Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-03

gas In the Lyceum Theater In the years of
1904 he proclaimed his gospel. and show
| ed to wondering and at first universally
skeptical and preJudiced city that gas was
! less liable to be extinguished by gusts OF
wind than candles; that there was no
smoke II the illuminant was properly han
died; that 1t gave Off no sparks, as did the
wicks of lamps and candles; that II far
transcribed the old methods of lighting in
briliancy: that 1t could be burned in vari-
| GUS forms. and that 1t could be conveyed
| from one part of the house to another in
| tubes.
Despite the discouragements that beset
| his path-the impure state of his gas often
! driving away his audiences. ignorant and
! scheming assistants making a dupe of him
and failing him at critical moments, ridi-
Guile and scorn being his portion In many
| quarters-Mr. WinsOr kept on with his ex-
| hibitions and experiments; and 1t was not
| long before he had the public attention so
| fixed on the new illuminant that he pro-
| mulgated his scheme for a National Light
and Heat Company, and inaugurated his
| campaign to secure from parliament au-
| thority for the king to grant a charter for
| such company. But many people were
yet to be convinced that gas would serve
| any useful purpose, and Mr.. Winsor was
| more than ever the object of their ridcule
| and scorn. Perhaps this was due in large
| measure to his f1amboyant style of drawing
! attention to his project: he undoubtedly
| exaggerated terribly and was frequently
| egregiously unscientific; but time has
1 proved that for all that he saw further and
| was much wiser than the very learned men
| of his day. who did their level best to cir
| cumvent him, from whatever motive.
Mr.. Winsor'S methods of promoting his
| company are displayed in a circular en-
| titled plain Questions and Answers
I pi n Int sAfr
| and Gas" He frankly acknowledges in
| the preface that ito erase all doubts and
| eradicate every prejudice 1 have drawn up
a few plain questions and answers, such as
| have been daily put" few specimen
questions and answers follow:
| %. VIII your plan not hurt our fish
cries, Oil and tallow trade, ETC.. nurseries
| of seamen, ETC.?
| "a. No; they must increase it because
from saving SO many new products at
] home. we increase our expectations! We can
! AFFORD to undersell In every foreign market
| all we gain at home from worse than moth
| Ing. from miserable smoke U.ondon then,
| as now, was filthy because of the smoke
| nuisance). We can employ hundreds of
| more vessels and thousands of more sea-
| men for the benefit of our nurseries.
| 'Qs What will become of our talIow
| chambers. our oil men, our wick and snuff
fer makers. etc.?
"a. They may all work for expectation
| that Is. either become exporters themselves
| or sell to merchants who export In general
| Thousands Of chests, containing from 20
| to 100 dozen Of Indifferent candles are sent
from Russia all the world over. 1 trust
| that England may command the foreign
| markets with superior candles at a cheaper
| rate.
% But the lamp lighters and the CHM
ney sweepers?
| "A. The former will get cleaner lamps
| In cleaner dress and no longer annoy the
| street passengers with the smoke and dirt
| OF train oil. AS for the poor chimney
/ sweepers, l hope they will get a more
| Chr1sttan-like employment.
pensive?
"A. They will not be half the expense of
/ water tubes. nor need they all be laid in
the ground. but may. in part. be carried
! along the Easements of the first floors
| q Mischievous people will destroy them?
| "A. The same law which protects our win
| lamp tubes.
%. VIII not the gas catch fire II It
| comes In contact with the air?
| "A. Never. 1t would If 1t were OF a
| phosphoric nature: but the electric spark
| or the red hot poker will not infame 1t; 1t
must be lighted by a flame.
| q Then suppose a room full OF gas,
| and you enter it with a candle?
| "A. 1t will never infiame because 1t Is
intermiXed with the air in the room.
g But Is 1t not hurtful of respiration?
| "A. Not In the least. On the contrary,
| 1t Is more congenial to our lungs than vital
air. which proves too strong a medicine
| because it only exists from one-fifth to one
! fourth in the atmosphere; whereas infiam-
| mable air exists above two-thirds in the
| animal and vegetable Kingdoms, In all our
/ drinks and victuals. 1t forms a part Of
| ourselves"
In answering the question, DO you ap-
| piehend any losses in your plan?" he says:
| 1.-The foundation of the National Light
|
! other establishment whatever 1t has no
| risks of any kind; 1t exceeds In benefits the
| water companies. by gaining four products
! from the destruction of a great nuisance
| that of smoke. These products amount to
above twenty pounds in every chaldron of
fuel, and can be made from three to four
! times in twentyfour hours Hence, with
| tolerable good management, no losses can
possibly occur"
And further on in the circular he calmly
assures the reader that If he Will but SUBJ
scribe five pounds to the project his yearly
dividends will be not less than five hundred
and seventy pounds!
Mr.. Winsor took out patent on his pro-
cess Of manufacturing coal gas In 1904 :;
three years later he and the men asso,
ciated with him lighted up a part of one
side of Pail Mall, and two years later they
applied to parliament to authorize the king
; to grant them a charter A year previous
| Mr. Murdoch had proved that gas light was
much cheaper than candles or lamps. he
| having lighted a factory in Manchester for
ESQ., whereas the yearly bill for candles
had been $4,000. Now he came before
parliament to combat Mr.. Winsor's appli-
cation, asserting priority to the discovery.
Other obstacles rose before the applicants,
and after long investigation by a COM
mlttee of the house of commons the ap-
pication failed.
Nothing daunted by the defeat, the ap-
plicants again petitioned parliament the
following year, and while they were not
successful in obtaining an act authorizing
the king to grant them national charter
an act was obtained which made IL in
cumbent upon his majesty to grant the
company local charter within three years
from the passage OF the act. The COM
pany's powers were limited to London and
the suburbs. and 1t was also stipulated
that the company must furnish the par
ishes a cheaper and better light than OIL
The principal men In the London Gas
Light and Coke Company. as IL was called,
which was chartered In 1912, were Mr.
Winsor and Mr. Accum. who had been an
important witness before the house of
commons committees. and who had made
as extravagent statements about the rosy
future of the project as the originator
ever did. But they were men of action, as
we'll as OF words, and once they had the
hap Ia vi In,