The sun., 1919-08-10
son Sees Higher Fares as Only Solution ofSeet Car Problem
Inventor Declares There Is No Good Reason Why the
Workingman Should Not Pay Rate Necessary to
Keep Lines Functioning Properly Attributes
Opposition to the Reds

single. permanent homes In rural or
not too greatly crowded communities.
Trolley companies which are not pros
porous won't extend their lines; II
they are prosperous they can do what
they cannot do now; that Is. attract
capital. enabling them to extend to
the limit II they extend to the limit
they will open new territory. attract
ing other capital to the building of
new homes there. The larger and
more numerous communities become
the cheaper. actually. will be trolley
fares. although. Of course. the trolley
fare. like other things. must syn
chronize with the value of the dollar.
Trolley Dia Not Reach Them.
within one mile of my home town
Is a beautiful valley with scarcely
fifty houses in two miles square. Five
thousand lots there are owned by
worlSingmen who acquired them as
far back as twenty years ago. They
never have been able to build on
them because transportation does not
reach them. It Is pathetic.
when they can and when other
workingmen can build elsewhere In
the country conditions will be better.
1t is congestion in the cities which
produces much OF the worlds evil. I'M
rest, Socialism. Look at New York!
Had It not been for automobiles and
motor trucks. taking half the space Of
the old horse drawn vehicles. going
with twice the speed, carrying twice
tho tonnage, enabling great increase
of business and manufacturing. the
streets of New York now would be
impossible.
"The authorities would be wise II
they provided that after January l.
1926, no increase of manufacturing
will be permitted on Manhattan Island
itself. BY that time congestion will
have reached its utmost limit, both as
to pedestrians and vehicles. Possibly
there are already enough bridges and
tunnels so that new manufacturing In
excess Of the islands capacity might
be forced to Long Island and else
where. Many American cities may
have to meet such a problem, finding
means thus for thinning the crowds
| upon the streets and sending the
working people where there is more
space, better living places. forcing mer
| (by trolley toward that Utopia ir
which each man will have home Of
his own. Having done this we shall
have to find the way of building
cheaply and efficiently. We haven't
got 1t now"
Some years ago did you not devise
a means for quickly building oonerets
houses at a moderate cost?"
"Yes; but the scheme died. Perhaps
some other man will work one out.
investigated the housing problem
| pretty thoroughly and made lot OF
| experiments which proved that with
the prices ruling at the time a six
room and a cellar two story house
could be built, by quantity production
| methods. with heater, water pipes and
fixtures and electric wiring for 1890
The planned house was Italian villa
4 style, with red tile overhung ROOT
and many ornamentations.
"I used iron moulds, set up and taker
down by machinery, and poured thu
whole in one operation, which required
four hours The moulds were left II
place FIVE days. The stairs, floors
partitions. mantelpieces and every
thing Of the sort about the house wer'
provided in the iron moulds. After the,
were taken away and the wires
heater, radiators, doors and sashei
were put in the house was ready fol
occupancy.
"As large expenditure for moulds
locomotive cranes, railway track ant
other machinery was required, / hat
to go to the capitalists. They had NJ
vision. The scheme died. as I hav'
said. Since then Lambie. Ingersol
and others have gone into the con
struction of houses of poured concrete
but they pour them In sections. ant
the idea Of quantity production hal
not been carried out as yet.
Concrete is the viousffnaterial TO
workmen's houses. The fact that mos
houses In America are built expen