The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-20
TESLA'S CLAN LOOK ON
ELECTRICIANS OF AMERICA FIND
A PULLING SITUATION IN THE
TWIN CITIES
MILL CITY DAM AND PLANT
They Have Caused Some Serious
Complications Which the Larger
Cities Are Trying to- Guard
Against When Electricity Shall
Finally SuppIant Other Powers I'm
Metropolitan Transportation.

st. Paul and Minneapolis are just
now the scene of some very interest
ing studies in modern electrical sci
ence. There are two reasons why, Just
at this time, the Twin Cities are caus-
ing great deal of commotion in the
electrical world, and why, at the pres
ent time, there are here nearly dozen
experts representing the greatest
American organizations for the trans
mission Of the human voice.
There are within the confines of the
two cities Chief Engineer Abbott and
Assistant Engineer O'Cohnell, Of the
Chicago Telephone company, Chief
Engineer Carly and General Superin-
tendent Thurber, of the Metropolitan
Electric company, of New York, and
Messrs. Arnold and Thompson, of the
American Bell Telephone company. Of
Boston, Mass, beside representatives
OF the Western Electric company and
other power and telephone companies
which are interested in the problems
which have recently developed here
ana which may sooner or later engage
the talent of other cities
The subject under investigation is
an outgroWth Of the installation below
the Falls Of st. Anthony of some i'm
mense electrical engines for the trans
Mill and Capital cities. Within very
short time after those machines were
set in operation, as all users Of the
telephone observed at the time, the
aerial lines of the telephone company
were affected, in some districts so Sc
rlously as to render them almost USE
less for large portion Of the time.
The engineers of both the telephone
and power companies at once began
int f1a - H. a
hculty, and by the adoption of full me-
tall1c circuits on the part of the tele-
phone company and the insertion Of
reduction coils in the plant Of the
street railway, the difficulties have
been largely obviated, although not
entirely removed.
The engineers who are here now are
directly interested. Chicago and New
York have not experienced the diff
Guilty experienced here, as vet, con-
siderable amount Of the street traction
IN those cities being operated either
by steam motors, as in the "L' roads;
or cable power, In the surface lines
Inc greater ease Of transmitting the
electric power, however, has led the
Dig street railway companies Of the
larger cities to plan for its substitu-
ton, and with the adoption Of the
new power the engineers anticipate a
difficulty experienced here.
To state it without exact technical
description. the installation Of plant
SO large as that at the new dam in
Minneapolis requires such massive
plants of iron and steel, separate from
the actual electrical machinery; that
these metallic masses became charged
from their proximity to the actual
generators, and, not having been in
sulated, were able to communicate to
the ground beneath such immense
charges Of the electric fluid as to in
terfere with the operation of the more
delicate electrical instruments which
depended on the earth for the trans
portation of the current one way. It
has been believed that the power plant
at Niagara would develop similar con-
dltlons to those here, and, as the ulti-
mate requirements of street railway
traction, both in New York and Chica-
go Will. in each case, at least equal to
the power generated at the foot of St.
Anthony falls, both these cities have a
well-def1ned interest In the situation.
The Lowry plant at the new dam is
practically the most modern electrical
power plant in the world. The local
telephone company has recently put
in in Minneapolis the most modern of
all telephone plants, and there is now
being installed in ST. Paul, as yet I'M
finished, what is promised to be an
absolutely modern plant. 1t Is the CO.
incidence of these two electrical
schemes, the second, perhaps, being
In measure consequent on the first.
that is leading the electrical engineers
Of the larger cities to look into the
conditions here for their own educa-
ton.
The visiting engineers will spend
the remainder Of the week here, maxi
ing tests as to the possibility of OBJ
waiting the noise entirely, and Incl
dentally inspecting the system of sub
ways, which, on account Of the Pc
culiar sandrock formation underlying
st. Paul, gives this city the best sys-
tenn of underground tunnels for water
works, sewer and telephone purposes
alike, known in any city in America or.