National Republican., 1883-10-09
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT.
The Exhibition Of III ! Storage Battery and
Swan Burner at Willimsntic.
A Perfectly Clear Steady Light, Without
Heat or smOka-Csreat Linen Mills.
Spccinl LeRer.

Willimantic river, which abounds in water
falls and mill privileges sufficient to run an
immense number of mills. My coming
thither during the present week was for the
purpose of examining into the Brush-Swan
system of incandescent electric lighting.
aided by the storage battery recently in
vented by Mr.. Brush. The most important |
manufacturing establishment in the place is
that of the willimantic Linen company,
whose thread, their sole article of msnufac-
ture, is known throughout the world. 1t is
probably the largest thread mandatory in
the world. Five hundred men and sixteen
hundred women find constant employment,
to whom is paid in wages the enormous sum
of $4,000 per month. The linen company
was one Of the first to recognize the value of
electric lighting, and for years it has been
experimenting with every light that has
been brought before the public.
The company is under the presidency of
Col. w. Il. Barrows, a remarkably capable
and energetic man, to whom is largely due
the wonderful successes and prosperity of the
Willimantic mills. Col. Barrows has himself
made thorough study of electricity in con-
necton with the work Of lighting his mills
and substituting it for gas and other danger
Gus methods. In the mills to-day, beside the
Brush system, he has over a hundred more of
the Edison incandescent lamps; but for the
use of the mills he has found the Brush lights
which he has had put in subsequent to the
Edison lights, more desirable illuminators
than any he has tried The Brush lights have
been in use for long time with perfect salts
faction, and, as he thinks, with greater
economy than any other.
Col. Barrows has carefully watched the de-
velopment of the storage system, we'll know
ing that if electricity could be stored and
retained in sufficient quantity to be drawn
upon as desired for practical illuminating
purposes, it would solve very weighty prob
lens in the matter of lighting his mills.
The arc lights, which are we'll adapted for
use in many places, are not satisfactory in
mills where there are overhead shafting and
accompanying belts. The Willimantic COM
pany was among the first to test the arc light
in their mills, and is now tho first manufac-
turing company in the country to make q
practical test of the Brush-Swan system of
incandescent electric Lighting. The ad-
vantages of this system over all other
systems of electric lighting are that
it furnishes perfectly satisfactory and
inexpensive lighting in small groups at q dis
tance from the dynamo; that no electric
force is used except to supply lamps actually
burning, while, without the storage system,
the dynamo must be kept in motion, as much
to supply one lamp as q hundred lamps.
Next the ease with which lamps at dis
tance are supplied-this not being the case
with incandescsnt lamps not fed by the stor-
age system-and next, the feasibility of
using the current for running electric arc
lights, so that both systems can be supplied
simultaneously when desired and, lastly, its
economy practicability, and absolute safety.
I /
large number of gentleman from Boston,
Philadelphia, and New York who had come
on an invitation similar to my own, and the
exhibition they witnessed was gratifying to
all. The mills themselves were an interest
ing study, but the prime attraction to all was
the dynamos, the method of their connection
with the water power, and then the storage
batteries. The batteries were five in number,
and have been found capable of holding cleo
tricity sufficient for the supply of two hum
dred and ten lamps in one room, three being
required for this number, this room being 450
feet long by 65 feet wide. The remaining
two batteries supply the store and office
building of the company, which is largo
and commodious structure, the first floor
of which, banking against large hill side, is
usrd for grocery establishment Of character
that would be model for one in Washington
the second floor for offices of the company,
and the third floor for school rooms and
libraries for the operatives of the mills and
their families. The lights fed from these
several storage batteries in the mills and in
the Office building are the finest lights have
yet seen-absolutely without blemish
white, steady, and without heat. Col. Bar
rows and the officers of the mills state that in
the five weeks they have now been in practical
use in their mills they had no breakage or acci-
dent OF difficulty whatever in their use; this
being, in their opinion, clearly the result of
the use of the storage battery. Each of the
stnrape battarins used ia Su fliciant In Sunnly
forty lamps of sixteen candle power for four
and half hours. EacI is inclosed in a
wooden box about ten feet long, three feet
high, and two feet wide, which, the cover
down, might easily be taken for large ice
box. The interior is divided into twenty-four
compartments or cells, each cell containing
three plates, the two being hydrogen aud the
third an oxygen plate. An insulating sub
stance separates the plates, and the space be-
tween is filled with a mixture of sulphuric
acid and water. The changing of this battery
is done at suitable hours and very rapidly.
The effect of changing the battery is
seen by the activity of the fluids, which
are stirred very perceptbly. Each bat
terry is connected with what is called u
manipulation placed on the wall near
by, being series of coils or wheels
and intended to automatically register tho
force of the electricity poured into the
battery. When tits full, by simple
and ingenious contrivanCe, an arma-
ture automatically falls, thereby cutting
off the current and permitting it to
go on to the next battery, and SO on until all
are filed with the requisite electric energy,
when the manipulation at tho dynamo is in
turn affected aud the engineer or person in
charge can disconnect and stop the same.
OF the Brush-Swan company there wore
present several of the officers, whose explana-
tions together with the statements of Col.
Barrows and the officers of the mills, seemed
conclusive to all. Included in the num-
Der OF gentlemen present on Wednesday
were Lieut.. Commander Bradford, of
the United States steamship Trenton,
which has recently been fitted up
with the Edison electric light, and Lieut..
Maynard, of the Newport torpedo school,
whose opinions 1 sought. They expressed
themselves as being satisfied of the storage
battery being mechanically capable of storing
electricity, and it is the intention of Lieut.
Maynard in his report thereon TO recommend
the purchase of a storage battery such as was
exhibited and to test the same for the purpose
of the government on board ships and other
place.
The pleasure of the large party of visitors
was augmented by the courtesies shown them
by Col. and Mrs, Barrews at the mills of the
company and at their own home, Col. Bar
rows is one of the remarkable men
of New England, and the WillimantiC
people are alarmed at the prospect of his
contemplated departure therefrom, and his
noinp 10 Pullman. Ill near Chicago to take