The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-18

COtSohs 1Sbia anu JAOOr6 All WORKING u
the Same End but in Different Dire C
tions.
Especial Letter to the Commercial Ga
Zette.)
New York, April love are soon tC
have electric lights SO cheap that any
one can afford to have them. AT least,
this is the promise of three noted cleo
trioians who have been working on the
problem for some time past. Inc Iact
that Thomas A. Edison and Ntkola Tesla
are two of the three referred TO gives
strong assurance that we may look fol
a revolution in our system of illumlna-
ton in the near future.
1 had occasion to pay mum Der of Wis
its to the laboratory Of Mr.. Edison near
Llwellyn Park, N. j., within the past
month, in order to find out b ow he was
progressing in his experiments with
the wonderful Roentgen rays, which
seem to respect neither substance MOI
shadow, but go through everything. 1t
was on one of these trips that learned
from MI. Edison's own lips how he had
practically succeeded in improving his
incandesoent lamp SO that he could run
twenty of them for each horsepower
used. This is distinct gain of 1873 per
cent, as at present. only fifteen lamps
can be run per horse power.
81 started out with ten incandescent
lamps per HORSEPOWER said the Wizard.
land after while succeeded in bringing
these up to such state of perfection as
to string fifteen of them on line for
each horse-p power employed. Now have
practically succeeded in improving my
incandesoent lamp so that can put
twenty lamps where I could use only
fifteen BEFORE
"Tnen you are not experimenting with
etheric or phosphoresoent lighting"
said.
NO." replied Mr.. Edison. IT believe
that the incandescent lamp can be i'm
proved SO that it will give as good light
at as small cost as anything in the mar
ket. Besides, don't take any stock in
these graveyard lights that some cleo.
tricians are experimenting with. The
incan descent lamp sends out as soft and
mellow light as could be expected; it is
quite adequate for all practical purposes"
would you care to say just how you
have improved your new lamp2"
mot just yet. have still some fin.
ishing touches to make on it. You see,
when Prof. Roentgen made his wonder
full discovery of the K rays I dropped
everything in order to repeat the expert
ments here. These rays open up won
derful possibilities in the electrical
world, and may make it necessary for u
to completely reconstruct the undulator,
theory of light. just think where W,
are now Photographing through WOOD
and metal, talking by telephone i;
thousand miles away, telegraphing IN
der the ocean despite the storm snd tenn
pest-why, one of these days we shall SCI
by electricity"
Or course it Is idle to look for the i'm
proved incandescent lamp until MIR. Edi-
son gets through his Investigations of tn,
Roentgen rays The truth is, when thu
great electrician begins to experiment il
any one line he sticks to his work al
close as hen does to her nest, when sh,
is Matching out a lot of eggs. He has
Dyes and ears only for the subject il
hand, and nothing can take him away
from his work. He even dreams ovel
his theories-that is. whsn he takes timt
to sleep. for sometimes he will continue
right along in his laboratory for three
days at stretch without shutting al
eye.
"You will keep your carbon filameni
in the improved incandesoent lamp, ant
not dispense with it as Tesla proposes tt
dor" l asked.
"Oh, yes,'' he replied. "No need OF
changing that now. I had quite time
Ending it; I searched all over creation.
They are using cellulose now, but it isn't
much cheaper than the japanese bamboo
splints that I first used."
'fThen you think your latest improve
nents will cheaper electric lightingp'
I asked again.
81 don't see how it can help it," re-
plied Mr.. Edison. eff can run twenty
amps where I now use only fifteen,
don't you see that there will be consider
able saving?"
"Have you taken out your patents
Tet?'
"No-nor shall l. I don't believe il
getting things patented any more. Il
lon't protect you. The only safe way IL
10 keep the secret yourself as far as pos
Iible."
And the great electrician hereupon be-
gan to experiment with telephone, IL
the hope of transmitting the Roentgen
rays by wire to any distance, just as in
the case of sound waves. AS he did so,
he added:
"Faraday could only turn the most
delicate needle at first with bis electrical
current; yet today au electrical engine is
hauling train of forty cars. You must
not despise the day of small beginnings. "
Nikola Tesla is almost as prominent a
ngure IN the electrical world as the
Wizard of Menlo Park He ia the