Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-19
Trolley Freight Service.
INew York Tribune.1

In the rural districts we'll as in the
large cities of the United States there
rs steady Increase in the use of trolley
lines Tor transporting express and mail
matter AT large centers of population
special cars for such service have long
been Il familiar sight. In the country
the evolution has not gone quite so far,
altho for years it has been customary
to carry trunks. mail bags and baskets
of fruit and vegetables on the front
platforms of passenger cars, either into
Eor out of town. An apprecable adj
vance Is close at hand, however and it
may not be many years before the
country outstrips the city in this APP
plication OF electricity to the needs
of local commerce. For one of the
great interurban systems out in Ohio,
embracing three long lines which con-
centrate al Cincinnati, six-story ter
mlnal station Is now going up in that
city Besides the usual waiting rooms
ana toilet accommodations for passen-
gers and suitable apartment for the
storage of express matter, there will
be shed, measuring sixty by eighty
feet, exclusively for light freight The
latter merchandise will not be COL
iected in one part of town and carried
by trolley to another, but it will come
from farms and gardens anywhere
from five to thirty miles away, and on
reaching Cincinnati is to be distributed
by teams.
with reasonable hope of success,
the company which is furnishing these
facilities might look for a large de-
yelopment of patronage without TAX
ing further steps. Still. it has planned
to meet the farmer more than half
way. Elaborate provision is being made
In the surrounding country for the
coveted traffic. In front Of important
farms which adjoin any of the com
pany's tracks platforms will be con-
structed for the deposit of milk cans,
vegetable crates. fruit baskets and
other parcels of produce. Wagons will
bring freight to a few stations from
points mile or two distant. Special
cars and trucks, like those used for
express service on electric roads in
cities. will be put in operation, and at
certain seasons a fifteen minute sched-
ule VIII probably be feasible A reg
ular freight tariff has been worked out,
and stamps will be sold for payment
OF charges. AS an additional attrac-
ton, the company will adopt the way
Dill system to insure protection to ship
pers. In short it will do as much as,
or even more than, the steam railroad
companies for its patrons.
OF hundreds of rural trolley lines
which already handle little of this
sort of business, the managers have
occasionally asked themselves just how
far it would be judicious to go in the
creation of special facilities. In sparse
ly settled regions. or where the officials
were timid, the question has not been
seriously considered perhaps. Else
where larger possibilities have been
recognized and a holder spirit has pre-
vailed, yet without active measures be-
ing taken like those reported from
southern Ohio. Practical experiment
goes so much further than theory that
most OF these people have waited for
some one else to make the test. Within
the next year or two, therefore, dem
onstration of great value will be af
forded. The country will soon have
chance to learn whether it pays thus
10 cater to patrons or not, and to just
what degree it will be safe to follow the
example now about to be set. AS to the
outcome there can be little doubt There
Is an immense amount of produce need
ing transportation to great railway
centers, and electricity can do the work
cheaper and quicker than horses can
hence it is only question of time
when 1t will perform the service. and
when all the incidental expenses of the
new system will be readily met.