San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-04-11


day at the office of the Electric
and Gas company and began ask
ing questions of the affable secre-
tary, Mr.. Giesecke, in regard to the
rumor that the San Antonio Street
Railway company was contem-
plating the abandonment Of its
power house for the purpose Of
using power which could be fur
nished cheaper by the Electric
company. The rumor also detailed
that part of the street car power
machinery would be utilized by
the big plant.
Mr.. Giesecke said nothing like a
definite proposition toward this OBJ
ject has ever been made the COM
pany by the street car line, al
though the big plant was capable
of supplying such power, to the ex-
tent of 500 additional horse if nee
essary.
The contemplated substitution of
the new incandescent arc lamp for
the arc street lamps was also in
uuired about. Mr.. Giesecke stated
that such a lamp had been tested
at the plant, and while not inutile,
was very expensive, the carbons
used being the imported kind, cost
ing to 6 cents each, while the
American carbons used now cost
only about a cent or cent and one
half. Then they do not burn longer
than II hours, and If adopted,
would require a separate converter
to reduce the heavy current.
The company is now putting in
about 80 miles additional heavy
wire, and have also just had their
petition to the city council grant
ed, for the replacing of the old,
small poles by larger and higher
ones in the center part of the city.
The new poles will be 80 feet high,
Is inches diameter at the base,
inches at the peak, and will raise
the wires feet higher. These
poles can stand the heavy strain
put upon them which the
poles now is use are hardly
capable of, and the cross arms
will be increased to eight,
to be made of oak. All the wires
on the poles will be raised higher
and the lines rebuilt. The Tele-
phone company has just finished
raising their wires. This Will be
better for the city, make the streets
look better and will remove
the current further from Interior
ence with other lines.
A marble slab switch board has
lately been put in, and seven in
candescent circuits have been di-
vided into twelve, for better hand
ling. Some of the lines are over
loaded, but'outside consumers will
now have better service.
The new arrangement Of the
city police reporting city lights
b when not burning is a good ar
rangement although entailing a
little more work for the "trouble
man." Formerly when lights
were reported as not burning, the
company was not informed and
sometimes they had found that a
lamp was reported as extinguished
on a corner or street where no
lamp existed, and again one would
be reported where on examination
the carbon showed by being thor
oughly consumed that it had
burned all night. Now when report
ed the "trouble man" Immediately
fixes the defective lamp. An extra
man may have to be put on II
complaints increase, but at present
they are decreasing nightly. "On
stormy or windy nights we eX-
perience the most difficulty, as the
carbon slips from position and the
light won't burn"
1.-THE order for the new
material for extending the lines
will be placed this week.
Mr.. Kampmann is now in
st. Louis getting prices and
data and communicates with us by
telegraph. After the new service
is established an incandescent day
circuit will be put on. This will
be the top wire on the poles.
"The company employs four trim
mers. two with carts for outside
lamps and two for inside and COM
mercial lamps The outside men
travel daily about 81 miles aggre-
gate, trimming lamps from the
head of the river, east of Govern
ment hill, south Of the Arkansas
Pass depot and to West End.
Each man has about 81 lamps.
We have six city circuits and
these work the trimmers from Z
a. m. to p. m, and hard at that.