The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-13

times a year, it does not flash and
flicker, 1T burns without attention un-
Til burned out, and it takes less cleo
tricfty to run it than is, now used by
each street lamp.
! 1t is now up to the city to adopt
this style of street lamp. for general
use.
The new style light is known as the
enclosed arc" 1t is an arc lamp
built on the general plan of the COM
mon incandescent globe. 1t is the
kind of arc lamp used in many stores,
with certain notifications which fit it
for rough outdoor use in storm and
gale. 1t gives a steady, strong light.
The com bustion of the carbon takes
place in a partial vacuum, there be-
ing small globe inside of the large
glass shade in common use.
Topeka has 342 electric lamps in
service. They are on six circuits, and
four machines are run at the power
house to supply them with electricity.
Many of the lamps are getting in bad
repair from long use. Some of them
will soon have to be laid gently away
in their last resting places on the
scrap heap. Rather than buy new
lamps of the same kind, 1t is prob
able that the city will, one by one, re-
place the present circuits with closed
arc circuit, and thus gradually install
the closed circuits all over town, as
fast as the old lamps wear out.
1t is impractical to run both open
and closed arc lamps on the same cir
cult Each circuit must be one kind
or the other.
Reduce the amperage and increase
the voltage" says II. X. Goodrich,
superintendent of the electric light
plant. That's the secret of the en-
closed arc system. In order to &C
complish this electrical change, we
must have our dynamos rewound to
give the desired result. 1t is not diff
ficult change to make, and not a very
expensive one When it is once made,
it will save the city lot of it's good
money.
THE first cost of the lamps is just
about the same as that of the lamps
which we now use. That is $21. They
are hung on the same kind of poles
with the same kind of gearing.
ITO begin with, every lamp which
We change from the open to the closed
arc system means a saving of So a
year on carbons. If we changed the
n year on our bill for carbons. which
is one of our largest single items of
expense.
There would be another saving on
which we now need five trimmers to
perform could be done by three men
much easier If the lamps were on the
enclosed arc plan These trimmers get
$57 month each, and the saving on
the salaries of two would amount to
$1,36S a year.
Another saving would be made on
the cost of running the lights. 1t does
not require so much electricity for
the enclosed arcs 1 figure that the
city would save at least $2,500 a year
in its electric light department. if it
had enclosed arc lamps instead of
the present system. And besides we
would have much better service. IT
might cost $4,000 to make the change
for the entire city at once but it
would be paid for in the saving at
the end of four years. A more eco
nomicaI way would perhaps be for
the city to change one circuit at a
time. We could take all the open
arc lamps off from one circuit and
use them to replace worn out lamps
in other parts of the city. The grad
ual change would cost the city prac-
tically nothing, for each year the saw