Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-04

- ceSSltleS which every
household requires are not supplied by each
family for itself, but are sent out from
great central establishments, which supply
district OF greater or less extent. accord
ing to the nature of the commodity they
handle. once each house drew all the
water il required from its own well; now,
in all but the smallest villages the whole
water supply of a town is obtained from
some lake Or stream, and pumped out from
a single reservoir to all the inhabitants
Light and fuel have in most places been
added 10 the list of things supplied from
some central point, and I'm the largest cities
it has been expanded to include hundred
other things that our parents, we our
selves few years ago, never dreamed Of
getting in this way.
The result of this movement has been to
build up under every big modern city a
second city of pipes, conduits, vaults and
passages, where many OF the operation.
essential to the nealth and comfort of the
pampered modern citizen go on. Few per-
sons realize what progress has been made
in this direction already: but from present
indications it is likely that there will be
still more rapid extension of such central
lied activities.
The most recent development in the d.
rection of centralized energy is put for
ward by great freezing and warehousing
company in New York city. This concern
proposes in connection with its cold stor-
age warehouse, to pump refrigeration to
its principal customers in different paris
of the city, including the great markets
and produce houses. To the person unfa-
miliar with the recent development IN TINS
line Of business it would seem dlfncuil
matter to transmit cold over long distances
in sufficient quantities TO reduce the tenn
perature of great vaults and packing
roc ms to 10 or 10 degrees below zero. AS
matter of fact, the company anticipates
;,, tinD Is
operation.
Distributing Cold in Pipes.
The ammonia system will be used, and
the fluid will be forced by hydraulic pumps
from the condensing tanks through con-
Quits to the places where 1t is to be used.
These conduits will be laid underground,
and in general will be constructed like or
binary water mains, except that the out
side will be surrounded by cork jacket
ing, which will be coated over with
tar-like preparation to prevent leakage
of cold" The promoters of the scheme
guarantee that the refrigerating pipes VIII
not interfere with the steam and other
underground conduits and assert that
there will be very little loss of freezing
power in passage. 1t is intended at frst
to supply only concerns requiring a largo
amount of refrigeration, but there is no
reason why the same system should not
in time be extended to dwellings and other
buildings, SO that every house may pres
entity have it's zero room. The trans
mission of cold storage has already been
tried in st. Louis between main and branch
warehouses so there seems to be no reason
why the present more extensive undertake
ing should not succeed..Th extent to
which this Capitalization in the supply OF
ordinary necessities has gone is realized
by few of those who daily profit by 1t,
and strikingly illustrates the independence
to which urban civilization is bringing us.
Petroleum is pumped from the fields where
it is found through pipe lines hundreds of
miles in length to all the big cities.
Thence it is distributed in smaller pipes
to the factories which use 1t in large guam
titles for fuel, so that in many cases the
connection Is complete without the inter-
vention of a single pair of hands from
the oil well to the furnace. A more famil-
lar example of the same thing is illumi-
mating and fuel gas, which is everywhere
distributed direct to the consumer, who
merely has to turn valve and touch a
match to get his light and fire.
Electricity Is beginning to work a great
change I'm domestic economy by entering
the domain of the kitchen. The house of
the future will have no fires in 1t, and the
kitchen range will lose its terrors. Eiec-
tricity will keep the oven at any desired
temperature: will broil the beefsteak and
heat the water. In the laundry it will be
hitched to the fiatirons and will smooth
the bosom OF the Sunday shirt. Cooking
end washing will be done by pressing a Sc
ries of buttons, AID the housemaid can
read her novel undisturbej while the cleo
tric cook stove does It's work.
steam and Compressed Air.
All kinds of motor power. steam and COM
pressed air are now distributed IN pipes
!rGecd. In cities like New York there arc
few factories which have their own power
plants. for IL Is found 10 be cheaper and
rAiiaec mere convenient to ieeee POKER of