Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-05-24

EDIsoN's NEW BATTERY.
HIS New Invention Accounted Mo'
Valuable He Has Ever Developed.

I.
HIS New Invention Accounted Most
/ Valuable He Has Ever Developed.
New York. May 24.-Thomas a. Edison
has invented a lightweight storage bat
itery which. according To the opinions of
some electric experts. will entirely solve
1.-The problem of applying electricity
rrofitabiy To the propelling OF vehicles
and boats, Mr.. Edison himself thinks
I'that his new battery viii revolutioniZe
lroad and water traffic.
This storage battery the especial
l3prile ef Edison and he mas said that ne
Wishes II 10 stand as a monument 10
HIS lifeworls. He has also declared that
|. 1.-the device sill prove TO be the most use
ful TO mankind OF any that he has IN
Iyentisd and thit the income from 1t is
| to be devoted to the upnuiIding of his
| private fortune.
Commenting editorially upon Edison $
latest effort. the Electrical Review will
say in its forthcoming issne
at is hard TO foresee all the meaning
Of this Improvement. But we may look
la littlr Way and see the noseess city.
the suppression of the horse and the
automobile Il factor OF economic impor-
Itance in general transportation lhe
| perfected battery means the solution of
| many difficult traction problems. the
betternent of electric lighting and the
Itoundation of the new art of electric
| navigation. Electric tugboa,s Will give
! new lifcgto our canals. and with electric
| ferryboats Will reyolutionize our har-
| bars The invention gives electricity a
| new foothold in it's career of Industrial
conquest
| 1'na reporter who saw him In his la
boratory At West Orange Mr.. Edison
ltalked freely about tlie commercial pos
sihiliaes OF his new battery.
For many years past he said. "men
have beer trying to produce n storage
/ battery sufficiently light TO be of practi-
cal utility. As DR.. Kennedy said in the
paper he reas. on Tuesday night at the
meeting in Buffalo Of the American In
1 stitute Of Electrical Engineers, IL is well
| known that the history of the storage is
essentially that of the lead cell discoy-
cred by Pante In 1860 in which lead
peroxfde is the depoiarizing substance
/ An enormous amount of labor has been
] expended upon the Improvement of tins
! cell In the hands OF expermcntalists.
| The present types Of storage batteries
dsteriorate rapidly. In The experiments
/ I have made with the new battery there
/ has been no evident deterioration An
1 othr advantage Is. technically speaking.
1 lis large storage capacity per unit Of
/ mass. In other words II is less cumber-
some, and Sei promises greater power.
| Lead batteries weigh from 125 to $50
/ pounds per horse power houH
The @eleht Of my battery is only
/ flfty-fivc pounds per horsepower hour.
Again, the old battery takes from four
/ tc five hours 10 charge. The new battery
can be charged in half that time, and,
/ moreover II can also be discharged with
| greater rapidity than can the old bat
! teries. 'fhe fault with the lead types rs
that when You want more power when
\ you are climbing a hill. for instance in
On automobile, you can not get ii with
| out great deterioration. This trouble
1 have obviated. Careless treatment will
1 not affect my Invention. All you have
4 tn do with the new cell Is to fill ii with
| water.
AS regards cost ! believe that after
| factory facilities now in course of prog
\ ress have been completed Will be able
to furnish the cells at n price per horse
| power not greater than the prevailing
/ price of lead cells. This Will really mean
| a great reduction in expense, because.
while the lead batteries Will only carry
a vehicle about thirty miles. the new one
Will go seventy-fivc to 100 miles with one
charge. Practically, therefore. 1t means
| that you Will be able to travel the longer
i distance for the same price as 1t hlthor-
to cost to go about thirty miles
Combine May Not MntcrinIizc.
4 New York. May 24.-The Journal OF
| Commerce says: Plans for consolidation
of the manufacturers OF farm machine
ry appear to be working out rather
slowly. A considerable number of the
companies have given options to the or
ganizers of the consolidation. but on the
other hand some Of the largest concern.
have declined to give options on the
basis proposed. unless the large inter
ests are brought into the deal there IL
some doubt as to the success Of the
! plan.