Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-01-27
A Light Subject.

A A6As S"SJSS"
We take as text for our discourse
in this article, an extract from the
book of Genesis: "Let there be
lights" To obtain light has been and
still is, deep study with mankind
We refer to the chemical light and
not to the spiritual one. The object
sought was and is to find something
to supply the place of the sun, at
night.
The earliest artificial light of which
we have any knowledge was the lamp,
the invention of which is credited to
the Egyptians. 1t was in use in the
days of Moses. These lamps were
rude affairs, being merely small
vessel, generally made of baked earth,
but sometimes of gold, silver, bronze,
and other metals. The vessel was
filled with oil aud wick was insert
ed in sort of spout. These lamps
gave poor light and lots of smoke.
They must have caused the people
Of those days to cuss considerably.
Candles are mentioned in the bible
but evidently meant lamps such as
mentioned above. 1t is not known
when candles were first used, but wax
candles were in use among the Ro-
mans.
For over FIVE thousand years the
ingenuity of man could find no bet
ter artificial light than candles, torch
es and smoky lamps, but in 1889 n
great improvement was made by
Annie Argand, who invented the Ar
gand lamp, the principle of which is
applied now to all kinds of oil lamps,
and causes steady and clear light.
Mankind began now to get de-
cent light, but instead of being salts
fed, they hungered for more light.
Men, as a rule, do not love darkness.
Neither do they care to go to bed
when the sun sets. They want to 60
to the club room, to the theatre, to
the roller rink, to church in the even
ing, and to prolong the hours of la
Dor. Men also like to smoke tobacco
in the evening, and no man can en-
JOY a smoke in the dark-he must
see the smoke curling in the air to
thoroughly appreciate the weed.
The people still wanted more light,
and in 1892 they got it. In that
year VIM. Murdoch, of Cornwall,
England, constructed small coal
gas apparatus, and in 1893 coal gas
was first used practically, and the
large factory of Boulton and Watt,
at Birmingham, England, was illu-
minated by its bright rays. There
had been lots of gas in the world
prior to that date; every man had
more or less, but it was of no use as
an illumination. The politicians OF
the present day are well supplied with
that sort of gas and they use it as q
sort of ubricator-soft-soap.
In 1922 coal gas was first used in
this country. Boston, the aesthetic
metropolis of intellectually and beans
was the first city to use it. The use
of gas has spread to all parts of the
civilized world, and ON Tuesday
January 10Th, 1886, it was first used
in this city, and we will briefly re
late the history of the gas business
as far as regards Alpena.
Last spring Peter DeMill, jr. came
to this city and made proposal t
put in gas works. He asked the Com
mon Council to grant him a charter
{ The Council, after satisfying them
selves that Mr.. DeMill meant bust
ness, passed an ordinance in June
1885, giving the Alpena Gas com
pany the sole right to use the street
to lay the pipes in, for period o
ten years, which grant ends in 1895
The company is to furnish the clti
zens with gas at the rate of s2.5'
per thousand cubic feet, and the cit,
f is to be charged So per thousand Gu
bic feet. If, in the future, it shoul,
cost more to make gas than it doe
now, the price can be raised, but it ]
not to exceed the price paid in othe
cities similarly situated. The com
pany is exempt from taxation for tw
years from last June.
Mr.. DeMill set to work to organ
ize the company. He was successful
The company was formed and incol
porated May 10Th, 1885, and on Jun
LIST, 1885, the franchise was granted
The capital stock is 100000. TIL
next step was to locate the site 70
the gas works. and let the contrac
for making the machinery and pipes
Land was then purchased on Stat
street just beyond Potter's railroa