The Washington herald., 1907-07-28

cal power, although less than per cent
Of the counry's population is located in
and about the metropolis
A one-story stable that would accommo-
date a million horses, with yards. harness
rooms, quarters for stablemen. &C. would
need to cover about $3.50 acres, about four
and a half times the area of Central Park.
and there would have to be a floor Of
equal area above the stable for the fod-
der Built in Obl0ng FORM the stable would
1 occupy q building about seventy miles
! long by 200 feet wide. II would reach
/ from the edge Of Philadelphia nearly to
/ Jersey City.
/ The largest electric power stations in
/ which water turns the dynamOs are at
/ Niagara Falls, where there are two each
| Of 5000 horsepower, erected by the com
/ pany first chartered to transform the
| weight OF the great cataTact's falling
water into commercial power. Niagara's
/ electrical development, Including all the
stations now In operation. totals go 4o0-
horsepower, larger than any other electri-
4 Cal development outside of the largest
cities. Chicago uses more than 10000
/ horsepower, Philadelphia more than 550.-
TO, Boston quite as much perhaps, ST
I Louis perhaps 250,000, and so on down.
There isn't a city of 10,Oo0 inhabitants in
the land without its electrical plants.
while hundreds Of places OF much less
/ population are well supplied.
Compared with any other country in the
world, the United States leads enormously
/ in electrical development. The largest
power house in an England. now operated
for the London tramw3ys. although not
much more than half completed. VIII fur
1ish a good deal less than lO0,O00-horse-
2owor whom finished
The biggest Power House.
Waterside Station, No. !, in New York.
situated on the East River. from Thirty
eighth street to Thirty-ninth street, ike
practically every public power house.
never shuts down. Il takes $50 men TO
operate it, not including clerks and others
not directly connected with the station
itself The two waterside stations employ
80 people. With all those counted in who
live by the production Of electric current
m the two big stations and the subs.a-
tions. the number of employees is about
300
Men and women Of many occupations
are included in this throng There is an
architect and staff, including draughts-
men. designers, &c. There are carpenters,
cabinet makers. brick and tile layers. ma
sons. painters, lathers. plasterers, &c.
There are stOkers, oilers. dynamo tenders.
coal handlers. wiremen. and general
handy men. There are typewriters. book
keepers, and clerks to keep the records.
chemists 20 analyze the coal burned and
the oil that keeps the machinery running
smoothly, hello men and girls to work the
private telephone lines between the chief
station and substations. an electrical su-
perintendent. chief engineers switchboard
operators and assistants, and last, but
practically the commander in sense, the
system operator"
He is q despot in his own way Every
member of the actual operating force has
to do what he indicates. although like
most desDOts, he issues his orders accord
ing TO conditions. and is controlled as
completely by them as the men are by
him.
The System Operator.
The system operator" has been intro
duced in New York, Boston. and Chicago
only. The Chicago system OPERATOR
known as the 'qoad dispatcher"-is not
located in the station, but at the general
Office In New York the System opera
tor" works in the main station itself
where the labOring engines produces a
constant uproar. from which, however. he
IS shut of by "sound-proof" partitions Of
thick glass. Still, his long, balconylike
place of employment is by no means
quiet.
Only the older steam electric power sta
tons, fitted with slOW-mOying reciprocal