El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-29
"The saving have indicated is eff

| footed in handling nearly every class
| OF freight, from fruit and produce on
the farm to the products of all
factories and mills and mines, from
bricks At the kiln to potatoes in the
field. In New York City alone, below
mitted to be worth million q year,
Offering, as one Of it's special accessor-
les does, way to effectuslly clear the
streets of half the trucks now used.
VAST CAPITAL UNLOCKED.
Tesla, the electrician, once made the
startling statement that of the energy
that goes to make the electric light
over 80 per cent is wasted-a statement
that was disputed by but few electrici-
ans. Now, 1 will show you that there
is an enormous waste of energy in
handling freight by the present sys-
tenn that is saved by this system-a
the smoke out of the eyes of railroad
security holders and indicate why
dividends fail to materialize.
'The present system of handling
freight by leaving cars on q siding for
loading and unloading for instance,
looks up constantly millions of dollars
of capital that Ia invested in rolling
stock. To give you the figures for IL:
In 1897 there e, We we're e. l2se,5s5 freight ehs
United States, estimated to be worth
more than $500, 600, 600 OF these, at
least 200, OOO-a greater number some
railroad statisticiaus inform me-sre
on some siding at some unim portant
station continuously, even while traf-
f1c is in its normal condition, either
being loaded or unloaded or waiting
for load or for an engine to haul
them ous On the main track and get
1nPKin0
in the aggregate 800, 100000 or more
worth of rolling stock all the time and,
in times of great activity in railroad
ing like the present time, creating
car famine"
"Well, how does your invention
remedy the matter?"
by removing altogether the neces-
sity for switching cars to q siding at
unimpQrtant places. The freight is
loaded or unloaded by this system in
less than half the time required to
break q train in two and leave car on
a siding and couple the balance of the
train together again. You can see for
yourself how simply it ts DONE" and
he operated the model sgain-"how
one hundred million or more of capital
is unlocked by the invention; but 1
must ask you to withhold publication
of.sny information on these features of
the system for the present."
MONEY IN THE MUD.
"This brings me another important
economic feature of the invention.
The present practice of constructing
railroads is to build siding, or
spur or a feeder at every point on the
line where there Is q prospect of re-
ceiving shipments or delivering
freight, and so many miles OF sidings
and spurs have been laid at points
t..
shipped in % years to pay TIE first
cost of construction that hundreds of
millions Of dollars OF capital are now
locked up in these sidings and spurs
and feeders, seriously Gripping the
railroad companies financially. Many
of the sidfngs soon become mere
streaks of rust. Some roads, particularly
of the sidings they have laid down,
but have closed their stations and re-
moved their agents, leaving the in
vestors' money in the midland the
switches as q constant menace to life
and property"
I'm what way does your invention
restore the money to use?''
II am not q wizard, sir. It does not
restore it to- use at all. The labor in
building those sidings-not the rails
and ties of which they are constructed
represents most of the capital sunk
there, and that is lost forever. But
by the use of this invention the rail-
road builders of the future can discard
the construction of sidings at all unim-
portaut points-S0 per cent. of the
whole number of places reached by
receiving aud shipping freight in q
fraction Of the time required now with
their system of switches and stdings."
The inventor then presented anoth-
er array of figures,
THE total mileage of railroads in
the United States in 1897 was 1872
1882. The miles of sidings aud side
tracks was 57,21S.95. The cost ofthese
estimated at $500, 0OO. 900, which is
about $4,000 mile, very low esti
mate. In the future of railroad con-
struction so to 90 per cent. of the ex-
penditure in sidtngs can be saved by
the application of this invention. AT
important shipping points and large
towns sidings will still be needed, don't
mistake me on this point, but not at
crossroads on the line, and therefore
half of the perils of railrosding will
be averted by giving the country a
railroad system practically without
switches
The inventor operated the car again,
running 1t up and dowd the miniature
track and explaining exactly how it
obviated the necessity of constructing
sidings or switching cars to the sidings
already constructed, and how its practi-
scbilitv In these particulars was satis-
factorily demonstrated and established.
THE RAILROAD SITUATION.
81 need scarcely point out the bank
rupt condition of many railroads or al
lude to tho need of q very radical revo-
luton in their management and in