The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-01-10

New York Central railroad, which makes a
mile minute, is quite expeditions enough
for all practicable purposes, and that
it is about time to put the
brakes on. 1t was well enough
to reduce the old sailing time from New
York to Liverpool from six weeks to three
weeks, and then to ten days, and the ten to
less than six, and it is strictly in accord
with the fitness of things to reduce the old
railroad time between Salt Lake and New
York to between two and three days; but
when more rapid rate of locomotion be-
tween the Missouri river and the Atlantic
coast is proposed, we show signs of finch
ing. A railroad train moving at the rate
OF fifty miles an hour is a somewhat dis
Guietlng spectacle. and the bare sugges-
ton OF that begets yearning TO stay at
home. A mile and half a minute makes
US dizzy to think of, and we begin to enter
tain suspicious we had better stop before
we reach that hazardous velocity.
Yet the artificial movements of mans
contrlvance are positively sluggish when
compared with celestial movements. Mo
ton is the perpetual condition of all things
go s-AS
our earth on its axis, or in its orbit, is so
great as to make all movements of machin-
cry on its surface Insignificant in compari-
son. Places on the equator are whirled
around at a speed of 1000 miles an hour-a
rate that would cause railroad train to
traverse the distance between Salt Lake
| and New York in less than three hours
and the entire planet is bowling around the
sun at the rate of $4,000 miles an hour. Our
next ueighbor, the moon, moves so rapidly
that the fastest limited express, if placed
along side of it, and running at full speed,
would fall behind and out of sight
IN few seconds. The time table
OF that interesting satellite calls for
two thousand miles an hour-and it never
fails to make it. Even these terrestrial
and lunar movements are low down in the
scale OF celestial travelling rates-for there
are runaway stars" as the astronomers
call them, which have velocity of $50, 600
miles an hour. This is somewhat reas-
surfing, or it would be, if we could only
guarantee for our sublunary travelling
rates the safety that attends celestial
movements.
hhiCIlCdhS are uUG aVoES0 u ldSG travel
ing. On the contrary, we like it, and the
faster the better, if we were sure some
block signal or other system could divert
it of dangers. We would be delighted to
go from Salt Lake to the seaboard with
the speed of cannon bali, if we had the
absolute assurance that we should reach
the point of destination safe and sound
But, risk or no risk, it is pretty certain
that our travelling rate will go or
increasing, and that, too, whether we con.
sent or not We are not masters of the
situation. The situation is master of US
We have harnessed the forces of the uni
verse to cur chariot, and we must do theil
bidding, as well as they ours. If ten year.
hence they insist on taking US from Sal
Lake to New York in twelve hours, WI
will submit and compose our fears with tn,
reflection that, after all, the perils Of fas
| travelling are not so great per mile trav-
eled, as those of slow travelling A tril
from here to New York to-day at thirt,
miles an hour is not half as hazardous as i
was twenty-five years ago at fifteen mile
an hour, and why should it not be still
, safer ten years hence, at one hundred
miles an hour! Such problems are solves
now a-days very rapidly.