The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-26
rI,EcTRICITy AGAINST STEAM.


The trend in railroad circles is to-
wards consolidation. Most of the main
trunk lines have been brought into
few great systems, and the small roads
are gradually being added to these
systems as feeders. In short the steam
railway transportation of the country
is in the hands of a few gigantic cor
porations, and it is within the bounds
OF possibility that the next few years
may see the situation controlled by one
gigantic trust.
But is not the remedy against
grasping railroad trust already within
sight-the means by which the people
will be saved from anything like I'M
due charges for service rendered? Dur
ing the past few weeks no less than
sixteen charters have been granted in
Pennsylvania alone to companies or
ganized for the purpose of building
connecting trolley lines between cities,
towns and villages; and these charters
empower the companies to carry not
only passengers but baggage, freight
and express as well. The promoters
have in view a plan for literally grid
ironing the state of Pennsylvania with
electric railroads, equipped with high
speed motor cars and prepared to do
a general transportation business.
pennsylvania, by the way, is not
alone in the matter of the development
Of the electric railway beyond the linn
its of city streets. One may even now
III oil he Vn,-Iy 10
Boston by trolley car, and the gridiron-
ing process is being rapidly carried on
in New England, where population is
somewhat dense and towns are close
together. The late Albert L. Johnson,
brother of Mayor Johnson of Cleve-
land, had perfected a scheme for con-
Meeting New York and Philadelphia
by trolley, and promised that the fare
between the two cities would be re-
duced to so cents by trolley. The syn
dictate which Mr.. Johnson formed is
still at work upon the plan, and some
of the charters noted above were
granted to it. Independent city and
suburban lines are being brought I'M
der control. through purchase or the
community of interest" plan, thus
forming important trolley systems. And
under the new charters, these trolley
systems will come into direct competi-
ton with the older and more expen-
sive steam systems.
1t has been sufficiently demonstrated
that electricity is the most economical
traction power yet invented. 1t has
reyolutionized street railway traffic in
all of the more important cities. One
of it's recent great victories is to be
seen in the change of motive power on
the elevated railroads in New York
city. Electric motors are being Install
ed in place of the steam locomotives,
and soon the putting engine of the ele-
waited will be a thing of the past on
Manhattan Island.
And the possibilities of electric pro-
pulsion are very great. A writer in
recent issue of Leslies Weekly told of
a new motor that had been recently
produced in Germany, capable of pull
ing a train at the speed of 100 to $50
miles an hour. The practicability of
the apparatus has been proven, so that
there is nothing about ii in the nature
of an experiment. When the trolley
promoters of the Eastern states shall
have brought the railway gridirons into
operation, and equipped their rolling
stock with high speed motors capable
of reducing the running time of steam
roads by one-half, and at the same
time dividing the rate of passenger
fare by two or even more, naturally
these electric roads are going to do a
big business and the steam plants will
feel the effect of the competition. They
will have to meet the rates of the cleo
trio roads no matter what they may
be. Thus it appears that the people,
at least those who reside in the more
populous sections of the country, are
not in imminent danger of being
squeezed by steam railroad octopus.