The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-03
ELECTRICITY IN THE HOUSE.
Appliances So Cheapened that They
Are Used by People of Small Means.

New York Evening Post
II IS now possible for the owner of a
house or a boat to introduce into it a great
many Of the latest applications of electrical
machinery, without going bankrupt I'm the
process, even If he is not a rich man to start
with. The feature OF practical electric work
in the past few years has been not so much
the increase in the number of uses To which
electricity has been put, as the extraor-
binary cheapening that has brought the
newly developed appliances within the
reach of a much larger portion of the pub
lie.
For example. miniature electric lamps.
which were hardly more than curiosities
five years ago, can now be obtained already
wired for decorative uses at prices not be-
yOnd the reach of scarcely any one who un-
dertakes dining-room or ballroom decora-
ton. Intertwined witt smilax or with flow
ers. these tiny star-like points of light, i'm
appropriate cOlOrS, can be employed effec-
lively so close to the spectator that the
use of the large incandescent globes would
be out of the question. The price of a year
or two ago. which is still asked by some
electrical contractors not anxious to go in
to this particular line of work, was a dollar
per lamp for an evening for the smallest
sizes. on the other hand, a downtown con-
tractor will now furnish thirty lamps con-
nected i'm series to three of the largest size
storage cells, which Will keep them burning
d whole evening, for $40, including the work
OF putting them in.
Another use for the miniature lamps,
which are now made by half-a-dozen firms.
is in the so-called torch lamps" or travel
er's lamps variations on the old-fashioned
dark-lantern, which light at the touch of
a button or spring. A patent has just been
granted for an Improvement in the shape
Of a lamp and battery made fiat, 10 fit the
pocket. like a folding camera. This will
burn for ten hours with a single charge.
which costs % cents, and the lamp itself
Will be ornamental in finish and available
for gift purposes. 1t is not yet on the
market.
rnamenta candles with. miniature lights
at their tips and dry batteries i'm the candle
sticks below are coming into some nONu-
larity. Another novelty is the clock with
a tiny lamp before its face to be lighted by
a pressure of the finger of any one who
wants TO know the time of night. Electric
flash lamps for Photographic use are also
new. There are several new patterns OF
electric fans run by batteries for use In
rooms not supplied with electric current.
and many of them are sold. They work
satisfactorily. but dealers say that the
cost of their maintenance makes them
really expensive Injuries.
If power of any kind. as from a water
fall or windmill. is available. the owner
of a house beyond the reach of electric
light wires can now install a plant of his
own very cheaply. When water power
IS not to be had, a gasoline engine is
considered about the most practicable way
of running a dynamo for use in an or
binary country house. With current in the
house. there is scarcely any limit to the
uses TO which electricity can be put. Flat
irons, curling irons, pumping engines, cOf-
fee mills, ice-cream freezers and sewing
machines are a few of the commonest APP
plications. a motor for a sewing machine
now costs only SIS to $40. and is not very
expensive to maintain. Many are being put
in private houses. Electric cooking appli-
ances. including chatting dishes ana tea ket-
ties. are most convenient and cleanly. but
use up a great deal Of current and are cor
respOndingly expensive To keep in use.
Telephones are replacing speaking tubes
in most of the uptown houses now being
built. \ two-station telephone can be bought
and installed for less than $40. The cheaper
instruments are guaranteed only for dis
tances less than a mile. Between houses
and stables or outbuildings in the coun-
try they are also coming to be very com
mon. 1T is interesting to notice. said
a specialist i'm this branch Of electrical
work to-day. how many of our customers
have worked out plans and ideas of their
own for electric fittings of one kind or an
other. long before they knew they could
ever afford 20 have them carried out. Many
OF the big firms OF electrical contractors
set prohibitiVe prices on small jobs. be
cause they dOn't think IL worth while. Many
hOusehOiders are discouTaged by the answer
10 their first request for ar estimate on the
work they nave in mind. But if n man
knows where 10 go he need not worry much
over the expense OF the work he may want
done on his house or his boat"