It is not my intention to dwell upon arc lighting now only long enough to state that, after two years of practical experience with the combination, our company consider they have taken a right step in adopting it, and that it is satisfactory in every respect. Other gas companies that have adopted the arc system can undoubtedly corroborate this with their experience. I would make this paper a continuation of the last one by now taking up the incandescent electric system and fuel gas question. That both will be introduced into every city in the United States before long by some one I have not a shadow of a doubt; and why? Simply because they are both desirable commodities in domestic economy and hygiene.
Please lay aside all prejudice, and I will show you an ideal domestic burner for illumination purposes. Now, what comprises an ideal burner for domestic use? In the first place, such a burner must not blacken our walls and ceilings, neither must it give off deleterious products of combustion; it must be a steady light, and not subject to draughts; it must not give out heat in summer, it must not be possible for inflammable goods to ignite by coming in contact with it; it must be a light that will have no ill effect if by accident the key is left open; it must be a light that our country cousins cannot blow out, neither must it be one that requires dangerous matches to ignite it, and lastly, it must be a fairly cheap light.
Now, gentlemen, if you have thrown prejudice to the winds, perhaps you can recognize in this ideal burner the incandescent electric light for domestic use. Now, if this light is an ideal one, who is going to prevent its adoption by the public? Gas companies cannot, and if they cannot no one can. So, in my mind, the wisest course to pursue is to admit what we know to be true, and proceed at once to supply the demand, increase our revenue, push out into the suburbs of our cities, sell it as cheaply as possible, and don't let others come in and take away what rightly belongs to you. If there is any money to be made in the business by others, there is still more in it for us.
For store purposes, where the hours of burning are defined, I think it better to abandon the meter system and fix a price per annum or month for each lamp, taking into consideration the hours of use as a basis for charges. For private dwellings this would not be practicable, and we would have to resort in this case to meters, or perhaps fix upon a price for furnishing the current and have the consumer purchase the bulbs or lamps whenever renewals were necessary. In this way economy would cheapen the light to the consumer. Any method that will dispense with the meter and still be satisfactory will be the one to adopt.
I cannot understand how some gas companies who have the incandescent electric system as a competitor can console themselves with the fact that it is not injurious to their gas business, even taking it for granted they are selling as much gas as before its advent. Is this a just reason why they should make no effort to secure their old patronage? I think not, for it is human nature to secure a whole loaf in place of the half, when it is possible to get it. A gas company's revenues would certainly be increased by the step, and a dangerous rival would be made profitable.
I think it is a mistake to think that by and by the people will get back to gas. Of course some will, just as gas consumers sometimes go back to coal oil; but, because a few give it up, don't let us deceive ourselves by thinking that all will do it eventually, for the incandescent electric burner is bound to remain wherever it is now in use, and will find its way to the other places where it is not now in use. "That is all very well to talk about," I hear some one say, "but what are they going to do with our prior investment?" To such I would say, push that, too. Cheapen it to its lowest point and urge its use for power and cook stoves until such time that you find yourselves able to supply gas for heating purposes of all kinds.
What difference does it make to a company whether the money expended for improvement account be coal gas benches, holders and mains, or dynamos, boilers, and wire? I fail to see the difference, and if improvements have to be made in both, so much the better—it shows a healthy demand for both branches, and should be promptly provided for.
If arc lighting is to be the light on our streets and the incandescent electric light for our stores and dwellings, shall we have to draw our fires from under our gas benches and stop making gas? This, to the writer, would be an absurd deduction, for the very reason that in nature's laboratory all these elements are placed, and gas would not be one of them if there were not some important part for it to play in the supplying of man's wants. It is for us to take the things we find in nature's laboratory and select the fittest articles for each special use; and it is reasonable to suppose that it will be only the fittest that will finally be a success. The arc light, so far as the writer has ascertained, has asserted pretty generally throughout the country its supremacy on our streets, and this in spite of all opposition from gas companies—showing conclusively that it has gained its position by the force of demand for the fittest. Incandescent electric light is just as surely finding its position and field of usefulness, and in its turn will assert its supremacy, and why? Because it has the
qualifications called for in the public specifications. Some will assert that it is too expensive to come into general use, and also that it is not as reliable as gas. The first is no argument against it, for was not coal gas sold at exorbitant prices in its early days? It certainly is capable of being cheapened in the future, as gas has been, and this is one reason why gas companies should enter the business, as it is in their power to cheapen it.
As far as unreliability is concerned, it certainly looks the most serious objection; but don't be alarmed on that score, for duplicate machinery or storage batteries will eventually overcome this bugbear, and while discussing this subject don't let us forget that the breaking of a main, the filling up of a drip, a flood or explosion, or even Jack Frost, has often caused our customers to think that even gas is not very reliable.