The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-04-13
For Street Car Cnmnanies.

1ne network OF wires IOf Telegraph, tel
ephone and street car service gives rise to
numerous complaints in every part OF the
country where the wires are in use. The
cry is universally 'put them under
ground'' This is the demand in Salt
Lake, and it Will increase in force as the
reason for it becomes more urgent.
OF course, this will involve great ex-
pense to the companies concerned, and
they will resist the change as long as they
can. We think the street car companies
may avoid the trouble ana cost of this by
adopting the storage battery system, and
advise them to investigate it thoroughly
with view to its use in preference to the
underground wire operation, if it is found
to be practical and less expensive, as we
believe it will prove to be.
The storage of electricity is not very
new idea. In 1910 batteries were made on
| the RITTER plan, consisting of series of
disks Of metal alternating with cloth or
card, moistened in liquid by which the
metal would not be affected chemically.
Twenty years later PLANTE made bat
terry in which he used lead plates through
which he passed current producing
lead oxide. Only small current was
generated by the lead and lead oxide
alone. so he experimental by charging
the plates and discharging, repeating
the process until by repeated oxidations
and reductions OF the oxidized material
he obtained very porous plates which,
exposed to the oxidizing action of the
electric current, took up large quantity
OF electricity. He arranged them in
series, the positive plate OF one connected
with the negative plate of another and
thus stored powerful currents of cleo
tricity.
In 1880 PAURE discovered that by coat
ing with red lead these plates
and covering them with red fan
mel the forming process was rednced
as to time and expense materially,
doing away with the need Tor the 'ssec-
ondary battery Since then other i'm
provements have been made. and more
will follow, and storage is sure to become
more and more practicable and less and
less expensive.
Storing electricity may be understood
by some folks as something like storing
oil or gas or some other substance in
quantities according to measurement.
Electricity is not to be cooped up and
served out by pints or gallons, but it is
an energy which is converted into chem
ical conditions, SO that 1t can be returned
to electrical energy by proper arrange
ments. Ii may thus be apparently dealt
out by measure and sold like any article
of merchandise.
The storage battery is thus an isolated
reservoir of electrical energy. and for the
time being is independent of the gen
Grating source. 1t is in this respect diff
ierent from the trolley means of impart-
ing the needful force, and may be COM
pared to tank holding water instead of
a pipe conveying a stream, both, how
ever, depending alike on the main source
of supply.
We have no doubt that the storage sys-
tenn will become the future motive power
for street cars. Also that it will be
adapted to other vehicles and to machinery
in every day use. Electricity is to be the
motive power of the immediate future,
and the storage batteries Will be delivered
for common use where the electricity is
not generated on the premises like cans
OF coal oil are now delivered, and not
only light but force will bs thus supplied
which will dispense with much manual
labor and relieve housewives from great
deal of toll.
The street car companies will save time.