The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-11
From the Chicago Tribune.

From the Chicago Tribune
 N entirely new element has en- lP tered Into the social com
 mercial and even the po- litical life of the country. have just finished Journey of 400 miles, completed within two days, over the in terurban trolley system of Illinois, and am prepared to testify to the extraor- dinary effect in the development of the country produced by the electric railroads from town to town. They are running luxurious buffet chair cars, limited trains rush from city to city, express mater and freight are carried in special cars and last of all, the trolley line sleeper, as l can testify, is an absolute success.
 There is something more in this bulid- ing up than a mere extension of street car service to the country. Country and city are being knitted together and the local and suburban transportation busi- ness seems destined to pass from the steam railroad to the trolley line with in a short time. It may be many a year before the through lines of railroad are operated by electricity, but 1t will be but a short time until all the short line business of the country is done on cars deriving their own motive power from central power station, often many miles away.
 One huge system in Illinois already has in operation about 475 miles of track, with 1o5 miles under construction and schemes for an extension of 100 miles more. New England is gridironed with interurnan trolley lines and Ohio and Indiana have developed their systems to such an extent that after a few links in the chain are completed during next year. it will be pos sible to go from Wheeling, W. Va, by through trolley line to Chicago and St. Louis.
 There is more than usual significance In the fact that 1t has been found adVan- tageous to build great bridge across the Mississippi river at St. Louis for the use of the Illinois interurban system. The passenger service is fully established In a dozen different states and the carriage of express matter and light freight IS progressing with equal rapldity in every direction. The farmer learns to go to the city oftener, the city merchant sends his small packages by the trolley inc to the country, and perishable fruits, Vese- tables, milk and dairy products are today being transported with greater success on the trolley line than by any subur- ban service the steam railroads can fur- nish.
 
 Even coal and whisky and similar heavy products are being handled on the electric lines, and though the day may be far dis tant whent these roads will. be anything more than feeders to the steam lines on ordinary bulk freight, they are likely to have the monopoly of wayside transpor- tation and come nearer to the consun- CTS than the railroads can ever hope 70 do.
 One of the indispensable features of successful interurban service on a large system Is an abundance of small towns along the line This ideal is furnished more completely, perhaps, by Ohio than by any other of the western common wealths A reference to the census hg- ures will show an extraordinary number of small cities throughout the state of Ohio. In all directions an interurban troll ley system can run but few miles With out striking a prosperous commercial cen- ter, while in between there is rich agrf cultural country which is almost equally necessary to the real development of m terurban service so far as it's good effect upon the whole community is concerned,
 That the interurban trolley system rap idly develops the small cities along its line without doing the slightest harm to the villages and small towns was once se- riously disputed, but it is disputed no longer. The shopkeeper in small town at once saw ruin staring him in the face. He had the same forebodings when the rural free delivery was first put into operation
 The developing power ofzthe interurban railroad is only now becoming equally manifest Tha village merchant at first