The New York Rapid-transit Subway

Proceedings.] DISCUSSION ON NEW YORK SUBWAY. 75 railway-traffic. In America they had no omnibuses, and he Sir G. Gibb, envied them! In London the problem was to deal with an old settled population. Diagrams of the movements of people in New York and London would show absolutely different conditions of affairs. The movement in London would appear like a kaleidoscope, whereas the movement in New York would be a series of black lines all running in one direction. No doubt that was due to the fact that London was settled long before railways were thought of. The trades, the professions, theatres, residences, etc., were absolutely and finally settled: the people travelled where they wished to go, and no speed of travel would induce them to go where they did not wish. Railways had to be made to serve the needs of the people, and there was no doubt that in New York the subway had been urgently needed and had fitted into the realized visible needs of the people. The Subway had at once come into possession of an enormous traffic. In the second year after its opening the Author mentioned the total passengers carried as being 166 millions. Tliat worked out at 64 millions per mile. On the District railway, ex- cluding those branches over which few travelled, and dealing solely with the main line—on which upwards of 24 millions travelled last half-year out of a total of 25 millions odd, so that the movement on the District took place almost entirely on about 12 miles of railway, although the company owned 24—the traffic was 4 million passengers per mile per annum as compared with the 61 millions on the sub- way. The figures for the last half-year on the three tubes, the Piccadilly, the « Bakerloo,” and the Hampstead, worked out at 3 millions per mile per annum. As one would expect, in New York there was a density of population which justified the expenditure that had been incurred, and which made one wonder why private enterprise had not been found adequate to the task of providing the money. The Author gave the total bookings at one of the principal stations on the subway as 21 million passengers in a year. The maximum bookings in London on any of the lines with which he was connected were at Victoria station, where about 44 million people were booked per annum as compared with 21 million at one station in New York. It was to the conclusions in the Paper he naturally looked, as being perhaps of chief interest to himself, and he noticed that the Author drew first the moral that constructors must be given as much assistance as possible in the way of facilities. That passage appealed to him. When he read it he had a higli sense of approval, and, he was afraid, a vain feeling of regret. He sympathized very much with Mr. Galbraith in his reference to the number of petitions through which he had had to wade. The trouble