Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-02-20

lin Exposition, 1870.
threatens TO relegate them to sausage
factory"
That was less than twenty years
ago. Today the New York Central
Railroad Company Is eXpending $50,-
100000 In the electrihcatlon OF the first
thlrty-fve miles of Its system, and tho
car horses were long ago relegated TO
the boneyard, IL not to the sausage
factory"
"They" have done marvellous things
since the increasing knowledge OF
electricity opened up n new world OF
achievement. and we have scarcely
crossed the threshold. In 1880 the cleo
trio car was n dream; In 1890, an eX-
perlment I'm 1900. a great and wonder
full feet which Is revolutlonlzlng pas
senger transportation and will enable
human beings 20 move from place 10
place twice as fast as they do at pres
ent.
Born In old Vermont.
When IN 1894 Thomas Davenport, of
Brandon. VI. ran toy motor mounted
on wheels on n small circular railway,
the modern electric railroad with IT'S
possible speed OF over one hundred
miles an hour was born.
In 1898 Robert Davidson. Of Aher-
deem. Scotland. built an electric loco
motive which actually reached speed
OF four miles an hour on the Edin-
burgh- Glasgow railway. Nine years
later Professor Moses G.. Farmer op
Grated an experimental car which car
rled two passengers at Dover, New
Hampshire.
Then the Tinted States congress be-
came interested. by special grants
Professor Page OF Smithsonian lnstl-
tute was aided In the construction or
several FORMS OF motors. One OF them
was used as locomotive and, driven
by battery of one hundred Grove
elements. was tried April 20, 1881. on
railroad running from Washington
10 Bladensburg. A speed OF nineteen
miles au hour was developed. so great
that IL destroyed the batteries.
Numerous other experiments fol-
lowed, all commercial failures because
the motors were crude and the source
OF power a primary battery. The de-
velOpment OF the wonderful modern
aynamo was necessary before electric
railroading could become a commercial
success. The FIRST great step was In
$500. when an Italian named Pacinot-
II invented a continuous current dy-
namO. Three years later the hrst
practical commercial machine for con-
tinuous current operation was made
by Gramme.
still the modern electric car was im-
possible. The ''reyersibility OF func-
dion" had yet 10 be discovered, involy-
Tng electrical transmission OF energy
through two machines, one driven by
power and generating electricity; the
other reversing the operation. recelv-
ing electricity and developing mo
chanlcal power.
Like many other important discov-
cries. this Is said 10 have been the re-
suit OF accident. A workman coupled
a machine 10 a live circuit BY mis-
take and was greatly astOnished 10 see
IL begin 20 rotate. This reyerslbiilty
OF function was publicly demonstrates
for the FIRST time az the Vienna expo
sltion In 1878.
Not until 1879 was the first electric
railway put In operation. taking the
current from a dynamo, using a mod
ern motor and carrying passengers.
This novelty was In operation AZ the
Berlin exposition and was a mile ana
fwo-thirds. In length. The train con
sisted OF small locomotive and three
ANAL ears. capable Of carrying tWen-
~ people. II reached q speed q eight
NH. - Enur