June 20, 190S





RECORD  AND  GUIDE





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su'pport it would Iiave a fair chance of passage, whereas in
case the new Governor was a man of less influence and
standing it will prohahly be broken against the prejudices
of rural Republican legislators. We hope, consequently, that
Mr. Hughes will neither bury himself iu the Vice-Presidential'
chair nor return to pi'Jvate practice. He is still needed at
Albany,





Vol,- LXXXl,





JUNE 20, IOOS,





No, 2101





LAST WEEK the Record and Guide called attention to
the fact that when the new Blackwells Island Bridge
is complete uo arrangements will have been made to make
it a really useful part of the transit system of New York-
It should be added that any arrangements to make it a useful
part of the street system of Manhattan are equally lackiug-
On the Mauhattan side the hridge terminates iu an extremely
unfortunate manner. The street into which it wiil pour its
trafhc^—Fifty-ninth Street^is too narrow for the trafRc,
which even at the preseut time demands its use; aud after
the new bridge is opened it will become still more over¬
crowded. Just how jnuch surface traffic the opeuing of this
bridge, wiil create is doubtful, but from the beginniug there
will be a good many trucks aud automobiles that will seek
Loug Island by this route, and the uuuiher will, of course,
steadily increase. There is every reasou, consequently, for
the constru-ction of a spacious and convenient approach to
the new bridge. As long ago as the administration of ex-
Mayor Low, various projects for the wideuing of Pifty-uinth
Street were considered by the local improvement hoard, but
nothing was ever done, partly because of the opposition of
property owners on Fifty-ninth Street, aud partly because
of tbe expense. Eventually, however, something must be
done, and the longer the improvement is delayed the raore
it wiil cost- It is very much to he hoped that in the new
charter this whole business of street improvements will he
better organized. At the present time such improvements
are almost impossible, and yet the time is rapidly ap¬
proaching when the lack of them will result iu au intoler¬
able amount of traffic.congestion,





THB worst result of the passage of the auti-gambling
bills may be tliat Governor Hughes will probably
refuse a Republican nomiuation for another term. He has
announced at different times that he did not desire to serve
again, but that he would do so in case be was beateu on
the race-track bills. Yet his continued presence at Albany
is so necessary in the interest both of the city and the State
that the utmost pressure should be brought to bear ufjon
him to make him revise his decision- Mr- Hughes is not
only the best Governor with "one exception which New York
State has enjoyed during the life of the present generation,"
but he has altogether peculiar abilities as a coastructive
legislator- The legislation which has been passed at bis
instigation has been most wisely and cautiously drawn, and
it would he a genuine misfortune for the State to lose so
soon the services of a man who is probably the most able
reform legislator now living id the United States, Moreover,
the legislation with which he is particirlarly identifled still
remains, so far as its operation is concerned, in an experi¬
mental condition. The election next fall of au inferior
Governor who did uot sympathize with Mr. Hughes' work
or understand its spirit, might undo all he has done. The
Governor is in this respect in precisely the same situation
as President Roosevelt, aud he should be succeeded, if not
by himself, at least by some one who understands and sup¬
ports his program of reform. It should be added that New
York City has a peculiar iuterest in this matter- At the
initiative of Mr, Hughes a commission has been appointed
that has outlined a new charter for this city, -which prom¬
ises to be one of the most liberal measures of home rule
ever granted to an American city. This uew charter will
be submitted -to  the  next  Legislature.    With Mr.  Hughes'





THE Record and Guide trusts that the Public Service
Commission will soon give some indication of an
understanding of its immediate duty in respect to transit
improvements. It is perfectly obvious that the duty of the
commission at the present time does uot consist iu insisting
ou the coustruction of any particular improvement, su'ch as
the Fourth Avenue or the Broadway-Lexington Aveuue sub¬
ways. The veto by Governor Hughes of the Robinson bill
has made any really important stibway construetion impos¬
sible, at least for the next two years. That veto was hurt¬
ful to the city's interests jn most respects; but it may have
one beneflciM result- Provided the proposed amendment to
the constitution in respect to expenditures ou rapid transit
is passed, the city of New York will for the flrst time be in
a position to plan a comprehensive system of rapid transit;
and such a plan can be-adopted with every assurance that
the meaus will uot be lacking to carry it out. Obviously,
then, the next eighteen months should be passed in the slow
and careful preparation of such a plan. The engineer of
the board should be commissioned to draw up a scheme,
including subways, elevated roads and trolleys, which, wheu
completed, would give the City of New York really adequate
means of transit, aud the different parts of this scheme
should be marked with numerals, indicating the proper order
of constructiou. The board should tbeu consider the pro¬
posed plan iu private session, and have it criticized by various
transit experts. After such criticisms have been thoroughly
considered, the proposed plan in all its details should be
su'bmitted to the public for further criticism- Hearings
should be given in respect to the plan as a whole, its de¬
tails and tbe proposed order of constructing its several parts.
After everybody has been heard who has the right to be
heard, the board should make its flnal decision, and declare
what portions of the whole system is to be immediately con¬
structed. Then, after the constitutional amendment has
been passed, the preliminary work will be finished. The
board will be free to go ahead and secure the consents of
property-owners, the courts and the Board of Estimate. No
time should be lost In beginning this task, for it cannot be
perfectly completed in much less time than the interval
actually available. It need scarcely be added that tbe serious
preparation of a comprehensive plan of transit improvements
would involve the abandonment of the proposed Broadway-
Lexington Avenue route. There might have been some ex¬
cuse for the construction of this subway, in case it were the
only su'bway which could be built for a good many years;
but under existing conditions there is uo excuse. It could
not iu any case be commenced until after the passage of the
constitutional amendment, and when that reform makes the
laying out of a comprehensive system of rapid transit pos¬
sible, the Broadway-Lexington Avenue route would merely
be in the way. Its construction would prejudice the deci¬
sion of the commission on many important points, and pre¬
vent its freedom of actiou. Its only reason for existence
would be that as an independent liue it would develop prob¬
ably a heavier trafflc than would any other single route;
bu-t it would develop such a trafflc at the expense of other
equally important lines. It should, consequently, be aban-
doued, aud the eugiueering force of the commission should
be put to work upon the much more important task of pre¬
paring a  comprehensive  plan.             ,                            '





IF COMPTROLLER METZ succeeds in preventing .the
immediate coustructiou of the Fourth Avenue subway,
he will deserve the hearty thanks of all but about one-twenty-
fifth of the inhabitants of New York City, But whether he
succeeds or fails, he will have made a plucky fight against
heavy odds and at the risk of his popu'larity in his owu
Borough. It is extraordinary that he and the Mayor have
not received more active and hearty support iu their oppo¬
sition to the proposed misappropriation of the city's funds.
The interests of all the inhabitants of Manhattan, the Bronx
and Queens will be injured by the immediate construction
of the proposed subway, and to these should be added also
the interests of a large majority of the inhabitants of
Brooklyn, The already difflcult problem of financing the
necessary municipal improvements during the next two years