Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-22

tiers for the benefit of the Newsboys' Home.
There will also be a program of vocal and ill.,
strumentai music. which will be participated III
by many excellent performers.
~
The Metropolitan Railroad and the Storage
Battery.
To the Editor Of the Evening Star:
AprOpos of the storage battery system, the
assertions of "the president of one of the
storage battery companies" whom you quote
SO freely in your leading editorial of the 18th
instant. are so misleading in general and so IN
fair to the Metropolitan Railroad Company in
particular. that l think it proper, in the in
terest OF truth and justice, to make
few statements. 1t will, perhaps, be granted
by the public that in my capacity of consulting
engineer to the Metropolitan Railroad Com
pany, and as having been its technical ad-
wiser for nearly three years past, j have had as
good opportunities as anybody and perhaps
more occasions to familiarize myself with the
electrical engineering and other questions i'll
vOived IN the case.
The tone of the remarks oeoted in your
editorial indicates that they were made by one
of the ''soreheads." who now think the Metro
politan company will fail ought to because
it made the fatal mistake (?) of not ado pting
his companys system.
The correspondent thinks the Metropolitan
Railroad Company has lost time by not buying
or taking license 20 use the existing salts
factorily working batteries" made, it is pre-
sumed. by his company.
boldly make the assertion that SO far from
losing time the Metropolitan has gained time
by doing it has. some months ago one of
the remaining two companies manufacturing
so-called pasted batteries Was stopped by
an Injunction. Within the last ten DAYS
1t returned the compliment by obtain
ing decision which will lead shortly
to an injunction against the re-
manning one company. The prospects are.
therefore. that for some time to come neither
one will be in the field. Had the Metropolitan
Railroad Company adopted either OF these two
makes of battery it would either have been
already or would socu be enjoined from using
1t. The company was wise and discreet enough
20 anticipate this. 1t adopted neither, but
sought q solution in another direction the
Plante type oil battery-which is not
subject to any basic patent while
it is not only as much. but even more suita-
Die for the purposes OF electrical traction than
the pasted batteries. In Europe. where the
art OF manufacturing storage batteries has been
less hampered than here i'll its progress, OK
perience has resulted i'll tendency to discard
pasted batteries and adopt the plante
method. which is believed to be superior
in many regards. Paradoxical as il may
seem. the Metropolitan Railroad Company
Is the only one that can see its way clear to an
adequate supply OF suitable. non-infringing
batteries. Those who placed their trust in the
licensing" companies will have to wait until
injune.ions are dissolved or the two companies
consolidate. the prospects OF which, in the
opinion OF those who are competent to speak,
are remote.
As for the motors and dynamos, permit me
to disabuse the correspondent and the public
also of the idea that they have in anv wav oc-
casioned the delay. The company could easily
procure them twice over within the time. These
are indeed the most easily and quickly pro-
durable parts of the equipment They are
factors which DO not figure at all as a source Of
delay.
As to the ''other electrical devices" which
the company has undertaken to devise and
construct. instead OF buying them ready
made" your correspondents absurdity il
readily made apparent Ordinary common
sense, without the assistance Of engineering
knowledge, Is sufficient TO make one realize
that each case has peculiarities of its
own which require special Treatment How
much more true this Is when the case is en-
nrely peculiar to itself. 1t does not reou,re
much judgment TO understand that since the
Metropolitan plant is the largest storage bat
terry plant ever attempted and il to he
of greater capacity than all other storage
battery roads in tho world put together
ave, greater than all that have ever
been operated. experimentaly or otherwise
The methods and devices which NAV answer
III way, for running few cars at long inter-
walls between are of but doubtful utility in this
case. When the road is put in operation as it
doubtless will be IN the not distant future and
when your correspondent comes to know some
thing of what he speaks he will find that the
company Is using devices and methods which
had to be constructed by the company, for the
| simple reason that they did not exist
anywhere. lie will also find q power
plant equal TO any Of Its kind in
the world. 1t takes time to do all thisI The
great fundamental reason OF tho delay is the
| magnitude and especially the novel character
Of the task on the one hand, and on the other
the importance and necessity OF perfect de-
sign and accurate workmanship, eschewing
those self-same, crude, make-shift devices"
which the .'sorehead' correspondent
would fain have had adopted by the company,
! aud which have been the baDe of the storage
system thus far with only ono or two possible
exceptions. The Metropolitan Railroad Com
pany resolved at the start that no effort, en-
deayor and expense should be spared to
secure and insure success; and such re-
solve could not DO carried out without
that close, minute and exhaustive treat
ment of details which Of necessity consumes
time. Hence 1t is because the Metropolitan
Railroad Company wants to make the storage
system a success that il has taken and wants
time to make its equipment perfect The
plant of the company, even IN its present,
| only partly finished condition, is o testi-
monial of the strongest character to the
! earnestness and sincerity of the CON-
4 pauy in the undertaking. The two
4 remarks which | most often hear from engi-
peers and street railway men who visit the
| plant are: This certainly looks if the COM
| pany had faith and we're going ahead in earn
est" and again, If the storage system cannot
| be made success here with such q complete
I plant and equipment 1t cannot succeed any
! whore"
! In view Of the fact that the company has
never expressed, directly or indirectly, any in
tention to use other systems than those per-
mitted under the act of August 9. 1880, and
that 1t has never asked for any privilege but
l that of sufficient time wherein to complete its
( equipment properly, without compromising
! the success of the storage system, the wild
statements which are current about its plot
| ting to substitute other systems ought to DO
restrained and certainly ought not to be al
! lowed TO appear in prinS C. O. NAuLOux