The Washington herald., 1922-01-10
SUBWAY CRUSH
LIKE FOOTBALL
TO MINTYRE
Watch Your Step" Rings
Out Above.Nois Of
Flying Wedge.
By o. o. M'INTYRE.

\ NEW YORK, Jan. 9.-Msnhattan's
subway rush-or rather crush
hour-is from Ave to six. IT Is
haste hour for those intrepid souls
who are swallowed up in the kiosks
Of the modern Bagdad on the sub
way to be whisked with the rush
Of skyrocket to cliff dwelling
abodes.
Brooklyn Bridge. Fourteenth
street. Grand Central and Times
square stations take on the feverish
muscular display of the gridiron
as the home going hordes are re-
leased from their towering sky
brushers.
Only those who have seen the
subway crush at its crushiest could
believe that a normal minded citi-
zen would placidly consent To be
herded like cattle and sent scoot-
ing through the tubes impenetr able
blsckness.
Each station has its flying wedge
or husky guards-strong armed and
voiced pen-who come up from be-
hind aid catapault flying figures
through the sliding doors.
The express trains. ten cars long.
roar up every two minutes and tue
locals every three. Above the
tumult sounds the clarion cry Of
Watch Your Step" and Let En-
on" Inside Is the mass of stroic
faces-shop girls, factory workers
and young clerks.
The other night I saw a man
reading on the platform in the
10 Il liz
caught in the swirl Of the flying
wedge and carried off his feet into
the train where he landed still
reading. oddly The Genius" A
little red shirted Italian was
lurched into a fat mans lap. why
don't you call your shots" shouted
the big man. good naturally.
The trainmen's jargon Is q
mystery. They seem to say Imply
umpire" as they near each sta
ton. Packed in sardine like. the
simple conventions are forgot
Treading on feet and humping
heads are accepted as a part of the
nightly adventure without COM
ment.
The subway carries one the
length of the island for nve cents
and even to far away Brooklyn.
IT has had few accidents. Most
of those that have happened were
from panic when a fuse blows out
and the cars become stalled in
darkness.
New York has 10000 taxicabs
operating in the heart of the city.
They collect upward of 100000 a
day in fares. Yet the taxicab BUSH
ness has suffered a severe blow
from prohibition. In the old days
when a certain type OF citizen had
INDUCED in a few drinks he be-
came scornful of street cars. AS
the cabarets and late restaurants
have gradually closed the business
has suffered a big loss there. The
Busiest time OF the day for the
taxi is from in the evening un-
til ..
It is always pathetic to see the
dying splendor of great hotel.
The life of one here is not very
long but this one on lower Fifth
avenue has stood the march OF time
with majestic calm. Now IL Is be-
ginning to droop. One sees 1t in
the character of the clientele A
the dining rooms from Fifth avenue
and soc the smartest dressed crowds
and there was an atmosphere OF
dignity with II. The character of
the place had changed amazingly.
In a year or so more the finish
is at hand and il will be Quilted
to make way for an Office building
Upper Fifth avenue around six
o'clock fills with men and, women
returning from their late afternoon
gallop along the bride path in
Central Park. The women in their
riding suits have a little tea place
that is their rendezvous. They may
go there unescorted. smoke and If
desired. may borrow cocktail shak-
ers that the proprietress keeps on
hand.