Morning journal and courier., 1889-10-15
EDIsoN,s REMEDY.
Govern the Tension OF the Wires BIZ
Police Regulation.

Govern the Tension OF the Wires BIZ
Police Regulations.
ORANGE, N. j., Oct. 14.-An Evening Sur
reporter interviewed Edison to-day as to his
statement to the effect that the tension or
electric wires should be- nnder police regula.
ton, just as steam boiler pressure is.
Yes, ! see they are wheeling around to
the idea of what farce 1t is 20 talk about in.
sulation.
"There Is no such thing as insulation in
these enormously high currents. Take the
Atlantic cable, the highest case of insulation
known. Millions of dollars are spent in eff
fecting the insulation. The cable companies
have one ironclad rule from which they never
deviate, which is, if I remember rightly, that
no more than forty volts pressure should ever
be used. It is always the aim of the cable
electricians to use the very smallest volts of
pressure possible. They are afraid of in
juring the insulation by increasing the
pressure. Did you see the account of N.
d'Orieneol, the French scientist, in which he
gave a cat 5000 volts continuous current
without killing her. A cat can be killed by
22O volts alternating current; yet cat has
many times the tenacity of life shat human
being has. With Ave volts of alternating
current can throw q man into violent con-
vulsions. 1t looks to me as If Feeks was
killed by an alternating current. Independ-
emit OF the more deadly character of the alter
mating current the system which is used for
distribution makes it far the more dangerous.
AS said Saturday the constitutional author
tiles will have to adapt similar rules to those
governing gas and steam companies.
The public never can get at the truth of
the matter as things are now. When the
pressure is restrained the people have the
certainty, not until then. The people in au-
thority, the mayor, the board Of health,
force the matter. Is there not law in New
York against the manufacture of nit1o-
glycerine within the limits? Well, there
must be one against deadly currents. Let
the mayor keep the pressure reduced to 700
volts continuous current and to 200
alternating. I am not prepared to say
That even 200 volts alternating pressure
Is If had a snsbn SAY vopS So
the alternating current. Let four or five
practised men get together to frame some
practical rules. The legal detail is easy
enough. Only take the legal measures. AS
far as the Edison company goes it wants a
legal rate of pressure. How many men have
been killed by steam boilers. There have
been ten times as many by deadly electrical
currents. If boiler restriction is necessary,
how much more is il needed for electricity.
CAS- for insulation, when one-half dozen
experts testify that one method is all right,
another that it is all wrong, you can judge
that there is little agreement. AS for me, I
know there is no safe insulation of deadly
current. There may be those that differ
from me, but the public has only one course,
that is to make the companies distribute their
electricity SO that it would be perfectly in
different whether or not the wires had in
sultation.
SIN France the president of the council
has asked the Academy of Science to inves-
tigate this very matter. The municipal au-
thorities give the franchises there.
The English have considered the question.
There was, as remember, an act there pre-
venting pressure above 400 volts.
1.-THE gist of the matter is this: Let cleo.
trio lighting 20 on, but take active legislative
measures to render 1t SAFE The safe cleo.
trical method is simple enough; the legal
course ought to be as simple"
Neuralgia and Domestic Grief.
NEW York, Oct. 14.-The pretty twenty
year old wife of Thomas Eddy of 261 Riving
ton street committed suicide last night by
drinking carbolic acid. She had suffered
throughout the day with neuralgia, and ir
the afternoon there had been disagreement,