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Dawn of the Electric Traction Era 99 traffic, the tramways are in a position to compete with suburban trains, and frequently exceed the latter in speed over the short-distance runs by notching 30 miles an hour. In the more densely populated eastern States, it is possible to cover several hundred miles by tramway, the individual systems in a chain of towns having reached out to meet one another, the passenger only being called upon to change cars from time to time as successive networks are reached. The growth of electric tramways in the United States has been truly phenomenal. In 1890 there were not more than 1,000 miles of these street rail- ways in operation. But from that year the growth has averaged about 3,000 miles of new lines per annum. By 1895 the new form of transportation through the streets had reached what might be de- scribed as its standard stage. Sufficient experience had been acquired to establish staple designs for the fundamental features. In the latter year some 25,000 electrically driven tram-cars were in opera- tion, the motors of which represented in the aggre- gate approximately 500,000 horse-power. By the closing year of the nineteenth century electric propulsion in this field had conclusively demonstrated its supremacy, and developments and extensions proceeded apace. Hitherto the average horse-power per vehicle had been 25, but it was ascertained that street transportation could be em- ployed for purposes beyond the mere carriage of passengers. The result of this widening of the sphere of application, which enabled merchandise to be carried through the streets, introduced heavier vehicles, which in turn demanded more powerful motors. The