Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-02-17
DOOM OF THE HORSE
Electricity the Coming Motive
Power for Vehicles.
ERA or A NEW MOTIVE FORCE
Nos oniy sussr Carr. Bur Whss'ed Goa
vsysnsss of Al Kinda VIII -
PTopsilsd By Il.

from present indications II VIII not
be surprising X within few abort
years the electric motor viii have super
ssled the horse generally. II not uni
sersaiiy. "a . motive power. kAys the
Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette With
IN three years 1t has taken its place on
all the street railways In the city. with .
single exception. that were not using
the cable The same Is true of every
other city in the country. Even eoun-
try towns and thickly populated coun-
try districts have electric roads- In this
way hundreds OF thousands OF horses
have been displaced within the last I'VE
years The cable came first, but II u
being superseded by the electric motor.
as 1, Is less expensive and more easily
handled.
Many OF our readers will be able 20
recall the cry against steam railways
that they would do away with stage
coaches and horses. thereby throwing
thousands of drivers. hostlers. horse
buyers and tavern keepers out of en-
ployment 1t Il said that this cry was
so loud a. % keep the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad out OF this state. Had IL not
been for the turnpike influence the first
line would have come To this city. and
thence 10 Wheeling, instead OF going
over the mountairs from Cumberland
70 Wheeling. The stage horse was
doomed. however. and had to 60. Is II
not possible. or even quite probable,
that the carriage horse and the draft
horse are likewise doomed? Within
two years from the present time car
riages. buggies and light wagons viii
be scudding along our streets propelled
by electricity, and IL is not improbable
that the same power may be applied 70
heavier-wheeled vehicles
In = recent letter Thomas Shields
Clarke, the artist, who has benin Pariz
for some time. says:
do you realize that the days OF ouI
equine friend are numbered? Carriages
propelled by electric OF naphtha motors
are already common sight on the
streets OF Paris and becoming more nu'
merous every day Not being q great
lover Of horsefesh I shall be glad when
1t Is gone. What nice. clean streets We
win have when IL ceases TO hammer
them TO pieces with its iron shoes
More capacious carriages can be used
and many men can own their own con
veyanccs when propelled by q motol
that only uses few cents worth oi
electricity, in naphthn, per day. and
costs nothing at all for feed or stten
ton when not in actual use Every
man may then be his own driver. II
looks very much as II this new order oi
things win be established before thu
close of the present century"
There are none, or at least only Z
few, who will take issue with Mr.
Clarks on the subject. The electric
motor and storage battery have beer
brought to such perfection that 1t Il
quite safe to predict general II not
universal decline in horse power. Dur
ing the coming harvest a number Of
agricultural machines, such as reapers
mowers, thrashcrs. plows, harrows and
rakes will be operated by storage bat
terics instead Of horses. This Is rem
dered possible by late improvements IN
the storage battery. A five-horse power
battery. good for ten hours steady
work, occupies \ box no larger than NJ
egg case. and weighs no more than one
hundred and fifty pounds These car
be transported any distance. and may
be returned and recharged Mt small
cost
A battery OF this size and power viii
propel a farming carriage continu
ously for fifty hours, or at least for ter
days II only used five hours each day
SO il viii not cost nearly so much an 1
carriage horse. nor require either feed
or attention when not in use. There Il
no reason why 1t should not becom,
very popular