Year: 1875

The chief obstacle to the construction OF a
rapid transit railroad in New York has been
the want OF confidence in the remunerative
character of such an investment. Capl-
talists are always ready to invest their money
in q scheme that holds out good prospect OF
returning an interest larger than money ordi-
nariy commands and if at any time the
law had authorized the building of road on
route on which the travel was certain to be
large, and on plan known to be practicable
and not too costly, we should speedily have
raised the capital required for its construc-
ton. But when rapid transit propositions,
made in good faith, were before the State
Legislature, they were certain to meet the
opposition of the Vanderbilt roads, of the
horse car companies, the stage lines, the
ferry companies and others who supposed
that their own interests would suffer by
the success of a city railroad ope-
rated by steam. The consequence was that
bogus schemes were started to embarrass
honest enterprises, and bills were hampered
with provisions and restrictions calculated to
render them worthless even if they SHOULD be-
come laws A road would be prohibited from
running over the Third avenue route or the
Fourth avenue route, thus sacrificing public
to private interests, or some clauses would be
introduced to destroy the confidence of capi-
tai in the investment. This was the work for
which Senators and Assemblymen were paid,
session after session, and upon the profits OF
which the honest representatives of the rural
ofFk a.. OF
became millionnaires in the city.


The great advantage of the law creating our
present Rapid Transit Commission is that it
takes the matter out of the control of venal
Legislature and villanous lobby and places
| it in the hands of citizens of New York of es-
tablished integrity, who have the interests of
the city at heart and who are directly respon-
sible to the people of the city for their action.
President Seligman and his associates
would scarcely venture to sell out rapid
transit to through railroad corporation or
to the Third avenue or any other city railroad
line even if their regulations as honorable
business men did not preclude the idea of
such course. They stand independent of
all existing interests and influences, bound,
first and last, to consider the success of the
great work they have undertaken to accom-
plish. They can have no hesitation, there
fore, in selecting the route that promises the
greatest amount of travel and the largest
convenience to citizens, and in adopting the
plan of construction that is pronounced by
competent authority to be the most practi-
cable and that can be built at o cost sufi-
ciently reasonable to insure low rates of fare.
They will have no right to consider whether
this or that existing company will be injured
or benefited by their decisions. They are
initiating a revolution in travel in the city.
They are originating an onward movement
that will give the metropolis new life, and
they must do their work energetically, faith
fully and fearlessly, regardless of individual
interests


We publish to-day description Of some
of the plans which have been placed
before the Commission. 1t is unnecessary at
this time to discuss their merits, since it will
be part of the duty of the Commission to
submit them all to competent criticism, and
the question of their practicabihty will then
be fully examined. No doubt great many
impracticable propositions will be submitted,
and when the worthless projects are set aside
| it will then be easier to test the respective
recommendations of those that may be left.
| The Commission will, of course, call in the
aid of board of engineers to assist them in
this important portion of their labors; for we
regard the decision as to the plan of con-
| struction to be as vital as that of the route to
be granted. We do not believe that it would
be wise to leave the plan of construction un-
settled, even if the law permitted such a
course. There seems to be as little doubt that
an iron elevated road must be determined
upon as that the Third avenue route is the one
that should be selected. If plan pronounced
practicable by competent engineers and the
cost of which can be safely estimated as
! sufficiently moderate to warrant five and six
cent fares shall be decided upon by the Com
mission capital will then know precisely
what it can calculate upon, and the money
necessary to build the road will be forthcom-
inc. If the route alone should be settled and
the plan of construction should be left to q
general scramble we should be as far off from
the accomplishment of rapid transit as we
were before the present law was enacted. The
Commission must present to the people-frst,
a route that insures immediate profit by its
established volume of travel and, next, road
that promises capacity to do the business
offered, safety to passengers, accessibility and
cheapness of construction. The Commits
sioners have clear field before them. Their
hands are untrammelled. 1t will be their
fault alone if New York fails now to secure
the great boon she has SO long pleaded for in
vain.


Tho sad, Old story.


We note that the Roman Catholic clergy