The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-10-23
Gas Light or Electric Light.

Tho gns companies and their expert adj
visers declare that they are not at all afraid
that there IL any prospect of the substitu-
ton Of electric light for gas light Prof
MORTON, q distiBg uished authority, has
given thom encouragement by publicly
averring that no practicable process Of d.
viding and subdividibg the force generated
by the battery has yet been discovered
go that the electric light can be made useful
for houses and Offices. In such subdivision
there Is not even the prospect of anything
being done, says the learned professor.
The Franklin Institute Of Philadelphia,
according to u speaker ut last weeks meet
ing Of the American Gaslight Association,
after expanding money in experiments with
the electric hight, failed to discover in it any
elements OF practicability. The Permanent
Exhibition at Philadelphia tried it. and it
was failure 1t was either too intense or
too irregular. Other speakers told similar
stories Of the III adaptcdncss of the new
light to ordinary and general uses, and the
conclusion reached was that illuminating
gas is not only good enough for all our
needs, hut will also continue to furnish Us
our artificial light for an indefinite period of
time to come
Meanwhile. however. here, in Canada, and
IN England gas stocks have declined heavily,
and they obstinatcly refuse to rebound. The
public do not agree with the gas men. They
believe We are going to have the electric
light that the difficulties in the way Of It's
distribution have been or will be surmountcd
and that it is destined to be the light Of the
future.
Mr. EDISON also agrees with them and
says he has already done what the advocates
Of gas say has not been done. and what they
do not believe can bc done That the cleo
tric light can be prontably used for the
illumination of large open spaces has been
proved beyond question. II may now be
seen on the Boulevard de rOpera and at the
Arc de Triomphe IN Paris, and. passing from
the brilliant light it gives. that made by the
neighboring gas lamps seems feeble III COM
parison. We have also had opportunities of
observing it in New York. and in London
and in other parts of England it has been
successfully experimental with in the
streets, on the seashore, and IN large build
ings.
But can the electric light be distributed
through the shops and dwellings 81 city
as gas is now distributed Can il he fur
nishcd at IL cheaper rate than gas, and can
its intense glare bc subdued and the light
made constant and uniform-in fact, can IL
be substituted for gas light? To all these
questions Mr.. Edison answers, Yes. THE
subdivision OF the light" he told reporter
Of The Sun last week, is all right. The
only thing 10 be accurately determined is
its economy. | am already positive it will
be cheaper than gas, but havo not deter
mined how much cheaper
The articles of incorporation Of The Edi-
son Electric Light Company We're filed last
week, and the company proposes to light
the city, public buildings, and private resi-
dcncos with electric lights We shall, there
fore, before long have an opportunity to see
for ourselves whether the gas men are right
or wrong about the new light; and they will
be wise to forogO prophesying until the ex-
pertinent has been tried.