Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-11-25

The Liverpool street station tube
Is the safest shelter in town. The
tube-to translate its . subway,
and the subway runs 90 feet under
ground.
The most extraordinary sight we
saw was the escalator that runs
down to 1t in q single long straight
descent. We came in out Of the
dark into the lighted station and
found ourselves standing at the
top Of 1t. It was the second most
extraordinary sight I saw in Lon
don. The entire length Of this long
stairway, which would reach six
stories-from the bottom of Mays
to the top-was packed-two people
to q stair-with sleeping men. As
in our own escalators the bannis-
tiers, where the stairs are in mo-
ton, move with the platform. Be-
hind them are shelves, 10 inches
to 2 feet wide, slanting down paral-
lei to the stairs at the same angle.
Head to foot, to head to foot, to
head to foot, the entire way down.
both bannister shelves were more
men asleep.
The men who slept on the stairs
that had metal treads were con-
torted into unimaginable discom-
fort. Their rows Of feet coming
from opposite sides Of the stairs
left an irregular tread down the
center, few inches wide. Up and
down this leather-walled path people
were passing, coming up or going
down.
The sight was so startling it pro-
duced no reaction except the sense
that these people must be insane.
Why did they choose to sleep sitting
up along the stairs instead. Of going
down into the tube. Neither Hide
nor Ben, who had seen these stairs
before, seemed as impressed as I.
I stood for a long time looking
down the shaft. Finally we picked
our way down.
They Sleep Row on Row.
The escalator opened on a subway
platform. Along this platform,
heads to the wall, feet toward the
tracks, was another carpet of sleep
ers. absolutely solid, shoulder and
thigh to shoulder and thigh. There
was train In the station, brightly
lighted, with its doors open. In
startling contrast to the packed
horizontal humanity on the plat
form, only two or three people were
sitting in the cars. There was a
foot or two of clearance between
the feet OF the sleepers and the
edge of the cars against the plat
form. was about to say, But
why don't they go in the cars?"
when its doors closed and it moved
on away into the tunnel. The sub
way was operating as usual. The
roar OF the trains departure pro-
duced no visible effect on the sleep
ers.
We turned away from the plat
form and walked through some
short connecting tunnels. BY this
time, after only few hours of it.,
1 found had stopped being startled
at the fact that every square foot
OF floor space except for the mar
row alsles we moved along were
packed with sleeping people. This
was London by night. In the corri-
doris OF the British Broadcasting
Building. the lobby of the Dorches-
ter or the Liverpool tubes-always,
everywhere on the ground floor and
below ground in big buildings, peo-
pie sleeping.
don't know how to make YOU feel
this picture. Think, perhaps, of the
apartment house in which YOU live
In New York. Think how MANY
people live there with you. mink
where you would sleep If every night
all OF you came down in your
elevators and made your bed in
those mysterious Easements normal
~ guarded by the janitor. And
think that this would not be lust
something you did one night when
ground floor fire might have
smoked you out, but that you did
1t every night until it became rou-
Tine. Until you took 1t as q mat
ter OF course and thought moth
Ing OF 1t. Then think of a whole
city doing this. Or try to think
OF 1t. It's doubtful If you can. I
can't, even after having seen it.
All know is that within a day or
Two you accept it. That's the way
1t Is. And you cease to be surprised
by finding sleeping people wherever
you go in London.
The Shuttle Is Extraordinary.
1 said I ceased to be surprised at
seeing sleeping people in odd cor
r1dors. The corridors we were walk
Ing through under the Liverpool
Street Station led to the shelter I
found the most extraordinary of
all. Here q connecting link of the
subway had been under construc.
ton when the war began. A short
connecting link, not unlike the
shuttle that connects Grand Central
with Times Square in New York.
Here in London the tunnels were
finished. but the tracks were never
laid. Two circular tubes run side
by side for a quarter of a mile-so
that If you walk up one tube and
turn the corner at the end you can
walk down the other tube and have
gone half mile. The floors of
these tubes were prepared for tracks.
That Is, they have concrete floors
which flatten or truncate the circle
at the bottom. From these floors
the round sides of the tube rise
to their widest point and then arch
around to make the ceiling.
As stood IN fba a,,frop,. 80 ~.