New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05

able them to earn full returns on their
own property.
What advantages come to the city
1or these heavy sacrifices? Chiefly
universal o-cent fare, which knits the
city together, making it one commu-
NIFTY. From Pelham Bay Park and
Yonkers, down through the whole
length of Manhattan. Under the East
RIVER by four tunnels and away out TO
Corona and Brownsville and Brighton
Beach and Coney Island rides over
twenty-five miles long may be taken
tor nickel. Brooklyn passengers, who
recently were dropped at the Manhat
tan ends of the bridges, can already
pass on single fare. by way of Canal
Street. TO the Broa dway line. and so
reach the theatre, business and shop
ping district. Not less than 100 900
passengers are already saving 10 cents
day, while others, from remotcr
parts OF Brooklyn toward the sea, are
SAVING so cents a day.
Dual System Would Prevent Conses-
ton of Population
But not simply the saving Of fares
Was IN the minds OF the champions of
the dual system when it was sanctioned.
More important was the anticipated
distribution Of the population over
VIDE, unoccupied areas, so as to pre-
vent unhealthy congestion and to ere
ate cities of homes IN place of con-
geries of tenements. That expectation
has been realized TO but tr1ing ex-
tent. North of Forty second Street. on
PARK and Madison avenues, numbers OF
sumptuous apartment palaces have
been reared high toward heaven. But
Che more elaborate and lordly shelter
ing OF milIlonalres was not the social
purpose to Justify tremendous munich
pal risks and certain losses.
In the Maplcton area, on the shore
line, colony of small artisans dwell
lnes has sprung up, generously served
by subway tNains That is the kind of
housing Improvement expected, but the
total IS pitifuliy small.
be sides transportation. three factors
ere essential to conspicuous dwelling
i Development they are capital. an en-
terprsing builder and favorable prices
Tor labor and material. Capital in large
amounts has not been obtainsblc for
two or three years past. and will
hardly be available for two CT three
years TO come, because the large loan
ing institutions. such IS the Metro
pohtan Life Insurance Company, which
backed With social and financial lore
sight the Mapicron small-home colony.
! NUT invest their funds in Liberty
loans Materials and labor are al
Prices prohibitive to speculative under
takings, and the houses built to be
occupied by their builders vith the aid
OF building aDd loan associations are
too ie" to make Il serious impression.
SO rents are rising. except in few
districts. where the meanest class o.
tCn0mPnfc L
migration. Through subway deficits
taxes increase, but owners Of improved
property can more than rccoup the
CAKES out of larger rents. Owners of
vacant lots, on the other hand, those
VINO hold the vast unoccupied tracts to
winch 1t was hoped the population
would flock, are suffering heavy and
rising losses.
resumption Of building on a largo
scale is retarded by every increase Of
taxes, so that. paradoxicaly. the sub
way system, through the deficits, is OBJ
siructlng the better housing, the wider
spread Of population, which it was de-
signed to promote. Fate is certainly
contrary dame.
These conditions affect the policy
now to be adopted. New lines into
stretches Of territory now peopled BY
rabbits are justihable ventures only
"hen there is strong probability that
population will follow Transportation.
Added deficits that would further re-
ta-d the resumption of building would
defeat the purpose for which the lines
We're built. On the other hand, the full
utilization of the lines now nearly com
pleted, through finishing connecting
INKS. that straphanging may diminish
to disappearance and easy movement
orf % 49, I've
may be facilitated, should be speedily
achieved.
Bankruptcy of the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit Company
BY the bankruptcy of the Brooklyn
RAPID Transit Company the compile
made more problematical. The i'm
mediate reason for the bankruptcy is
the inability of the corporation to OBJ
tam funds to complete the construc-
ton and equipment work now under
contract and to finance the new con-
tracts, which under its agreement with
the city, through the New York Mu-
nlcipal Railroad Corporation, it must
enter upon. This subsidiary corpora
ton, it is stated in the bankruptcy
petition, raised s6O000,00O and yet
..iSAS was ueHCiI Oh Sil,UUU,UUu III
the amount needed for initial construc-
ton and equipment.
Should the receivership result in d.
viding up the lines among the several
companies which originally operated
them the Taxpayers may lose most of
the advantages which the Dual System
was designed to procure. Instead of
being able to ride % miles for a nickel
they may have to pay three or four
separate fares TO get from outlying
parts of Brooklyn so upper Manhat-
tan.
Should the New York Railways Com
pany. which operates the surface lines
in Manhattan and the Bronx, and the
marlborough Rapid Transit Company
also collapse, as is threatened, then
the transit conditions in the greater
city may revert to such confusion and
costliness for travellers as have not
been experienced for twenty years.
Since the city's stake is so large
every citizen and farepayer has All in
terest IN procuring an equitable and
quick settlement of the financial difi-
culties. While the city, through its
taxing power, is able to meet the in
creased costs of construction and the
prospective deficits on operation, pri-
vate corporation must either make its
system pay or go to the wall Whether
fare of seven or eight cents would
yield so much larger net revenue as 70
pull both the corporations and the city
ont OF the hole cannot be determined
except by experiment. In some cities