limit to the road resistance that a gasoline vehicle can overcome except the adhesive power of the tires. If this gear is so figured as to give the vehicle sufficient tractive effort to overcome the worst hills or sand to be met with in practice, then it can successfully negotiate the most unfavorable road conditions and do so indefinitely. The highest gear should be so chosen that full advantage may be taken of level stretches or slight inclines, and the intermediate speed or speeds so proportioned as to take care of all hills or sand stretches usually met with. The low gear should, I believe, be just capable of sliding the driving wheels on good footing with the front wheels blocked.

Makers have been charged with the mistake of not furnishing intermediate gears, and of thus being tempted to make their low gears too high, so as not to make the vehicle too slow on moderate grades where the high speed just fails to carry. Certain builders of low powered runabouts in the Middle West have shown great wisdom in making the lowest of their two speeds exceedingly low, as they have thus earned the very just reputation for their vehicles of being able to travel anywhere.

In the opinion of the writer, at least three speeds are most desirable, and this requirement is realized with very little increased complication where a sliding gear transmission is employed and without an excessive increase in parts where the separate clutch system is adopted.

The fact that modern gasoline touring cars are equipped with a "first" or low gear practically fulfilling the above specification, and the further fact that their motive power is capable of maintaining its full output indefinitely, when desired, without attention, have led to their present practical monopoly of the touring field. If a gasoline car will climb a few hundred feet of a certain per cent grade on a certain gear it will do so until its gasoline tank is empty. There is no anxiety about the water supply and the operator has only to wait until the grade decreases, when he can immediately "pick up" a higher gear and take full advantage of its greater traveling capacity.

There is something truly impressive in the dogged persistency and "stick-to-itiveness" of the gasoline motor, as it cheerfully delivers its full power continuously until its tank runs low. It will "lie down" instantly if you demand any more power, but up to its limit it is tireless. The steam engine is no "quitter," but quite the reverse. Its ambition is likely to exceed the powers of its sourcethe boiler-and when slowed down for long periods under extremely heavy duty it is too often unable to pump the water which it voraciously demands.

Chambers, T. G. "The Future of the Electric Automobile," The Horseless Age, 15 (April 12, 1905), 433-435

This review of the electric automobile concludes that the electric car will be used in the city, the gasoline car in the country. He sees the city delivery van, the ambulance, and the "single horse brougham" all being powered by electricity.

THE FUTURE OF THE ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILE

BY T. G. CHAMBERS

PAST AND PRESENT

The electric vehicle holds a peculiar, and, in some minds, a not altogether satisfactory place in the automobile family. It is rather in the position of the clever boy, who, in spite of great early promise, has signally failed, on reaching maturity, to realize the hopes of his parents.

It is true that this disappointment is partly due to the fact that too much was expected of it, but it is also largely owing to the injudicious attempts on the part of its advocates to force the utilization of its services in fields for which it was clearly never intended by nature.

The elasticity of the electric motor and its ease of control, together with silence and absence of smell and vibration, made the electric carriage very attractive

at an early date. The inherent disadvantages of the deadload of accumulators and the necessary limit to the available supply of power which could be carried, were not so apparent in the days when automobiles of all descriptions were of comparatively slow speed, and when a day's journey of 100 miles without a hitch was a rare occurrence.

Experiments with carriages propelled by the power available from primary cells carried in the vehicle date from 1832, but it was not until the year 1881 that a carriage was designed to carry secondary batteries. In that year electric tricycles were constructed both in London and Paris, and the modern electric car has been developed during the twenty-five years that have elapsed since that date. The progress between 1881 and 1886 was not very notable. The first electric hackney cab appears to have been built in this country in 1886. It weighed 14 tons, and ran at a speed of 8 miles an hour.

To no country in particular can the credit of progress be assigned. In England, France and the United States we find improvements of a similar nature appearing at the same dates. The period was purely one of experiment.

In 1895 we have the first evidence of a mistaken policy on the part of electric carriage constructors. Instead of developing the vehicle upon its own independent lines, as a purely town carriage with a limited range, they strove to emulate the petrol car, and to compete with it in speed and long distance contests.

In this year a vehicle was entered in the Paris-Bordeaux race. This carriage weighed 3 tons, and carried a battery consisting of thirty-eight Fulmen cells of an aggregate capacity of 300 ampere hours. Relays of batteries were arranged at Chatelleraut and Bordeaux, necessitating six railway wagons for their transport. The carriage carried six persons. It covered the first half of the race after encountering various accidents, and finally accomplished a distance of 370 miles in 100 hours.

Many other examples of futile effort might be given to indicate the mistaken efforts which had an adverse influence on electromobilism from the commercial point of view. We have such in the construction, both in Paris and the United States, of gigantic cigar shaped vehicles carrying huge loads of accumulators which were driven over measured distances at furious speeds, exhausting in the effort the whole available power of the battery. By such means record speeds and considerable advertisement were obtained, but the results had little technical and no commercial value. This kind of folly culminated in the United States in the running amuck of one of these terrible contrivances, which left the track and ran into the crowd of onlookers.

With the passing of the Locomotives on Highways Act of 1896, the commercial history of the electromobile may be said to have begun in this country. Here again we find certain mistakes were made which had an injurious effect upon the industry. Directly the automobile was let loose by act of Parliament, electric omnibus companies and electric cab companies sprang into existence, and considerable sums of money were embarked upon schemes based on insufficient data and too limited experience.

The story is the same whether we turn to Paris, New York or London. The electric carriage, on account of its attractive outward appearance, lent itself to the promotion of enterprise on a scale too large to be wise in such early days. In Paris and New York some of these early companies were fortunately supported by financial houses of sufficient strength and tenacity to assist them through their early troubles and enable them to benefit by the experience gained by their mistakes. The result has been that those cities are, in respect, at least, to the number of carriages operating, considerably ahead of this country.

In London the liquidation of the Electric Cab Company had a sobering effect. and acted for many years as an example to deter the capitalist from similar enterprise. This company was started under good auspices. As recent developments have proved, it was nearer technical success than was supposed at the time it failed, and had the necessary financial support been forthcoming to enable it to weather the storm it might today have been among the successful electric carriage companies of Europe. They made the mistake of launching out upon a large scale with insufficient technical experience, and with no data as to the costs of operating the carriages.

We cannot, however, put down the lack of success of the cab company in London entirely to technical mistakes. The company made a bid for success in the most difficult field of all, that of the hackney carriage. In this service the receipts are practically limited by act of Parliament, and increased payment for increased

luxury cannot be enforced. The promotion of a cab company at that date was, in its very conception, a commercial error. The years from 1897 to 1900 were again not encouraging.

In this country, as well as in France, constructors continued to vie with one another in producing carriages which would travel great distances on one charge of the batteries, and accumulator makers assisted in hindering the developing of the electric carriage in the right direction. In this country the claims of electric vehicle makers to compete with touring cars led the Automobile Club to hold some very severe trials of electric carriages. These trials, which took place at Chislehurst, were admittedly designed to question these claims. Whether this attitude was altogether a fair one to the electric car or to the supporters of the trials is an open question. It is, however, certain that neither before nor since have tests ever been held which were merely calculated to emphasize what could not be done rather than what could be done. The undoubted merits of the electric carriage were certainly not brought to light, and the trials constituted another serious check to the industrial advancement of the electromobile in this country. In the meantime, both in Paris and New York, the electric carriage was beginning to find its own sphere.

The development of the garage system on an extensive scale in New York, and to a lesser extent in Paris, gave at last the impetus which was required to promote business.

The electric carriage, more than any other type of self propelled vehicle, lends itself to the housing and manipulation of large numbers in a depot. The relief and security which the maintenance and care of the carriage by the maker gave to the owner was a considerable advantage, and this was gradually made use of to its fullest extent.

In this country the electric carriage had to some extent fallen into disrepute, owing to the circumstances I have pointed out, and it was not until the business was taken up in London by a wealthy man, and placed upon a firm basis upon the lines which had been adopted in New York, that it at length came to be considered seriously.

The first large electromobile garage was opened in London in 1901 by the City and Suburban Electric Carriage Company, and the electromobile industry in this country owes much in this respect to the enterprise of a well known member of this club, Paris Singer.

The four years that have elapsed since that date have seen very rapid progress in a similar direction, and today we have, under the auspices of various companies, in London alone six or seven large electric garages operating an aggregate number of between 400 and 500 carriages. When it is remembered that these have all been placed in service within four years the progress may be considered remarkable.

The success of the electric carriage upon finding its proper sphere was due, not to fashion or favor, but to its essentially practical advantages. It is unnecessary to emphasize all its merits. I would rather in a few words deal with the less obvious reasons for the popularity of the electric carriage, since these, to my mind, have an important bearing upon future developments.

The electric carriage is as nearly proof against mishap as any machine can be. An ordinarily intelligent man can be taught its manipulation in two or three lessons. Consequently, any driver who understands traffic conditions can be safely placed in charge. No mechanical knowledge or training is requisite, or, indeed, altogether desirable. As a result, there is no "driver" difficulty such as exists in dealing with almost every other type of automobile.

Moreover, the carriage is extremely reliable, and there is an almost entire immunity from involuntary stoppage and breakdown. Taking the last six months' working of the Electromobile Company's Curzon street garage. I find the total involuntary stops, excepting those due to power exhaustion, with which I shall deal later, to have been sixty-one in 159,258 carriage miles. Of these stops fourteen were due to a mechanical defect in the contact breaker, the possibility of which has since been entirely eliminated by an improved mechanism; nine were due to tire trouble; thirteen were due to the blowing of the main fuse, a matter immediately repairable by the driver, an operation taking less than one minute. This leaves only twenty-five stops in about 160,000 carriage miles necessitating the attention of a mechanic, or, on an average, one stop in every 6.400 miles. When it is remembered that at least half these carriages are in the hands of comparatively raw drivers, and practically all of them are in the hands of men

without mechanical training, the reliability may be considered very great indeed. When limitations of the accumulators are understood and recognized little or no difficulty arises from power exhaustion. With an effective range of from 25 to 35 miles upon one charge, and with the adoption of interchangeable batteries, a carriage may be run all day, if only time be allowed for its return to a depot to take up a new battery, an operation which takes from two to three minutes.

The far reaching importance of this system of rapidly exchanging an exhausted battery for a fully charged one cannot be too much insisted upon. It will probably have a material effect upon the future of the electric carriage.

The garage system, to which the electric carriage is so peculiarly adapted, lends itself to the convenience of owners in many ways. Large stocks of spare parts can be kept, and renewals can be effected without delay. Spare carriages and spare drivers can be placed at the disposal of owners in the event of accident. The driver's services can be utilized for a large number of hours in each day, since the carriage is taken out of his hands, and he is at liberty immediately the carriage returns to the depot.

Many of these are trivial points in themselves, but they all tend to the comfort of the owner, and provide him with a luxury on a level with the requirements of the day, while the constant expert supervision which is available in a large garage has a very material effect upon that important question affecting cost, namely, the life of the carriage.

I do not wish to enlarge upon this question of cost in detail. The subject is a difficult one, and figures may be misleading.

With regard to the electric carriage, it is only necessary to say that even with a garage in the most expensive and central position of London the total costs per year are considerably less than they would be in the case of a horse drawn carriage giving a similar degree of luxury. When the electric carriage is used to its full extent the costs are very considerably less. In certain individual cases I might name owners have effected an economy of as much as from £200 to £300 a year by exchanging their horse carriages for electric vehicles, and in no case am I aware that they are spending more than they did with their horses.

As compared with other types of automobile, I am of opinion that on the absolute bedrock of cost per carriage mile under similar conditions the electromobile will show an advantage.

Accumulator renewals have been reduced by organization and careful treatment to a figure equal to, if not below, that of the cost of tire renewals, and in other respects the mileage costs of the electromobile will compare favorably. With regard to future cost one may confidently predict that the tendency will be downward both as regards power and battery renewals. At the present time the most favorable contracts that can be obtained in London for power supply do not bring the cost per Board of Trade unit below 11⁄2d. There is no reason why this should not be reduced to a penny. The cost of renewals of battery plates will be very largely reduced as the output of plates is increased by the demands of the growing business. This will be more marked if an agreement as to the use of a standard plate can be come to by the principal makers of electric vehicles.

The relative financial importance of the cost of labor in a schedule of the total costs of running an automobile is hardly sufficiently appreciated, and it is in the labor items that the costs incidental to the running and upkeep of an electric carriage show to most advantage.

The electric carriage can be relied upon to start instantly without adjustment and run without a hitch in unskilled hands, and from a practical commercial point of view, convenience and reliability, though not to be measured in pence per mile, have nevertheless a far reaching influence.

FUTURE

We may now turn to the main object of this paper, the consideration of the commercial future of the electric carriage. It is upon this aspect of the subject that discussion will in all probability centre itself.

Dealing first with the touring car, I will at once suggest that the electric carriage will not be the touring car of the future. Nothing short of the discovery of some new element will provide us with a battery that would provide us with the electric touring car. The lead accumulator will not give it to us even if improved 50 per cent, and if the country be studded with charging stations.

I do not think the nickel battery will give it to us, whatever may be its possible practical and commercial advantages in other directions. The electric car with a featherweight battery would still have certain disadvantages as compared with the explosion engine carriage. The batteries would have to be charged. The charging station with the right voltage would have to be reached, and there would remain the risk of battery exhaustion through accidental increase of power consumption on account of bad roads, hilly country, faulty lubrication, and a hundred other causes.

Again in touring conditions in the open country the advantages of the electric carriage are insignificant. The modern gasoline car when once started travels as silently and as smoothly as may be desired on country roads, and I think that in this field it will certainly maintain its complete supremacy.

Turning to commercial vehicles, the question of the required range of action is the dominant factor. Given a limited distance and suitable roads, I see no reason why the electric carriage should not have a very considerable future in this field. Heavy electric vehicles for the delivery of goods have been apparently used for some years with considerable success, and on a large scale in New York; but it is to my mind questionable whether these vehicles have been retained on purely economical grounds, or for the benefit of a certain kind of advertisement attending their use.

I see no reason why the light delivery van for town use should not be accumulator driven. Here the conditions are very suitable. Ability to start at once, noiselessness, reliability in the hands of an unskilled driver, the small amount of overhauling required, and the moderate amortization fund necessary for renewals, are all arguments in favor of the electric carriage. The light electric delivery van is already a success in other countries. With regard to price, the time is not far distance when such a van can be sold at a very moderate price, say from £300 to £350, without tires or batteries, and the tendency will probably be toward the sale of such carriages outright to users, the sale being coupled with a contract for maintenance together with the use of tires and batteries upon loan; such a system will appeal to the user, as the capital outlay will be small, and he will have the security of the maintenance contract against unknown expenditure on upkeep. The question of the driver has an important effect in this connection. In many cases the drivers of the existing horse drawn vans have acquired a considerable special knowledge of the business of the firms who employ them. It is extremely undesirable that these employees should be thrown out to make room for a special motor driver, and it is equally undesirable on financial grounds that two men should have to be carried on each van. There is no reason why the existing van driver should not learn to drive and manage an electric automobile. In many cases, indeed, where two men now have to be carried, one to drive the horse and the other to deliver the goods, one may be dispensed with if an electric vehicle is adopted, and the driver himself can deliver the goods. He can leave the carriage unattended in a perfectly safe condition, while he delivers the goods himself.

The omnibus of the future will not, in my opinion, be electrically driven. The conditions are by no means those in which the accumulator car is likely to be successful. The constant and erratic stopping and starting, often upon hills, and the heavy weight of body and passengers are quite against it. If the accumulator passenger tramcar running upon rails has been unsuccessful in the past, it is only reasonable to conclude, having regard to the expense of tires and the increased consumption of energy, that it will be even less successful on the common roads. The hackney cab constitutes another very difficult problem, and I think it will still be a long time before any self propelled carriage will be commercially successful in this field. Any discussion on this subject is bound to centre itself on the question of costs, and I do not believe that sufficient experience has been gained in the practical operation of automobile cabs for a sound opinion to be forthcoming.

Town ambulance work is so essentially the province of the electric car that I may be forgiven the mention of such a limited field. In this case every advantage of the electric carriage plays an important part, while its disadvantages have little or no effect. The only necessity is a proper organization to deal with the carriages, and this may already be said to exist in its best form in connection with the fire brigades which have reached such a high pitch of excellence in most of our cities. There would be no difficulty in rendering every fireman and every police constable an efficient driver.