The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-01-27
EDISON'S YORK SHOPS,
What Visitor Saw and WAS Told There
Some Discrepancies Noted.


| Now York Star. l. tn,
The public has been treated fre-
quently oflatc to descriptions Of a
glowing ch ,ractcr concerning Mr..
! ThOmns a. Edison and his orEshops,
! at Mcnlo Park, N. D., and the iner-
tors promises to demonstrate beyond
cavil the practicabilty Of the electric
light for purposes ofgcncral illumina-
ton have been spread broadcast over
the world by means Of "imtcrvicws"
and other articles in various pcriodi-
calls. BY way of contrast to these as
scrtions, it is perhaps worth calling at
tcntion to the experiences of an entire
~ diSintcrcstcd gentleman who visited
the Edison laboratory, at Manlo Park,
Yesterday, and subsequently paid Il
visit to the Offices of the the Edison
Electric Light Company, in this city,
both visits hcing in the interest Of
western gentleman who wished to OF -
tain the refusal ofthc light fora well
known city in case its pmcticability
should be demonstrated. He expect
cd to find at Mcnlo Park an extensive
laboratory, where Il corps of Edison's
assistants would be seen engaged in
experiments under the great clcctri-
cian's directions. The glowing ac-
counts published suggested visions Of
numbcrlcss BOTTLES, whose labels in
dcxcd every chemical known to science,
in the manipulation Of which the visi-
tor expected to discover every kind of
chemical apparatus that would in any
| way be useful in electrical experiments.
Instead Of all this, he found half
dozen small buildings, with but few Of
the adjuncts he had imagined. In one
building single assistant was engage
in testing telephones Ola pattern which
he was informed was intended for the
English market, and had not been in
troduccd here. A young man stood
Off Il few yards, and from the other end
of tho wire yelled some nonsense about
Mary's little lamb. which the obliging
assistant informed tho visitors was
heard i'll u tone louder than it was
| spoken. The instrument was an adap-
tation of tic English microphonc, and
the visitor spcadily learned that in
place Of the supposed laboratory being
filled with enthusiastic young men
! wrestling with science, it's occupants
were mechanics who attended strictly
| to hc business Of manufacturing and
testing this kind of telephone. The
activity so tancitully described in the
papers was explained. The room
which he was told was the scene Of the
carbon-making appeared dcscr.cd, as
indeed did every room which was cX-
pcctcd to be lively with the work Of
getting out The electric lamps.
slow many lights have you in oper-
ation?" he asked the guide.
"Somcwhcre about seventy or O gl.-
ty," was the reply.
6. nj l,>,x, ,,,n,,,, l., ,,,,o
at the opening on New Years nigh. p"
"AbOut the same number, but we
arc expecting to have about eight hlln-
drcd very soon."
"What is causing the dclay?"
owe are getting them out as fast as
possible, but the glass blower is de-
tanning lis. lie can't work very fast.
We have advertised for more glass
blowers, but have received no answers
yet"
The visitors, at tho end ofthis con-
| vcrsation, reached the building occu-
pied by the glass blower, young
Thurngian, who had been bred to the
business from boyhood.
"lIow long docs it take you TO blow
the glass for one lampT asked tho
visitor.
81 never figured it out, but will
make one for YOU"
1t took him just three minutes by the
watch.
''Docs this end your part Of the
wOrkr was next asked.
"Oh, no; put in the carbons and
seal the lamps"
"Can you make n lamp complete in
haitian hour"
"And you work ten hours day?"
"Oh, yes, casily."
eyes"
According to the visitors figuring
there should have been no difficulty in
getting out at least twenty lamps n
day, or since January l, two hundred.
Two hundred and eighty lamps burn
ing, it occurred to him, would have
impressed people by this time with a
firmcr belief III the practicability Of the
thing.
Another disappointment was cxpc-
ricnccd. The visitor found three gen
orators instead OF one, Of fOur-horsc
power each, maintaining the lights.
Two. he was told, We're to regulate
the circuit; the third supplied the pow
CT i'll the field. On asking the guide if
nc was sure there were eighty lights
burning, or had been at any time, he
admitted that he did not know certain
ly, but he thought at least there had
been sixty lighted at one time. At
that rate, single horsepower would
maintain five lights, each equal to ten
candles. The visitor had read that the
Brush light III Cleveland (Ohio) pub
lie square maintained sixteen lights of
twelve hundred candle power each,
with q twclvc-horsc power engine, and
ran their large works with it besides.
! On the cars returning from Mcnlo
Park yhe fell in with q gentleman who
had been there on New Years night.
This gentleman said that he had count
ed every electric lamp in operation
that night, and that there were but
thirty-tour all told, not including a
number Of coal-Oil lamps TINT helped to
dazzle the spectators. At the offices
of the Edison Electric Light Company
he was told that they were not yet pre-
pared to sell privileges to anybody.
They were not through experimenting,
and until they had demonstrated tho
practicability OF their light, through
the construction Of a regular system,