF record sized
crowds. were quickly filled by the
early morning rush OF excursionists
and other passengers. All those ar
irving late at the downtown piers to-
gether with others waiting to board
the steamers at the uptown docks had
to be turned away disappointed.
The Hudson River Day Line sent
three OF its boats. tho Hendrick Hud.
son. the Washington Irving, and the Al.
bany. up the river In the morning car.
rying In all some fifteen thousand pas.
sengers. Several thousand others vino
were unable to board the steamers al
Forty-second street. 12sth street. OF
Yonkers. yet determined to reach their
destinations by some other means, were
finally taken by the New York Central,
which sent out two relief trains from
Grand Central, and by the West Shore
to whose terminal at weehawken just
across from Forty-second street about
500 stranded Day Line passengers
focked.
The. station master at the Wes,
Shores Weehawken terminal, who said
he had been employed there for more
than fifteen years. declared that the
outgoing traffic from weehawken yes
terday was 200 per cent, over and above
any previous Decoration Day OF which
he has a record.
Though the Iron Steamboat Company
had six boats IN service for the day,
one more than has been usual on a hol-
iday. the crowd at the Battery was twice
disappointed when boats already filled
to capacity from uptown landings
churncd past without stopping. The Sec
retaTy OF this company stated last night
that tie couldn't recall another holiday
crowd TO approach yesterdays IN size.
In anticipation OF a record rush all sum-
mer the Iron Steamboat Company will
have seven boats in operation by June
90.
Extra cars and sections had TO be put
on yesterday and the day before by
every road running from the city. The
New Haven line. whose Memorial Day
traffic was declared by It's station mas
ter to have been the heaviest in severa
years. had 10 send out lis extra cars
during the two days and forty additional
sleepers Thursday night. Much OF Its
extra traffic was on through trains TO
points as far as Boston and beyond.
Preparations for the handling of the
return rush are being made by all OF
the roads with the idea that most OF II
will swing back this way beginning
Sunday afternoon. Local traff1c mana
gers are anticipating a record breaking
passenger traffic all summer.
Tho biggest crowd 10 visit Staten
Island in years taxed the transportatio
facilities OF the borough across the bay
to their utmost all day yesterday The
trolleys and the steam trains running
to Midland and South beaches, which
had their official openings, carried ca
pacity crowds back and forth until late
last night The enormous automobile
traffic on the various ferries was
hGndled with great dificulty, the con-
diuons causing much trouble at both
the Mariners Harbor terminal OF the
Elizabethport ferry and at Tottenville.
where automobiles were held up for
hours.