The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-05-16
THE COMMERCIAL CLUB.
I. Comerford Martin on the Status
Of Electric Roads.
LAST MEETING OF THE SEASON.
The Advantages Of the TroiIy system
Dwen Upon and Figures Given in Re-
gard to Cable Roads-President Whit
uey ON this Country and Europe.

The meeting of the Commercial Club,
Saturday evening, was well attended.
Among those present were: Lieut..
Stearns, Gov. elect Brown, l.. B. Darling,
i. M. Darling. w. A. Walton, B. A.
jackson. c. A. Coffin, G. G. Sims, Olney
Arnold. Jesse Metcalf, II. V. A. Joslin,
Lucian Sharpe. NJ. ]. Perry, Joshua Will
hour. S. p. Colt, G. S. A. Gardiner, II. M.
DaQeett, Jr., and ex-Gov. Littlefield, AL
dermen winship, Harris and Olney,
Councilmen w. X. Reynolds, j. w. An
gell, A. G. White. w. p. Vaughan, Will
liam Millen, Philip b. Durfee, j. p. Nc
Carthy, 4. s. Aldrich, James Burdick, z.
D. Sellew, l. K; Peck, w. II. barney, w.
III. X. Blanchard and William +. Knight.
President Watson introduced the
speakers, who were L. Comerford Mar
tin Of New York, editor of the Electrical
Engineer; Prof. Elihu Thomson of Lynn,
of the Thomson, Houston Electric Com
ton, president of the West End Street
Railway Company, and Lieut.. q. Is.
Crosby OF Lynn, of the Thomson-H Houston
Company. The subject was, The Elec'
trio Street Railway in Its Relation to
City Life"
MI. 4AuILlu kQNC ~ NtIy AhtA anu
esting address on the progress OF the
electric railway in the last five years and
its present status. He said:
"At the close of last year there were in
this country 10,59 miles OF street railway
with 53s7 cars. OF these 4.06l miles were
electric and $500 cars were electric. The
total of horse, cable and electric mileage
had increased during the year ], 400 miles,
but electricity standing alone had in
creased 1883 miles. The total OF horse,
cable and electric cars had Increased dur
ing the year 1895 cars, but electricity
standing alone had increased $500 cars.
There were at the end OF the year seven
times as manv miles of electric road as of
cable, and more than twice as many elec-
trio cars as there were cable cars. There
were at the end OF the year over 400 cleo
trio roads in America.
last March, in looking over the
figures of population, l ascertained that
of the 16 cities in the United States having
over zoe. 900 inhabitants, IA, or 81 per cent,
were equipped with electric roads. or
the AZ cities having between $4,000 and
100000 Inhabitants, Al, or 97l5 per cent,
had electric roads. OF the remaining 39l
American cities with population of over
5000, do not know of a score that have
not electric roads or serious plans for es-
tablisEing one while since March every
one of the larger cities referred To as the
exceptions in the above percentages have
fallen into line with formal approval OF
this new method OF urban travel The In
vestment to date touches Sl00,000,000.
"There are to-day only 594 miles of cable
road in this country. The reason OF this
simply Is tnat only a large city can sup
port cable road, and hence a great many
of our most active and progressive com
munities were condemned to the slow
travel Of the horse car, because there was
no temptation to capital to change the
method. Census returns issued in April,
1891 showed that the total cost of ten
cable roads with 142 miles of all tracks
was $26, 351, 146, or $lS5, ,513 per mile; while
the total cost of ten electric roads with
sixty-seven miles of all tracks was 81, 426,-
2S5, or $36.2l3 per mile. The difference
was five to one in favor of the greater
cheapncss of electricity as compared with
the cable; and about four to one in favor
of horses, as ten of the larger horse roads
showed cost of $41, 800 per mile. 1t is
evident that upon such a heavy capitali-
zation as the cable requires. the earnings
must be very heavy, but there are not ~
great many cities in the Union that would
warrant such an investment, especially as
the ratio of operating expenses Is equally
unfavorable. In Denver the street rail
way company, owning both systems, re-
ports a ratio of operating expenses TO
lines, and of only 50 per cent. for its cleo
tric."
President Whitney's speech dealt with
che tax paid by electric railroads and the
comparative cost of running the roads in
Europe, especially Berlin, and this coun-
try. ''rhe poor people in America move
more and more into the suburbs and find
homes" he said, while in Berlin they
live in crowded tenements.'
Prof Thomson spoke of how the cleo
tricity is generated and of the impractical
bility OF the storage battery. Lieut.. Cros-
by spoke of the electric road at Rich
mond, Va. The club adjourned for the
summer.