The age-herald., 1902-01-06
From the New York Sun.

OVer the entrance to the HouSe ol tne American Society of Mechanical En- gineers at 12 West Thirty-first street, there hung last night what looked like a column of cold, blue-white light, about four inches in diameter and about four feet high. It gave a brilliant illumina- ton to the street for nearly half block Inside the house the auditorium was lighted by five similar lights. but of les ser diameter, and the light of the hall was almost like sunlight. Beneath these lights, which looked like big candles, sat several hundred members of the Ameri- can Institute of Electrical Engineers to listen to the reading of a paper on Elec- tric Gas Lamps and Gas Electrical Re- sistance Phenomena" by the young in- ventor of the lamps. Peter Cooper Hewitt, son of the Hon. Abram s. Hewitt.
 Some six or eight years ago MT Hewitt came to. the conclusion that better and cheaper light than that supplied by either the arc or incandescent lamps could be obtained by the use of a gas as the con- ductor instead of the film used in the in- candescent lamps. He began experiment. ing In his laboratory in the tower of Mad ison Square Garden, with the result that he has obtained such a light and except for the perfection of few details is ready to put it on the market.
 Mir. Hewitt's lamp consists simply of glass tube, with a bulb at one end, into which he introduces the gas generated from mercury. The tubes. when filled, are connected with the ordinary electric pow CT in any building and the current turn ed on. The gas acts as the conductor and as soon as the switcII Is turned the tube is flooded with light. Four of these tubes were placed at regular intervals around the gallery of the auditorium last night and one was hung from the ceiling. The incandescent lights were also turned on and the light from these looked like jets of uncertain yellow flame, as compared with the light in MT. Hewitt's lamps.
 The lamps attached to the gallery gave light equal to that of about 200 candles, while the one which hung from the cell ing and the one over the entrance to the house seemed to have about twice as much power. MT. Hewitt says that he can produce his light at about one-eighth the cost of the incandescent lamps and about one-third the cost of arc lamps and of gas lamps.
 The lamps were used last night chiefly to illustrate MT. Hewitts paper and to show to the members of the institute what progress he had made in his ex- perrin ents, In the course of his paper he said:
 The mercury gas lamps exhibited to- night are operated on the standard Edi- son 11s-volt direct current circuit in stalled in this building; lamps of this class consume amounts of current vary ing from one to six amperes. and the effi- ciency is appropriately one-half at per spherical candle power. Under better con- ditions as high an efficiency as one-fourth watt per spherical candle power has been obtained, determined by careful and ac- curate measurements.
 have made lamps with diameter of bore less than one-eighth of an inch and -'-es >><<<<<<><<<e<
 Iron In the South.
 From the New York Times.
 The iron industries of the South have attracted a great deal of attention, but have not in all respects realized the pre- dictions of those who were quite sure that before the end of the nineteenth century the center of iron and steel pro- duction would be found somewhere near Birmingham. The iron industry of the South, while prosperous, does not show tendency to rapid expansion. and its pig iron output in 1902 cannot much, if at all, exceed that of the past year. There are no new furnaces building at present, and most of the old stacks suf- ficiently good to go into commission under the most favorable conditions are now in blast. This would seem to imply that the rush of capital Into Southern ironmaking has been checked by the lessons of expe- rience. The disadvantage of the Southern dependence up to the present time upon the Northern and foreign markets. The most gratifying indication at the moment is found in the gradual increase of from consuming industries which will give him a better local market The general trade outlook warrants the expectation of q good year for the Southern iron indus tries, but the export demand for South ern iron from which SO much was ex- pscted, has shrunk from 2ss,s1 tons in 1900 to about 23.000 tons in 1901.
 Gtan ok