666 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 1912. 



at intervals of about 25 years, are shown by tlie following figures, 

 corresponding to the number of passengers carried, expressed in 

 jnillions : 



Though the movement of passengers increased hi such a strong 

 proportion, this was not only because of increase in population, but 

 also because one becomes more and more in the habit of resorting 

 to a means of transport to save time in reachmg a place. "Time is 

 money." In 1846 a Parisian used the existing lines 44 times during 

 the year; m 1875, 78 times; m 1904, 256 tunes. M. Jenkins showed 

 the British Association that in 1867 each inhabitant of London made 

 an average of only 23 trips on the city lines, whereas the correspond- 

 ing figure was 55 m 1880, 92 m 1890, 126 in 1900, 129 in 1901. The 

 same author has shown similar averages in New York to have been 

 47, 118, 182, 283, and 320 for the years 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, and 

 1900. A few years ago New York had transportation facilities capa- 

 ble of moving only 1,200 millions of passengers, while to-day the 

 capacity is 2,000 millions. 



To remedy this condition it is proposed to construct elevated side- 

 walks or subways at the street crossings. Under various methods 

 what is bemg sought is movement at several elevations. In London 

 the subways have two or three tunnels superposed. The metropolitan 

 roads of Paris and Berlin, the elevated roads of New York, and the 

 subways of Boston are an application of this method. On the streets 

 animal traction is being replaced more and more by electric traction 

 for tramways and automobile traction for single vehicles. In Paris 

 from 1897 to 1907 the number of horses decreased from 92,026 to 

 83,458. City railways are more and more extending their zone of 

 radiation, and in the United States, for example, have already com- 

 menced to engage m freight service. 



The very high cost of underground railroads and in a less degree 

 of street railways have led to the employment of automobile traction 

 for single vehicles. It was only in 1905 that the autobus appeared in 

 the streets of London. The autobus, though less expensive to es- 

 tablish than street railways, easily replaceable and with route change- 

 able at will, besid-es much faster than the horse omnibus, yet it is, 

 nevertheless, not free from inconveniences. The cost of management 



