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Sunday Cars

About This Item

  • Title: Sunday Cars
  • Date: 13 May 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01455
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 13 May 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Samantha Gilmore Kevin McMullen Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Sunday Cars." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01455.xml (TEI)
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SUNDAY CARS.—

The result of the meeting last night of the Brooklyn City Railroads, was, in effect, that the cars shall be run for three months, on trial, to see how it works, and whether it will "pay." Is this meant to be the easiest way of making the Sunday cars a permanent institution? or is it that the Railroad Directors would feather their nest by the profuse income of the summer travel on Sundays, and then at less profitable seasons leave the public in the lurch?

The Railroad Directors appear to have their eyes solely directed to the dimes, and that only for the immediate and daily returns of the same. They do not appear to understand at all that large, generous, and public spirited policy, which is sure to get the good will of the people at large, and come back in the long run, in by far the greatest profits. We are more and more confirmed in our opinion that the time has arrived when the Brooklyn city cars should be run every day and every night, without at any time more than an hour's intermission.

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