The age-herald., 1900-01-09
WILL BID FOR
 CITY CONTRACT New Street Lighting Company
 Enters the Field. SEVERAL TEST LAMPS ERECTED Commercial Welsbach Company Will Demonstrate Advantages Claimed for Their Gas Light, and Will
 Bid Against the EIec-
 iric Company.
SEVERAL TEST LAMPS ERECTED

The Commercial Welsbach Street Light ing Company of America, with headquar- ters in Philadelphia, has placed several of their Welsbach street lights in the city with a view of bidding for the city lighting when the contract with the electric com pany expires next September. At present there are five of these lights set up, three being located in Fifth avenue and Nine. teenth street and two in Fourth avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets. Il is the intention of the company to erect a dozen of these lamps for experimental tests and to show their advantages as a system of street lighting.
 In an interview with MT Eugene Brown, who is the representative of the company in Birmingham, he said
 'The Commercial Welsbach Street Light ing Company of America are erecting these lights for the purpose of showing the city what 1t is with a view of bidding for the contract to light the city when the contract with the electric company expires next September
 ''The Welsbach is the cheapest and best method of street lighting which has yet been devised. It is largely used in the large eastern citeis; large portions of Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Chi cago, Washington and Philadelphia and other cities are lighted with this light. It is well known that street cannot be thoroughly lighted With electricity, as the light is given off at an angle of 45 de- grees, and where the streets are shaded by trees, 1t is impossible to light them at any great distance. In other words you have surplus of light at one point and 1T Is not distributed so as to give it to any great distance. Another advantage of the Welsbach light is that with less cost all the alleys of the city can be lighted, which are now dark. Most of the crime in the city is committed in the alleys.
 The main points favorable to our lights are that the distribution of the light is equal over the illuminated area 2 the light is very attractive. being pure white light, not affected by climatic changes; it is free from f1ickering, smoke or noise; it has high candle power; 1t can be easily kept in good condition. and 1t is the most economical method for street lighting"
 MT. Brown states that the city can be much more satisfactorily lighted with the Welsbach and at much lower cost than by any other system. He says that the merits of the light will be fully demonstrat- ed to the city, and that all persons will have an opportunity of observing what the light Is. The other experimental lamps will be erected soon, some of them being placed on the South Highlands, giving the resi- dents there chance to note the advan- tages claimed for the system.
 The lamps which have been erected are very pretty, and give strong light over a large area, and have been greatly admired by the citizens who have seen them. The lamp can be lighted either with a torch or with lectricity.
 The bid of the Welsbach company would be made in connection with the Birming- ham Gas company, who would furnish the gas.