The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1901-10-31

" be taken into consideration in
NJ connection with the good
roads problem is the rapid eS-
tension of the electric traction syS-
tens into the rural districts. Not
content with the immense volume ana
earnings OF the intramural systems,
the street railway interests have in
vaGcd the country with long intc"ur-
ban lines that are already projected
all the way across large States.
These street railways OF electric
traction roads are not 10 he ignored
by the good roads workers. Ihey
must be studied for the purpose OF
determining the effect thcE viii have
unon highway travel. whether toward
increasing OF decreasing lis volume,
o. rs reducing the length oi haul by
horse and wagon. and changing its
direction.
Practically all Of these railways par
allcl important public highways be-
tween thc principal cities and towns
Many OF them have franchises from
the State. granting the right of con-
structiOn and operation directly on the
public highways. while others own
part OF them in the shape Of purchased
rights of way. The cars on tiNS2
lines transport passengers from town
TO town. or between the points on the
roads, aS comfortably. more cheap!y,
ard almost as quickly rs the steam
cars between stations. and Ear more
Quickly aud agreeable than the trip.
lorc or short. can be made by horse
and buggy OF wagon. 1t seems oDyi-
Gus. therefore. that the electric roads
will tend to reduce the light passenger
travel along the wagon roads which
they parallel.
But rlfea-traction companies are not,
by any means, corstapt with passen-
ger business alone. The! aAaye al
ready embarked in the express and1f
light freighting traffic, despite the le-
gal obstacles which are being thrown |
in their way by the steam railroad
companies, whose contentious have |
been defeated in the Supreme Court |
Of Ohio. This freightins or express |
business promises in the near future |
to become more profitable TO the roads |
than the transporting OF passengers. |
and to grow more rapidly il volume. |
1t cannot be doubted that this draws |
wagon traffic from the parallel high
ways.
As yet, few, if any. Of the electric |
roads have attempted TO embark in
the heavy freighting business in this |
country, though it has been done il
Europe.
We may safely predict, however,
that in time the traction companies |
will attempt to secure much of this
business also, unless legal restrictions |
debar them, for they can operate rs
cheaply as the steam roads, and in |
many cases they have advantages over
the latter in facilities for handling |
such freight.
However, if the interurban roads re-
duce the travel between towns on the
which they parallel, they
will surely increase the travel on tie |
cross roads leading from the farms |
to the railways, and which act as
feeders to the steel ways. This will |
also undoubtedly increase the volume
OF travel on the reads reaching from
the villages off the lines Of the electric
and steam roads 10 those through
which these lines extend.
Good road advocates have no reason
for becoming apprehensive that the
of the interurban electric
roads to be abandoned and to fall into
decay. While they seem likely to
reduce traffic on some of the main
thoroughfares connecting towns. their
effect will be to increase the number
Of short hauls in the aggregate on
others. 1t is, at any rate, factor in
the highway Improvement movement
that may be studied to advantage.
The progress being made here and
abroad in the manufacture Of practi-
cal al economical ctcG:::n and gaso- |
iire trucks and ".orries." as we'll as
passenger coaches, for the transporta-
,;oa of freight and passengers on the
public highways offers the good roads
sufficient guarantee for 4
ccante"act.ng influence tending 20
give the interurban wagon way Few
Importance. 1t will probably then
come 10 Il struggle between the opera
tor Of the motor stage and The cleo
tr.c traction companies TO decide