Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-01-30
PERTH AMBoY's INDIFFERENCE

Union stations are not only a great convenience for the pub
lc,' says the P~hiladelphs Inquirer, 'they are a decided economy
for the railroads" The fact that Chicago is about to have a new
union terminal to cost $780, 100000 which is to be built by half a
dozen railroads inspires the Philadelphia paper to hope that the i'm
portant railroads entering that city will soon get together to build
a great union station there.
Everywhere" the Inquirer goes on to say, consolidated
railway stations are replacing the antquated and costly system of
individual ones. Philadelphia must eventually come into line and
plan for one great central depot. The longer it is delayed the more
1T win cost, just as the delay in every civic work, such as our Park
way, adds immensely to the value of it's construction"
What a pity that Perth Amboy is not able to put over the
union station idea now when the grade of the railroads is being
changed and new stations must necessarily be built Eventually,
Perth Amboy will have a union station. In few cities are the con-
diions more ideal than right here for such a development. There
are no widely separated terminals that would have to be united
over now and costly routes in order to bring all the railroads en-
tsring Perth Amboy into one station. All of the railroads converge
at a point that is nearly in the center of the city. And here again
we quote from the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Railway stations, it
says, must inevitably be where most people want them and that
means in the heart and not in the extremity of the city. In map
ping ont the larger plans for this ninth city of the world in size, a
great Central union railroad station must have a place"
IL Ferth Amboy had the same civic pride and the same enter
Pfise that IS being shown in Newark by the fight that that city is
putting n fegarding the Newark bay bridge, there would be a de-
tsrmln2 Effort to have the three railroads here unite in one union
he triangle formed by New Brunswick avenue, the Cen
and Lehigh Valley railroad. AS the Pennsylvania
y uses the Central tracks to a large extent it would
X )" ~ in routing to have all the Pennsylvania trains use
sion, especially as the Pennsylvania has an important
81 South Amboy where trains that now come in at the
4. Greet station could end their run.
A city plan adopted several years ago would have had all this
pprovided for and when the track depression matter came up the
city could have shown just how it wanted the work done. Because
we had no city plan and because we lack the push and energy to
tackle the matter with vigor and determination now, we are going
to miss this opportunity to have a union station when the time is
exactly right for it.
People will say that the reason Philadelphia sees other pro-
gressive cities having ma gnificent union stations built while there
the old, Anticipated ones are still used, is because Philadelphia is
slow and the people are asleep. 1t is a stock joke in reference to
Philadelphia.
Is the same thing to be said about Perth Amboy' Is Perth Am
boy sowf Are the people here asleepf Must we put up with the
cid, antiquated accommodations while other cities with more pro
gressiveness and enterprise get the new and modern things? After
all, the city is just what the people make it. If there is no interest
End the people dom care, we'll get just what must come our way
in the course of carrying out the vast developments all about us
The situation is not one in which the people of Perth Amboy can
take very much pride.