Evening Star Newspaper, October 22, 1892, Page 7

eC a “ y S Dy ly 1): ———— ELetraic an. ———__ MORSE-CaR LINE ee STEAM AR RAPID TRANSIT. European Hints Concerning Practica- bility of Improved Motors. PESTH’S ELECTRIC _— Lessons for America—The Overworked Trol- ley Neither Exsential Nor Desirable for Rapid Transit in Large Cities—Washing- ton as = Model Street Kailway City. CONDUIT. secur UR NATIONAL BOAST IS THAT nothing is impousible to American inventiveness, that what other peoples have failed or neglected to achieve we accomplish speedily and thoroughly. A notable exception to this national self-con- fidence ts found apparently in the great elec- tric companies and many street railway magnates, who declare with one accord in @ concert of self-depreciation that no form of electric railway motor but the trolley can be made commercially praeticable in America, and that the only substitute for the antiquated car horse that American ingenuity can devise, even for our large cities, is thit aggravation of the overhead pole and wire evil. Are wo amusing ourselves with a baseless national conceit when we plume ourselves on our superior inventive- ness? Or are those who announce the national incapacity to devise and work an improvedand Gnobjectionable motor amusing themselves with motives of self-interest at the expense of the public? These questions arose again and again in my mind this summer as I rode in suc- cession over «compressed air railway in Paris, storage battery railway at The Hague, Hol- land, and an underground conduit electric rail- way in Buda-Pesth, Austria-Hungary. A MINT FROM PARIS. ‘The compressed air line at Puris—the city which bas served asa model for Washington in so many respects—runs through the park of Vincennes to Nogent and Ville Evrard. It is in general « suburban line, but traverses also some narrow and well-traveled streets. It is capable of a high rate of speed and the machine seems to be under absolute control. It is prac- except that a slight grinding sound is produced as the car wheels pass curves BUDA-PESTH fm the read. I kn loses of this partic be reasonably p dmilar railway operated for expenses and that the pne able even than pagnie Gener OPES CAR. thing of the profits or line, though it seems to slar and well patronized. but t Nantes, France, has been years cud makes reports of its uings which, if re . she er and more profi stem. ‘The Com- f Paris have, it sed air asa mo- between Paris, The same kind Spon a railway > French com- plied with ite luit like that Pressed air aystem each own motor and there is haracterized the comp are on the 7th © ae in the » CK's st which Af this city. (GESTION The storage battery line at the capital of Hollant rune from the heart of the city to Seber fax and famous sea- side « ful d of steam railwa large and tractive to the ruling and provperity ome example owed punee, Berlin | lee Omnibus of ke thisstep. Storage ly used toa slight extent It seems never to oceur ove Denighted foreigners that in order to P pace with modern etvilization they must md endanger their streets with the THE EXAMPLE SET BY BUDA-PESTH. {n Buda-Pesth,the enterpmsing and progress fve capital of Hungary, [ rode all over the city te tractive cars that are pro- lied smoothly, rapidly and at an easily regu- ted speed by electricity ax the motive power. The Euda-Pesth railway is fon. duit road with an open slotted conduit of con- erote, having iron yokes spaced about four feet THE BUDA-PESTH STREET RAILWAYS. apart, resembling somewhat the conduit con- struction of a cable road. The slot, however, is in a split rail, the conduit lying immediately under one of the running rails, and the feed and return current pass through » pair of conductors attached to either side of the iron yokes. The current is supplied at a constant potential of 300 volts, something over one-bulf as powerful as the trolley current. The rails donot serve ax conductors. The conductors are light angle irons attached to cup-shaped insulators and placed about two-thirds of the depth of the conduit from the bottom in order to keep them from moisture, and the conduit, which is 27.5 inches deep, is fur- nished with catch pits to carry off the drain- age. The conductors ure also entirely pro- tected under the running rails, so that they cannot catch rain or dirt and may not be seen or touched from the slot. CURRENT LEAKAGE IN RAINY, SNOWY WEATHER is one of the bugsboos employed to frighten the public from the use of the underground lelectric conduit. The experience of Buda- Pesth, where tho atmospheric conditions are more trying than in Washington, and where i] BUDA-PESTH CLOSED CAR. the streets are no cleaner and no better drained, shows that practically this e is nota serious affair, if simple devices are adopted for reducing it to'a minimum. Osborne Howes re- ported to the Boston rapid transit commission concerning this point that the electric cars of Buda-Pesth experienced no more trouble with snow and ice in the winter of '90-91 than the | ordinary horwe cara. ‘There was some delay, ly for more than three mon: hour. At night and in some parts of the mbute | densely crowded streets 6.2 miles are the limit, | are which has been in operation for more than accompanying map of Buda-Pesth, and are he says, “but nothing serious, although winter was one of exceptional severity in Hun- rate of speed is eight milesipe while on crossings only &72 miles per hoy allowed. There are four by these three years,with a total length of truck of twelv miles, and the larger port of the lines havi known as the Station Street line, opened July 30, 1889, the Podmaniczky Street line, opened | September 10, 1889, the Grosse-Ringetrasse | line, opened March 6, 1890, and the King Street line, opened last year. Other extensions of the | system are proposed. The Podmaniczky Street line runs from the academy in the heart of | Pesth to the Prinelpal railroad station and the | extensive public park of the city, the Stadt- waldchen. The Grosse-Rit line trav- | like Unter den Linden in Berlin: but Buda- | the Danuve, a pointed reminder to .Washing- Bada and Pesth being the motiye power in one case and the reign of A. K. Shepherd in the other. Both of these besutiful cities are the embodiment and material manifestation of na- tional sentiment and national pride. ‘The tardy but now vigorous co-operation of the Union with the capital's residents in bringing to per- fection the Union's city is a part of current history. So ‘in Buda-Pesth: “The — ministry “and the municipal authorities co-operated and building opera- tions were intrusted to agnixed commis of the national and cy governments, Buda-Pesth, pushed forward by the na- tional pride of 17,000,000 of progressive and ambitious people, has with its haif million of population become the Minneapolis of Europe as a milling center, the Chicago of Europe in wonderful push’ and rapidity of growth, and a new Paris in beauty. Washing- ton’s development is not les# remarkuble, and as it has bebind it the national sentiment and national pride of 65,000,000 Americans, causing it to show forth in miniature the great republic, its aspirations are not limited by the mark of Buda-Pesth’s present or future achievements, or by those recorded of any of the world’s capitals. OTHER HINTS FROM HUNGARY'S CAPITAL, Buda-Pesth has a famous promenade along the Danube, suggesting to Washington what it Jay enjoy when the flats are fully converted fotos park, and a sea-wall along the Potomac as been constructed. Andrassy street, the pride of the Hungarian capital, is a straight street like our avenues and Pesth has also broad. curving, ring streets in course of development like the Parisian boule- vards and the magnificent Viennese Ring- strasse, which we Some day, however, Washington will have a “‘Ringstrasse” or boule- rd traversing the weries of parks between the Capitol and monument and the new-made on the Potomne, following the line of tock creek through Rock Creek Park and crossing to and traversing Soldiers’ Home. This boul vard in interest and attractiveness of surround- ings will compare favorably with any in the world, and will be worthy of the American cap- ital. Buda-Pesth maintains free public baths in | ton. | Albert Shaw says in the Century of the Buda- Pesth street railway t the expiration of existing charters the street railway lines aud their equipment will become the property of the city, without indemnity to the private owners.” On the other side of the water the public takes a lively interest in franchisex ably profitable in Europe and that have proved sneece ‘fri in this country, too, so far ab tested, Until the great electric companies, which are pwhing the trolley, have absorbed the in- verftyre who bave been developing better motors and have obtained control of the rail- ways pon which their experiments have been conducted, after which event the other motors than the trolley have Leen qtickly demonstrated to be failures. In the light of European e: amples the words‘‘commercially impracticable,” | when apptied to pnemmatic storage battery and underground condnit electric systems. ‘mean not that they are unprofitable, but morely that at firetat least they will not enable stock- holders to get rich quite so fast as the trolley. 4 USEFUL BUT NOT A UNIVERSAL MOTOR. Ido not mean to unjustly depreciate the trolley system. Through ite use as a cheap motor many suburban and sparsely settled re- gions and ambitious villages have been built up which could not under the conditions that ex- isted have secured rapid transit in any other way. There is something wonderful and in- spiring in the impetus to Tapid transit given all over the country by the campaign in behalf of the trolley within the last four or five years. ‘Small, growing towns, especially in the west, have employed the overhead electric aystem as a new means both of development and adver- tisement, and even the cities, for use in whose streets it is unsuited, have been awak- ened by the persistent knocking of the trolley advocates at the municipal doors to the neces- sity of finding some substitute for the car horse of adopting the best means of securing rapid transit, whatever that should turn out to be. But the avaricious action of the electric and some street railway corporations in ai tempting to extend the trolley’s application and use far beyond its natural sphere, and in cramming it willy nilly down the throats of some of our large cities, assuring the struggling victims that it is pretty, harmless and pleasant to the urban tafe, has developed a popular an- tipathy to it whi appreciation of its real merits in its appropriate field of operation. The combination bebind the strong: since the amalgam: and Thompson-Houston companies its power is tremendous. Among the Atlantic coast cities Boston has fallen a victim, Philadelphia is struggling in the combination’s clutches, nearly overpowered, Baltimore has been partly captured and New York has been recently threatened. At one time last session the House of Representatives even authorized the intro- duction of the trolley into the heart of Wash- ington, whose smooth streets and partly suc- cessful crusade against existing overhead wires caused it to deserve more considerate and wiser treatment. Washington was saved only by an intelligent public opinion and the firmness of the Senate. THE STRONG FIGHT IN BEMALY OF THE TROLLEY. trolley is very ‘The controversial warfare in behalf of the trolley is waged with much skill and ingenuit: and also at considerable expense,since the new: Papers charge hig publication of such matter as trolley affidavits in the local columns. The trolley argument assumes that the overhead system and rapid transit are identical, that the choice of motive power is between the ancient mule and the trolley, and congratulates those who accept the: latter as enterprising and progressive, and de- nounces those who do not as old fogies. It of course ignores the fact that the trolley makeshift und temporary device, the ginning of practical clectric motors, still valu- able in sparsely settled localities which can afford nothing deter, but as much out of place in our large cities at ‘this motive would be on any of oar great trunk lines, Rapid transit in general is an of progressiveness. But circumstances and conditions determine whether rapid transit by Mey is progressiveness or old fogyism. In amere troll the cross roads village it is the former; in the metropolis it is the latter. The next step of the trolley argument is to pronounce the trolley current harmless, and to submit a volume of affidavits from ‘employes who flad amus- ing,® profitable and healthful recrea- tion in permitting the current to play through their frames, and in swearing to the fact. ‘Those who have the misfortune to be killed by the current. like the man struck by the West End road's lightning in Eoston last winter, and the lineman in Port Huron, Mich., this summer, say never a word. It is probably possible to ‘habituate the human frame to electric shocks, 50 that the force of a current can be endured which would almost certainly kill a novice undergoing his first shock. ‘The fact that one can accustom himself to the use of poison by taking gradually increasing doses and in time swallow with impunity a quantity that would in the beginning have certainly Killed him does not Justify the scattering of arsenic or strychnine “in such fashion as to ex- (eed the public indiscriminately to its effects. ere is no more. justification in exposing the | public to be struck by lightning because some men have been shocked and still live. HOW MANY. VOLTS WILL KILL. It is impossible for anybody to say what is the danger point in the electric current. Wm. Thompson, Dr. C. W. Siemens and other eminent electricians reached the conclusion in a parliamentary investigation in England that a current of 300 volts is the limit of safe trolley current 1s 500 volts. For a considerable time this current, while it killed horses, could not be convicted of destroying human life, and some individuals certai shock with no further injury than a blistering and a general shaking up. In view of these facts many who were anxious only to learn the truth were disposed to believe that the safety limit set by the British electricians might be reasonably increased. But within the last year there have been at least two deaths from the shock of the current of 500 volts or less, and we are all at sea again in our calculations. It is also to be remembered that the wires are not rendered harmless by reducing the tension below the point which means death to the average man. Accidents to persona erses the finest of the great boulevards that Buda-Pesth has of late years been constructing. It is broad street, lined for a considerable rt of its length with imposing buildings. The King Street line parallels, Andrassy street, the sliow street of the city, to Buda-Posth what the Ringstrasse ig to Vienna, Unter den Linden | to Berlin and the boulevards to Paris. During 1891 the number of persons carried on the elec- tric line was nearly double that of 1890 and the receipts were increased proportionately. The | bee of the Buda-Pesth horse railroad, the |competitor of the electric road, for the came | period show for 1891 a slight decrease in the number of passengers carried from the figures of 1890, and the income per mile has also fallen. | The horse railway carried less than half as many passengers and received only 62 per cent as great an income per mile a month. {tis pointed ut in the Engineering News that the Buda- Pesth electric road is remarkably successful among Austrian railways as regards passengers carried and gross income per mile, for even on the almost constantly crowded lines of the | Vienna horse railway the number of passengers er mile and the income are only about three- great. ‘The rapid extension of the m as Well a8 tho well-filled carg and the ex- ut showing of earnings demonstrate THE POPULARITY AND SUCCESS OF THE ROAD. | Various improvements that can easily be made have suggested themseltes as desirable in | perfecting the xystem for American use. The cost | of construction can be cheapened, the slot can be made narrower, the contact frame stronger he pattern of the rails can be improved. it the fact remains that in spite of minor and i died defects this system has proved mumercially practicable and a remarkable upon the leading railway of a city of & million people, the most enterprising. progressive and rapidly developing capital to- day in all Europe. These three Earopean railways to which ref- erence has been made demonstrate that the | trolley is not essential to practical transit either in suburban or special season’ or in the constant and vast labor ‘of transporting the multitude quickly over the principal streets or pwe Bade Ye h interesting to vuda-Peath road is most a Washingtonian because the conditions more closely resemble those that confront this city. ‘There are some STRIKING POINTS OF GIMILARITY between the Hungarian and American capjtals, As Washington has acquired its main develop- ment and adornm nd the Danube river was frozen over eleven miles per hour are permitted. In electric lines in the city, the oldest of : tracks. These lines are marked on the | | | | and sentiments, created or quickened by the | War, so -Pesth bas grown into greatness since the war of 1866 between and Austria, and its development is based upon con- } | EXISTING AND PROPOSED M ECHANICAL MOTOR STREET ich wometimes prevents proper | n of the Edison | bh advertising rates for the | as the first loco- | The | ly received ite’ full | ai elalelal G1ESe0R0 suggestion tendered ie to the effect that if current hed not touched the victim's vital organs they would | eopeeng have remained un- affectod by it. It is also said. conceding that | the troliey current will kill some men, that the “wire ix up in the air and only linemen and not | Passengers aro exposed to it. Bat itis to be re- membered that the main danger from high | potential electric currents is not directly from their wires, which the public. will dread and shan.bat from otherwise harmless wires to which | the deadly current has by some crossing been telegraph wire, harmless in iteelf, but a death Giepenser becaboe in connection’ somewhere with the electric light current. The various cords of the network of overhead wires in large | cities are constantly coming in contact, and | every wire in a city system ie armed potentially with the death current of ite neighbor. ‘All should be buried in underground conduits, and pending this burial no additions to the network should be tolerated. THE PLEA FOR POLES AS STREET DECORATORS. The trolley argument, after demonstrating the harmlessness of the current, gen- erally goes on to reason the public into the belief that whereas other les and wires are street obstructions and isfigurements, the trolley poles and wires are highly ornamental decorations, adding scenic attractions to .the streets favored by their wsthetic presonce. The increased danger from fire and the obstruction to the operations of the firemen supplied by the overhead construction, which increase the insurance rates in some places where the trolley prevails, are genorally ignored in the argument. WHERE UNCLE 8AM 18 VOLNERABLE. The rebuke of the European lessons to America on the subject of municipal rapid transitand improved motors strikes the greed | of our capitalists and not the capacity of our inventors. ‘The truth of the matter is that there are in the United States at the present time pneumatic, storage battery and electric conduit motors that are as good as and in some respects better than there European devices, | But they have been viewed ax not so desirable, | ie., not #0 cheup as the trolley, end, speaking enerally, they have on this side of ‘the water en merely experimented with in a half-hearted way rather than adopted and practically used. Iti only necessary that our electric and atreet railway companies shall cease to suppress American inventiveness in the interest of the trolley and give our inventors the opportunity and encouragement to perfect the better motors. | The European capitals suggest to the large cities of America that if they will firmly resist the attempt to foist upon them an objection- able motor the capitalists will discover | promptly that they ean afford to supply. the | best forms of rapid transit motor that the | world can furnish, TON GIVES AS WELL AS TAKES A HINT. shington, where the law forbids the erection of any more overhead wires within the city limits, and where public opinion bas decreed and is working the extinction of the car horse, the development of the street rail- ‘Ways in respect to motive power is most inter- esting. The capital's leading line, the Washing- ton and Georgetown railroad, has adopted the | \ PARIS PNEUMATIC CAR, cable system and has 10.26 miles of double and -55 miles of win this construction of the tinest modern type. The next road in im- portance, the Sietropolitan line, has selected the storage battery and has spent much time and money in perfecting this system. The change from horses to a mechanical motor must be made upon this line before July 22, 1893, When in practical operation with its 8.36 miles of double and 235 of single track this will be ‘the = most_—_ extensive and most notable storage battery system in the | world. The rond clanns for its inventions | wonderful improvements in the lightness of | batteries and cars, the weight being reduced almost — one-half; in length of life of the batteries, they being as nearly as | possible indestructible; in improved mechanical appliances for quickly changing the batteries, | and in cheapness of operation, It thinks that | it hae obviated the ditticulties which heretofore have been permitted to prevent the extensive practical use of this motor. An extremely suc- | cessful storage battery system of an improved tern is also said to be in operation between | Melford and Hopedale in Massachusetts, Warh- | ington has an actual as well as a proposed stor~ | age battery line, as the G street extension of the Eckington suburban road into the heart of the city, 1.17 miles in length, uses to the general pn of the public this system. The | storage battery and the pneumatic motor have he advantage over the cable underground electric conduit, sup- ply each car with individual motive power, and it is not porsible through an accident toa cable or toa tingle source of power supply to bring the whole system toa standstill. The perfected. and cheapened storage battery promises to be the jideal motor. The Belt line, the third of the jlocal ‘strect railways, with 6.60 miles of double track and 1.13 miles of single track, Proposes to adopt soon an ‘improved motive | power, and has been looking over compressed \ air and carbonic gas motors, Chicago, Toledo .and some other American cities have, it is said, experimented successfully on a small scale mae OS0LI0U iia. a0 CABOOUSi 210m IDO S| Psat IO | 36 00 ag RAILWAYS OF WASHINGTON. which involve the pri of occupying ana | Using public streets, a grip is retained in the public interest upon all such franchises, strin- ent conditions are imposed for the protection people against danger and ins' sition, an the ‘object in ating these franchises is the convenient and rapid transportation of the public, with only reason- able profits to the semi-public servants who undertake this task. On this side of the water too often the corporation which deigns to transport the public treats the streets of which Eratultons tao has been granted it as ite own exclusive private property. Paying nothing forthe tne ofthe trot, i often appears in court as evading taxation u; vt it owns, and entirely uncontrolled. by the pub- lic wishes or welfare as to motive power and cquipment it makes its own en- nichment the primary “commercially impract any imp: meat merely for the benefit of the public, which tommy ly or permanently may reduce its SQUEEZING THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR. Cheapness is the great virtue of the trolley ‘and in the eyes of the street railways that vir- ditions which arose from this —. A special impetus was given to the of both ‘about 1873, he | capitals 1 spect to superior motors that are tue ia of covering @ multitude of sins. The the Sei “Sore cant and experiments in New York upon doce | show a wide variation in individual powers of resistance to electricity. Some endure shocks which would ordiaarily be expected to prove fatal, while others suecumb toa much feebler shock, the result depending upon the physical condition of the victim and other apecial cir- cumstances, One is not encouraged to expose himselr tobe struck by lightning by the re- flection that some persons have recovered from. oF by the suggestion that the artificial current which threatens him is a few volts below the number which will certainly kill him, and that if his physical condition is all right he may possibly pall through with his KILLED BY THE TROLLEY. Elgptric Railway Company,re- . with the pneumatic motor for street rail- way purposes, be used the road. But both the became impatient at the the motive power of this road, Congres & trolley is now to be pon an ing greatly extended and double Saket In ite, burbes therefore, the capital tolerating and even preferring the Washington's objection to the trolley for urbaa aa and 5 ELECTRIC CONDUITS IN WASHINGTON. ee ofthe Rock Creek trolley being barred by law, will use an of construction ‘othe Tt was expected that such | communicated. The most effective electric ex- | ecutioner of the age hae been the hanging | ‘ run. There is also a ot towo manage affairs that the moter shali appear the better and that the more ex- peusive ‘shell be made a failure. Alleghany City bad such’a line with three miles of troliey and one of underground conduit, which Dis- trict Commimioner Raymond ted tn 1888 20 bein snocesefal operation wud which Capt. Grifin, thes of the District engineer de- igen elaborately described ——— Teport, saying that it wax operated with won- Aertul’ success in two inches af snow in the winter of 1887-'88 The combination of over- head construction for the euburbs, with an un- dlerground conduit for city use, is, however, Sood in theory and thers seems to be no reason Whs it should not work admirably in practice. Before Julr 1, 1893, the Eckington road must | change the motive of the mile of its line lying within the city limits. that is at present a by the trolley, to some form which not require the overhead construction. It will select either the «: battery, which it uses on its nt G street extension, or it will operate with an underground electric conduit over nil that part of ite line which lies within the city, including an East Washington exten- ion authorized by law but not yet constructed, and including the section over which the stor- age battery cars now run. The Columbia rail- Way, with 281 miles of double track, isalso soon to adopt a mechanical motor, with either the stor- age battery or an underground electricconduit. Tis choice will probably ‘be determined by the degree of success of the Metropolitan storage battery when in practical operation. un- derground electric roads. are” expensive, whether in Buda Pesth, Chicago, Alleghany City or Washington, being exceeded in firet coat only by the cable, and the local roads with smaller incomes’ than the leading lines enjoy, anxious to secure mechanical motors that will be well within their means, have studied to cheapen the cost of this kind of construction. A plan has been submitted to the Columbia, for instance, of using one con- duit between its lines of double track to accommodate both sete of tracks, thus making one conduit do the work of the two that are supplied | to double tracks ordinarily. The Washington and Arling- ton road, which has in operation three miles of its line from the end of the Aqueduct bridge to Arlington, using the trolley, is preparing this section ‘and will ready to operate with an underground electric conduit of new pattern, which Iso to be used upon the portion of this line within the city of Washington when it is constructed. In this electric conduit system there is no continu- ous conductor of exposed wire as in other sys- tems. The working current is carried in an in- sulated cable and fed automatically to succes- short sections of the road as the car passes er each section. ‘The loss of current by leak- age from miles of exposed wire is by this de- vice avoided and the leakage reduced to a mini- mum. It appears that all the various forms of im- proved motor, including that which bestows & unique distinction upon Buda-Pesth, are now beimg or are soon to be thoroughly, practically and extensively used in Washi ton. The capiti is already notable as the only city in the world in which the im- proved grooved rail has entirely superseded the Projecting, wheel-wrenching T rail. Wash- ington has within the last twenty rears de- veloped in many features of beauty, progress- iveness and good government into the model American city, which the people of the re- public visit not only with pleasure and grat- ified pride, but also with substantial profit in hints derived concerning modern municipal development which may be utilized at hom It is well within the bounds of probability that Washington, combining in its municipal policy the push and progress of the new with the idity and safety of the old world, will in the near future become in the matter of local rapid transit the model city, not only of America, but of the world, to which students from all parts of the globe will resort for sug- gestions concerning the Intest and best forms of street railway motor. ‘Turovone W. Noves. —_ ECIES OF SUFFERING. The Destitute of London Have Prospects of a Terrible Winter. London Cable to the New York Sun The great Death has been devastating the continent without merey this summer, but England must prepare for the coming of a spectre only less terrible. A great Hunger will soon invade Britain. The signs of his coming are everywhere. ‘Those whose business it is to aid others in fighting him say that be has already gained a foothold in London. They explain that not for many years until now has there been genuine distress in the metropolis due to great commercial and economic causes. Poor and destitute there always are in large numbers, but their sufferings for a long time have been due to individual and special causes. Thousands of skilled workmen, in almost all trades, are now idle, through no fault of their own. The evil has grown gradually, Atton- tion has not been called to it by the sudden dis- charge of great bodies of men. Working forces have been cut down gradually and the process is still gomg on. The docks are half deserted. The textile clothing and printing trades are dull almost beyond precedent. A larger pro- portion of men are idle in the shipbuilding, en- Sineering. and related trades than for many years, The situation bas been growing worse for fifteen months, but in September things took a much shai downward turn. The labor bureau of the board of trade makes a gloomy report of the situation. The chari- table agencies have for some time been sound- ing the alarm. Of the twenty-two chief trades unions in London only two, in answer to in- quiries, report trade as good.’ Nine consider it moderate and eleven having the greatest mem- bership report it bad. That the hunger point has already been reached is indicated by such incidents as this I took n cab with luggage on top the other day from Holborn to Bayswater. Two men fol- lowed the vehicle on foot almost the whole dis- tance, three miles, in the hope of earning a few pence by unloading the baggage. They ran 4 brisk trot alongside and reached the dest nation so much exhausted that they were un- able at first to carry the trunks into the house. ‘Their weakness wasso extreme and the pallor of their faces so unnatural after violent exer- cise that I questioned them. Both said they had families and that they had not tasted food that da; I believe ‘they told the truth. The incident of following a: cab was not singu- lar. The army of unemployed is so forge ad no cab bearing drives through the streets of London without being followed by some poor fellow seeking a few coins for food or, perhaps, drink, It is apparent already that existing relief ma- chinery will not be adequate for the emergency of the coming winter. The coroners have investigated several cases of actual death by starvation in the last mouth. Distress is sure tobe acute and widespread, and there will be many pitiful tales to make Christ- mas a holiday more of sorrow than of gladness. The cause of it all is commercial rather than ‘Gnancial depression. There is considerable im- provement visible in financial affaira, “Capital becoming more confident and ventyresome, and the strictly financial market is distinctly in better condition than a few months ago, but the commercial outlook is not encouraging. There is reason to fear that things will con- tinue to go from bad to worse. Furthermore, the crop now being harvested is, on the whole, the poorest for half a century. Oddities of the British Post Office. From the London Daily News. The severer duties of the post office are lightened from time to time by sundry “curious incidents,” of which a few are recorded in the annual report. In the present instance we are told of a letter found at Dumbarton addressed to“The manager of the public house with Walker's sign” at Walverhampton. Some odd the missive reached the person for whom intended. ‘AR: WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY# OCTOBER 22, 1892-SIXTEEN PAGES. ‘ ? ame A MUT How an Admiral of the Navy Cut Short a Dangerous Rising. THE OCEAN QUEEN SAVED.! Admiral Ammen’s Story of a Matiny Which Putin Jcopardy the Lives of » Thousand Passengers — The Mutincers Demanded Whisky, but Received Bullete—Nervy Con- | duct of the Officers of the Ship. | p HERE Is AN AD- miral of the navy now living near Washington whose nerve and cision once saved a ship and a thousand passengers from the horrors of a bloody mutiny. To do it he Was compelled to shoot & mutineer dead with his own hand, and then walk boldly into the midet of the matinous crew and unaided and alone place five of them im ions, The nervy officer whp thus put down the mutiny which threatened the whole ship is Admiral Daniel Ammen, who was at that time a captain in the U.S. navy It is a thrilling story and can best be told in Admiral Ammen’s own words, the words which he used before the court-martial that tried and acquitted him. “I was ordered by the Navy Department,” said the admiral, “to take passage on the Ocean Queen on Friday, May 18, 1864, to receive on board that vessel and take charge of a deaft of 220 men, intended for the Pacific squadron, to accompany them to Panoma, and, after deli: ing them to the senior ofiicer present at that Point, to return to New York. Boatewain Thomas G. Bell of the navy was ordered to a: sist me. No marine guard or other assistents were assigned. The draft came from Philadel- phia, and (although it was not in evi dence) was principally composed of men who ‘had been transferred from the army a short time before. The Ocean Queen left the wharf at New York at about 1 o'clock p. m. ‘he had on boardabout one thousand and forty passengers, excluding the draft: about third were women and children. It had been arranged that the draft should be received on board after the steamer had left the wharf, and it was so done. “It is proper here to explain that on board that steamer the steerage and cabin passengers are divided from each other by means on the starboard side of a fixed bulktead and on ti port «ide by a lattice, in which there is a gat way; and by the rales of the vessel all stee < passengers are forbidden t@ come abaft these bulkheads. The men composing thedraft were steerage passengers. Owing to the crowded state of the steerage thevtarboard side of the spar deck, under the hurricane deck, was ap- propriated exclusively to the men under my charge. Although crowded, I rhould have much preferred at that season of the year and for that voyage, living und sleeping there, to ceu- pying a berth in the stecrage. THEY WANTED WIUISKY. “About midnight that night I was called and told that my people wished to seo me. Tut once dressed and went on deck, where T was met by four men, two of whom I rer John ‘Kelley and Alfred Bussell, deceared ), who told me ble, had no place to sleep, and therefore had to wander about the decks: they fiually said that whisky would make {tall right. { replied that I knew that they were uncomfortable; that ina day or two we would be ina pleasant lotitude, and that in the meanwhile f would see what could be done to make them less uncomforta- ble, but that whisky was quite out of the quis tion, as it would make all wrong. ~The: ut any manifestation of dis- m «the they were uncomfor uy left wit appointment or anger, perhaps itnpressed with ¢ idea that the interost I had expressed was the result of intimidation and not of the dis- ition Ihave to care for the comfort and Well being of those under my command. and which I regard as a not unimportant part of the duty of ali officers under whom men are placed. “The following morning (Saturday) all the draft that I asked expressed themselves isfied with their breakfast, although I found ou inquiry that no vegetables had formed a part of it. “Isoon made a request to Capt. Tiukle- paugh on this subject, which he at once agreed to. “In the afternoon at dinner there was dis- satirfaction, at least on the part of twelve or fif- teen, who threw overboard # wumber of pots and pans containing food. and beat and abused the servants of the ship until they refused to do duty. Chief among these twelve or fifteen were 1 of prevent the better disposed men from getting anything to ent and thus to make the dissatis faction more general. “Tat once detailed a number of the blacks belonging to the dratt to reset and replenish the tables, and thus prevented the well disposed from suffering. The captain of the vessel not without cause, seriously concerned on a count of this mutinous conduct and the very menacing and disrespectful expressions of m; men, and told me he felt much disposed to. put into Hampton Roads and put on shore at least twelve or fifteen, if not all,of the draft. While Thad to admit that the conduct and language of some of them were very mutinous and. di respectful, I told him I hoped he would not do this; that the delay would be great, and that I felt satisfied we could control the men, “The following morning (Sunday, 15th) the men appeared to be entirely sober, the supply of liquor obtained through the steerage pas- sengers having probably given out. Their breakfast cousisted of hard bread, boiled salt beef of good quality, tea or coffee and hominy and molasses. I was in the act of i specting their breakfast when I was asked to do so by Alfred Bussell, seamen (the deceased), in the most disrespectfal terms and manner. ‘After my inspection I became con- vineed that the object of the mon wgs a difi- culty irrespective of any treatment$ which it was in my power to have bestowed DETERMINED TO MUTINY. “Soon after breakfast I heard John Kelley and Alfred Bussell in conversation with Boat- swain Bell, my assistant in charge of the draft. ‘They declared that they had eaten nothing since they had been on board, and that if their dinner was not such as they wished they cer- tainly would goaft in the cabin and get what they desired. Kelley said be had once aided on board of a vessel of war to knock down a sentry over a spirit room, and that they intended to do as well on board of the Ocean Queen; that he knew there 2ras liquor on board and be in- tended to have it. “The conversation, though addressed to Mr. Bell, was loud enough and evidently intended for my ear. I replied that I hoped their dinner would be all they could ask, that I had spoken tothe captain on the subject, but that their proposition to go aft and help themselves was quite out of the question, and if there was an attempt of that kind they would certainly be shot. They contemptuously replied that the were quite accustomed to being under fire and felt no alarm whatever and Kelly said that they regarded me as a very well-disposed ; that he felt satisfied I would do any- Ting in my power for their oomlort, and therefore I had not been harmed. The conver- sation and manner of the men convinced me that they were bent on making serious trouble; it conveyed to me deep meaning, and revealed, or, rather, confirmed, my belief in the exist- ence of a'plot and purpose, too apparent to be doubted, save bya person without suflicient nerve to meet the crisis when it came. “T did not reply to the last remark. 80 insult i to my and to the obiigations which jong to the service, but I felt that by this total forgetfulness of their obligations existence of the many passengers on board was VY QUELLED. find Cape Teekiepsenh boon, lowe de- | ember as | Kelley and Bussell. The object was probably to | 3 the result might have been. tons were made to meet inner time about 2 p, m:-—came, the hurricane deck forward, overlooking hand, from the manner of the people died ‘together with the draft, could not have failed to overbear somewhat the plans and ¢: Pressed intentions of my men, “When the dinner of the men was the boat instructed se to d: | Contents to look a consisted of very good potatoes, hard bread of | tea or coffee. | prononnced the | “Perfectly #0.’ ‘Their words had nothing to complain of, and that ail their Aivsatisfaction hind been bats, pretext for e evil conduct intended and which they now pre ceeded to try to accomplish. THE ORDER To FIRE, “These men now procerded to the port sang way for the purpose of forcing the gateway. On attacking the man placed to guard the gate abafi, where steerage passengers are for | bidden togo, they found Capt, Tinklepaugh near at bond, supported by Chief Enginter | Phelps, Dr. Gibbs of the vessel, Dr. Woodward, & passenger, Mr. Bell, boatewain, and ‘some others who ehad been made aware of the position of affairs, I was sent for by Capt. Tinklepaugh, and pane ing over the hurricane deck Parrvwed tu time to see John Kelly, who was probably six feet three inches in height and strongly batiotrng- sling with Capt. Tinklepaugh. Alfred Bu was also straggling with Enginter Phelps, A third man who first tried to prevent an im- pattack, secing that tt could not be done, 4 ferociously with the others. On erriv- ing Isaw that the authority of the vessel, as well ax my own, in the person of Mr. Bell, was ently lv saulted. Here was the mutiny and id the duty that the law imposed upon me, | Tdid not hesitate to give the order to fire pom, the mutineers. . “Immediately upon reiterals fired a revolver twice at John Kelly. On the instant halfa doren shots were fired br the her persons named ax present. The imnme- diate death of Alfred Bussell and John Kelly the result. the orderT the men under my aword to say to them, dL xtated ‘that an ate had been met by force and two or three of their number had been killed, Which was perhaps more a matter of ot to me than to any of them; that Thad to thank all but a small number of them for their excellent conduct, the more grati- fring because it showed that they felt that they owed a daty if country and their flag. | Three loud a ntancous cheers erected me, apparently very man comporing the The men were now directed te goto They obeyed without excitement or wervice i “I bad previously requested Capt. Tinkle- for burial. and sent some of their stoipmawen 00 asnit, the prayers of the bur: committed to the deep. After 4 any aid or support, I went among the \ tion and ordered five of them upon the hur- ricane deck, stating that I wisbed to have them aid he would not obey my order, but changed his mind when I told him that ironed and kept | two day It happened that Justice Field of the United States Supreme Court was a passenger aboard the sworn statemcut of all the officers and others on board who were coguizant of the the Ocean Queen a court-martial, which was and said that be had discharg uty as am officer of the pangh to have the dead cently Ini oat were ‘eaid over them when the jmen who had shown a mutinous dispod- put in irons. Four made no reply: the fth instantly or I would # | the vovage. the ship, and at Capt. Ammen’s request took facts. Capt. Ammen returned to New York tried at Brooklyn. The court acquitted him Pression of a muti | Wages and the Cost try 100 Years Ago. NHE DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE is about to publish an interesting report, comparing the cost of living early in this con- tury with what it is now, It exhibits ‘vividly the contrat between the poverty of primitive agriculture and the progress in civilization and wealth resulting from high development of all the possibilities of land and labor in rural and industrial arts and industries, The «mall wages paid in those days are as surprising as the low prices of commodities of all sorts. Game was abundant early in the century an therefore cheap. Venison cost only 34 cen pound, Bear meat was very slightly higher, Pigeons were in extraordinary abundance, sell- ing at alittle more thana cent a piece, Elderly readers will remember the flights of flocks of pigeons which darkened the skies even as late as fifty years ago. Shad were very cheap, costing only 4 centseach. Owing to the plenti- ful eupply of gume tanned skins were low | price. A deerskin fetched about $1.17, whi in was Worth from $1 to €2. . Milk sold for 2 centea quart, butter for 13 cents pound. Apples were from I2ly to 25 ushel. but Farm wages were only about what they are cents a day. . by 1823 they had reached 50 ccnta, one-third of pow, ranging from 33 cents to ‘rom $4 to ¢5 a month was the “grown lads, One ars ago the remuncration of @ boy | for doing “ch such as cutting wood and toddering horses, f ear, Was ordinetily | 85. The use of a pair of oxen for a day cost 25 nts, while the use of a cow for one year cost | $3. Itcost 60 cents to makes pair of shoes, The price of a pair of moccasins was 27 ceata Board was ouly $1. week. as the day of individusl and isolated the era of aggregation in fac~ | torice, classification and division of labor and invention of labor-saving processes and appli- ances. Pric nets fluctasted greatly. according to local #c » Which cou | not be mitigated by distribution from region | of ple: If there were big crops they cvuld not be soid; if nothing to sell. E I failures there was almost ery locality, in its indust-ies | and products, existed for and’bs itself, having | no relation with other communities; theretore j the surplus production of cach farm wus sw the inducement to produce being wanting, an there wat very little money to. purchase an} thing more than the bare necessaries, The in- dustrious family had an abundance of every= thing it could grow. such clothing as the loom of the household could produce, euch furniture as could be mad the place or in the meiggh- borbood, and little else. The ietor (hard of hearing, but sharp)— “Til have to raise that young man's salary, be ‘throws his whole soul inte the business when he the turned to many of the posed. the draft and told them that if there should be violence on board the vessel I hoped all the well~disposed would ab- vent themselves from the scene, and that none should unless they wished to be par! ; that they would commanicate whut I Just said to the other men, as I would re- very much if any of them should be killed accident. tries to make a sale.