The Washington times., 1918-01-15
1t Takes $4,000 Pounds of
Pullman Car to Carry 5000
Pounds of Passengers
Bicycle Weighing 20 Pounds Will Carry a 200 Pound
Man. Some Chance for Improvement in the
Passenger Car, and All Rolling Stock.

With Government controlling, and soon to own
railroads. economical management with safety In operation
taking the place of unnecessary weight will be considered
Henry Ford says among other wise words:
First, the Government should own the railroads and
VIII own them-prvate have proved incompetency,
are ready to give the railroads because they haven't the
power the money the ability to manage them. He said
this to the writer just before the roads taken over
Second there is really NOTHING right about the rail
roads except the excellent roadbeds that of them have
Third the railroads have not utilized Onehalf their
capacity
ming.
Fourth railroad equipment weighs great deal more
than ought to do Too much of the load is dead weight
All wise words, from Henry Ford
His advocacy of Government ownership will be accepted
as coming from one who KNOWS what he is discussing
He certainly has shipped considerable stuff rail
roads, and he has done something to solve the transportation
problem of the country for the Individual
AS regards the weight of cars consider the figures
printed above.
You know that bicycle can be built weighing twenty
pounds or even less, and will carry weighing two
hundred pounds.
Pullman sleeping day coach, weighing the
average $4,000 pounds, and carrying the average
thirty passengers weighs twenty times as much as the
load that carries These thirty passengers would weigh
six thousand pounds if all thirty were fat
Think of that the wagon weighing twenty-five times
the load.
Suppose man weighing two hundred pounds had to
have bicycle weighing twenty five times much That
would make bicycle weigh FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS
two hundred pound five thousand pound bicycle
would be something amusing
Six thousand pounds of human load on car weighing
one hundred and thousand pounds is also amusing
Of course not possible to build sleeping any
kind of a railroad along the lines of bicycle.
But it is possible to economize in weight and with safety
It will be DONE aboshing the locomotive entirely with
its heavy tender loaded with coal and water.
An electric third rail overhead wire carrying the
rent that weighs nothing will do away with much weight
Light passenger trains protected by automatic block
signals and brakesetng apparatus will lightly cutting
In two at least the tremendous difference between the weight
Of the load and the weight of the carrier
In thousand ways the old railroad system will be
improved made efficient, economical less expen
sive for those that it.
Under public ownership those in charge of railroads
will think about RAILRoADING about getting business
away from each other.
They will stop finding how much the traffic will bear
stop robng the railroad by inside graft and depicting the
railroads by constant issues of bonds and stocks.
That which inevitable here thanks the
The ground plowed and the public mind ready and
eager for the change
The country will go back to private ownership
private exploitation neciency ncompeency selfshness
disregard of public interest concentration private div
deude