The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-03-28
TIE DISPATCH BUILDING IS ON Go
.nxop STREET, NEAR TO MAIN, AND
.,,y OPPOSITE THE OLD DISPATCH
CORNER.
,,,;cs-Thc Light Substitute for
"' Gas.

.ro,t consolation TO ms to learn from
,,..,rv of barbarism and civilization that,
',s,op as any custom or practice becomes irk-
So and oppressive, the ingenuity of man
,,.nrs some means Of avoiding the diff
o,n,,v. aud out Of the dangers OF the mo-
-, draws fresh powers for good or evil.
IA bows and arrows, lances and battle-axe
,',,,,d as rapidly rs the fierce passions of
20, desired, then gunpowder, the Ninfe
II. and the rined cannon, would
~ have been invented. Had the re-
,r,epts of trade and the necessities of
world been less, our land would not now
,,.,oo,uered by the tracks of the iron horse,
w. tho broad ocean would not be trayersed
-. oao,s ot spacious and powerful steamships;
80 when even the astonishing accuracy and
s,,,o,ny of our postal system became INSULT
,;,,,, N dispatch for the demands Of the specu-
,,.,ve merchant, the magnetic telegraph,
.,riI,ng the earth in less than forty seconds,
e,,ranr into existence All experience teaches
-. that monopolies are contrary to the first
,,r;,riples of nature, and those who endeavor
- narrrtuate them only succeed in retaining
= ,owrr which new discoveries and new COM
,ina,ions render harmless and of little value.
No subject has been more freely discussed in
Gas Works First the Council, then the Su-
,.riuicudent, then the metres, then the coal,
and then the low specific gravity Of the " aeri-
form iiuid," as the experts term it, has been
alarmed, and the only conclusion arrived at is,
that although every one is hurt, no one is TO
blame Our gas is Well made, our system is
perfect, our superintendent is all that the
heart Of the 1intiest could desire we ac
knowledge these things, but sigh still over
four dollars Il thousand and the wondroUs
registering capacity of our eccentric gas mea-
,ureyS Under the present system there is no
hope OF relief. All our arrangements are per
feet, and so long we use gas at all, we must
swallow our spleen and pay the full price for
tho light which is rouchsaied to us. Some
ir1prtuous consumers have spoken OF portable
gas machines, and every possible and imrossi-
Me ulln has been preached and discussed but
while we can find no relief i'll the operations of
our municipal authorities, we may still be
.uccor,d by the old and eternal law of ''no
r,onopolv." Science will come TO our aid, and
there is little doubt but that the new magne-
sum light will eventually take the place of
ga, The dearneSs of the substance from
which il is produced at first forbade all hope
Of is general employment, d" but it is now
asccrtaiued that the ocean contains one hun
drcd and sixty thousand cubic miles of mag
rcslum-a quantity which would cover the
entire surface of the globe, both sea and land,
tna thickness of more than eight feet. Three
wears ago All the chemists who had obtained
magnesium had probably not obtained an
ounce among them. One year ago its price
was more than five hundred dollars q pound.
Now, owing 10 improvements recently intro
dEcpa. magnesium wire is sold at six cents 4
foot.
This sets at rest the question of supply, and
when we remember, in addition, that the
magnesium light is purer and more intense
than any artificial flame as yet discovered,
that il does not change the natural color of
any object, and can be regulated with the
u,mos, ease, we may afford TO bear in patience
our present troubles, and look forward in hope
10 better era, when gas will cease from
troubling and metres will be at rest. The
question of practicability has already been
solved and upon the score of economy there
can be but little doubt SO that before long we
hope to be i'll condition to do without gas
altogether, or only pay such prices for pure
article as will make it more advantageous than
the much praised magnesium light