Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-18
A BIG ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT.

and ty none other in Washington!
A BIG ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT.
Bids to BE Opened at the War De-
partmcnt q Week From Today.
TIE STATE, WAR AND NAVY DEPARTMENT BUILD
ING AND THE WHITE HOUSE TO BE SUPPLIED
WITH ELECTRIC LIGHTs-EvERyTuTsa TO BE
READY ron THE NEW YEAR RECEPTION
A week from today bids will be opened at the
War Department, in the Office OF the superin-
tendent OF tho State. War and Navy building,
Chief Engineer Williamson. for the materials
FOR the establishment in tina. building OF COM
piete plant for electric lighting thus complet-
ing the structure and making it the finest OF
all government buildings When it was turned
over to the three Secretaries by Gen. Casey
two years ago he reported it TO be completed,
but after q consultation with Capt. Williamson
Secretary Endicott came to tho conclusion
that no modern Office building should
be considered complete until provided
with fun QUIZ; for lighting by
electricity, and ne accordingly made allot-
ment out of the money left from the original
appropriation, amounting to about 100000,
for the purpose OF wiring the west and GEN.
Ter wings. the Others having already been
NIeu py IDe elecTlc HSAtlnS company, with
the understanding that the government might
purchase the wires when IL so desired ut a GER
tain price, AZ 10 turned out this prico was far
below the actual cost of wiring, that the
government Is now. without any intention on
the part of the company, q good deal the
gamer In the transaction.
THE PROPOSED PLANT
Secretary Proctor also agreed to the compile
ton Of the plant, and an advertisement was
issued to bidders the other day calling for pro-
posals on plant as follows: Four No. IL Edi-
son dynamos, wound Tor 40 volts, with meters,
indicators, switches, &C.. for ench pair; two
high-speed engines Of 125 horse power each
with double cylinders. and two or three steam
boilers with aggregate CRATE surface of As
square feet and q heating surface Of /, $50
square feet. According to the advertisement
the goods are to be delivered on or before De-
cember 10. and the plant is to be in working
order BY the lust day Of December. This will
require tho greatest speed of which the con-
tractors are capable. aud it is not likely that
the work will all be done in time, although
Capt. Williamson has been in correspondence
with manufacturers for some time and now has
proposals from number of firms. He expects
at least eight or nine bids on each class Of ma
terials.
IT'S PROBABLE COST.
The entire plant will cost within s25, 900 and
will, when completed, furnish an electric cur
rent rot only 20 the State War and Navy build
ing. but also to the White House. which has
been wired and IL now almost ready for the
turning on Of the flow of power. The union Of
She two buildings was done for economic rea-
sons, is being estimated that there will be q
great saving when the White House takes UP
the current during the night. at the time when
the office building is not using it. The actual
cost OF the lighting of the Executive Mansion
Will be charged against the commissioner OF
public buildings and grounds, Col. Ernst, who
Is III charge of tho White House and who will
pay the superintendent of the other building
the proper sum each month or quarter, to be
put INTO the contingent fund Of the great
structure. Thus the White House will get
cheap light and the expense Of running the
plant will be lessened.
ZEE PRESENT UNCOMFORTABLE STATE OF THINGS.
There are now abou. 600 lights used in the
State, War and Navy building, not all at once,
of course, but enough to furnish q reddish,
sickly hued illumination to the scores of rooms
and miles OF corridors. 1t evident ion
ago that unless the electric lighting company
turned on more power there would be an cpl
demic OF blindness in the building. and there
we're long periods when the lights would go
out entirely or dance up and down in the most
uncertain manner. On dark days the lights
would look like glimmering beacons affair off to
show the wanderers where the lamps were To-
Gated. The gas had frequently TO be used,
while the superintendents men hunted with
lanterns Tor the wires so as to repair breaks.
This state Of things has grown SO intolerable
that the prospect Of a plant of their own has
almost set the clerks Of the building wild with
JOY. At night there are less than a hundred
lamps needed, these being in The CORRIDORS
oVER TWO THOUSAND LIGHTS TO BE IN THE
CIRCUIT.
There are to be about $50 lamps in the White
House and these will make q total Of 1850
lights on the circuit As the estimate is for
double plant of tour dynamos, and the inten-
tion Is TO run but two of them, or one pair at
once, there is thus provision for a total Gu
pacity Of about . $50 lamps. according to GER
tain tables of amperes. Even if all the lamps
fouid be lighted at once, which will probably
Never happen. it will be possible to start both
pairs Of dynamos and thus give strong cur
rent 10 all During the day there is need Tor
not more than eight or nine hundred lamps in
the War department. building on an average,
although the figure varies as the weather con-
dinons outside change. The White House will
need Its illumination only at night, possibly
excepting q few lamps in the Offices, which are
not q factor III the calculations. The only time
when the full capacity OF tho plant might be
required would come when n Saturday on
which there is q reception at the White House
happens to be cloudy enough to require lamps
TO be lighted inside.
GETTING READY FOE THE NEW YEAR RECEPTIONS
The haste with which the contracts are to be
made and the contractors pushed up to their
work comes from a desire On the par, OF Capt.
Williamson to have the plant ready for opera
tion py tho LIST OF January. so as to be able TO
tur;; co tho current from the dynamos for the
New Year reception. 1t is expected that all the
fixtures will be III place in the White House BY
then, bu: If the plant should be DELAYED in any
way tie lamp, will be run from the city circuit.
Tho wlre5 connecting the two buildings run
Through the greenhouse and along the brick
wall at the ives: emf Of tho White House
grounds through four neat standards:
thence do.,. into the ground aud across
the stree: to she Navy Department side by
BY I3ssas Of a small tunnel, work on which is
TO &c besan a: once. Tho dynamos and en-
Eia=s ~s 20 be located IN the center wing of
Gs odild:ng, II the endorsement where there
Viii 70 no noiso to reach the clerks above