The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-28

left in the Globe building, from which
it was discovered that they had dis
appeared. Dishonest employees had car
ried them off and sold them for old
junk at about one-tenth of what they
had cost the government.
The Underground Trolley.
The week has been rendered memoir
able in the history of street railroading
in Washington by the opening of the
underground trolley line on Fourteenth
street. This is the first section of the
Capital Traction company's lines to be
made ready for electric propulsion. The
entire system was until recently run by
cable, but the destruction Of the power
house by fire last autumn gave the
management of the line chance to
consider whether it was best to keep
on with that method. The Metropol1-
tan road, which almost parallels the
lines of the Capital Traction company,
had for nearly two years demonstrated
the successful operation of the under
ground trolley, and it has been so much
more satisfactory than the cable that
business was being largely diverted to
it, The fire gave the Capital company
a good excuse for abandoning the ca
BILE so as to meet this new competition.
1t would have been much simpler
matter to start the cable again, as this
could have been done in few days by
setting electric dynamOS to turning the
cable drums; but, instead, horses were
Tut on to draw the cars while the line
was being rebuilt and equipped with
it's new motive power. The Seventh
str eet division of the Capital Traction
company's road was not disturbed by
fire, since its power came from another
source. 1t is proposed, however, to make
a clean sweep, and as soon as the horses
are relieved from work on the main
line they will be put upon the Seventh
street section While the change is being
made. This undertaking shows how
rapidly one Improvement presses upon
the heels Of another. The task of put
ting in the cable system originally was
not a small one, and yet, after only q
little more than five years of use on
Pennsylvania avenue, 1t has been taken
up to give place to something better.
The Brown System
of underground electric propulsion has
been on trial eXperimentally for several
months on a line extending from the
navy yard to Anacostia. The objection
found to it has been that the contact
boxes, which are set in the pavement,
in certain instances are said to remain
Give" after the cars have passed over
them. The inventor of the system
claims that this is entirely harmless, and
further, that wherever it exists it has
been due to the broken porcelain cups
in the boxes, which he offers to remedy
by the substitution of metal cups lined
with porcelain. A series of hearings
have been given upon the question, and
it is not yet settled what the final out
come Will be. So far as the passengers
are concerned the Brown system ap
pears to be entirely successful, and OBJ
viously it is much simpler of introduce
ton than the regular underground,
some times called the Budapest system,
which is elsewhere in operation in this
city. Washington has always been a
great place for electric railroad expert
ments. The underground system on U
street, which has been working here
successfully since the summer of 1893,
long attracted electrical experts from
various parts Of the country. 1t is the
settled policy of the district fathers
come within the old boundary limits of
the city. The cable, like the horse, is
plainly motive power of the past.
Whatever may be the objection to the
underground trolley in cities further
north where there Is more snow it can
not be doubted that the system is a
complete success here. 1t is naturally
more Wasteful of power than the over
head. and much more expensive to put
in. This makes it unpopular with the
investing public by comparison with
the broomstick system wherever that
is tolerated, but if the public insists
upon the underground it can doubtless
be made to work.