The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1902-03-05
Transportation
POSSIBILITIES.
.,,,..+ Albert L. Johnson Believ-
ed Could Be Done.
0r .rNED BIG ELECTRIC SYSTEM.

p.iIroader Proposed TO HUN
p.+veen New York, Philadel-
.n6 other Cities at Speed
rnu.1 to That of Steam Express
rr.,ns-Fares Could BE Much Lower
The following is taken from an arti.
10 IN albert L. Johnson, the Man,
cle 1,tton nv Henry George, Jr., for The
." ",, Tax Review of Jan. 10:
20 ~ was on the 18th Of June, glorious
n,,nor afternoon and just few days
Saforn he unexpectedly passed away,
4hot had my last chat with Albert Il.
Tnbnson. a man in many ways as re-
0O arI-ohle as his more widely known
thor Tom L. Johnson, mayor OF
Cleveland 0.
A. the time of his death Albert john
.on was engaged in project to con-
To New York and Philadelphia with
On electric system which should make
Ito eoual to the steam express trains,
h1,+ at q very much lower fare. The
WESTINGHOUSE and the General Electric
oononanies had each offered to guaran-
Zoo an equipment that would run cars
sivtv miles an hour. AS a matter OF
fact experiments have since been
.,odn on a military electric road in Ger
roonv and a sustained speed close to
100 miles an hour has been attained.
Mr. Johnson's idea was to build road
as straight as possible between the
two cities, with no grade crossings,
and TO make no stops or sloWups, nav
irq snecial cars or trains run to or
from intermediate points and switch
n mr. from the main line. He had COM
monced the formation of this line by
the purchase and extension of an cleo
trio road between Trenton and Prince
ION. n. J. He intended to buy or to
construct other roads and thus make a
through line between New York and
PHILADELPHIA, cars to be running be-
tween the great cities within a year.
'0The rate Of fare between New York
and Philadelphia is now $780," Mr..
Johnson said, speaking Of his project.
81 propose to put my fare at 80 cents
to start with, although l make it this
high only because others raise an out
cry and say I'll ruin myself. But the
truth is that 1 have made careful cal
citations upon what my electric sys-
TEN in the Lehigh valley, Pennsylva-
MIA, is doing, and say candidly that
I'd be ashamed to tell the public how
much money could make at 25 cents
q passenger from New York to Phila-
ic fortune
at five cent fare.
THAT sounds like dream, l know,
but am no dreamer. / am practical
railroad man who has created new rail-
road business by reducing fares.
have my own and my brothers bust
ness experience in a number of the
large cities of the country, and knowl-
edge gained through my Lehigh val
ley system, connecting large number
of towns and villages, to guide me both
In the construction and in the opera
ton of electric railroads. I have also
had Westinghouse electrical experts
make special calculations for me, and /
am prepared to prove that no more
electricity is required to send a car
that makes no stops or slowups at
high rate of speed from New York to
Philadelphia than it does to carry a
car from end to end Of a system in
New York or Brooklyn, where there
are frequent stops at street corners.
From seven to twelve times more cleo
tricity is required to start car than
is needed to keep it going after it has
once been in full motion, so that car
travelling the long distance. but max
ing no stops, would use no more power
than one travelling the short distance
with frequent stops. The wages charge