The Washington times., 1909-05-30
Capital Said TO Have More
in Proportion to
Population.
GOOD LINES
ARE OFFERED HERE
Agencies Fattening on Advantages
Found in Miles of
Asphalt.

| Every one of the dealers in electric
autos in washington agrees that the
| interest in this vehicle Is incres sing.
Washington. with its wide, smooth
paved streets, and fine park roads. is
an ideal field for the electric. and it
is probable there are more of this type
OF automobile in use here in proportion
to the population than in any other
city in the country.
II is estimated there are at least 800
electrics used daily in the Capital.
There is nothing more pleasing than
little opiano box" type Of eletcric run
about. picking its way through busy
streets or on the park roads with a
lady at the lever. These little cars are
easy to manage; they obtain speed
Of from Il TO Is miles an hour. and they
rarely ever get out of order If the bat
teries are managed with fair skin They
can be handled by almost any one al
all and, in connection with other auto
mobiles In a well-equipped private gar
age, they are extremely useful OF
course there are other types OF cleo
tries besides the runabout, as for in
stance broughams, victorias. and Ian
daulets. These types can be obtained
with the most luxurious fittings and are
veritable palaces on wheels.
EIectrics Increasing.
A well-known authority. commenting
on the reliability OF electric vehicles,
has said:
There is no other zone Of automobile
activity which has received the atten-
ton and passed through the commercial
phases as the electric vehicle. The
earlier examples of pleasure vehicles
were all Of the electric genera. and
while there were many vicissitudes 10
be taken into account. the fact remains.
the cars Of this cass held their own and
gained in numbers in the course Of time.
The many vicissitudes attending the
growth OF the electric vehicle industry
were centered around the batteries and
tires. The tires became involved be-
cause the wheels were not of sufficiut
diameter, IN view OF the fact that the
batteries in earlier types were very
heavy, indeed In some of the very
early attempts at building electric We
hicles the batteries weighed as much as
two tons; two gross tons, let il be IN
deTstood. Il is no wonder that the tire
problem fioatcd to the top. there to
remain until the battery situation was
resolved TO something Ike a practica Die
level From the two-ton battery OF a
few years ago, TO the batteries as they
obtain IL pleasure vehicles at the pres
ent time, Is a difference IN weight 50
enormous as 10 have the ring OF a fish
story, hence useless 20 relate"
The Columbia electric, represented
here by the Dupont Garage Company,
enjoys the distinction Of being one Of
the Oldest and most popular electrics on
the market Many Of the most pronf-
nent people n Washington drive Colurn-
bia electrics, and this make OF car is IN
greater demand than ever before Sew
eral vital changes IN the construction
OF the Columbia victorta-phaetOn ap-
pear IN the 1903 model. although IN ap-
pearaDce II bears a close resem bIance to
this type Of carriage as built by the
makers since 1906 An emergency brake
is now provided which acts upon
dr;lm attached 10 the countershaft OF
the motor. The motor contains the
latest developments determined upon
by the General Electric Company, and
transmits its drive through a Steel hell
cal gear to q c0unteTshaft and thence
by sprocket and chain from the coun-
tershaft to the rear axle.
Tie Detroit is another popular cleo
tric handled by the Dupont Garage
Company AS showing what the Detroit
can accomplish, il is interesting 10 note
that one OF these cars ran 1850 miles
from Detroit TO Atlantic City, carrying
two passengers and $50 pounds OF bag
gage. It made the trip without chang
ing batteries and without being assisted
in any way. In many places the roads
were almost impossible. In the 1909
models the horsepower of the motor has
been increased about 30 per cent and
one more speed has been added to the
control. making five in all.
4
The Cook and Stoddard Company is
having great success with the Baker
line Of electric vehicles. When II was
exhibited at the New York automobile
show last January, the Baker line at
tracted much attention, and sales have
been far beyond the fondest hopes Of
the makers The Baker characteristics
are too wei known 10 need any elab-
Grafton on them.
one Of the greatest scoops ever
pulled of IN Washington was the Sc
curing Of the order by the Cook & Stod-
dard Company for a Baker Queen Vic
Ioria for Mrs. Taft. Mrs Taft's car Is
the most elegantly appointed ever built
by the Baker Company. II IS equipped
with EXide batteries. handsomely up
holstered in blue bTOadcloth; the coat
Of arms of the United States is enl-
interior Is noteworthy for its daintiness
and refinement. That this decision of
Mrs. Taft 10 drive her own machine
has set a mark in the National Capital
is shown by the fact that since this
was first known the Baker agents have
had two requests for similar cars. one
from the wife OF an ambassador and
one from the wife Of a Cabinet officer.
The popular Woods electric Is han
died here by H Cornell Wilson & Bro,