The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-16

The first street car ever propelled nueeessfully by electricity, was run up Court street at o'clock of the morn ing of April :, 1885. in the city or Montgomery The first system of electric cars ever operated In any city of the world was operated in the city of Montgomery. immediately following that trial run. no matter what Rich niond, Va, may say to the contrary.
 Richmond was far from being the pioneer city in the establishment of practical system of electrically pro- pefIed street cars It was in fact the fifth city and nearly two years behind the real pioneer in that undertaking For more than two years Montgomery was the only city in the world which had a practical trolly car system. Stu dents, engineers and capitalists from all over the world came to Montgom- cry to study the new and the wonder ful use to which electricity had been put
 That there should be doubt in any mans mind that Montgomery should be- credited with this piece of enterprise ia due to the unbecoming modesty which has characterized the city Throughout it's life. That all of this is recorded history shall presently be made clear
 Not only was Montgomery the first
 
 operated on it's streets, but 1t was the city In which the principle of apply ing electricity as a motive power was developed. and perfected one of the great industrial discoveries of the century.
 VanderpoeI and CiabOury.
 The credit of discovering electricity as a motive power does not belong to a Montgomery man but to Charles Van-, derpoel. a Belgium chemiest, working in an improvised workshop in Detroit But the credit of developing that pow. CT into practical and commercial uses does belong to a Montgomery man. Joseph Arthur Gaboury, successful engiHeer and capitalist who owned the controlling stock of the old Capital City Street Railway Company, at the time he met Vanderpoel and heard him talk of his discovery at which cap ita1ists all over the United States and Canada had laughed
 ''He came to me with an idea" said Mir. Gaboury the other day. He was a crank and was a crank So I took up his idea"
 On the fourth day of December. 1884, a contract was signed between J. A. Gaboury for the Capital City Street Railway Company and Charles Wander poel for the wapderpoel Manufacturing Company, a Evaporation that manu-' AASIuEEQ dTC ad&EGhhDSHhsAut t0HlpS OfliS at that time, but a corporation which had a most valuable asset in the great industrial idea that had been born in the brain Of the Belgium inventor The contract provided for the equipment of two cars of the Court street line, with electric motive power. If 1t proved successful, the ears of the entire sys- tenn were to be so equipped.
 The contract provided that the work of equipping the cars with the electric motive power outfit should he done in the shops of the Capital City Street Railway Company which would furnish the material Mir. Vanderpoel was an inventor but, not practical engineeIs company was apeivil and mechanical engineer of national reputation. The combination was emnently successful Mir Vanderpoel was to get the benefit of the practical experiments of his dis covery.
 Tn making practical application of Vanderpoefs discovery Mir. Ga,boury Invented the simple overhead trolley which is now in general use' through put the world and to secure the rights of which the General Electric Company and the Westinghouse Company had Litigation which involved an estimated expense of a million and half dollars, and in which MT. Gaboury was Inc most important witness. The record of this litigation written in the books of the Federal Court, clearly establishes every claim Montgomery has made to