New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-10-23
WHITNEY AND CRIMMINS.
j. CONTEST BETWEEN TRACTION INTER
rsTS AND GENERAL ELECTRIC.
SAID TO BE THE TRUE INwARDNEss OF
THE DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO
MEN-EI.ECTRICITY AND con-


PRESSED AIR.
differences between William c. Whitney
,ohn u. Crimmins over the issue of COM
~ed air against electricity as a motive
"a, as announced exclusively in The Trib-
yesterday. have more behind them than has
w. ", snneared upon the surface. The real issue
" ros stated on excellent authority yesterday
" ha,ween certain interests in the Metropolitan
r..c,,on Company. headed by Mr.. Whitney. and
-. General Electric Company Mr.. Whitney
IA his friends. il was asserted yesterday by
80 well Informed. have been looking INTO
~. question of compressed air. and are favora-
81. IN It's use, thus opposing the great eiectri'a
..ores,s combined In the General Electric Coih-
parry. -, ,rase,, state Of
The steps leading up TO the present s'a'e VI
.',.. torm an interesting history in the de-
,nr,ent Of surface railroading ana OF e'e'-
'N,oa, engineering In this country The Metro
~, traction Company made its first ap-
P' P,oo in this city in 1SSi when the Low
P" committee began its investigation OF the
81" BOARD of Aldermen. in February. loo"
uo,o,icu to the Broadway SURFACE rail-
hosa chief promoter was jacob Sharp.
Ioa.' .,o ,rvasti2ation was still pending. Mr.
W." ord his friends sold their majority IN
s"" g., the broadway and Seventh Avenue
noa connanv to which the Sharp line
..on Eourteenth-st. and the Battery had
,oasea to the so-called Philadelphia syn
..o,a ", ose chief members were fe'er > D.
,,,aorer w L. Elkns and WilIiam H. Ne''-
-, rou dead Of addition uiNisioh All"
'na,oo" ranute Mr. Whitney, who. win James
roosevelt. George G. Haven ana o'herS' nau
~"rr,ea the Broadway Railroad company pu'
..o,o ou,vitted by Sharp. combined MS Interests
VIZ. .soso ~ the Philadelphia syndicate, ana
ou rAcoenized as its controlling power
M. ,,o,ronoliran Traction Company. having
.,ourad control Of the Broadway lrdhch'se pS
.,,,ns Sharp and his friends Nh snare io'
roioritv Of the stock. next secured the PiNF
,.r. ~ cabling the line. thus making 'he IRAN
.s,.o extremely valuable. The broadway hhe
.,roodv nossessed the lease of the Twen'!-'h'ro-
:, oross,own line. to which the Bleecker-st' line
- .,rooav been leased The Broadway. Twen-
a, ,h;ra.st and Bleecker-st. lines were Ieaseu
a. tho one.horse Avenue line. whose STOCK Ill
Wv -, ,,-,ua ~ the valuable lease. was in
~oasea from, S25OO00 o S5Ooo.ooo. and thus
.,a tar-raaching plan Of the Whitney-"locher
.rra,ca,e 10 gridiron New-York CITY with rail-
Ids ond their scheme of transfers stood de-
veloped. A., .,.ou
rha svndicate. thus following up the capltali-
,.,;on scheme IL had developed in Phlladeiphia
With immense profits and passing on from New
York has carried out the same polcy IN hos'oh'
ch,capo St. Louis and other large cities of the
country by means Of subsidiary companies IL
,os TINS become tremendous influence. It's
choice Of motive power is. therefore, one OF
transcendent importance not merely 10 "sei'
hut 10 the General Electric Company.
In A somewhat similar way the electrical Held
has been worked by the General Electro Coii
.hts cify Trsf
rival came when. through pressure or legal IN
tricaces. il induced the United states Electric
Lighting Company to sell out 10 II. 1t has gone
on combining interests. buying up patents. dls-
covering new processes and adjuncts until II no"
stands master OF the electric field. And in that
field commanding influence is j. Pierpont MOT
gan. Mr. Whitney and Mr.. Morgan as was
stated yesterday by one familiar with the situa-
ton, propose 10 find out which shall prove the
Hector and which the Achilles in the impending
combat. The question at issue. furthermore ~
between compressed air and electricity, not only
as the coming motive power on surface railroads
but also on steam railroads and in factories
Each Is contending for the mastery IN the
Manhattan Railway Company Electricity ~
being experimental with on the Thirty-fourth-st.
spur OF the elevated road, upon the LenoX-aVe'
surface line and upon the upper Amsterdam ave.
line. Compressed-air experiments are being
made on surface lines in e-hundred-and-tw -twen-
ty-ffth-st. in Lenox-ave. and in Amsterdam ave
al the steep hill above one hundred and twenty
hfth-st a cOmpressed-air locomotive has Deeh
pult al Rome. ana soon is 10 ne pidc'u Oh ''i'
elevated road for experiment. \ compressed an
power-hOuse has been built for the purpose al
Greenwich and Rector SITS.
John ID. Crimmns said yesterday: 1here
may be us for compressed air in factories. bu'
do not believe in it for railroads. The motive
power works beautifully as far as II goes ltu'
the energy drops out Of IL at times in most as
turbing manner The high tension, too, makes II
dangerous Electricity has worked we'll and Is
50 doing In LenOx-aVe. An electric locomotiN.
Is being the Nantasket branch or tne
New-York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
saw its workings recently. II drew train ol
cars and made thirty-five 10 forty miles an houi
easily. II seems to be success. representa-
tive Of the elevated road as present
Frederick s Pearson. chief engineer or tht
Metropolitan Traction Company. VINO sailed ioi
Europe Wednesday, ostensibly to look into the
eompressed-air question in Paris. Berlin anc
Dresden, made an extended investigation OF tn'
workings Of compressed air on surface RAILROADS
last summer in Europe He reported the resui
10 Mr.. Whitney.