The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-05-29
About Street Lighting

To the Editor of the Los Angeles Herald:
While the matter of city lighting is under
discussion, there are several additional
points that should be incorporated in the
new plan.
The first of these is that the lights should
be furnished the city every night, and all
night. The city Of Los Angeles has out
grown the days in which the present
schedule of lighting was adopted. There
are a large number of streets upon which
there are many shade trees, and If the
lights are not lighted until the moon goes
down, and are extinguished after twelve
o'clock on other nights, opportunity is af>
forded for crimes of all kinds, which
would not be the case If the lights were
properly placed and the streets brilliantly
illuminated.
Second, the method of lighting streets
by high masts is practically obsolete. 1t
was very largely adopted in the beginning
of lighting cities by arc lights, but has been
abandoned in practically every city in the
United States. San Francisco still has a
few masts, not because that is the best
method of lighting, but on account of the
we'll known political pull exercised by the
company having the city lighting in San
Francisco.
The reason for the rejection of this sys-
tenn of mast lighting is the physical fact
that the intensity of the light varies in
versely as the square of the distance from
the light. that IS to.sayr given, area re-
ceives four times as much light from a
lamp one foot away as from lamp two
feet away The method of hanging lights
on masts $50 feet starts with very great
handicap, on account of the great distance
of the lamp from the surface to be illumi-
nated 1t has been found by experience
that the best method of lighting cities Is by
hanging lights twenty-five to thirty feet
above the center of street intersections.
The light is then thrown down each of the
four streets, and in the case of streets with
trees, is not intercepted, but shines just
where 1t is intended 1t should, instead of IL
Eliminating the heavens.
When the fog hangs low, the light from
tall masts is almost entirely intercepted,
and only an extremely small portion OF 1t
is of any value. Los Angeles is subject to
these fogs with very great regularity dur
ing certain seasons Of each year.
Los Angeles today is one of the poorest
lighted cities of its size in the coutry. Upon
moonlight nights whenever the moonlight
is intercepted by fog or clouds there is no
lighting This last week, although the
new moon gave but feeble light, streets
like Figueroa and Adams were as dark as a
pocket Lights were not turned on until
the moon SET and at the hours when the
light was most needed there was absolutely
none.
The proposed new method Of advertising
for city lighting will give opportunity for
connection and prevent any company Sc
curing such monopoly of the city lighting
as has prevailed in the past. 1t has been
impossible for any company other than the
company having the contract to bid upon
the specifications, as prepared by the city
council, as the state law prevents contracts
being let for more than one year, and the
| investment required for a steam plant. dy-
namos, lamps, wires and lines is so heavy
| that If company should secure the contract
| for one year and lose 1t the next, the loss
would be very much in excess of what would
| be made in one year.
Up to the present time the contract has