New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-09-26

| the butcher and green Qfo~erymzn IL awake, ana
| the most belated OF N ght-bir,is can always hnd
cheer and com Dany 10 the Bowery. tbongn hs takes
| his way homeward at the most unreasonable hour.
Third-ave Is left to get along with the dingy gas
jers by the city. Fourth-sve has few lights from
tighteenth-st north 10 the Park Avenue Hotel AID
toward the Grand Central Depot
| There are in all 70s street lamps now paid for
! by the Department Of Public Works. Each lamp
costs 20 cents night. q to- al of ~ 50 so year,
and the aggregate cost OF all the lamps in the yeAf
1883 was Sls0.s94, There Is provision in the
J each i've minutes sny lamp fails to light. rebate
OF 50 cents shall be paid but. except i'm the
OF the tire tn the Brush Companys works. the city
! has never saved any apprecabl IN that way.
| Three thousand two hundred and gas lamps
have been disPiscei by these 7Os electric lamps
| Each gas lamp had cost Tut SIT so year and the
aggregate cost for all bad been onlv 500 1872 so,
leaving an excess of cost for the electric lamps OF
The civ has no incandsscent lamps now on its
| lists few Edison lamps sers used 10
! or two of the court Offices but last winter thew
| were removed because they TOO 81 pensve-ths
! first instance. perhaps. on record in which the
| Department Of Public Works has been staggered ~
its own extravagances
AMBITIOUS PLANS OF THE ALDERMEN.
The Common Council. it seems. has scrurlss
of that sort when il to the matter of public
lighting That enterprising body has already
passed resolution requesting the Gas Commission
TO put 10 through the city far north as One
hundred and twenty -dfthst. some 1000 new arc
lamps All the avenues. even b.. c. and y. are TO
have electric lights almost from one end 10 the
other every street from Tenth-st. to Fifty
nintb-st Seventy second. Eishty-sixth. Ninety
second aud One-hundred snd-t wenIy-hfth SITS.
yarick, Carmine. Grand, Elizabeth, Mott. Mulberry
and host Of others Ths Central Park drives arc
to blaze with 25i lamps Bryant Park with 10 and
Mount Morris Park with II. Paradise Park has
long been entitled to one electric light. but owing
To tie squabbles of the Fourth Ward statesmen TOR
the honor Of procuring q. the t-roast-rs and
hand organ men have he.n EFF in darkness. The
| AlrermeD'- resolution is kinder IL the park
! three lamps where bnt would have been
needed The estim ated total cost for these 2.D6!
additional lights is 1926, ~. They would
dispace 5.l3J gas lamps which now cost IN all
$50, $50 80. making an excess of cost for the new
here in passing that the total number of gas amrs
lighted by the city is -. sos AID the cost of
lighting and maintaining them per annnm IL only
S527.3O3 81 But in spite OF he cnespuess OF gaA
Il seems llnost certain that the electric circuits
will be ENLARGED greatly in year or two The
demand for lamps all the important
streets Is growing steadily. and u will not be long.
perhaps before TIE whole island of Manhattan
VIII be sbiaze with them.
WHAT rHs COMPANIES ARE DOING.
or tns twenty electric Illuminating
COMPANIES whose names appear in tho
business directory. not more than half
a dozen extensively engaged in practical
lighting The best known Of these is. Of course
tho Edison. The Edison Company has to 10 with
incandescent lights only AMI has no dealings
directly with the city. Ia its field. however.
80 TAT age anu tue nulnOer Oh lamps dud Isolated
plants furnished each year go t is far ahead of ITS
rivals. Its station In Pear-st was opened IN
September. 1882. The business grew rapidly.
many downtown Offices and shops soon taking
lights Of from s to 81 candle power IN preference
20 the cheaper but diuzier gas jets. The demand
has Increased. Ia fact faster than the supply. The
Psarst. station ran mp It's capacity O. about $4,000
lights. bat stuck there AMI sub-statIon In
Liber'y-st.. with capacity Of 1900 lamps. had
20 be opened In the SIMMER Just ended. In way
the company was able to retrench. taking cut all
lamps that could not usel more than four or rye
hoars day ADD putting in instead the sll.nlght
or st-dty ones Gas nas fallen in price several
times since the station has been working but the
managers now that the prospects for extension
greater than The Edison Company IN
fact hopes TO have the whole city divided into
working districts. new station will be opened
next to the Racquet Club House in West Twenty
siSth-st, with capacity of $4,000 lamps Up
town. between Twenty third and Fifty-unth .ts.
4" II be cut INTO halves ami % 900 lights Will bs
placed IN each Many Of the hotels. theatres aud
lighthouses have private plants now, AM n the
more Inaccessible regions will have t. keep them
for several years Yet The Dakota. for instance
ha, Edison plant Of some 1000 or 900 lan,s
But tine atoms. If the Edison system is perfected
will do away with separate plants, AMI not only
huge fats but single dwelling houses can be itted
downtown is one ami one-eghth ceurs an hour for
SIX teen-eandle power lamp. The stron gsr lamps
now run up ~ high a. nifty candis power. and have
70 ne deeply shalod Tho Edison COnpa ny had
intended TO make some effort IN che coming winter
% place large number of those lights private
houses but the complications over the sui way for
city wires will probably put stop pro ,ress N
that direction; Counting both issl ated and station
plants the Edison Company claim 70 have about
3 900 lights now in operation.
The burning out Of the Brush station in Elizabeth
st. has thrown that conpauy's affairs apparently
"A Df al m II Sfol zk f,.ra
deals only III the well-known are lights aud
furnishes the city with 3+7 public lamps. So lar
as can be made out 10 supplies about 800 mors
amps to theatres, shops and cafes in various parts
of the city. There Is no appreciabe difference
tourteenth--t. and those Of the United States
Illuminating Company to the south OF IT,
he United States Company supplies both arc
AMI incsndesceat lamps. though IFS business Is
rather unequally divIdeG between tho two The
city takes 36l arc lamps from it, and il las some
900 other lamps scattered about the city. he ares
IN Tue TRBCNE composing room. whicn one car
see 40 clearly from she head Of Cenres... this
company's. IL also lights the American Insttates
town shops In a week or two the plant will be
increased To 1925, all OF them of between 1000
and 800 candle power The lnca.descent smps
II furnishes now number about 500. No private
houses are lighted. only clubs, hotels. shops and
cafes. This branch OF electric lighting Is not beaz
pushed with much rapidity.
The United States COMPANY was organized IN
1SsO, but has paid few vidends. Electric
lighting said one OF It's officers the other day
by NO means tie bonanza that most people think IT,
Compel, lion has already forced prices down below
the point of profit We get coal az a ridden lou-ly
cheap figure and are all the time improving our
machinery, but somehow We are making no money
at al. doubt If any company, 10 fact is making
profits. We stick chiefly 10 he arc gut | think
there will never be much money IN lighting
private houses. Ion can't electricity like gas,
aud unless there Is constant use o. II the CON any
loses on a lamp. The subway CommIss on too, las
gotten things into a muss. Why. 70 would cost 10
pZOO,OO0 for wires alone IL We should have To put
them ia that conduit Altogether the prospect lor
rapid extension OF electric lighting is rather
gloomy"
The Con olldated Electric Light Company has no
stat in tue city, and deals only IN the Isolated
incandescent hight plants Its patent. the SAWYER
Mann. Is said 10 be prior 10 EGson's Another Of
-1k.