The suburban citizen., 1901-05-04
ELECTRICITY FOR HOMES
AN ARABIAN NIGHTS DESCRIPTION
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FUTURE.

penslve Methods Means Revolution in
Domestic Economy-scientists Are En-
denvoring to Solve the Power Problem.
Since the successful harnessing OF
! Niagara, and the conversion Of the
mighty power into electric lighting,
heating and traction, the value Of
electricity in a hundred different
fields has been demonstrated, and we
are told that we stand upon the edge
of marvellous future in which every.
thing will be cheapened and simplihed
by this invisible but all-important
agent. The production of electricity
by inexpensive methods means a revo-
luton in our household economy, and
already scientists are studying the
power problem with every promise OF
success, and inventors are coquetng
with the tides Of the rivers and bays,
and with the currents Of air that
sweep over our heads, and even with
the waves of the ocean. 1t has been
estimated that the tides Of the North
and East rivers exert a power much
in excess of that required to do all the
mechanical work of New York City,
and that the vast Mississippi, Mis-
souri,, and other rivers could be made
to supply power enough to light and
run all the machinery in the great in
land cities. Even the mighty Niagara
lB still wasting power enough to run
two large cities and the question has
been under serious consideration for
some time of constructing an electric
conduit from the falls to New York,
or to some other large city.
With the power problem solved the
work. Of electrically installing our
cities would be greatly facilitated, and
the millennium would be hastened by
hundred years. The new power
would be clean, cheap and effective
and 1t would rapidly displace the old
steam boilers, coal stoves and COM
mon heating apparatuses. Private
and public houses would be lighted
and heated by the new power, and
the cities would no longer be be-
smirched with clouds Of smoke end
steam, and the atmosphere vitlated
with coal gas and dust. Tollers in fac
tories and stuffy Easements would no
longer swelter under an artificial heat
! that is Gs dangerous and debilit1ting
as it is uncomfortable and disquleting
to the nerves. The home would not
he suffocated with the fumes from the
Kitchen basement or with The clouds
! Of smoke, SCOT, dust ana ashes that
continually arise from the streets Of
the city
The electrically Installed house
would not he confined TO the city. Even
the farm house would profit by the
change. Some neighboring stream OF
water could be damned up and tur-
bine wheels would be turned continu-
ally by the running water. These
would convert their power into the
manufacture OF electricity, which the
farmer would employ to light and
heat his home, and to run all the farm
machinery on the place. Electric
plows thrGshing machines, rakes,
weed killers and other farm imple-
ments have been invented, and their
successful operation is limited only
by the cost Of the power. With a
farm once electrically installed, the
need Of horse power to cultivate the
crops would no longer be felt, and the
twentieth century farmer would stand
head and shoulders above his ances-
tors of yesterday.
Anticipating the speedy cheapening
Of the production OF electricity and
the hanesslng Of the winds, tides and
waterfalls, thousands OF inventors
have worked in every field OF labor to
produce economical implements to be
operated by the new power. In the
home their efforts have been crowned
with as great success as upon the farm
or in the factory. 1t sounds almost
like a fairy tale to hear the descrip-
tion Of an electrically installed house
of the future, in which the hoIsekeep-
er is the magician. with power greater
In some respects than ever imagined
by an Eastern story teller. She com
mands the tides and currents OF the
rivers and bays, turning their mighty
how into heat or light rs she wills,
regulating her household afflirs by
the simple turn of knob OF the gen
tie pressure of a button. In her
kitchen, economical labor saving in
ventlons contribute to make life ideal,
and the servant question is more than
half solved. If the servant leaves or
proves unsatisfactory, there are the
mute, always Obedent, little insulated
wires to answer the call. They cook
the meal, heat and light the house
and do other labors that are per.
formed to-day by great expenditure
Of physical and nervous force.
The cooking and heating imple-
ments for the electric kitchen are al
post as complete as one could wish
for, and it only needs the cheapening
Of the electric power to introduce them
In nine-tenths of the homes Of this
broad land. The electric stoves are
not so odd looking as they are magic
like in their performance. They are
connected with the wall by an insu-
lated wire, and by means Of a peg in
the wall and another in the stove the