D

water.

The former Transit Commission proposed a tunnel for rapid transit purposes and under a law of 1921 the Administration of the City of New York proceeded with a plan for a freight and passenger tunnel and drove shafts on either side of the Narrows for this purpose. In 1925 the law was changed, prevening the building of the tunnel as a freight tunnel and over this question there was a great deal of discussion.

Better Brooklyn-Staten Island Connections

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has recognized the urge by civic organizations in Staten Island and the Southern part of Brooklyn for the various proposals and in April sent an official communication to the City Administration requesting that special committee be appointed to determine from the engineering standpoint, entirely apart from probable financial ability, how connections could best be made for three types of movement, i.e., vehicular traffic, rapid transit and railroad freight.

The Chamber's report points out that all three forms of connection have been advocated for one bridge by some, while others would place merely the connection for vehicular and rapid transit traffic on a bridge, and still others urge a bridge merely for vehicular traffic. The The report also points out that no progress can be made in a logical manner until the most efficient means of making these connections is determined by a competent, impartial engineering authority, such as would have official recognition. If the greatest economy and efficiency both for construction, use and maintenance are to be obtained by combining the three types of connections, the financial problem will be a different problem than that for the financing of a connection either for rapid transit, for vehicular traffic or for railroad freight alone.

The first step, then, and a necessary step, is to determine what is the ideal means of making the connections. The next step will be to determine how far public finance can be obtained in the reasonably near future and if it is determined that the city debt limit or the powers of the Port Authority will prevent progress by either of these agents, then the permission both of the United States Government, involved in the crossing of the stream, and of the City of New York, in the matter of acquiring approaches, should be obtained prior to the attempt to privately finance one or more of the connections.

Development of Richmond Borough. The importance of these connections relates to the whole Port of New York, not merely to the boroughs long been recognized as a necessity for the Borough of connected. Rapid transit connections, for example, have Richmond for its full development. Just as the East River bridges benefited Manhattan so the rapid transit connections to Staten Island, as a home center, should hattan. The industrial centers in Brooklyn and Queens benefit the business communities of Brooklyn and Manwill always need large numbers of workers and if their homes are confined to those two boroughs, the housing cannot be as reasonable as if their homes were spread over the three Southern boroughs of the city, in which is contained nearly five-sixths of the land of the City of New York.

The report points out also that vehicular, or freewheel, traffic is rapidly becoming of intimate concern to every citizen, because both the commercial and passenger vehicle is now a medium of service over a much larger radius than was considered practicable a few years ago. Any community which does not possess roads of free access to important places within one day's ride will become less and less attractive, not only to home-owners, but also to industries and business establishments.

Natural Route to New Jersey and Philadelphia The old natural route from New York to Philadelphia was by way of Staten Island and Perth Amboy and now that the Port Authority is erecting bridges from Staten Island to New Jersey, the route from Brooklyn to Staten Island will become more and more important to all motor-driven vehicles moving to or from points on Long Island. For that matter, when the Tri-boro Bridge makes the long-sought connection between Queens, Manhattan, and Bronx, the Staten Island route to points in New Jersey and points West or South will be most important. It will benefit the whole city by subtracting from the congestion and costs of expensive measures that through traffic needlessly places on the streets of Manhattan. The report points out again that it is necessary for competent engineering authorities having no particular axe to grind to determine whether this vehicular traffic can be most efficiently moved and economically provided for in a vehicular tunnel or on a bridge.

The Chamber holds that trunk line railroad connections to Brooklyn would not only help to decentralize the city's terminal facilities but would also help tremendously to make effective the city's investment in Jamaica Bay, and enhance materially the value of industrial properties in Brooklyn and Queens. Whether or not a freight train tunnel is built from Greenville to Brooklyn, it seems to the makers of this report that there is sufficient likelihood of the need of a freight train tunnel between Brooklyn and Staten Island to warrant consideration by this impartial engineering authority as to whether or not combinations should be made of this feature, when and if built, with the other types of connection crossing the Narrows.

(Continued on Page 24)

Born December 8th, 1856, Mr. Pollock, when ten years of age, entered the employ of Jordan Marsh & Co., Boston, Mass., as a cash boy. After a short time he entered the employ of Lee & Sheppard, booksellers and publishers, in Boston, but as he disliked paying his railroad fare between Boston and Quincy where he resided with his parents, he decided to go into the railroad business; SO on November 9th, 1868, he entered the employ of the Old Colony & Newport Railroad as a messenger boy in the President's office at a salary of two dollars per week and free transportation between Boston and

remaining there until the close of the Exposition. On December 14th, 1876, Mr. Pollock was appointed ticket receiver at Trenton, N. J., and remained there until April, 1880, at which time he was transferred to the Jersey City freight station of the Pennsylvania Railroad,

under Elisha Butler, then freight agent. In June, 1880, he secured. leave of absence and was appointed by the late D. C. Corbin, ticket agent for the Manhattan Beach Railroad at Manhattan Beach and remained there until October, 1880, when he returned to the Pennsylvania Railroad as bookkeeper in its new grain elevator at Jersey City, under the direct supervision of Superintendent J. W. Galbraith.

Mr. Pollock was appointed special agent (traveling auditor) for the New York West Shore and Buffalo Railway, opening up, as it did, from Weehawken to Newburgh, on June 9th, 1883; from Newburgh to Kingston, June 22nd, 1883, Kingston to Albany on July 9th, 1883, Coemans Junction (Ravena) to Syracuse on October 1st, 1883, and Syracuse to Buffalo on January 1st, 1884.

Quincy; in fact in those days passes were not necessary. All you had to do was to satisfy the train conductor that you were an employee.

In May, 1870, Pollock decided to go to Providence, R. I., where he immediately secured a position in the superintendent's office assorting tickets taken up by the conductors, and checking their cash collection reports. That was before the days when accounting departments were established.

In July, 1871, Pollock went to Springfield, Mass., where he secured a position with the Boston & Albany Railroad. His duties consisted of taking the car numbers and initials of all freight cars moving both east and west-bound through the West Springfield yard, and doing clerical work in the freight office at Springfield.

In May, 1872, Pollock moved to Philadelphia, and immediately entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad as a clerk in the office of the Auditor of Passenger Accounts, who was then Henry W. Gwinner. In the Spring of 1875, he worked as a train agent or ticket collector on the Pennsylvania Railroad trains for two weeks between Jersey City and Rahway, and for two weeks between Philadelphia and Paoli, and for a like period between Pittsburgh and Walls. On June 1st, 1875, he was appointed assistant ticket receiver for the Pennsylvania Railroad and West Jersey & Sea Shore Railroad at Camden, N. J., and remained there until May 10th, 1876, at which time he was appointed ticket receiver at the Centennial station of the Pennsylvania Railroad,

On December 5th, 1885, the New York West Shore and Buffalo Railway was leased by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Co., and Mr. Pollock continued as special agent (traveling auditor) until January 24th, 1887, when he was appointed traveling auditor for the last-named railroad, continuing in that position until July 8th, 1887, when he was appointed Auditor of Freight Accounts, which position he occupied until November 23d, 1898, when he was appointed Manager of the Lighterage and Foreign Freight Departments.

At that time the floating equipment consisted of 143 vessels, whereas now the fleet consists of 342 vessels, including 4 steel car floats, 10 covered barges and 2 Diesel engine tug boats, now under construction.

On January 7th, 1907, Mr. Pollock's duties were increased by his appointment as General Manager of the Merchants Despatch Trans. Co., and on June 27, 1907, he was elected Vice-President and General Manager of that company.

On January 30th, 1909, he was elected Vice-President of the Western and Rutland Transit Companies, both operating on the Great Lakes, the former between Buffalo and Chicago, Ill., and Duluth, Minn., and the latter between Ogdensburg, N. Y., and Chicago, Ill. Mr. Pollock remained with the Western Transit and Rutland Transit

Companies until the close of business in 1916, when, under the terms of the so-called Panama Canal Bill, railroad companies were no longer permitted to operate steamship lines in competition with rail lines. On Aug. 8, 1918, Mr. Pollock was appointed Marine Director, in general charge of the operation of all railroad-owned floating equipment in New York Harbor, and continued in that position until March 1, 1920, when he was reappointed Manager Marine Department, New York Central Railroad Co.

In January, 1921, Mr. Pollock retired from the Merchants Despatch Transportation Company.

For many years, Mr. Pollock has taken an active part in the affairs of the New York Produce Exchange, having been elected to the Board of Managers in 1910, VicePresident in 1918, President in 1920, and Treasurer in 1922.

On June 24th, this year, Mr. Pollock was presented with a Tiffany seven-and-half-foot chime clock bearing the following inscription: "Presented to Ex. President Walter B. Pollock by his Friends and Associates of the New York Produce Exchange. A Token of their Love and Esteem. June, Nineteen Twenty-six."

Allan Pollock (grandfather of Walter B. Pollock), who was born at Paisley, Scotland on January 9, 1767, and who came to the United States in 1794, brought out and arranged the first calico printing press, in Lowell, Mass. He died at the advanced age of 93 years.

New York Central R.R.'s Teletype Machine By George S. Clark

W

'HEN messengers handled papers between terminals and the offices of railroads business perforce waited upon such human agencies, with resultant delays that meant loss of time in unloading of freight and its delivery, inefficiency and extravagance. It affected the entire operation of rail and marine departments, tied up cars, piers, boats and all labor forces used in connection with those facilities, and even affected the movement of trains in and out of terminals; and this service was limited to but 14 out of 24 hours each day. Shippers, who were willing to put up with messenger service in old days, wouldn't tolerate it today-time and despatch are too valuable, and so they want speed, and they get it.

What the Teletype Machine Does The marine department of the New York Central Railroad, seeking an efficient and dependable substitute, tested the teletype for transmitting arrival notices and orders. for the loading of cargo. These are typed on the machine and by wire are recorded in type automatically at the receiving end, as many copies as may be required being made at one time. One of these machines was installed at the Weehawken freight station and the other was installed at the marine department, at 6 Beaver St., Manhattan, and the test ran for two or three months. These showed that the business handled, based on engineering estimates, effected such notable saving in all operations relating to general harbor business, that the company decided to install enough of these teletypes to handle peak loads of all transmittable data. Five have been installed at the marine department in Beaver Street, four at the freight house, Weehawken, and one at the 60th Street freight house, Manhattan. Moreover, the service is in operation 24 hours every seven days in the week.

When trains arrive at either of the terminals, and after the bills have been handled by the revision bureau, the terminals electrically transmit over the teletype machines, through use of fanfold forms, all data required

by the different departments, eliminating duplication of typing, etc. This is immediately sent by messengers to consignees during daylight hours and by mail the remainder of the day, so that in an incredibly short time after the trains arrive at Weehawken all data required in connection with consignments are in the hands of consignees for the latter's use in ordering delivery of merchandise. When these orders are received by the marine department they are electrically typed to the terminals, where the cargo is loaded on lighters when intended for delivery to steamships. Economies Effected

The economies thus effected include per diem on cars, labor saved in loading direct from car to boat (where heretofore much freight was unloaded on dock and then loaded on boat), lighters hire on account of speeding up unloading, messenger service, and other economies.

In addition to handling arrival notices and loading orders, bills of lading and all general departmental data necessary for the functioning of all departments are transmitted over these wires. The influence of the teletype machines is not only shown in the New York Central's expense column, but it is felt by shippers and consignees, because of the great saving in time in the releasing of negotiable papers, the dividends being satisfied shippers and consignees.

Staten Island, A.D. 1926
(Continued from Page 9)

Our Real Estate Board records show transfers of certain properties almost every other day for several weeks, resulting at each turnover in a profit of from $200 to $100 per acre. During that time there was somewhat of a depression in the demand for homes. There was, however, great activity and quick profits in the sale of business property in our various centres, such as St. George, Tompkinsville, Stapleton and Port Richmond.

There has been no recession in values during 1926 although the active demand to date has not been as great at the latter part of 1925.

Property anywhere on Staten Island can be bought now at a figure that will never again be duplicated and this rise year by year will continue until Staten Island property reaches its actual normal value and as we all know no thriving city ever reaches its zenith because of the fact that with improvement, expansion and growth which continues year after year, it never does reach its full growth; for like any healthy business will expand and grow forever if properly managed and financed.

Passenger Ship Docks at Staten Island

The value of Staten Island in connection with the Port of New York is illustrated by the docking of an Italian liner of 10,000 tons at one of our piers, which carried a large cargo of merchandise and 400 passengers. The passengers were immediately conveyed to Manhattan, at the Company's expense, by taxi-cabs and buses. The merchandise was unloaded in record time and a portion of the cargo was on sale in Washington Market in 7 hours after arrival.

The chief feature in the success of a port is its connection by land and water with inland points. A seaport is a funnel through which commerce of a country flows, with railroads and waterways as feeders of the port.

The important port question is how to collect merchandise at the point of production and deliver it to the ships with the least effort and expense.

Staten Island's natural advantages, in the Harbor of New York, are the City's greatest asset.

THE

The Port of New York Authority has already advertised for bids for the beginning of work on the two bridges to be constructed, one from Tottenville, Staten Island, to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and the other from Holland's Hook, on the north shore of Staten Island, to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and bids will be opened on July 21. Note our illustrations of the plaza approaches to these bridges, and a view of the "Outerbridge Crossing"- the Tottenville-Perth Amboy bridge, part of our leading article this issue. That is a fine indication of progress. The bridge authoriz

ed and provided for, between Port Richmond, Staten Island, and Bayonne, New Jersey, must be planned, and so that will not go ahead as fast as the other two. But, before long there will be three new vehicular and passenger bridges constructed between Staten Island-the least populated of the boroughs of Greater New York and New Jersey.

The probability is that there will grow up a large traffic, especially in vehicles, over the three new bridges. They will get to Staten Island, but how will they get to Brooklyn, or Manhattan? Only by ferryboats. On Sundays and holidays, especially at this season of the year, the congestion at the ferry approaches at St. George, Staten Island, and at Manhattan, leading to the ferry, grows apace. The same congestion is true at Tottenville and Perth Amboy. How will it be with three new bridges connecting Staten Island with New Jersey? Congestion worse congested, to paraphrase.

Meanwhile, the City of New York has indefinitely suspended work on the Hylan Tunnel, intended to connect with Manhattan, via Brooklyn, and the proposed "bridge across the Narrows" to Brooklyn from Staten Island, is something merely to dream or speculate about-probably a long way from maturity.

Still, Staten Island is sticking its head up in the crowd, a little, and although the City of New York at present treats it as the Cinderella of the Greater City, someday there may be a sudden transformation that will dazzle us as to that beautiful but neglected island.

Our Merchant Marine Problem

That was a happy thought of the Senate Committee to call upon the Shipping Board for a report by Jan. 1, 1927, that would present "comprehensive and concrete plans for building up and maintaining an ade-quate merchant marine for commerce and national security (1) through private capital and under private ownership and (2) through construction, operation and ownership by the Government." The President, we imagine, should feel vastly pleased, because the Senate resolution would cause the Shipping Board to function in the manner that the President has most warmly urged it should function. But it was something of a joke for the dispatch carrying the resolution to say that "the report of the board, it is understood, will be made the basis for serious consideration of merchant marine legislation at the next session of Congress." By the time the report is received onethird of the session will have passed, and by the time it has been carefully digested more than likely another third will have passed, if not the entire session. At the best, such a report, of such a comprehensive character, would be one that would be studied by those upon whom would devote the duty of framing a bill for presentation to Congress at the beginning of the 70th Congress, in December, 1927.

It is eminently wise and fair that the report should give extended and careful consideration to "construc