The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-06-04

we cannot supply them since we have
not power enough to supply our lights. "
"Shall we ever have successful, cleo
trio locomotive engine?"
"Yes. There are successful LOGON olive
engines now, but people have no conf
dence in them, and, like electric light
ing, the progress in introducing them
will be necessarily slow"
"What became of your engine?'
ut works entirely satisfactory AMI
has been purchased by large stock
company, which is planning its practi-
cal Introduction. The electric engine
of one sort or another must come into
use in the cities. It's cheapness is
enough to bring that about. Three
pounds of coal will produce as much
electrical power from stationary en-
CINE, or five pounds of coal on an cleo
trical locomotive, as seven pounds of
coal will produce in steam power on
your present engines. Then your en-
gines are light, your tracks are light,
and the riding is smooth and velvety
and not subject to the constant jolts and
jars to which travellers now have to
submit You must remember that
your railway tracks are not built for
cars, but for locomotives. The latter
weigh three or four times the former,
have to have heavy and costly tracks,
which at any considerable rate of
speed they hammer with tremendous
force and finally wear out. The same
thing is true in another way of the ele-
waited roads They rush along the
framework, causing it to constantly
sway from side to side with force
that can only result in cutting off tho
bolt-heads. 1t takes two men to run n
steam locomotive, while the electrical
machine requires only one. All these
and many other things make the ulti-
CINE on light roads and in the cities
certain.
Not on the great roads?"
81 doubt it. That time may come
but it is not in sight; but right here in
New York you would get rid of dust,
smoke, noise, oil-drippings and gas,
and in tunnels you could have light
and ventilation where you are now
stiiled with smoke and gaN and deafen-
ed by the noise. The locomotive it.
self would furnish all the light for the
train. But people are stupid and
won't experiment. They can see and
understand q cable, and drum and
rope, talk of cable roads, but they don t
understand the electric locomotive,
and hence have no confidence in it.
Time will bring it all the same"
"Will electricity ever help Us to nav
igate the air?'
- Yes, when we can get five or six
times more power per pound of weight
than we now get from the best forms
of small engines. Electricity has not
done that yet. Here is the problem, y
tapping his knee stoutly with his fist.
I'VE want to get electricity from coal
direct without the intervention OF
boiler and engine. A good many
people are at work on it, too, | tell
youE'
"You are not?'
"Ah, won't say yet! l won't say
even that there is any probability
about tive don't see our way at al
to do it; but | will say it is surely pos
sible. Zinc and other metals we car
get into electricity at once, but The
trouble is TO do that with coal and car
bon. If we could, we could get six
horse power from one pound of coal,
while with the boiler and steam engine
we get only one-horse power from three
pounds of coal. We can transmit d.
rectly the power of carbon. If we
could the ocean steamship could have
all of her boiler-rOom and a great part
of her coal-bunkcrs for cargo, while
the motive power would not occupy
more than one-half the room at pres
ent devoted TO the heavy engines
Enormous sums would be saved on con
struction and the cost drumming wou.(
be greatly reduced. "
"Can you not get power enough b,
chemical electricity to run electric en-
gines.'
"Certainly-gct all we want and util
ize it"
"Only?"
Only we can't feed our engine
without money. In fact, it's money v
want and for that we want the power
Zinc is Just as much a combustible i
the battery or jar rs coal is in tn
furnace. But coal develops seven time
as much power as zinc, and zinc cost
thirty-fve times rs much as coal, a di
ference in cost per pound Of 2i5 to /, {
! 2l,5O0 per cent.
9 But about the balloon?h
"Well, having lightness with powe
h we should not need enough balloon fc
1t actual lifting power, and we could a
{. tain very high velocity. You coul
u hold a ten-horse-power motor out
IS your hand, and, once in the air, vii
y five pounds of coal, could the consum
y ton be made direct, the little jigg
It could 90 anywhere. Nobody wou
J, want to ascend to any great heigh
It where the airs resistance to the pr
II peller would decrease but skim alor
s. over the trees and houses, like biz
D. above the water. The rudders cou
all be worked, and your ballastless b;
re loon could be raised or lowered, turn
III to the right or left, t,y the motor itse
re and a boy could do all the work. Su
C. an arrangement would scarcely do
v heavy freight, butt would carry passe
10 gers and mail matter and express p;
a., GELS, and move readily at 50 to 100 mi
AT an hour"