618 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 



contribute cheerfully its share . to the sacrifices which had to be 

 offered, in order to obtain a satisfactory solution of this great engin- 

 eering problem. It is, indeed, not a mere accident that the most 

 intelligent state of this union, the state of Massachusetts, contrib- 

 uted far more than any other state to the sacrifices which had to 

 be offered, in order to develop Bell's remarkable discovery and 

 invention into the greatest civilizing agent of modern times. 



These are the considerations which guided me in answering the 

 question: Which of the many electrical problems of to-day should 

 be considered as the "Electrical Engineering Problems of the Pre- 

 sent Time"? Evidently those electrical problems must be selected 

 the solution of which, in the opinion of all competent judges, repre- 

 sent the next step in the evolutionary progress of the existing elec- 

 trical industries. Vague and indefinite propositions, such as, for 

 instance, the direct transformation of the chemical energy of burn- 

 ing coal into electrical energy, the generation of cold light by elec- 

 trical processes, and so forth and so on ad infinitum, must be ex- 

 cluded from this discussion. They are not in any sense of the word 

 electrical engineering problems. The problems discussed here re- 

 late to the extension of the existing methods, which have been 

 sanctioned by long practice, in electrical traction, electric lighting, 

 telephony, wireless transmission, and ordinary telegraphy. 



The Electrical Traction Problem 



Electrical traction has been developing steadily during the last 

 twenty-five years and has covered the field well which was originally 

 mapped out for it, namely, the transportation of light traffic over 

 comparatively short distances. Within these limits it has done its 

 work admirably, surpassing even the most sanguine expectations 

 of its original promoters. These results encourage the public and 

 the engineer in the belief that the time is ripe for the formulation 

 of the new electrical traction problem and for its satisfactory solu- 

 tion. 



The new electrical traction problem is the problem of substitu- 

 tion of electric power in place of the steam locomotive on trunk 

 lines; it is the problem of heavy electrical traction over long dis- 

 tances. The problem can be more clearly stated by referring to a 

 specific case. Let us suppose that the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 

 pany has decided to consider the advisability of equipping its lines 

 between New York and Philadelphia with electric power, and that 

 with this end in view it has obtained a sufficiently large number 

 of reports from competent electrical traction experts. Every one of 

 these reports would contain a careful examination of the problem 

 under discussion, that is, the problem of heavy electrical traction 



