The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-02-07
STREET-CAR OBSERVATIONS
There Might Have Been Worse Lines
Than That on Alabama Street.
Expects to Make q Vehicle That Will Compete
with the Surface R~oad-Looking for Her
Husband-This Is Not Chicago.

It was Izaak Walton who made hat Oft
quoted remark about the straw berry that
1.-The Lord might have made q better berry.
but doubtless he never did," It's different
with the ~Alabama-street line of cars. The
unfortunate people who trsve N that
line think the street-railroad company
might have made q worse line, but
doubtless they never have. It's a
bob-tailed line and the drivers who
are polite and attentive have the SYM
patty of the passengers as they deserve to
have. The track is out of order. the cars
rickety aud demoralized. If q man is
| proud in spirit n few trips on the Alabama
| street line will humlliate him. One of the
an%noyances is in connection with the car
rier that runs along one side of the car. In
many cases these nave become SO twisted
that when the nickel Is put In the slot it
feils to run down the groove to tho fare
box. The other evening q lady put her
nickel in the slot. 1t failed to move. Then
the confederate passenger who looks after
the interests of the company got up. He
.reconnoitered the nickel and wondered
why it didn't run down. Two or three
more passengers arose and tried by means
of i~ack-knives to move the piaguy thing.
Every body in the car began to Toxic the
greatest interest in that nickel. Finally
inside. pried away az the slide. Two
of the persons on the car were In great
anguish of spirit at this delay, fearing that
they would he delayed and miss the tram,
upon which they intended to depart. They
did. The train was Just steaming out of
the east end of the staten Is they entered
at the west end. But the driver had dis
lodged the nickel. and it had rolled merrily
CD and was lying there. nice and snug. with
the other nickels.
For several weeks Charles A. Reitz, cleo
~trician, has been experimenting with o We
hicle which ne calls an electric carriage
1t carries two persons, aud the power
il given from q storage battery.
Mr.. Reitz and afrieud have been driv-
ing the machine about the streets
at night when clear of vehicles, n
the performance has been measurably q
success. The mistake made" said Mr..
Reitz. was in not having tho motor suffi-
GENTLY powerful. We cannot now make
more than six and q half miles an hour. but
with a larger motor we will make twelve or
thirteen miles an hour. The time is not far
distant when the electrical carriage will be
q common enough sight on the streets of In
dianspolis. Electric power will be dis
tributed by underground wires about the
city, and Mt certain places there will be
iron posts, somewhat like hitching-
stop his electric carriage. stick in
plug connecting his motor with the
electric current, and coming away for ten or
fifteen minutes. come back TO ind the ma
chine ready for six or eight hours work. l
believe that batteries can be charged for
electrical carriages for $50 a year, and the
company furnishing the power make a
good profit on it's investment. When that
time comes horses will be scarce, indeed,
about tho streets of Indianapolis"
The effect of this style of transportation
on the street-car revenues 10 not pleasant
TO contemplate from the standpoint Of q
stakeholder i'm the street-car company. Mr..
Reitz estimates that q carriage could, at
present. be furnished at $40O. but that
when the demand came the price would be
greatly reduced. There would be money
to a company to make and rent carriages
of this pattern, or have larger vehicles OF
the omnibus pattern TO carry passengers
upon asphalt p~avements where no car lines
run. -.
They were spinning down College avenue
when a lady halted the car and got on.
The night was rather dark. and the snow
was falling. She was q tall, Grecian-
featured woman. with the fraction of q
suppressed smile creeping through the
dimpled undulatiops of her damask cheeks.
She at once attracted that unmistakable at
tention always gwen to q beautiful wom-
an on entering o street car filled with
jolly chaps on their way to the
theaters. Half q . len seats were va
Gated for her at once, and with
the most charming now dgment of
the courtesies. she accepted two of them,
but she seemed nervous about something.
She looked curiously about, bit her very
red lips. took her purse out. looked in it,
examined the depths of her hand bag, and,
as the conductor drifted by. seemed some
what embarrassed. A very gallant gentle
man, with a catchy cape coat, steered bold
" forth to the rescue. and asked her very
kindly If he could assist her. at the same
time offering the conductor o five-cent
piece-
20 thank you-you are very kind, - inter-
rupted the LADY, have the fare right
bere"-at once producing n current nickel
of the realm-.I was looking for my hus-
band!w -.
saw a thing happen on a cable car in
Chicago that could newer happen here with
out somebody losing his job" said an ILL
nois-strcet conductor TO o passenger. Tell
you how il was. There was q man on the
car who was drunk-fullern q goose. He
was y foreigner of some sort. q Swede. q
Pole, or may be o Russian. He had told
whore he wanted OF. and then had fallen
asleep. The car passed tho place. and tho