The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-02-12

COMPANY from operating rs Il does al pres
ent. Nv friend talks about great loe. Oh
life. bat no man was ever killed 10y elec-
tucity in Virginia
Mr.. EDISON.
Mr. Edison's remarks, which followed
next were made In the form ot answers 10
questions asked by Mr.. Boulwaro. itsccms
] that he preferred this method OF cNplana-
ton % a direct speech. The questions h"9
been previously prepared. OF course ana
| from their general tenor were ingeniousll
intended 10 bring out only 70 the best au-
vantage such points as would carry favor
10 the measure. The replies were mace
most carefully and in the fowcsi possible
words OF explanation. although. Win lhe
ant illustrations and witticlsms injected
] into them. they were not uncnicriainins.
But throughout all the answers sounded as
il something was withheld. No question
was cyaded. but the replies seemed 10 lack
the candOrof one who had nothing at s''Ae'
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
For All Of his illustrations Mr.. Edison
used the subject of water. lie told OF the
difference between continuous, pulsaiihS
and alternating currents ana thei Si''''
larity 10 rivers. mountain streams, &C, ana
then explains the difference Do'Nc'" am
peers aud volts.
(Which is the most dangerous an ainpceI
or a yOlty' he was asked.
"BOfh are dangerous. The pressure is ihe
thing. man can De killed as easily py
one as the other. A man might be killed
rs easily by a gallon Of water falling ON
him from me height of 1000 feet as he would
De- by 1000 gallons Of water falling from
height of one FOOT
Are voy interested in arc lights, Mr.. I'd
isOn"
.sNo. am not" I'm answering another
question Mr.. Edison said the present ar
raugemcnt Of electric lighting IN this city
is dangerous: that 90 remedy n Sj.uOl or
1900 worth Of copper wire was necessary
that the company would not remedy lnis
unless compelled Co.. "other companies
will not be driven out Of the field be dr-
clared. "But let them conform their sle
tenn 10 ours. They have very small wires
TO force their currents over. our system
) has very mild currents, so that they can 90
into the homes of everybody without danger.
The bill before YOU does not exclude any
other system, il that system rs well con-
stuIctcd. The danger as it now exists. Is
because of two high prossures. Inc CONE
panics operating the systems sell their own
machinery, and when il is made 10 appear
that small wires will accomplish the work
of large ones, many a corporation Will take
the smaller. because they are cheaper. we
do not make our Town machinery, ana have
no interest i'm 10. I'm a small town the
danger from these feeble wires may not De
very great AT first. hut as the wires increase
AZ they surely do the dangers increase. The
bill before YOU is a reasonable measure, but
would suggest this amendment to it:
"After the passage Of this act it shall not
bc lawful for any individual OF corporation
public or private. 20 generate or use or cause
to be used for distribution 10 the public. d.
rectlv or by induction, any electric current
with sufficient electric pressure 10 produce
human death accidentally by the diiecl
action Of such current
Mr.. Heaton. a member Of the committee,
arose 10 ask what changes would Dee neces-
sary 10 make the system here what it should
be. and what would be the cost.
"Well," said Mr. Edison, ''f0r town OF
about 5000 inhabitants say Lynchburg,
for instance laughter about $4,000, or 10
or ~ per cent, would be needed. The
change would not bring us any revenue. II
would only require them 90 use copper wire
and rewind their machines
MIR. BROWN.
Mr.. Harold p. Brown, Of New York, was
the next speaker, and explained hOw be-
came 10 be connected with the question 40
issue. and said he believed he could give
reason TO show how the arc current could
/ be rendered comparatively dangerless. He
1 nrNfttuNN 10 tell llNM Ni NNl NiIl lNANl'"i|NN
| i'm this special subject and had written an
article that appeared in the New lork
| Post. and incidentally had mentioned alter
Mating currents as dangerous. The article
brought forth a deluge Of criticism. II
wanted 10 continue my inycstigatiOn,' Mr..
Brown'said. "but j had mo laboratory. ]
applied TO Mr.. Edison and ne said its no use
10 push such views forward until some
prominent man is killed. Laughter. !
al HI.fIifr
was as valuable 10 bis wife and family as
the life OfamilliOnairc. Applause. Then
I he Oheied me the Use of his laboratory pro-
vided told him Of my Investigations ]
agreed. and night after night we expert
mented on animals. We found that a con-
tinuOus current a. high as loo volts would
not produce death, whereas the pulsatine
current killed at a much lower pressure.
In the alternating currents, with the puisa-
| tiOns nc from 80 TO 100 To the second, death
would be produced
Mr.. Brown next told his audience how he
had worked for the state Of New York i'm
connection with electrical tests made there
and the result of his Investigations proved
that the greater the pressure and the more
frequent the pulsations. the more deadly was
the current
Commenting on the bin before the COM
mittee. Mr.. Brown said he thought the
limits named in section / were reasonable.
but he believed 10 would hc better To make
no limit. Don't have any ir0n-clad NUM-
Der. but let il depend ON how the current
affected life. Try il on q dog, and il DE can
stand il when properly applied, 1t viii De
safe"
Ii had been said by some of the speakers
that nobody had been killed i'm Virginia by
electricity. Mr.. Brown said he had it, on
good authority that i'm the summer of 1856,
"a man was killed by AN arc light wire in
INnchburg. ANY man who grasps the car
b0rns of an electric lamp risks his life.
The balance of Mr.. Browns remarks
we're confined 20 the citation of instances of
death from electricity in various parts of
the country. some Of which occurred when
the wires were considered perfectly safe.
PROFESSOR MORTON.
Mr.. Hugh r.. Carbon, lawyer of War
rentOn. next arose TO Introduce Professor
Morton. of the Stevens Institute Of Tech
nolOgv. Of llObOsen, y. D., whose opinion
i'm the matter would be- Of considerable
value. Professor Morton at once plunged
into the subject at a "high pressure speed.
lie said he did not object 10 what
cir. Edison had said, but he thought
he could give clearer illustrations.
Like Mr.. Edison, he then talked about
alternating. pulsatng, and continuous
currents, and referred TO "a pump and the
action Of water through the pipes attached
TO il 10 explain his meaning one current
was like a steady, easy flow, another irrcg-
Mar. and a third as if the water was pump
ed out and then drawn back. Ampeers, De
said. were the unit of current strength.
The rate of the flow Of water through "a pipe
is the ampeer; the pressure is the volt.
The question at issue seemed 90 be be-
tween two systems. One, 20 Illustrate, has
large pipe with a steady flow of water;
the other. a pulsating flow through small
pipes. The converter, or transformer. con-
sists of two coils of wire-One fine, the other
coarse. To illustrate: Take a pump with
piston and rods one of the pistons small
and the other largeA and force water from
one 10 the other, and 10 is then clear how
tbe high pressure Of electricity goes into
the converter and ont again. while the low
pressure of fifty volts, by induction, only
goes into the house.
AN that Mr.. Brown has said about cur
rents. - said Professor Morton, 'has been
known for twenty-five years. There's moth
ing new about that. Nobody says that the
alternating currents is safe. At high pressure,
with less volts. il viii Kill quicker than any
other. But il is not a question of having q
. ! ......o.,. th.f H. ~ llDlufoIN safe 4 rlflrUltl