IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 17 
operation to the interurban street railway cars, and. since it 
has become a custom to provide stopping-places at definite 
points for the electric cars the analogy between the two means 
of transportation is still more striking. It has been found 
in practice that frequent stops of electric cars, running at 
high rates of speed, at any point where a passenger might 
choose to get on or off, interfered with rapid transit, and was 
expensive in the application of power, so that to secure the 
best results a system of regular stops has been introduced 
on these railways. The average rate of speed on interurban 
railways is thirteen miles an hour, and maximum speeds of 
twenty-five miles an hour are reached. 
One of the most important features connected with the 
development of the electric service, and that which is certain 
to make the interurban electric railway a permanent factor in 
methods of passenger transportation, is the relative frequency 
of service. A steam railroad line of moderate length, connect- 
ing two large towns and stopping at a number of way stations, 
rarely operates more than a few trains a day each way, say 
from six to twenty, and averages but little over twenty miles 
an hour in speed. An electric railway which: connected 
the same towns would according to the importance of the 
places, give a service of certainly one car an hour, and if there 
were many villages along the line, as many as four cars an 
hour. The first car would be started early in the morning 
and the service would be continued throughout the day well 
into the evening, so that there might be sixty or more 
opportunities to pass from one to the other town. The 
speed would probably not exceed fifteen miles an hour, but 
the great convenience of frequent service would draw travel 
away from the steam railroad. With cars running fre- 
quently there is a great saving of time for a man who may 
have a small business matter requiring his personal attention 
in some neighboring town, if it is possible for him to jump on 
a car, ride fifteen miles in about an hour, attend to his busi- 
ness, and find in a very few minutes a car on the electric