The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-23
WHERE WE ARE AT.
A Brief Glimpse at a Story of the
Past.

Brief Glimpse at a Story of the
Past.
In The Herald of Tuesday, septem-
Der IA. $780, found the following ed
itoriaI:
fThe electric light is making slow
and certain progress throughout the
world. About all the excitement at
tendant upon it's first coming into use
has died out, and now the light is
working upon it's merits Nobody now
adays gets an electric light because
he thinks it will be a good thing. Be
fore he buys he knows it will be a
good thing; better, at least, than what
he has been using. 1t is not a fancy
or speculation but the change from
gas or coal oil to electricity is simply a
business transaction. In this way we
are finding out the practical benefits
to be derived from the electric light in
its modern application. 1t has been
demonstrated in eastern cities, nota-
bly, in New York, that it has advan-
tages over gas in Illuminating large
stores, halls and wide spaces Several
of the wholesale stores of New York
do their shipping of goods entirely ait
night, after travel and light traffic
have ceased, and the light is supplied
has proven itself to be superior to gas
For general uses. such as house
illumination, the electric light has not
been able to interfere with gas. and
the BEST AMONG OUR PRESENT
ELECTRICIANS (the capitals are
mine) SAY 1T NEVER WILL, though
this assertion must be doubted. Sci
ence will not stop until something
more has been achieved. Edeson' s
failure to devise a machine for divid-
ing the light, or electricity, so as to
scatter the Illuminating agent through
houses. will not deter others from at
tempting the same thing. 1t may re-
quire years of trials, investigation
study and experiments, to divide the
currents and make the light practi-
cal, but it would be folly, in view of
the improvements wrought in the past
few years, to say that the end of pro-
gress had been reached
The Salt Lake resident who expects
the time to come when he can with
pleasure-as he does now with gas
dispel the darkness from any room in
his house by a white light similar to
that which Illuminated upper Main
street on Saturday night, ought not
to be regarded as an enthusiast or a
dreamer We admit that the displace-
ment of gas does not seem to be so
IluIuIH6Ht DIS 10 warrant anyone in dis
posing of gas stock at a sacrifice, but
the electric light is certainly moving
upon the gas works, slow as the pro-
gresS may be.
AS in the case of everything new
and successful, a good deal more is
claimed for the electric light than it
is entitled to; but the machines are
not sold nor adopted through simple
assertions as to their merit This is
an eminently practical age and given
to investigation. The power, cost and
general benefits of the electric light
are studied, and the facts ascertained
before discarding the faithful gas.
Only on it's merits has the electric
illumination made progress. and by
them only can it advance in favor.
For those purposes and places where
1T IS preferable in the matter of cost
and other things will it be adopted;
put this is not the age for the adop-
ton of anything not useful or better
than what already exists, simply be-
cause it is new"
We are progressing.