The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-09
THE COMING MOTIVE POWER.
New Ways in Which Electrical Pow or
Is Being Applied to Machinery.

New YORK, Doc. S.-Steam power will
soon be thing of the past.
Doubtless this bold statement will sound
as absurd to many readers Of the present
generation as other scientific truths have
sounded to previous generations. 1t VIII
take years TO convince slow thinkers Of the
truth and the change will not come in O
dav or year, but It is nevertheless fact
that the days of steam power as the motive
mechanical impulse Of the world are mum.
bered.
Time was when vivid and water, by direct
action upon wheels, more or less ingenious
in form and construction, supplied all the
power that was needed for the rude
mechanism of te age. The world took
stride forward in progress, and heat
was harnessed. Steam was made to work
miracles.
To-day a greater, safer, cheaper power
has been discovered, and the Steam-eNeine
is destined to take its place alongside the
Windmill and the watermill as one OF the
outworn inventions that served their pur-
pose and have been superseded
To many readers this may sound like a
passage from Jules Verne. To speak dis
respectfully Of steam power will be
in their minds, much like blasphemin 3
against the multiplication table. Yet it IS
a fact, already accomplished. that scores
and hundreds of steam engines have alread y
been discarded by manufacturers and me-
chanlcs because better and cheaper form
Of machinery has been discovered with
which the work OF the world can be done.
Their shops and factories are furnls led with
the substitute, and the work goes on more
quietly, more safely, more cheaply aud
more rapidly than before.
What is the substitute for steam? Why,
electricity, to be sure,
VIII electric ty, then, do all that steam
power will! NJ Jst certainly it will, and is
destined in time to take steam's place, as
su ely as steam has taken the place OF water
power. No doubt steam engines will
always be used, as wind Mills always have
been, under circumstances that preclude
the advantageous use of the ut most resources
Of science.
All, this, however, the reader may say, is
the dream OF an Edison or some other over
sa1guine electrician, VITO thinks because
marve have been performed with ele,Lric-
ity, therefore all things may be and will be
done with it.
Softly. 1t is nothing Of the kind. 1t is
the revolution Of science that has already
begun, and that is progressing with q
rap!dity that very few persons realize. 1t
is true that ultimate results have not vet
been achieved in the way Of cheapening
and simplifying the methods By which this
great power is applied. but it is true, ais },
that the power has been applied and has in
many places been put to do the every day
wor& of manufacturing and trade.
Ocean vessels and railroad trains are not
yet driven by electricity, excepting in
such few instances as may be called expert
ments, but they certainly will be in the near
future if the success of the application to
taticnary engines be any Indication
Hundreds of shops in New York and other
cities are now supplied, from central plants,
with electric power, and in the far west,
vhere power centers are far apart owing to
the scarcity of fuel and water, the new
system has made tremendous progress with
in tbs past year
In few trades which attain their highest
development in the large cities ELECTRICAL
motors are not only driving the steam
engine to the wall but are being put to
hitherto unheard-of USES A notable ex-
ample of this is the electric office fan,
which consists of tiny motor hardly a f.
inch cube and polished brass fan wno5s
shape and appearance are those of pro-
peller screw. -
In furnishing light power that which
jocose engineers denominate cat power in
contradisti0ction to horse power, the cleo
trio motor has made great headway. The
best illustration of its success in this regard
is afforded in its application to the sewing
machine. 1t was long ago found out that
these did twice as much work run by power
as by the human foot In the case of sickl
operatives, and probably no trade employs
and makes more human wreck than this,
the ratio was even greater, running as hig h
as three aud four times as mucn. Any
number of motors have been designed for
this industry. "Diamol I'd" steam engines,
calori cengines and water-power motors, but
with comparatively little success. Sewing
is usually conducted i'll lofts where heavy
power can not be- used and where the
transmission of force by wire ropes, leather
betting or metal gearing is impracticable
or where practicable 50 expensive as to
greatly increass the net cost of produc-
ton.
A third method substitutes the ele trio
motor for the steam engine as the source OF
power and puts in motion mass of gearing
from which the power is taken off by belts
wherever required.
Similar to the application of the electric
motor to the sewing machine are those to
the shoe sewing machine, the knitting ma
chine, the rotary churn, the cidermili and
press, the cloth cutting machine. the quilt
ing machine, which quilts a ladies' coat
with fifty needles in les than two minutes,
the harness sewing machine, and hun
bred other mechanlsrns whose mere enumer-
alton WOuld consume TOO mucn tlnle anu
pace.
the electric motor has been added to the
paraphernalia of well regulated churches and
blows tue organ with an efficiency neve /
before known. With one fell swoop it ha S
put an end TO the ancient and honorable
industry of the beIlowsman. The ne
church-worker is motor whose sze is
determined by the size of the organ. Tue
switch and regulator are fixed in the key
board, besides which "tell-tale" and auto
matte regulator prevent anything happen
ing to the mechanicism wnen in work. As
the organist plays and the air is Lsed NJ,
the regulator Increases the forcs OF the
current aud the velocity Of the motor until
tue limit OF capacity Is reached. Under the
old system the pressure varied and the
amount of air in tae bellows ragged from
10 10 100 per cent. of its cubic capacity.
Under the new oAe that pressure is AWAY
the same aud the amolnt of air never less
than 80 per cent. of the capacity. What IS
more, the new bellOwsman never 90 $
drunk, never gets asleep and never dis
turbs con yregauon vita snore, cough Or
sn seze.
In many trades the electric motor is now
so commoa as to excite no Comment. Th,ss
are chiefly the industries in which small
goods, mainly metallic, are manufactured
I.ath, die, moulding aud stamp-work; on-
bossing, carving, drilling, and pressing
printing, binding, paper cutting and cave
iope maKlng are but few examples. Nor
is full Justice done to the electric motor