Year: 1877

| Oltys


Every patriotic citizen desires to see New


York attain the proudest position and enjoy
tho enduring success to which her superb
location and natural facilities for commerce
entitle her. Even the obstructionists who
labor to defeat all efforts at improvement
have schemes for the development of the
greatness of this city, and would be
willing to see her the imperial seat
Of prosperity if they were only permit
ted to bring about that desirable end
after their own plans. Assuming. there
fore, that an anxiety to advance the interests
of the metropolis is permanent factor in
oil calculations of the means. We believe
that it needs only the reconciliation OF the
rival plans to secure the accomplishment OF
their common object. We have already
referred to several Of what we have termed
the immediate necessities of New York.
believing that they have the first claims
on the attention of our citizens We
have shown that until the COM
pletion of permanent and comprehensive
system of improvements along the water
front of the business sections of the city
oil other efforts for the creation of trade
facilities will be necessarily abortive. IT
our leading merchants and officials, in whose
hands the initiation and completion Of pub
lie improvements properly rest, would only
divest their minds of false Impressions re-
specting the values Of special undertakings
and devote their united efforts to the fur
therance of one grand plan OF improvement,
this city would rise. as if by magic, above
the petty difficulties that embarrass her at
present.


embrace the following main features. the
details of which may we'll be left to those
called upon to execute them. The first, as
we have already remarked, should give
New York an improved water front such as
no other city in the world would possess.
From the point where the shore line of the
Hudson River Railroad terminates at Six
tieth street. on the Hudson River, to the
foot OF East Seventeenth street. on the
East River, water front avenue of not
less than two hundred feet in width at its
narrowest point should be constructed


The bulkhead wall forming the outer line
of this grand thoroughfare should be
built in tho most substantial manner of
solid masonry and concrete. The Hudson
River Railroad should be continued around
this line by o double track road, fully
equipped with traversing platforms and
every mechanical appliance for the rapid
transfer of loaded and unloaded cars from
70 int chnu
be constructed an elevated track, to which,
by means of elevators, all empty cars
could be raised and sent northward with
out interfering with the regular road be-
meath. Such q structure, light and mex
pensive, as that of the New York Elevated
Railroad would answer this purpose ad-
mirably. BY means of turn tables, switches
and other devices loaded freight cars mr.
irving on fats from the New Jersey rail-
roads could be quickly transferred to the
New York water front lines. Each pier
should be fitted with railroad tracks and
steam hosting apparatus, SO that goods
loaded on the cars at st. Louis or
Chicago, or on the steamships at Liverpool
or Havre would not be disturbed until they
were lifted at one operation from the car to
the ship or the ship to the car. Each pier
should also be completely covered by well
built shed Of wood or galvanized corrugated
iron, rendered as tireproof as possible. In
addition to these sheds stores of sufficient
capacity to receive the largest consignments
of freight should be constructed at
regular intervals along the water front,
and railroad tracks laid from the piers
and the main road to their entrances A
fixed tonnage rate for storage would give
merchants using these depots guarantee
of safety for their goods when once re-
ceived, and would save freight from the in
Vulnerable causes of injury to which it is
exposed when the loaded cars are left stand
ing on some out of the way siding in Jersey
City, Hoboken or other point outside the
city. The harbor dues on ships could
then be reduced to the minimum or abol-
ished altogether, and commerce would
be relieved of q vexatious burden under
which it labors at present-the idea being that
our merchandise should be taxed only once,
and that under the provisions of an unalter-
able tariff of charges shipowners and i'm
porters would at once recognize the ad-
vantage of sending their vessels to port
where all the intricate machinery Of COM
mercial taxation was reduced to a single and
reasonable impost.


While this creation of local trade facili-
ties is in vigorous progress there is nothing
to prevent the execution of other schemes
having relation thereto. For instance, it
may be found impracticable after time to
ferry all the freight across the Hudson with
ont interrupting the regular navigation of
the river Some other means of transporta-
ton must be devised. A sub-river tun-
mel or several Of them may be