New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-02-20

tracted for at the outset. In Brooklyn. how-
ever. a special effort will now be made to secure
wholesale customers. The establishment OF thu
Few big generating station Of the Edison COM
pany at Bay Ridge. which will be in operation
about a week hence makes il possible to fur
Fish more current than has been available
hitherto. The Worthington company will be
supplied from that source and its example will
10 doubt be followed by other large manufact-
urers before long. The Edison people hope
full that five years hence there will not be in the
Borough Of Brooklyn a single big manufacture
ing house that will generate on its own prem
ises the power which it consumes, but will buy
it all from outside parties
The one thing about this general system which
makes most manufacturers hesitate is the neces-
sity OF buying small electric motors for each Of
their machines. The first cost. for some estab-
lishments. would be large enough to make the
management consider carefully on the other
hand experience is demonstrating more and
more clearly every year the great advantages
possessed by the use Of electricity in operating
factories where a number OF machines. big and
little, are employed.
The most obvious merit is the economy re-
suting from the mode Of distributing the
power through the different rooms and TO the
various machines The Old way. which is still
in vogue to a great extent. is to have long
line Of shafting overhead in each room. to drive
this with betting from shafting elsewhere. and
to communicate the power to the drills. lathes.
planners and other machines by means Of other
betting Now, the friction which line of shaft
ing and its accessories involve Is simply APP
palling 1t ranges from 80 10 30 per cent Of the
total output OF the engine-rOOm. In certain es-
adjustments the machines are used intermt-
tently, not continuously, while the shaftlng runs
all the time. The amount of power actually con-
sumed in work is often much less than the
waste in transmission. The amount of this waste
depends on a variety OF influences: The length
OF shafting. the continuity and kind Of work
done by the machines (weaving printing. turn
ing. riveting and so on). and still other circum-
stances; but it is always relatively large.
on the other hand. the system puts the
power where it will do the most good The
wires which transmit the current to the different
motors offer such an Insignificant resistance
that the line losses" are practically nothing
Then. too. when a machine is idle the attendant
workman turns The current Off by a switch. and
turns it on again when he wants to do some
thing. The only power consumed. therefore. is
that which is expended in real work. Perhaps
only half the machines in the shop being
used at any given minute Perhaps less than
that II is quite possible that any one machine
may be used on given day for only few min
utes out of the whole eight or ten hours. But
in any case the total amount Of power really
consumed in work is carefully registered by the
electric meter exactly like the gas consumption
in a store and is paid for on that basis; and you
don't pay for what you DON'T use.
But the electric system has often manifest ad-
Vantages. BY doing away with shaftng
manufacturer gains greater freedom in the ar
rangement Of mis- machines \ wire can be
easily run anywhere: betting cannot The iu-
bricating oil on a line OF shafting frequently
promotes the rapid spread of the flames If a
small fire is started and is otherwise open 10
objection. And where electric power is OBJ
tanned from outside it is possible 10 dispense
with engine. boilers. the services OF engineer
and firemen. and TO save a great deal OF room
which is now devoted 10 a power plant.
The tendency OF the age is To have otiN peo-
pie perform for us those tasks which they per-
form better than We could for ourselves: Bake.
brew. make clothing and furnish US light. in
order that We may concentrate our attention
more closely on those kinds Of work in which
we think we particularly excel Buying power.
instead # developing. is only another step in the
same direction.