Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-04-20
THE TROLLEY AGE,

The announcement that New York
and Philadelphia are to be connected
by trolley line came just after the
news of the great Ohio trolley CONSOLE
dalton. 1t seems probable that within
the next year or two passengers will
| travel the 260 miles from Cleveland
to Cincinnati by the electric car and
that the trolley may have fair share
of the traffic between New York and
Philadelphia. Albert l.. Johnson, pro-
prietor of the eastern lines, explains
his plans in last weeks issue of the
Independent.
The two big cities are 90 miles
apart. Mr.. Johnson proposes to build
heavy roaGbed without a single
grade crossing, to equip his cars with
motors capable of developing a speed
of so miles an hour and to make the
fare not more than so cents. He says
that about 5000 persons now travel
between the cities daily and that %
per cent of the inhabitants of either
city, in his belief, have never seen
the other. He expects to draw
his patrons from the inhabit-
ants of intermediate cities and
from the % per cent who would
grasp the opportunity if the fare
were brought to the level OF their
means" Freight as well as passengers
is included in Mr.. Johnson's plans.
He hopes to show that trolley car
can excel the horse and wagon in
handling milk, butter, the products
of the farm and garden truck, prac-
tically taking them up at the farm
yard gates and delivering them at the
door of the consumer" On his
electric line he believes he could re-
duce freight charges. The farmer
would then have the inducements of
more convenient service and cheaper
rates to use the trolley in sending his
produce to town.
In Mr.. Johnscn's opinion the steam
roads have reached nearly the mini
mum charges at which they can trans
port freight and passengers at profit.
The present movement toward econ
omy by consolidation he regards as
showing that the limit has nearly been
reached. Yet rates are higher than
the people can afford. Better facili-
ties for trade are necessary. To Sc
cure these he would take warning
from the faults OF the steam transpor-
tation systems. The watering of the
stock is to be avoided. 1--WE must
start afresh, " he says, "discarding the
cum bersome and expensive mode of
operation now in use on steam rail-
roads. We must adopt the electric
system, in which each Individual car
is supplied with it's own motive power,
and can be run as often as neces-
sary, with nothing to earn beyond its
own cost of operation over a track
honestly built and owned by a COM
pany capitalized for the actual cost
of its plant, with franchise rights for
which no money has been paid as
tribute to the servants of the people"
The success of Mr.. Johnson's plan
will mean the fastening of the advent
of the trolley age which is to relieve
the congestion of large cities. If he
can resist the tendencies of the times
in stock watering and bribery he will
be doing an additional public service.
Perhaps, the Springfield Register
says, it is movements such as we have
noted in this article that are RESPONSE
bic for the proposition embodied in
the Illinois house measures, requiring
electric wires over the tracks of steam
railways TO be lat least % feet" above
the top of the rails. A trolley wire
at this height above the track of
steam railway crossing would greatly
interfere with if not prevent the sue
cessful operation of trolley lines run
ming out Of large cities.