New-York tribune., 1920-02-10
Weeks Traffic
Forecast,
Despite Mayor

$4,000 Shovelers, lob
Trucks, Flame Hurlers
and Motorless Day Fail to
Set Surface Cars Going
New York's first attempt at truck
less day, experiments with various
flame devices and the combined efforts
OF neary $4,000 snow fighters yester-
day failed to set the city's paralyzed i
surface transportation in motion.
Mechanical devices thus far used in
an effort to clear the slots and release e
underground electric feed wires have
proved almost complete failures, with
the result that virtually all of the ma:
arteries of surface car traffic on Man
haitian still are blocked. No official
OF the car lines could be -ound who
would hazard guess as to the time
cars might be expected to move.
Mayor Hylan's prediction that indus
tries could begin to function normally
on Tuesday morning was declared to
have been at least week away from
the mark when the street clearing
came to a standstll last night. Snow
removal officials who had inspected the
streets during the day said that the
city still would be removing evidences
Of the blizzard Of last Wednesday night
for at least six weeks. Car lines would
not be back to regular schedules in ten
days, they said.
Fifth Avenue again is open to traffic
after eight hours of arduous effort on
Of hn c{r 81
and West streets-among the city's
most important streets for the hand
ling OF food supplies--were being COM
pleted last night. Chambers Street was
open from end to end for the first time
since the storm yesterday afternoon.
Some time to-day Fifteenth Street prob
ably will be opened in an effort 10 re-
lleve the congestion on Fourteenth
Street
Whether truckless day actually
had been experienced in New York was
open to question last night. In some
parts OF the city there was a marked
falling off in the number of gasoline
drawn vehicles as a result of the ban
placed upon such movement of cars by
Mayor Hylan. In others police reported
about normal traffic
In the Bronx particularly observers
announced that the usual. number Of
trucks and pleasure cars passed the in
tersection of 149th Street and Third
Avenue, the hub of the borough. Some
owners had taken the precaution to
piacard their cars in such manner as
to identity them as emergency vehicles.
Drugs" "Hauling Food" and "Must
Run" were the words seen on placards
exhibited on such cars. On others, how
ever. there was no evidence Of an ef-
tort on the part of the driver to Justify
his activity.
The manner of dealing with such
cars varied with the policemen in the
congested districts. Some policemen
did nothing, others warned drivers.
while still others attempted to arrest
the chauffeurs Of offending cars. A
taxlcab that was hurrying passenger
carrying two trunks to a steamship
dock late in the afternoon was stopped
by policeman near City Hall and held
TOR fifteen minutes while it's driver was
attempting to prove the Importance of
his trip.
The tota number Of men actually en-
ployed in the task of removing snow
from the streets was given as 1878 in
the ofhces of the snow removal bureau
OF the Street Cleaning Department. It
Is probable that least 1000 more men
were working as unpaid volunteers in
lHe various DOrOuRhS.
Ihe men were divided among the bor
oughs in this way:
Emergency workers:
Manhattan ....... s1e-
70 Di ~ ................. ,0OS
- "'ooklyn .................. 3O38
Contractors 3Ni
The contractors used lob trucks in
the handling Of snow. Volunteer trucks
used on West and South streets and in
the nelghborhood of these streets. were
sala 10 nave reached the total of 349
one explanation advanced as to the
reason for the most serious tje-up Of
Manhattan's surface TRANSFORMATION in
quarter of century was, that no
work had been done in removing the
ice that accumulated in third rail slots
during the sleet storms Of January 16
TO ~. Joseph j. B. Lamarsh, who is
snow contractor for the New York Rail
ways, is Said to have awaited the ar
rival OF snow and snow alone. The ice
that formed as a result of the sleet
storm was not fought by any organized
eHorts on the part of the roads or the
contractor, as far as could be learned
yesterday.
AS result of this situation Thurs
DAY morning found the slots filled not
only with the wet snow of the night
before, but ice that had been forming
IN IN the slots for weeks. 1t is this ice
'nat is proving Ahe most serious OBJ
stacie to the movement of cars
Public Service Commissioner Lewis
Nixon completed an investigation of
surface car conditions during the day.
with the result that he issued state
ment in which he recommended tina use
of mechanical appliances for the move
ment of cars. In this statement he
said:
Personal inspection has been made
OF the efforts to resume trolley opera
tions.
Pick and Shovel Necessary
The snow has been trampled down
until it is 'solid ice, and this is being
removed with pick and shovel. Even
when the ice is off the rails the com
panies' have the conduits to clean out.
Cars can be run back to barns by re-
moving the plows.
THE city did nothing effective to
y