Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-02

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ever taken place in the trans
portation world than has re-
Gently been taking place in the more
populous sections of the United tSates.
1nterurban transportation is distinctly
twentieth century development. The
electric railroad has wrought wonders.
1t has brought remote communities
into close touch. 1t has made the
city man and his country cousin close
noighbors. 1t has gradually en-
croached upon the domain of steam,
until today 1t threatens to drive that
sort of power out of the transporta-
ton field. The most ambitious step
electricity has taken is its last one.
This is the building of the new WASH
ington- Baltimore electric line, which
is to be opened shortly. 1t proposes
urban passenger traffic that an cleo
trio railroad has ever undertaken.
Usually interurban electric lines have
not given so much attention to speed,
contenting themselves with giving
lower fares and relying on that to
make up any loss of traffic that might
result from slower schedules. But the
Washington BALTIMORE line proposes
to give as fast schedule and then
add the lower rate.
The competition the line will have
to meet is strong. No two cities are
connected by q better steam car serv-
ice than that which connects the City
of Magnificent Distances with the
Monumental City. There are 123 pas
senger trains day, ranging from the
splendid Congressional Limited and
the famous Royal Blue, making the
trip in forty-five minutes, to the ac-
commodations that make the run in
ninety minutes. The service is every
thing that one could hope for on a
steam road, but the Washington Bal
timore line is to have schedule OF
one hour from the shopping center OF
Baltimore to the outskirts of WASH
ington. Thus 1t competes with the
steam lines In speed. and, selling one
way ticket for rs cents and round
trip for $125, where the railroads
charge 81 each way, 1t gets the ad-
vantage in rates
The five hundred-mile city-but late
ly a vision and a dream-is soon to be
realized. Already one may ride by
interurban electric cars from Portland,
Me-. to New York. There are but a
few small gaps to fill in until he may
make his trip on from New York to
Washington. With the building of the
lines now projected one will be able to
start at Portland, go to Boston and
thence by easy stages all the way
through to Lincoln, Neb. One may
now 60 from Louisville to Indianapolis
and from there to Cleveland. Detroit,
Cleveland and Cincinnati are also con-
nected. But little remains to be done
until ST. Louis and Chicago will be on
the same trolley line. The whole CEN
trail west is fact becoming network
of electric railroads. Most of them are
new roads, though some are small
4. &tAl. Iox IL
fed, and thereby changed from dead
investment into living enterprise.
Perhaps the best idea of what an ex-
tensive interurban service means to a
city may be CLEANED from figures of
interurban traffic at Indianapolis. This
city is perhaps the leading interurban
center of the United States. 1t has
lines running toward every point or the
compass. In 1906 there were 87,7SO
round trips made by the cars entering
the city. They carried approximately
2, 500, 900 round trip passengers. This Is
an increase of a quarter of million
over the previous year. The extent to
which interurban service is patronized
in the various states is startling.
Massachusetts, reports that Its lines
carried nearly 700,000,000 passengers In
1907, as compared with less than 4OO.-
O0O. 900 in 1900. Connecticut electric
lines carried 127,O00,000 passengers in
1907, as compared with 76,000,000 carried
by the steam roads. Illinois carried
1873, 900, 900 passengers on her interurban
lines in 1905.
Another remarkable thing about the
electric railroad is the freedom from
accidents, as compared with the steam
roads In 1906 the Illinois electric roads
killed one passenger for every 26,235, S54
passengers carried, while the steam
roads killed one out of every 1,659,31
carried. One passenger on the electric
roads was injured out of 100000 car
ried; on the steam roads the percentage
was one out of every $4,000.
Many of the interurban lines operate
luxurious cars on some of their trains,
and in the central west so important
and far reaching has the electric rail-
road become that q palace car COM
pany modelled after the Pullman COM
pany has been organized and Is now
furnishing cars to many lines. Trolley
sleepers are now being operated on
many lines in the central west, the one
from East st. Louis to Decatur. via
Springfield, being a notable instance.
Out of Indianapolis there are many
trolley sleepers run, and buffet and
parlor cars are carried on their flyers"
and 'limiteds." Drummers find the in-
terurban an unending delight in the
promotion of business. Baggage cars
are run on many of the trains, and
towns now where he made one travelling
by the steam roads.
Private cars have been built for sew
eral roads, and these may be rented at
$25 a day. These cars consist of a