The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-17
Supt. of Street Lighting

The tenth annual report of Superin-
tendent Henry A. Knight of the street
lighting department shows the depart
ment has charge of 1891 street lights,
713 ares s479 sgas Welsbachs, one ordi-
nary gas, 1859 gasoline Welsbachs and
20 fire alarm signals, as compared with
6S3 arcs, 10 incandescents, 479 gas
Welsbachs, one ordinary gas 1545 open
flame gasolines and % fire alarm
signals a year ago.
The series of incandesCents have
been entirely discontinued during the
year. the localities formerly served by
them being lighted by arcs or gas
WelsbachS, as the conditions may re-
quiTe.
The old open flame gasoline service
has been entirely discontinued and
gasoline Welsbachs substituted during
the period covered by this report
The original estimate of 1000 gasoline
Welsbachs, as the number sufficient to
take the place of the open-fame lamps,
made in July 1900 was found to be
incorrect, because of the large number
of courts, alleys and short streets in
the centre of the city having a single
lamp, where obviously the exchange
must be one new lamp for one old one.
On the longer streets and country
roads the exchange was in the ratio of
two WelSbaChs to three and a quarter
old lamps. The number of miles of
street lighted by the department is 204.5,
an increase Of 6.5 miles during the
year. This increase has been confined
principally to the more thickly-
parts of the city, in pursuance of the
policy adopted some years ago, of
thoroughly lighting the centre of the
city before making, extensive additions
in the suburban districts.
Under the contract for the use of
gasoline lamps and fixtures made with
the Welsbach Street Lighting Company
Of America, the company furnishes all
posts lanterns, burners, torches, y.
nantes per lamp a year and all other
supplies necessary for maintaining the
plant with the exception of gasoline,
alcohol and matches The city provides
gasoline and men to fill and care for
all lamps used in this service. The
territory covered by these lamps is di-
vided into seven routes. each in charge
of a driver, who furnishes his own
team, hires and pays his own boys for
lighting the lamps and makes a writ
ten report to this office every Monday
morning of the gasoline and other sup
plies used and the number of lamps
cared for during the preceding week.
1t is the drivers duty to see that all
lamps on his route are in proper con-
ditiOn for service, and it is but fair to
say that to their fidelity the acknowl-
edged success of these lamps in this
city is largely due. The drivers are
paid 3.5 cents per light per night for
the nights on which the lamps are
lighted only. This price is an increase
of tiveeighths of a cent per light per
night over that paid for care of the old
lamps and was rendered necessary by
the fact that the new lights, while COW
ering a somewhat larger territory, were
less in number than the old ones.
1t seems somewhat absurd in a city
Of this size to depend upon the moon
to light the streets in the thickly-set-
tied districts. Moonlight is a very I'M
satisfactory street illuminant at best
and the fact that we are unable to con-
troll clouds and storms renders an all
night and an every-night service in
many portions of the city now lighted
on moon schedule almost imperative,
and it is earnestly hoped that the APP
preparation for this department during
the coming year will be sufficient to
enable us to at least double the present
number Of all-night and every-night
gasoline lamps
This department has practically all
the old lamps and fixtures on hand at
this writing. They should either be
sold at some price or a suitable build
ing erected in which to store them.
We already have sufficient unoccupied
space on which a building could be
erected, at the department yard on
East Worcester Street, and the cost of