National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-10-02
TO Light THE AVENUE GRATIS.
The Proposition Submitted by an Electric
Light COmpnny Yesterday.


A committee consisting of Samuel Norment
NJ. G.. Emery, James l.. Barbour, Robert Boyd,
Seymour W. Tullock, and William Dickson, OF
tho United States Electric Light company,
called on the commissioners yesterday and
filed the following letter. the purpoTt Of which
was mentioned in Yesterdays RFPtptICAN:
"GENTLEMES Your favor ofthe 18th ultlmo
inviting proposals for lighting Pennsylvania
avenue from the capitol to the treasury build.
llg, was duly received. Your specifications
equivalent TO about 200 candle lights. We
desire notonly to accomplish that, but to add
NJ least eight times the amount of light now IN
nnSie, thus living thorough and credltable
illumination TO the proposed district.
Your rate Of payment is too Uncomfortable
10 effect this purpose, and from n commercial
point of view would render street lighting by
electricity an impossIbility. But rs this sub.
lect has awakened considerable interest and
expectancy we have concluded to prevent any
disappointment to the public by now making
the following proposal:
we oiiortoiluminatc Pennsylvania avenue
rom the capitol to the treasury building with
| twenty or moro arc lamps for the balance OF
the fiscal year ending July ], 1885, free of cost
TO the city.
"To effect this we asl; for some modification
in regard to wiring, to wit We will run our
wires under ground from the lamps to our
| present established lines and at such points
where we have no established lines on tho
avenue we are to be permitted temporarily 70
run them, our lamps to be placed upon certain
lamp posts now in use, and our wires are To- be
concealed within. In the event of the under.
ground conduits which we thus place under.
ground working satisfactorily we will place
| the balance of the circuit underground before
tho expiration of the proposed time of light
ing.
We will say in this connection we have re.
Gently examined the underground systems Of
tho electrical exposition and found none with
out serious defects, and we know of no system
| now in practical use which IL giving satisiac'
tloI. The wire recently laid down under
| Delaware avenue, Philadelphia. proved to bC
| failure. We have ourselves laid nearly Il
mile of underground conduit guaranteed 70
us, and IL proved failure and has been nban'
doncd. We are ready however, to try again
but we think in all inirness the whole burden
of experimenting with underground condult'
in this city should not be imposed upon us. We
ask that the various telegraph and telephone
companies and the city itself which has but
| recently run many miles of aerial lines, share
in these experiments, and whenever durable
underground conduit can be found we viii
cheerfully hasten to put every wire from view
The gentleman who have invested their
| capital in this company are mainly those who
have been identified for many years
| with the business prosperity of this city, and
are at present among the largest real estate
| owners and taxpayers. Their object In en-
| couraging the enterprise of electric lightning
| has been more from a desire to improve and
beautify the city and enhance the value of rea
| estate than from desire of receiving any
large return from their Investment for two
| years the company has endeavored TO estab
| fish itself upon a selfsustaining bnsis and In
this struggle II has received from the bushes,
| community generous support and ut thi'
time from private enterprise we are furnishing
more light upon Pennsylvania avenue thar
| twice the amount afforded from the gus. Thus
far we have been treated by every department
of the government for which we now ligh
! with encouragement and libernlty, and trust.
| ing at some future time we may receive SINH
| lar support ut hour hands.
| The substance Oft he BrushSwan PROPOSE
ton was published yesterday, its text mas no
| vet been given ont