Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-27
THE ELECTRIC LIGHTING
How the New City Post Office Will Be
Equipped.
Important Part That Electricity Will
Play I'm other Direc-
lions.

]. f. Powell, the head electrician of the
Treasury Department, talked to a Star re-
porter today about the electric lighting of
the new city post office. Mr. Powell said
'In the lighting of modern post Office
like that in this city, electricity is called to
play an almost exclusive part, both in
lighting and ventilation. In the basement
of the new city post office there are pro-
Vided four engines of the type known as
horizontal tandem compound, each being
supplied with steam through eight-inch and
ten-inch duplicate steam mains, provided
with combined receiver and steam separa-
tors, delivering pressure at about 100
pounds to the square inch and the engines
making about 20 revolutions per minute
developing 100 horse power each, total
of $40 horse power. The engines are con-
nected directly to the armatures of four
100-kilo-watt generators, each having a ca
paclty OF developing sufficient current to
properly illuminate 1900 16-candle- power
incandescent lights. making a total of 5000
acknowledgement lamps the normal out
put of these four generators. Both en-
gines and generators, however are so con-
structed that they would be able to eX-
coed this output at least % per cent for
period of several hours If called upon by
any emergency.
The Switchboard.
1.-The switchboard, to the bus-bars of
which the generators deliver their current
and from which it is distributed through
out the building, is of marble and contains
the various instruments required for indi-
eating the pressure or voltage of the cur
rent, the quantity which is being deliver-
ed by each generator. the devices for regu-
lating both the pressure and quantity pro-
duced, the detection of grounds on the sys-
tenn and the metering of the product of
each generator. The main distribution
switches are also arranged on panels upon
the board controlling the various main cir
cults extending throughout the building.
In addition to the main , switchboard
there are upon each floor smaller distribu-
ton tablets CT marble, which contain
switches for controlling small groups of
lights
THE province of the generators, how
ever, is not to furnish current for lighting
only, but the ventlating fans are also to
be driven by motors operated by the cur
rent furnished from the plant, while the
clumsy hand stamp of the rural postmas-
ter has given place to the whirring and
Gathering canceling machine, which, being
actuated by an electrical-driven motor,
supplied with current from the plant, can
cells, with unerring accuracy, not less than
10000 to -, 900 letters per hour. There are
at present seven of these machines in OPP
Grafton.
operated Variously from the second to the
ninth floors, will also obtain their current
from the plant ,
when the present post ofhce mali
wagons have been supplanted by the auto
mobile, the latter will doubtless receive
their charges fl ON the same source
The melting of the large quantities OF
sealing wax used in the registry ana other
departments will also be performed by
some satisfactory form of electric furnace:
THE wiring of the new city post ONCE Is
run in steel conduits, buried in the floors or
concealed in the walls of the building, and
there has been used not less than 124,S49
feet of various sizes of the former, and
about 1900 feet of different sizes of the
latter.
Electric and Gas Fixtures.
'The combination gas and electric fixtures
supplied the building are by far the hand
soonest furnished any public building in the
country, being specially designed to accord
with the architectural features of the build
ing. The handsome main screen in the first
floor corridor contains one hundred and one
three-Iight opalescent bull s-eyes to assist
in the illumination of the public corridor.
The steam utilized in the operation of
the electric light plant is afterward ex-
hausted into the heating system of the
building to aid in warming it during the
winter months, while during the summer
it is discharged direct into the atmos-
pierre
The plans and specifications for the in
PRODUCTION of the plant were prepared in
the office of Theodore T. SwayZe, chief
clerk of the Treasury Department. under
the direction of Mr.. Wallace II. Hills, as
Sis SuperiDf pOdpDf