Los Angeles herald., 1890-09-16
A MECHANICAL REVOLUTION.
Electricity From Coal Will Bring About
a Great Change in Motive Power.

Great Change in Motive Power.
From the New York Commercial Advertiser
Electricians have been discuss
ing remark said to have been
before he sailed for Europe,
that it would be well to 60 cautiously in
respect to certain expenditures for
locomotives, because it was probable
that within few years the motive
power of every railroad in the United
States would be changed. So one
rumor has it, writes wellknown CORE
spondent. Another report has it that
he was approached by men interested
in the development of new electrical
discovery, and when he had examined
it declared that we are on the eve of a
great mechanical and industrial revo-
luton, so great, in fact, as to do away,
practically with steam as manufac-
turing and motive power.
Two opinions will be heard in electri-
cal circles respecting the meaning of
this utterance. One is that Mr.. Willard
had personal knowledge of a new inven-
ton Or discovery III the storage of cleo
tricity, and the other opinion is based
upon the belief that Mr.. Willard has
been convinced that the recent alleged
discovery OF a means of developing a
latent heat and electricity in coal so
that it snail produce power without any
intermediate machinery is bona fide
discovery.
A vast amount of money has been
spent by the men who are of inventive
turn, and who are using that quality IN
the field of electrical development to
perfect a system of storage of electricity.
1t is understood that the present sys-
TEN generally in use is very expensive
one, and at the rate charged for passen-
gers, 5 cents trip, can hardly be made
profitable for extensive use in street
cars. In England they seem to be able
to do better with storage batteries than
we have done here, and some satisfac-
tory experiments have led to the estab-
fishing of short distance street railways
thus propelled.
No one seems to know of any such in
vention of recent date in the storing of
electricity as would justify Mr.. Willard
in making the remark he did One of
the ablest OF the electrical experts said
this afternoon that building OF a per-
feet storage battery capable OF replying
to all demands, large or small would OF
course solve the problem of satisfactory
electric motive power, but that he did
not believe that any such battery had
yet been built.
the general impression is that Mr..
Wizards attention has been called to a
discovery rather than an invention. 1t
is said that an inspired young man, in
his way something such a genius as
young Edison was when he astounded
the Western Union electricians with his
early and amazing patents, has, partly
by accident and partly by study, dis
covered this marvellous secret by which
the stored heat in coal may be developed
into power without the Intermediates
OF furnace, boiler and steam engine.
Ii this is true the young man has out
stripped Edison, for he has made dis
coverv which Edison has sought for
years to make, and which upon two or
three occasions he thought he had
made. Edison himself is authority for
saying that if this secret should be re-
vealed it would be followed by revolu-
ton in mechanical industry equal to or
greater than that which came upon the
heels of Watts discoveries and inven-
tions in steam power. 1t is, of course,
an inference among electrical men that
it is this to which Willard referred.