The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-04

be offered for sale before that time. in
ueed' since this same manufacturer has
sent his designs and plans 10 a European
factory in which he Is financially inter
ested, and there score or more are
now being made to be shipped here as
soon as completed. This manufacturer
Will use petroleum motors In his carriages
altogether, the form being similar with
nominations 70 the ordinary gas engine.
Naphtha gasoline. kerosene or any other
OF the refined products OF petroleum will
DO the work. From the storage reser-
Noir the petroleum product is conducted
10 a carburettor where 1t is transformed
INTO gas. and whence il is conducted to
the cylinder of the engine which is then
operated by means of consecutive explo-
slons. the same as an ordinary gas en-
glne. The cylinders of the
horseless carriage engines are
much shorter in proportion than
the cylinders of ordinary engines, and
the cross section much greater 1t is
thus rendered possible both to Increase
the speed and reduce the size of an en-
CINE proportionately to its power, and a
three or four horse power machine Of
this sort is SO small that it can be con-
tanned in what would pass for the boot
Of an ordinary carriage. There Is some
neat of course, but this is reduced to
the minimum by the necessary device
for cooling the cylinder with spray or
Jacket of water. and there is some noise
caused by the explosions, but not greater
than that made by a horses hoofs.
But this manufacturer is not the only
one who is getting ready to put horse
less carriages on the market here. Au-
to-moble wagons have been made in Phil
adephia, Kansas City, Boston, Lock-
haven, Pa, Springfield. Mass, Portland.
Me- and Denver. Col. and It is said that
within sixty days not less than a dozen
firms will be turning them out complete.
Electric wagons have been seen I'm New
York. Philadelphia, Boston and elsewhere.
Possibly the most successful storage bat
terry carriage yet made is a Boston prod
uct. This vehicle is somewhat like an
English brake in appearance: its motor is
of four horse power and IL can be run
at speeds varying from four to fourteen
miles an hour The wagon complete
weighs $500 pounds and viii carry six
persons.
The wagon made at Springfield, Mass,
is propelled by a motor that weighs but
100 pounds, and which Is said to be much
lighter than any European motor. Pc
troleum products are used in developing
the power, and the cost Is said to be
but one-fourth Of a cent a mile. a Port
land inventor, who intends TO put an au-
to-mobile carriage upon the market, has
porduced another motor, very similar in
construction to the steam enginee, I'm
which he uses the vapor of ether, pro-
duced at SO degrees instead Of 2l2, which
is necessary to make steam.
one western firm uses hot air, and heats
the air with burning petroleum or gaso-
line. All these various types Of hOrseless
carriages Will have an opportunity for
practical testing some time during the
coming autumn, when road race, the ex-
act details Of which are yet to be an
nounced, will be held between Chicago and
Milwaukee. Four prizes are offered by
the projectors Of this contest. The first
prize OF $1,000 and a gold medal is open to
the world. In case this first prize goes to
a foreign manufacturer, the second, of
$1,000, must be awarded to an American.
The third prize of $1,000 and the fourth Of
$500, like the first prize. are open to the
world. Undoubtedly some electrical car
riages will compete in this race, but com
petent electricians hardly expect they will
make much of a showing. unless in the
meantime, some one shall bring forward
storage battery that is much superior in
the matter of lightness and capacity to
any produced hitherto.
Rather an interesting parallel exists be-
tween the development of the automobile
road carriage and the steam locomotive
When locomotives Of the English type
were first tried upon American railways,
the machines were found to be inadeuuate
TO the work, and for the same reason
that European horseless carriages are now
found unsuitable in America; namely, the
inferiorlty Of American roadbeds When
the English built their first railroads
they expended immense amounts of Ia
Dor and money in making them as smooth.
level, straight and solid as possible. Then
they built locomotives that were almost
e.. NnWsr Tot
admirably upon the English railroads,
but they would not do at all upon the
crooked, uneven and comparatively frail
railroads Of America. They were contin-
ually getting stalled on grades and jump
ing the track at sharp curves, and ii was
not until some ingenious fellow added the
bogie truck to the old John Bull, a pio-
neer locomotive that was exhibited at
the Chicago worlds fair, two years ago
that, the problem of running a steam on
CINE around a corner was solved With
out this invention the marvellous deveI-
opment of American railroading would
not have been possible, since IL was out Of
the question in the early history of this
country's development, with our enorm-
Gus distances to cover, for railroad build
ers to construct road-beds at all compare
BILE in cost with those of the old world.
1t is owing to this early difference In
American railroads that an entirely diff
ferent type of locomotive was developed
and is still used here, and there is no
doubt that the inferior condition of the
city streets and country roads here, will
lead to the development of new tyne
of horseless carriage in this country that
will be perfectly capable of traversing
all but our worst highways and our stone
pavements, and so be superior TO the Eu-
ropean types. At the same time there
will be a gradual improvement In Amer
lean wagon roads as there has been in
American railroads. The movement IN
this direction began some years ago. 1t
has been greatly accelerated by the BIZ
cycle. and no doubt will receive still
further impetus through the horseless
carriage.
If this were to result in no other good
thing it would still be matter for con-
graduation, for, as everyone who has
been abroad knows, in nearly all parts Ct
the United States the roads are still far
behind those of most European countries.
Under the most favorable circumstances.
however 1t will be many years before
America can hope to equal Europe in this
regard. since, while the population IS
much sparser here than there the Uni
ted States has thousand miles Of road
to improve for every one in France or
Germany or England. While, therefore.
Il Is undoubtedly true that the neW fnaape