The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-16
THE cENTURY's CRowNING GLORY.

Twenty-Five years ago any one of the
many applications of electricity to the uses
of man was practically unknown except
the telegraph. The first half of the century
was near it's close when a distinguished
citizen lost a reelection to Congress in this
district because he gave the vote which
carried the measure appropriating a few
thousand dollars to the construction of a
line between Washington and Baltimore to
test the claims of the inventor of the teIe-
graph. 1t was less than a quarter of a
century ago that the claim that verbal
messages could be transmitted the short
est distances by what is now known as the
telephone was generally discredited. AS
late as 1887, says Elihu Thomson in the
current issue of the Forum, in a conven-
ton Of street-railway men, a discussion of
electric traction was criticised as a waste
of time which could better be devoted to
consideration of the care and feeding of
horses. Five years later most of the
street railways in the country were using
electricity as a motor These are the
miracles of the application of electricity
which all can see, but they are not the
most important. There is scarcely an in
dustry which has not been touched if not
revolutionized by the application of this
comparatively new agent. So general and
so wonderful has been the application of
electricity that the writer above alluded to
says:
This material progress, coupled with the
clvllizing and educative influences naturally
accompanying 1T, as well as the many other
advances in the application of science to
the needs of mankind, will ever remain the
browning glory of the latter half of the
nineteenth century.
Understood in it's mechanical and indus
trial sense, the application of electricity to
the uses of man, so far as it is realized by
the casual observer, the claim of the writer
is sustained. But the casual observer sees
but the surface The change in electrical
instruments in ten years has been revolu-
tionary in its character. While some cleo
trical instruments demand a deicacy which
belongs to the matchmaker, others require
the heaviest castings that are made. There
are dynamos which require castings of $4,000
tons weight, and demand 1900 horsepower.
There is scarcely any heavy work in manu-
featuring that this newborn giant is not
made to perform. 1t runs elevators, drives
ventilating fans, supplies power for pump
ing and drives all kinds of machinery. The
modern war ship, even, would be incom-
plete without an electrical plant to turn its
turrets train it's guns, drive ventilating
fans and supply the searchlight.
To electricity is owed the improved meth
DDS in casting, forging and working iron,
brass. copper and other metals. 1t has
utilized alloys and produced special grades
of steel. 1t has given value to ores gold, sill
yer and others that were valueless until
touched by this new power or the agents
which it may be said to create. 1t has
brought improved methods of working
glass, porcelain, rubber, asbestos, mica. BY
it's use aluminium, worth 81 a pound a few
years ago, can be sold, bulk for bulk,
cheaper than brass. From chlorine and
lime electricity has made the best and
cheapest bleaching powder for textile and
paper making. Experiments in heating as
Well as lighting afford reason to believe
that, ere long, perhaps before the gas sup
ply ceases, electricity will be generally used
for domestic purposes. mo existing in
dustry," says Mr.. Thomson, employs a
greater range of materials, from the rarest
to the most common, than does electric
work; none requires or employs such
variety in character. kind and quality of
materials or of treatment of them, to sup
ply daily needs" 1t is the agent which has
and will continue to cheaper production and
to evoke from useless materials products
which will minister to the comfort of man.
kind