Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-14

/ American Bell Telephone company as ITS
/ electrician from the beginning He was,
| peculiarly fitted and equipped for work OF the
! KIND required In developing the carbon clec-
/ ttic generator. as he had had long experience
| I'm research aud experiment. He is said
! to be a very accomplished gentleman, aud
/ the attention which the announcement of his
! discovery awakened In the scientific world
! shows that he enjoys an excellent reputation.
ELECTRICAL WEED KILLER.
Weeds often grow so high along the rail-
| road tracks in the south that they Inter-
! fere with the running oi trains The road
J beds Of many uf the smaller lines are not
| covered with cinders or stones and the
! woods grow as high beside the tracks as
! they do in the open fields. This makes
! 1t necessary for the crops OF weeds to be
! moved every summer.
one Of the single track lines down on the
| Delaware Peninsula ceases running trains
! Tor two weeks every summer while the en-
pIoyes NOV a passage for the trains.
An electric weed-kiIler which will de-
! stroy weeds by the Wholesale is about to
! be introduced on somc OF these lines. The
! new invention will run at express train
! speed and cut down every bit OF vegetation
on or near the tracks. Wedding has al
ways been considered very hard work. but
with the aid of the electrical weeder an
man has only to touch button and the
weeds vanish
The plan Of the railroad weeder is simple
An ordinary nat car is equipped with metal
brushes which extend out over each side
Of the car. Their hight is regulated so
that they Will brush the top Of the weeds
as the car moves aloy dynamo on the
car, run while the train is in motion, is
connected with the metallic brushes which
receive the full force of the current. The
! circuit is then grounded through the wheels
to the track.
When the current is turned on it passes
from the metal brushes through the weeds
to the ground, thus completing the circuit.
Tho current is 80 powerful that the weeds,
which serve as a conductor, are instantly
shriveled up. 1t is necessary to wet the
weeds in order to make them good eectri-
cal conductors, 80 the mowers wait until
after a rain.
The electrical wonder does its work more
cleanly and thoroughly than any moving
machine, for the weeds are literally burnt
up. When they are cut off they soon sprout
up again, but after they have been touched
by the electric current they are destroyed
down to the ends of their roots
ECONOMY OF ELECTRIC TRACTION.
In order to rebut the frequently made claim
that locomotive can make as great mile
age as an electric motor w. Baxter, jr.,
shows what ia done in actual practice, and
at the same time makes the distinct state
ment that such a company as the Pennysl-
vania railroad could effect saving Of over
Sc, 600, or 1874 per cent, Of It's operating
the railroad named there are l 103 freight
engines, giving a mileage Of 20,4O0,35S annu-
ally. In the passenger service there are ATS
locomotives, and the total miles run per year
by passenger trains Is 14,9OS 500 Figuring
on basis of 80 per cent of the engines in
use, the miles run per year would be 34670
and on an so per cent basis. $4,000 miles.
Trolley cars making an average speed OF
less than ten miles per hour run from $4,000
to 5000 miles per year. At this rate, motor
cars drawing freight trains at fifteen miles
per hour could easily cover $1,000 to 10000
miles per year and those used for passenger
work, and making average speed OF thirty
miles per hour, could run over 100000 miles
per year. If so much greater yearly mileage
could be made by electric motors, it follows
that the wages of motormen would be very
much less Uian the wages of enginemen per
train mile, the daily compensation not being
higher and the distance covered being far
greater After going fully into every cost Of Il
operation and maintenance Of the two sys-/
TENS Mr.. Baxter established the fact of the
superior economy of electric propulsion for
trunk lines.
ELECTRICITY ON RAILROADS.
The official journals Of the railroad brother
hoods are devOting considerable space to a dis
cuss!on of the posi- effects of electric power
way service. The rapid advancement of cleo
trloal science and its application as a motive
power has shown every observing man that
if the locomotive is not altogether displaced
by the electric motor, its future will be one
If exceedingly sharp competition, with the
chances in favor Of the motor and it is this
'act which gives anxiety, The Trainmsn's
Journal says that the adoption of the motor
means the loss Of employment to one-half
he men in the engine service, or, If single
4ngines or cars are run in passenger service,
t means the humiliation of the train crew.
The future is one of doubt as to what will
le lne outcome of the many sciences and their
application to the different trades. There Is
| certainty that with every improvement there
s a loss of employment Other lines of
rade have been compelled to succumb before
he labor saving machine, and the railroad
men have been forced to do more work than \.
ormerly because of the greater power of
he steam locomotive and the increased ca
1acty of the cars but the change has been
gradual and has not been felt TO the same
xtent as it has been In other occupations.
With the rapid advancement of the motor
s means of transportation, the railroad
nen will be made to appreciate the rapid
nd dscouragLng change OF conditions for
he worse, OF which many trades complain.
There is nothing alluring in the promise Of
uniformed engineer, inclosSd behind glass
oors, for there appears the accompanying
hadow OF want and poor wages that attends
he introduction of labor saving machinery.