Page:EB1922 - Volume 32.djvu/791

Rh

ments were therefore held out of giving facilities to traders in various ways, the chief of which has been the cheapening of the rates. This, however, has taken place as a rule only when there has been competition, and the rate-cutting between the railways at certain periods has reached such a stage that it is very doubt- ful whether the companies have benefited by it or not. In the case of the railways, which are at the present time the most im- portant of the overland carrying factors of Great Britain, the return on the capital expended has not been very great.

From time to time there have been amalgamations of the railways to a limited degree, and these as a rule have benefited both the railway companies and the public by cheapening the cost of working the undertakings.

A brief summary of each system of transport, with its influ- ence as a factor of transportation, is given below.

Railways. The evolution of the railway and the invention of the locomotive, with its successful application to railway traction in 1804, inaugurated a new system of transport. Designed primarily to re- duce the cost of transport of coal by road and to compete success- fully with transport by canal, railways have developed from the isolated small sections in various parts of Great Britain to be at the moment the predominating factor in the world's transport. Indeed the mileage of railway in a country may safely be taken as a criterion of its industrial development.

Railways spread rapidly in Great Britain after their inception, and numerous companies promoted the new mode of transport.

The carriage of coal and other minerals proving immediately suc- cessful, the transport of the travelling public became naturally the next development. The first passenger coaches consisted of open trucks with neither roof nor seats, but the discomfort of these led to the evolution of covered coaches, which were provided for ist- and 2nd-class passengers only. The ^rd-class coach was still roofless, but fitted with benches. The luxurious coaches of to-day, with facili- ties for dining, sleeping, and, in some cases, baths, are material proofs of the great progress made in this branch of transport.

Locomotives and freight rolling-stock have also developed in accordance with the requirements of the age. Waggons constructed to carry 120 tons and locomotives weighing 244 tons are in use on two or three railways in the United States; but the waggon com- monly used has a capacity of only 50 short tons, while the usual weight of locomotives is between 175 and 220 short tons.

The electrification of railways is the latest stage of their develop- ment. Applied to the transport of the masses of people congregated in large cities, it has gone far to solve one of the most difficult problems of the present day.

For long-distance travel, electricity has now passed the experi- mental stage, and no doubt the progress of time will see the displace- ment of steam by electricity as the motive power for all railways.

Water Transport. The development of this system has been chiefly confined to sea-borne transport. Although a steamer was first used on a canal, the Forth and Clyde, in 1802, it soon reached salt water, and the s.s. " Comet, " built on the Clyde in 1812, marked
 * the commencement of the ocean steamer transport era.

The first form of propulsion, viz. by paddles, was superseded by the screw propeller, which has been found more efficient and suitable for rough waters. Improvements were also effected in the engine room. Simple and compound engines were successfully followed by triple and quadruple expansion engines. These in turn gave way to the steam turbine. Coal is being displaced by oil fuel for steam raising, and we have also the internal combustion engine.
 * Other important features of development are refrigeration and

tireless telegraphy. The former has increased the availability of the ood supplies of the world.

In this sea-borne system of transport, competition has resulted in ate-cutting wars, which have not been so evident in the other systems. In cargo rates and passenger fares, competition has at
 * imes been very keen, and quotations have reached figures far below

in economic level, as for instance at the time when passengers were arried from Liverpool to New York for 2.

Mechanical Road Transport. This form of transport, although

'generally believed to be an invention of recent years, was also

I naugurated at the beginning of the igth century, but development

vas hampered by the excessive road tolls and statutory restrictions,

im example being the British regulation which required a man with

l red flag to precede every mechanically propelled vehicle. These

estrictions operated until 1896, when greater liberty was afforded

)y the Locomotives on Highways Act of that year. Further freedom

! las been given by the Motor Car Order, 1904, and the utility of


 * his system has now been fully established.

The earlier types of mechanical road vehicles were steam pro- Jelled, but the invention of the internal combustion engine and its ipplication to road transport, associated with rubber-tired wheels, ! :reated a revolution, and is responsible for the rapid development of ( he last generation. Mechanical road transport commenced and >perated solely as a passenger transport system until recent years, out in conjunction with the general improvement of roads it has,

for distances up to 75-100 m., developed into a form of freight trans- port in competition with railways, except in the case of long-dis- tance mineral traffic.

Passenger road transport is generally provided by petrol-propelled vehicles, and examples of these are found in high-powered private motor-cars and in public motor-buses carrying 54 passengers.

In the transport of merchandise by road, all three types petrol, steam and electric vehicles are used, their respective spheres being dependent upon distance, nature of traffic, regularity of service, etc.

In the development of mechanical road transport may be included the improvements effected in tram-car services. The horse vehicle has been displaced by the electric vehicle, obtaining power through overhead or underground conductors, and this form of transport has contributed very largely to the expansion of the areas of large cities.

Aerial Transport. -This system commenced with the 2Oth cen- tury, but so rapid has its progress been, principally through military stimulus, that by 1921 its success was assured.

The development of the internal combustion engine provided the means of securing adequate power with a minimum of weight which had long been sought in connexion with aerial navigation. France, Great Britain, and the United States joined in the development and while the first decade of aerial navigation was a period of experiment, transport by heavier-than-air machines was sufficiently advanced to be put to practical use at the commencement of the World War in 1914. The potentialities of aircraft in warfare were immediately manifest, with the result that the progress achieved in the develop- ment of the air machine was infinitely greater than would otherwise have been the case. This applied equally to the airship or lighter? than-air machine. The internal combustion engine converted the ordinary balloon into a dirigible, and this development continued until the cessation of hostilities in 1918.

Economic Effects. The consequences of the development of the various systems of transport upon nations and peoples are incalculable. The growth and consolidation of the British Em- pire may well be attributed to the fact that during the greater part of the igth century the initiation and supply of transport was provided by Great Britain. She became the carrier of almost all the world's traffic, which, of course, involved the maintenance of the freedom of the seas.

In the United States it is not too much to say that the rapid development of its transport system has enabled the growth of the whole country to develop simultaneously and thus evolve a " United " States instead of a second "divided" Europe.

Viewed from a different angle, we find the conclusions of those political economists who advance the argument that over-pop- ulation would inevitably lead to starvation have been negatived by the development of transport which, coupled with the use of modern methods of refrigeration, has increased the availability of the world's harvests. The periodical famines in those coun- tries where transport in its modern developments is practically unknown is direct evidence on this point.

The mobility of labour, the importance of which can hardly be exaggerated, had also been increased by transport develop- ment to an enormous degree. Its effect on the social condition of mankind is clearly demonstrated when it is observed that, where transport is developed most highly, there also is the social standard highest.

Military and naval operations have been considerably in- fluenced by modern transport. At the battle of Waterloo about 75,000 men were engaged on each side. One hundred years later in the World War 50 million men were engaged in the armed forces of the combatants from start to finish. New rail- ways and roads for mechanical road transport made possible the movements of armies, guns, munitions and necessary supplies. The heavy guns were moved by rail or mechanical road trans- port, and as if to emphasize the part which transport took in the war, the negotiations for the Armistice were conducted in a railway carriage.

On the naval side, steamer transport was the forerunner of the modern battleship. It was many years after the building of the first steamship when sailing ships of war were discarded, and practically all developments in ocean transport have been adapted to the needs of the navy.

During this wonderful development the Governments of the world generally took little interest in transport beyond enacting restrictive legislation. Prussia was the one exception ; for almost from the commencement of railways in that country, the State took an active part in their construction and operation, and