National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-01-23
A JOURNALISTS SIDE ISSUE.
Fred A. Cover Iiluminates the Earth,
Fattons His PocketbooIs, and Tells All
Ahaut II.

Fred A. Cover Illumtnates the Earth,
Fattcns His PocketbooI, and Tells All
About II.
Frederick A. Cover, the well-known tele-
phone inventor, was eight years ago journal
ist at small salary in Providence, r. i.
Last year his telephone interest in England
alone was sold for 100000 in cash. "Elec-
trio lighting in Europe" Mr.. Cover informs
the New York Tribune, "is advancing moro
rapidly than the American public seem to
realize. Gas is usually far poorer in quality
than here, and modern improvements in
making it are slowly adopted. 1t is rarely
used in bedrooms and almost never in par
lors of good houses. And when it is used
the law, in Paris for example, requires the
pipes to be accessible, which means being in
sight and blemish to finely decorated
room. You can imagine the pleasure
given by good incandescent light
under such conditions 1t Is much the same
in industrial establishments. The Bon
Marche, at Paris, whore 1900 clerks are en-
ployed tried 400 electric lamps, and has now
Increased the order to 1000. The st. Lazare
railway station tried q few lamps in the ves-
thule, and will now extend the system to
the whole vast establishment covering some
twelve to fifteen acres. The grand opera
house at Paris, with its l., 100 permanent en-
| ployes, has gas bill of $4,000 a year, and
| 1t has been experimenting for the last two
years with almost every known system of
| electric lighting, American or otherwise.
| The result has finally been in favor of the
Edison system, and learned in Paris lately
that the contract with that company had
been concluded. Arather curious result goes
with this one. The director of public
works in Paris has said that whoever won the
! opera would stand first for the concession for
I,ai .rlar central lighting sttiOI ~ Paris
whoa will be OnU Vt the marvelS Of Europe u
few years from now. In Milan, the Man2oni
theater is lighted by electricity, and tho vast
| theater, Lii Scala, now has complete equip
ment Of engines. boilers, and dynamo ma
| chimes from New York, adequate to 10000
lamps in position under the shadow of the
great cathedral, without so much as wire or
| q puff of steam in sight from the cathedral
itself. Wires in the air, as wo have them
hcre, would not be tolerated in any city on
the continent, Several systems to avoid this
danger. as we'll as tho terrible Disagreement
of the streets, are in use abroad. In Paris
there are Of course the sewers, In other
localities, pines ara laid noar tho curbng,
with openings at intervals of 1000 feet or
80, through which tho wires can DO pulled
rs required, and occasionally case occurs
! where the wiros are laid i'll loadon
tubes roughly buried in trenches. 4 few
cities, like Antwerp and brussels, whore CEN
! tral station systems arc in hand, have al
lowed the wires in the air as an experiment
/ to show the workings of the system, and also
| in Citos like Amsterdam and Venice, whore
I the streets are 50 moist that digging is UNI
/ healthy. Generally speaking, European
architect, who usually has charge of build
! ing as long as it stands, hates the sight of a
wire on roof, and prevents it If he can
( The architect thus in charge of tho Louvre
refused to allow an experimental wire ia
cross that half mile of splondor, even to
oblige the government Of the ropublic-and
think he was right. Tho Americans are
! lighting the house OF commons, though the
awarding of the contract to them was opposed
! in the house by a young Sprig Of tho more
recent arstocracy, who INDUCED in some yul,
gar twaddlo about encouraging Yankee ad
venturors,