Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-03-28
IN TIE ELECTRICAL WORLD.

"A telephone line is being run along
the Congo railroad
i'm Stoneham, Mass, one electric
light is loJ feet above the ground. 1t
is on topof pole dashed to high tree,
The Welding Of the spol1es of metal
lie wheels to the hubs by means Of
electricity has recently been proposed
and a process patented,
in Belgium the white insulators on
telegraph poles are so frequently
broken that grayish brown ones are be-
ing used to replace them.
There is some talk of using cleo
tricity as the propelling power on the
Lewiston (Me.) street railroad. If the
change is made the road will be extend
ed so as to open up large amount of
surrounding property.
"A Minnesota town recently decided
to run its own electric lighting plant.
After plant had been contracted for
and installed the town was enjoined
from making payment from the town
funds, and the plant will probably be
turned over to private company,
The new central station at ST. Pan
creas Vestry, London, on which work
has been begun, will have plant capa-
BILE of running 10000 lights. The dis
tributing mains from the station will
have a current carrying capacity sufi-
cient to keep $4,000 1G-candle lamps
burning simultaneously.
Telegraph lines are subject to a
great variety of pests. In Rio, for eX-
ample, there is an orchid that incrusts
the wire and causes leakage. In Japan
the large web of a spider, dripping with
rain or dew, frequently interrupts the
traffic, while in Norway a large species
of woodpecker raises havoc with the
poles.
1t is stated in commercial journals
that there has of late been a marked
tendency on the part of insurance COM
panies to reduce the rates on insurance
where the electric light is used, because
it has been demonstrated beyond ques-
ton that the electric light is much safer
than either artificial or natural gas
Inventive Age
The board of public works of
jamestown, N. Y, has purchased, in
behalf of the city, site of land on
which to erect an electric light plant.
Specifications have been prepared for a
plant capable of running 175 2,OOO-can-
die power arc lights. At first but 1870
lamps will be put in. These viii be SC
scattered about the city as to furnish
light to all sections TO do this will re.
quire about - miles Of line which
will cost $500 per mile.
BY June 1, 1891, it is expected that
the new building Of the Southern New
England Telephone Company at Hart
ford CT, will be completed. The
switchboard in the operating room viii
be of the latest multiple switch pattern
arranged for metallic circuits, and viii
have capacity for 5000 subscribers
The distributing board will be large
enough to accommodate 1000 pairs o
wires, and will be of Russia iron. Tht
whole building is constructed with ;
view to make it almost impossible for
fire to gain any Roadway. The parti
tons are of terra Gotta. and lumber ant
flooring have protecting materials be
tween the different layers of planking
The electrical range-fnder is de
signed for use in naval warfare. but i
it proves successful, it should be o
great value in times of peace as an in
strument for readily and accurately find
ing the dis lance of inaccessible objects
Two telescopes are used at a know
distance apart, and the operation j
based upon fact that by simple cleo
trical arrangement no current viii pas
unless the two telescopes are exactl
parallel. The observer notes on one O
the telescopes the angle required t
prevent a current from passing throug
the instrument, and thus measures Q
electrically weighs the difference i
angle of the two.
, -"Unrelenting conservatism" is
somewhat euphemistic term for tn
guiding principle by which the oficiG
duties of the town clerk of Bacup, Lar
, cashire, Eng, are directed. The il
, habitants of Bacup, which is a larg
, manufacturing town, began to thin
, that although somewhat late in tn
! day, they might as well be abreast tn
age in the matter of street and hous
q illumination. They consequently az
dressed the town clerk on the subjeC
and requested him to consider the az
visibility of taking steps with a vie
3 to the adoption of the modern luminan
4 At the meeting of the town council tn
h clerk said he had received a numbt
e of letters in re electric lighting, whic
S he did not think it necessary to read
i N. Y. Sun.
n Regarding the Longest Day.
!; 1t is quite important, when speakir
a of the longest day in the year, to sa
= what part of the world we are talkiH
- about, The following is the length
2 different places; Stockholm, Swede,
:, eighteen and one-half hours; Spitzbe
: gen, three and one-half months; Lo
y don, England, and Bremen, Prussi
sixteen and one-half hours; Hambur
Germany, and Lantzig Prussia, seve