Evening star., 1896-06-23
DISCUSSING AIR MOTORS
North Capitol and lexington Gitisens
Transact Business.
Waiting for Rapid Transit-An I'm
Up and the Results.

.
past and wind cars hopeful dream of the
| future, a serenely compressed air pervade1
| the meeting of the North Capitol and Eek
| irgtcn Citizens Association last night, the
| first one held since lexington and West
| lexington emerged from darkness and the
railway bill became law.
Heretofore dark streets and rapid transit
| have been the all-absorbing topics for dis
| cussion at the monthly meetings of this as
| soc:aton. Last night, however, the for
mer subject was Indefinitely retired, and
the association, one of the members ex-
| pressed it, resolved itself into sort of
Micawberized condition with respect to this
much-debated latter subject, to await the
advent of the long promised air motors or
developments under the rapid transit act,
confidently relying upon the limitation,
| penalty and forfeiture provisions contained
therein to insure and speed the coming.
communication was read by Secretary
| Hughes from Chairman Babcock of the
House District committee, acknowledging
the receipt of his letter expressing the
! thanks of the association to the House
committee for their action in passing the
| railroad bill, in which Mr.. Babcock said:
1T is great satisfaction to the commit
| tee to know of your appreciation. 1t has
! been our earnest endeavor to pass such leg
slation only would be to the interest of
| the citizens in the capital of the greatest
The reading Of this letter was greeted
| with applause.
An UnwOrked Branch.
The subject which received the largest
| share of attention last night was the opera
| ton of the North Capitol street branch Of
! the lexington line from to T streets. BY
| direction of the Department of Justice,
| suit was brought some weeks ago in the
| Police Court to compel the operation Of
this section of road on a satisfactory
schedule, or the removal of the tracks
| public nuisance. The passage of the rapid
| transit act of June 10 changed the status
| of these proceedings. and brought forth a
| letter from the Attorney General to the
District Commissioners on the subject,
! copy of which was read by Secretary
| Hughes for the information of the associa-
| ton. In this letter the Attorney General
! referred to former correspondence with the
Commissioners on the subject and called
attention to the proviso of the act of June
1o, 1896, requiring cars to be run over these
| tracks as far north as T street within
| thirty days from the date of its passage,
on schedule satisfactory to the Commits
| sioners, and under a penalty of $50 a day
| for failure or neglect to do SO.
The proviso referred to, the letter states
was inserted as an amendment to this act
| at the request of citizens interested, at the
time the lexington and Soldiers Home
Company made claim in the Police Cour1
| that the tracks in controversy had been
! sold by 1t to the Maryland and Washington
railway Company, under authority of the
| act of March 2, 1898, and when it was fear
| ed that this alleged sale would defeat the
| object of the suit. This sale is claimed to
have been made on June 90 1SaJ subse-
quent to the request of the Commissioners
| that the department bring suit to compel
| the running of the cars.
This legislation, the Attorney General
| says. operates as waiver of the forfeiture
of the right of the railway company to
maintain the tracks referred to, and con-
stitutes a sufficient defense on their part
| in the Police Court proceedings to compel
! the removal of the tracks as a nuisance
The jurisdiction of the Department of Jus
| tlCe, the Attorney General says, has there
! fore. ceased. but ample authority is now
| conferred On the Commissioners to compel
the railway company, or companies con-
| cerned. to operate cars on the tracks for
| the convenience of the public.
| copy of this letter was transmitted by
| the department to Chairman Henderson,
| with the suggestion that he or the asso-
| citation he represents, confer with the Com
niissioners as to what will be satisfactory
schedule for the convenience of the public.
| Acting upon this sugges tion Mr. Hender-
| son stated that he had addressed the Com
| n2issioners a letter on the 18th instant, a
| copy of which read. In this letter he
! 1ecited in detail the facts in regard to the
| operation of the North Capitol street line
| and stated that a large number of citizens
! living north of New York avenue along this
| line OF road have time and again COM
IIalned OF the inadequacy of this service.
| He urged the Commissioners to exact a
| schedule for the Operation of this section
| of road that would insure the running of
| cars from to I streets to correspond
| with the schedule in operation on the in
tersecting lines New York avenue and
| G street, and without transfer at New
! y ork avenue from the car south to the car
| north of that avenue, in order to reach T
| street any point above New York ave-
| hue A request, he said, was also included
| to give the railway committee hearing on
the subject before approving a schedule.
| Compressed Air.
| Complaints were also made by Messrs. E.
| f. Magic cnd w. ]. Hughes of the made
| quacy of this service, and alleging rudeness
| to both men and women on the part of the
conductor who operates this electric, or, as
| it was called, curfew car. 1t was stated
! that this employe presumes too much upon
! the fact that no attention would be paid
| by the managers of the lexington company
| to complaints coming from members of the
| association, because of the latters attitude
| On the railway question. Hereafter, it was
said. it was the intention to make record
| of these things, if continued, for effective
| use in the right quarter.
| Mr.. T. P. Kane of the railway committee
| in reply to an inquiry from Mr.. j. d. Bid
| dis. to the status of the air motors stat
| ed that he was in correspondence with peo-
| pie In New York as to the progress made
| toward the proposed experiments in that
| city with air motors. and was keeping fully
| informed on the subject. He read letter
| /
| Company, in which the writer stated sthat
| there IS only one company in existence that
| has built and operated compressed air mo-
| tors at high pressure. That Is the Rome
| company, with the Hardie motor These
motors. he said, have been running nearly
| two years, and the improvements that have
| been made during that time have been the
| result OF actual experience.
| The Worcester motor. the writer said Is
| nothing but an experiment being made
| there, and from what he could learn in re-
| lation to 1t he is confident that it is not
nearly as efficient power the Hardie
| motor and it Is very doubtful if it ever will
| amount to anything, except to be doomed
| in the newspapers, as 1t has been.
| The Pittsburg motor, the writer said is
| quite crude affair for passenger service
| 1t is, however, efficient for freight work
| being used for hauling cotton trains at New
| Orleans and other places, where there is
| danger of fire. This motor Mr.. Kane stat
ed. according to published reports, was q
| trifie higher than cable car. 1t is operat-
| ed in cab at the front Of the car with
| levers and valves as in steam locomotives
The entire equipment of the car is operated
| by compressed air, from whistle to brakes
The air to charge the car is carried
| through pipes laid in the streets parallelinR
| the traction line from a central COMPRESS
| ing station and at points along the route
| Subcharging stations placed at points
| along the route where considerable air is
| required. These consist of nine f-.npoc+;oro