PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 56l 



think, should have received some assent or dissent in a body of 

 scientific men. It is a view which for thirty years has been 

 entertained by many of the most celebrated engineers in the 

 world. The question it involves is, not whether a particular plan 

 will perfectly succeed, but. whether there exists in the world suffi- 

 cient engineering talent to develop a plan that can compete with 

 horses, in comfort, luxury and liberal economy. 



Mr. Ebbitt. — Mr. Chairman, I appear here on the part of the 

 railroads, or at least one of them — the Sixth Avenue. I have 

 had a great deal of experience in using salt, and in attempting 

 to clear the track Avithout it. The railroads do not desire to use 

 salt for their own profit, but simply for the convenience of the 

 public. When the tracks are obstructed with snow, we are 

 obliged to double our teams and run half the number of cars, 

 thus cutting off nearly half of our receipts while our expenses 

 remain the same. This crowds the cars and forces a great many 

 people to walk when the walking is the most disagreeable. I 

 have been up three nights in succession, working day and night, 

 to get the tracks clear so that we can make our regular trips. 

 Nothing creates so much dissatisfaction as a failure to make our 

 trips .in time. 



The great number of horses that were injured in February, last 

 year, were not injured by salt. The last time that salt was used 

 was on the first of February, and the horses were injured on the 

 eighth. I remember the day very well, [n the morning there 

 was a dense fog, so dense that it was impossible to see across the 

 street. At noon the sun came out for a little while, and then it 

 grew^ suddenly very cold. At night it was some six or seven 

 degrees above zero. Our horses that worked in the forenoon were 

 uninjured, but of those that worked in the afternoon, sixty-one 

 were found the next morning to be lame, some in one foot and 

 some in another. The injured feet were white and presented the 

 appearance of having been frozen. 



There are men on our road who have worked many years, 

 always standing in the water when salt is used to melt the snow, 

 and none of them have been injured. I brought along one of our 

 starters, Mr. More, a man of delicate health, who will give his 

 experience. 



Mr. More. — I have worked on the railroad, and for the last six 

 years we have used salt for melting snow. I stand at the station 

 twelve hours in the day, from six o'clock in the morning till six 



[Am. Inst. J J J 



