The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-18
A DAYLIGHT SUBSTITUTE
MIR. JENNEY TALKS OF HIS SCHEME
FOR BASEBALL AT NIGHT.
In cand escents Buried I'm the Ground,
to Be Assisted by Power
erful Rehectors.

Little by little the details of the new plan
of the Jenney Electric Company for the
lighting of baseball fields by electricity are
becoming public
Charles D. Jenney, the inventor of the
new system, described his scheme yester
day to a reporter. He said the plan is to
him an old one, which he has been years de-
veloping. He tried it first in 1883 in Fort
Wayne, when park was lit up for a game
Of ball and brought out an immense crowd.
On this occasion the only illumination Of
fered was a large number of arc lights
hung high in the air. 1t was in a measure
successful, but not to the degree desired.
AS the idea was an experiment altogether
the strong and weak features of the scheme
were watched closely. First of all it was
noticed that no matter which way the play
ers stood there was glare of light in their
eyes which prevented them seeing a ball
until it was close to them. The fielding. of
course, was poor and the batting worse,
but Mr.. Jenney saw at once where his weak
points lay. To find the secret of how to
remedy it he devoted wears of time only to
find in the end that success was in one of
the simplest principles Of electric lighting.
Said Mr.. Jenney: when the plan is put
before the public you may be sure everyone
will say why in the world didn't some one
think of that before 1t is simplicity it
self" Continuing, he said: ''I saw after
the first trial that to make the thing a sue
cess l must first start with the idea that
there must be no glare of light in the play
ers' eyes and for years 1 worked at the
thing without success. Finally l put a
complete electric-lght plant in my house
and worked the problem out step by step.
From tests made at my place l am now
sure 1 have the right idea and it only re-
mains to prove it to the world
The light, according to Mr.. Jenney is not
made by arc lamps, and when ready to put
in service sheds a strong diffusing light all
around the field and, in Mr.. Jenney's words,
mo matter what position player stands
in when hitting or catching a ball he does
not see a single light" From hints thrown
out by the inventor it may be supposed
that the system involves a line of mean
descent lights of great power surrounding
a field, but set in the ground and surround
ed by powerful refectors and lenses. In
this manner the inventor claims he has the
nearest approach to actual daylight that
has ever been manufactured. No matter
where the ball is thrown or knocked it is
always in plain sight and there are no glar-
ing lights and dark shadows alternating
during the flight of the ball to blind a
players eyes and render the game a farce.
One of the important features of the new
invention, according to Mr.. Jenney, is it's
small cost after the first investment in the
plant. The cost of operating a plant for
the largest field in the country will not run
over s. a night. This will include the
wages of an engineer. fuel and the natural
wear of the lamps. With regard to the flu
ture of the invention, when it has been
proved to be q success, an interview with
John II. Brush is worth quoting. Mr..
n
periments, in answer to a question as to
the way the invention would be received
by baseball managers: 1--WE would any of
us rather play ball at night than any other
time if the thing were possible. At present
only those having more or less leisure at
their command can afford to attend the
games played during the week. Sundays
are worth more to us than all the rest of
the week simply because the people have
a chance then to go to a game without
losing time from their employment. How
much more the game would be worth to us
If games were possible at night L cannot
estimate, but 1 am certain the amount
would be large"