Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-26

it can be brought speedily to the scene by
small number Of trained men. The cost Of
the gun and carriage being only $1,000 Will
make 1t available for any municipality, or,
indeed, for any metropolitan police force
for use at such time and place as necessity
may dictate. The object of Major David
sons trip is not only the testing of the gun
carriage engine of war, but to furnish
experience in the field for some Of the ca
diets who attend the Northwestern Military
Academy.
For Municipal Uses.
While this development is wonderful
enough in ITSELF it is only one of many.
Indeed. so rapid is the advance of the auto
mobile for all manner of uses that 1t Is
difficult to follow It's newest wonders. Just
recently one of the foremost eastern manu-
facturers has built what he calls an electric
emergency wagon-in reality a ladder truck
for use in fire departments. 1t somewhat
resembles ordinary police patrol wagon.
1t carries ladders which can be erected at
moments notice, and portable fire extin-
guishers, lanterns, axes and other firemen's
implements When alarm rings In 1t
can be loaded with firemen and reach the
seat of the fire long before the engines or
the heavier hose carts have time to get
there, that If the blaze is small 1t can
be extinguished with hand extingushers
before 1t gets any Roadway. In any event
this pioneer crew will have the doors open
and everything in readiness for the coming
of the engines - %! o.
Another manufacturer is preparing to
build an automobile compressed air fire
engine, which he claims will have great
advantages over the present horSe-pr
PEELED engines. 1t will have the advantage
of doing away with the cumbersome boil
ers, and 1T will be much less dangerous in
crowded city street than four galloping
horses. for 1t can be controlled almost in
stantly by a mere twist Of a lever. If nee
essary, it can make speed OF thirty miles
an hour. A compressed air engine would
cost no more than an ordinary fire engine,
and all of the men now employed for car
ing for horses could be dispensed with. A
close eStima te of the comparative costs of
horse and compressed air fire engines for a
city the size of Newark, Nj, shows that the
saving from the use of the automobile en-
gines would reach $4,000 a year. or about
III per cent Of the entire cost of the de-
partment.
And just now the United States govern
nent is taking account of the automobile
in authorizing experiments for the collec-
ton of mail in automobile wagons. The
first city to take 1t up was Buffalo, N. Y,
where, on the evening of July 2, the first
collections were made in an electric buggy
by John D. Leib, superintendent of the
citys mail delivery system. 1t covered one
of the most difficult routes in the city in
one hour and fifty minutes, the ordinary
time of the collection by horse and wagon
being not less than three hours. Postmas-
ter Dorr sent a favorable report of his
periments to Washington, and the system
will be tried at once in other cities.
Indeed, there seems to be tendency on
the part of municipalities to consider the
automobile seriously as factor in their
work. For instance the city of Paris has
just made contracts for a number Of cleo
trio automobile street sweeping machines
which will be used to clean it's streets. be-
ginning this fall. 1t is a remarkable de-
vice, with the sweeping machine in front
and tank for water and water sprinkler
behind. The new machine will run over
the street, sprinkling 1T thoroughly, and
then, returning, will sweep up the dirt in
piles to be collected later by new variety
of electric carts 1t is understood that a
similar contrivance is in course of manu-
facture in one of the great American
shops.
Curiously enough, while the French were
the first to take up the automobile seri-
ously, their manufacturers have not sue
ceeded in producing either as practical a
vehicle as handsome one as most of
the American manufacturers. Mr.. Percy