The weekly times. (Wilmington, Del.) 1886-18??, 1886-10-23
AGE OF WONDER.
HOW ELECTRICITY IS PUSH
ING AHEAD.
The New Light in Wilmington
Growing IN Favor for Va
rious Purposes.

City Electric Company at Fifth and
Tatnall streets, is progressing rapidly,
the building and smokestack being al
most completed. The fine weather re-
Gently has been of great assistance to
the contractors, and they have not been
compelled to lose any time since the
commencement.
The work of setting up the boilers, en-
gines an dynamo machines, with the
accompanying electrical apparatus for
the generation and control of the elec-
trio current, will be proceeded with i'm
mediately, and hopes are entertained
that by the first week in December the
whole of the apparatus will be in work
ing order.
The electric light has icome to stay"
although some people imagined that it
would simply have IA "Will o. the wisp''
existence, and refrained from adopting
it because they thought that it would,
some fine day, quietly pick up its tent
and decamp, like the patent medicine
vendor. These same people are now
coming to the company's offices and re-
questing to have the light laid on at the
earliest possible moment.
The incandescent electric light in
general, and the Edison light in partic-
ular, has had an unqestioned success
a success immeasureably greater than
was obtained by gas during the earlier
years of its existence-although the
modern illuminant has had a far harder
battle to fight, inasmuch as gas had
practically no rival when it was intro
duced, with the exception of the sport
ye-tallow candle, which used to fur
nish q ur forefathers with what little
artificial light they required. The elec-
trio light on the other hand has had and
still has to contend with an old estab-
lished an very powerful competitor.
When Mr.. Edison, few years ago,
announced to the public that he had
solved the problem of lighting by cleo
tricity he was laughed at as a crank.
Those who scoffed at the wizard Of
Menlo Park" have only had to live
about six years to see 400 600 Edison in
candescent lamps in actual operation,
and nearly sixty central stations in as
many cities, supplying the lights ON the
same basis as gas. Naturally the great.
est success has been met with in the
United States, but a number of large
stations have been erected in Europe
and elsew ere. This is splendid show
ing for business still in its infancy.
Wilmington is one of the many c.
cesses scored by the Edison light, which
was intro uced about nine months ago
to take the place of the Arc lights pre-
viously supplied by the Arnoux Electric
Light Company. The Arc light, having
very limited field OF operation, did not
meet with the success in this city that
it obtained in large and crowded ci les,
and it remained for the tiny incandes-
cent light to step in and score victory.
The plant supplied by the Edison Com
pany, and erected in the Third Street
Station, was capable of supplying 2,4OO
lamps Of ten candle-power each, but
after few months operation it was
seen that the plant was entirely insuffi-
cient to meet the growing demand.
After much thought and consideration
the directors of the company, with COM
mendable enterprise, decided to aban
don the old station, which was situated
at a considerable distance from the n
tire of lighting, and erect a station as
near the centre as possible. They tn ere
fore purchased large and central lot
and commenced operations, and the
station now in course of erection will
meet all requirements for long time to
come, as it will have capacity Of 5000
lights. Situated in the heart of the
business portion of the city, the new
station will supply current for light and
and power to stores and workshops in
any part of the city, and at the same
time the lines will be extended to reach
private residences along delaware ave-
nue., and in fact any lights called for,
from Browntown on the south to Bran
dywine on the north, and from the Nc
Cullough Iron Works ou the east to the
B. & p. station on the west.
The company contemplates lighting a
numhar of tha varinue nhurchns and as