The age-herald., 1897-11-16
An Entirely New and Cheaper Form of
 Lighting Introduced.
BIRMINGHAM MEN ARE BEHIND 1T
The Cheapest Lights Ever Heard of Are Pro7 : ised By the Ntson Hydro-Carbon Light Company-Experiments Have Been
 Made With Good Results.

A new lighting company is in the field, to illuminate the hcmes of the people of Birmingham. A..
 It comes to give the psople cheapsr lights. It comes because it sees much profit in cutting far under the gas com pany's exorbitant rates. It's officers say It's light can illuminate a large room even brighter than electricity for one fifth of a. cent an hour. If that be true the new light will be God-send to the people of Birmingham, who for years have been ground Beneath the cruel grasping foot of the gas company-a company which has sought to do nothing else than make profits on watered stock out of the people of this city simply be- cause it has them at it's mercy.
 The new company has a new light It is made from coal oil gas burned in conjunction with air. It makes a bright, whfte light.
 The company was organized by local men, who have purchased all the pat ent rights The organization meeting was held at the Morris hotel last eyen- ing. The capital of the concern is $5O,- 0O0 and it proposes to establish its light in Birmingham and Jefferson county.
 The personnel of the company is as fol- lows:
 H. ". Perry, president. e
 J. ". Minor, yice-president and gen. erai manager. s.
 J. W. scruggs, secretary and treas urer.
 Directors-J. W. Minor, Lewis Minor, D. M. Drennen, w. L. Sims, c. H. Col win, H. w. Perry, E. L. Brown, w. P. Pinckard.
 A number of strong business and pro- fessional men are stockholders.
 The company has been organized ur- der the general laws governing business corporations in Ala bama, and has had assigned to it all the exclusive patent rights and royalties to make and use the Kitson hydro-carbon light and heat ing system for the city of Birmingham, and within the limits of the territory dn- cluded in Jefferson county, Alabama.
 'Ths capitalization of $5O000 will ap- pear modest for a perfect lighting sys- tenn for the territory including the whole of the city of Birmingham and all the smaller towns and the whole territory of the county of Jefferson, when re- garded dn comparison with the larger capitalization of the gas and electric companies of the city of Birmingham alone" said MT. H. w. Perry pre resident of the new company. But it is amply sufficient
 "The cost of the Kitson Light, when compared by number of lamps is about one-tenth for the Kitson, to ten-tenths for the gas and electric light lamps , continued MT. Perry. When figured in comparison with candle power, this pro- portion is multiplied many times, as shown by the simple statement that the smallest of the Kitson lamps furnishes from 400 to 800 candle, power as against the best sixty candle Wellsbach Gas Light. and as against the sixteen and thirty two candle incandsscent electric light. These are the lamps with which we have made comparison
 Description of the Kitson Hydro-Carbon Light
 "The principle of this light consists in supplying the ordinary kerosene oil, un- der pressure, and conveying it to @ va poriZing tube from which it is located immediately over the burners and re- ceives heat therefrom, where it is con- verted into 8 vapor or gas. This gas is projected into a tube, one end of which Is open to the atmosphere, the other being connected to the burner. The force of the escaping gas entrains the air sufficient to form a Bunsen flame of intense. power. An ordinary mantle Wielsbach or other form, is placed over the burner, where it receives heat from the Bunsen, and gives an intensely bril- liant and diffus,ve light, which, tn its spectrum analysis, is the nearest ap- proach to sunlight of any artificial light yet produced. The oiil Is contained in a tank or reservoir, which is placed tin "a room or cellar of the house, and a small tube or series of tubes are connected from the tank to the chandeliers con- taining the lamps.
 "The pressure that is found to give the