San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-07-06
WHAT ELECTRICITY CAN DO.

Strength anu p'"'"'' "
The present electrical era, which re-
H., hsgan with the introduction OF dy.
NO machines as a source of electrical
nover in place of the costly and feeble
calls. seems destined to last until
Aha winds and the tides shall furnish
,b;s mower so cheaply that it will drive
machinery, pillow the fields, haul wood
and draw water, and so will do mans
ho,d work for him. The future value
Of electricity is rated so high by clear
headed men of science that even so good
. servant as steam has been to man
sinks by comparison into insignifcance.
An article in Black,ooods Magazine
osts the matter before the unscientifc
reader in so interesting a shape that
the following passages are worth quot
ing: h.s ,o,o heen o sub;oct
which had little interest except for the
lovers of scientific research. A gener-
alton has not altogether passed away in
which all industrial use of electricity
vas unknown, and the only practical
onplication of knowledge in regard to
n was not one to apply it usefully, but
on,- to check its powers of destruction.
Fifty years ago lightning conductors
were the only electric works in common
use and the proper construction OF
tbese themselves was so little understood
that to this day such appliances are con-
stantly made and put up in the worst
possible way for effecting their purpose.
Now all of this is changed. The thick
NET work of wires that disfgures all our
great cities is daily demonstration to
all of electricity being put to most I'M
portant practical uses, and our means
If communication are such as the most
imaginative fairy tale that ever was
written could not excel for wonders
Rut wonderful as has been the develop
ment of the telegraph, it appears likely
that ere long we shall look upon 1t as
but one, and by no means the most
marvellous, of countless applications OF
electricity. We seem to have discover
ed giant whose powers are illimitable,
vet whose strength can be applied to do
the most delicate and subtitle work-who
is always ready for duty, and whose en-
ergies can be drawn out in thousand
ways-whose strength can be generated
at one place and carried to another Tor
use without serious loss-who can accu-
mulate his vigor, so that. if it is not en-
ployed for time, he can then do work
mich harder than he could do contlnu-
ously-who will begin work and stop
working at touch-who will bore our
hardest rocks and carry our gentlest
whisper to friend miles away-who
will be always docile, noiseless, untlr-
ing, never capricious, and ever on the
alert.
mo doubt many will say, and many
do say, that the electrical world has got
excited and is promising too much; that
insuperable difficulties will come IN the
way; that when the temporary excite
ment is over electricity will not be
found to be SO much more advantage
GUS than other forces after all; IN shoft'
there is plenty of pointing at cold wal
er, and good deal of throwing OF H.
It is not much more than sixty years
since the most learned men OF the day
gave evidence on the subject OF gas,
which to US now seems almost comic
The Royal society reported, in lol4'
that no gasometer larger than 6,Ooo1eet
capacity should be permitted. Such
men as Sir Humphrey Davy and Sir
William Congreve gave evidence before
select committee that gasometers OF
10000 feet capacity were too large 1or
safety; that they could not understand
the temerity' of the Parisians, who
were then building one of 100000 feet
capacity-Sir Humphrey declaring that
10000 was his limit, and that he would
be uneasy if he lived near one OF 2O,OOo.
Great fear was also expressed that If a
street lamp went out, the VIVID might
blow down the burner and cause an ex-
plosion in the main.
"Tin lately the practical applications
of electricity were limited to those ap'
pliances which could be worked Will