The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-17
TWO HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR

By the time science has taught US how
to sail the air BY mechanical fight the
developments in electric traction will have
advanced TO a point where competition
will be impossible. This is becoming
more and more evident. but the reply of
the aeronautical engineers is. and logic
ally too, that competition will not be
necessary, and the history of mechanical
arts in the past has fully verified this
statement
Take as an instance the introduction Of
the wire telephone. Alexander Graham
Bell could not possibly have contemplated
its wonderful utility and widespread ap-
plication, but what he did think was that
his telephone would supplant the tele-
graph and render the great improvements
OF Morse useless, yet the volume OF tele-
graph business today is greater than ever
before, while the same may be said OF
the telephone.
Again. when the Brooklyn bridge was
under construction it was fully believed
that the ferry boat service would be
thing Of the past, and one company &C
tually did remove a boat OF two, but 1t
quickly learned when that great span Of
steel was thronged with moving masses
OF humanity that all the boats of the
ferry feet were stIIl in urgent demand.
And so civilization requires every means
that human ingenuity can devise to sup
plement existing conditions. bat It IS sell
dom indeed that an advance IN any Of the
commercial pursuits d!spiaces older con-
trirances. unless those contrivances are
operated by animal power or manual la
Dor. Thus II will be with flying machines
and surface railways. for the latter. with
their seventy years Of Improvement, are
80 far in the lead that II IS highly irnprob-
able that the former will ever take their
place as competitive carriers.
The recent tests Of high speed electric
traction 81 Germany on the military lins
between Zossen and Aarieafelde. az HeIl
as the lower speed but more powerful
electric locomotives which I hsye already
described. are Indicative 81 the marvellous
transformation through which The rail-
road IS passing.
when the road was turned over 70 the
engineers in 1891 the track was laid with
rails weighing oniy siztY-zine pounds %
the yard This was pot into excellent
condition 50 that il was perfectly level
and smooth. or surfaced as 4 - terri
Cd. and then baIiastsd 81 the rnesi sPprpy-
Ell fashion with broken bsssI- Strong
wooden poles were set a. eqU'distsnt
points along the track about hc-dresi
feet apart and piece 81 steel bent into
a bow ard sustained by a -Tre cord vas
balted firmly 20 & To iris cord thres
glass srvzslafoTs we're fas;eE-i and finally
in-se serves 70 support the trolley wires
These triple trolley sirss lead . Ms
yienreide ard thence 20 the OtSrrcsson-
reias electricity works located oa ihe
river spree. soEse Hvs niles away T1ss
current generated ~ iris power station +
a thres-rhzse alternating currscf - hsgn
voltage ard this fsoxfng tnrvGgn fke troll
le- wires zrzs corIsctes directly usdsr-
uezth The c9r-th-o8xh 10 -sestszFr % TIE
trolley or siding coutacss thst glide o<rT
ne s-xpszdezs xfrSz-zhs-s ia pressure
sas lowered f-r-s ten thousand volts. b.
means of a fTz1sso-sae-. &c pressure C
o-~ thousand Eve huzdred voiss
Two .nofor cars Esrc eoastr1cie1 e.2s-
cEa.ly Tor TIRE tests. osse 81 thess bsiEg de-
ssS-ed by he ss-r1ez%-I5ssisks company
and TIRE ether b the Geaersi E-ectrir
company These Gays seye egzsrSee sta