Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-14
VALUE OF FRED STAIRS
DISCOVERY
OCEAN WAVES HARNEssED FOR
POWER
Los Angeles Captures First Prize In
Utilizing the Greatest Invention
of the Age-commercIal
PLANT Established

Ben Franklin by the use of his kite and
a key discovered the power of lightning.
followed by Edison and Tesla giving to
the world a priceless boon in the con-
duct of commercial AFFAIRS. Now comes
Fred Starr of Los Angeles with his mar
velous invention, the wave motor. by the
use of which wonder of the twentieth
century the oceans of the world are con-
verified into mighty power houses to turn
the wheels of industry and reduce the cost
of operation of lighting plants, factory
machinery and other enterprises to
minimum.
Fred Starr, confident that his wave
motor idol would revolutionize power de-
vices after thirty years of work and pa
thence has lived to witness the realization
| of a complete wave motor commercial
plant.
| Mr.. Starr Is a frst-class mechanic He
| spent about twenty years In the Pullman
car shops near Chicago putting the fine
interior hardwood finishings in the Pull
man sleepers
Starr saw that a wave motor to be
success had to be so constructed that it
would not only stand the worst storms Of
the ocean, but it must be so sensitive that
| it would take the power from the smallest
ocean swell; consequently he has pat
ented a machine that is giving every
ripple and surging billow commercial
| value"
| In 1906 Mr.. Starr built a working model
| at Venice, California, that produced ITO
volts 16-candle power electric lights-as
| beautiful and steady as were ever made
no Pickering up and down, but steady,
white lights.
| The Venice plant has been disman-
tied and the company has now actually
commenced the construction of a CONNER
| cia1 plant .
The Los Angeles Wave Power and Elec-
| trio company has leased from the Re-
dondo Improvement company land on the
ocean shore with privileges of building n
pier into the ocean for the first CONNER
cial Starr wave motor plant. This plant
will be constructed about 700 feet south
| of pier No. of the Redondo Improvement
company at Redondo, about nineteen
miles from Los Angeles.
Merits of Wave Motor
| 1--WE have principles covered by our pat
| ents that, in my Judgment said Mr..
Starr, latter thirty years work on wave
motor inventions, absolutely prohibit any
other person or corporation from building
a successful wave motor for seventeen
years from the dates of our patents
I'VE have two patents thoroughly COW
ering the wear plates, both issued in jan
uary, 1907.
| without the wear plates no wave mo-
tor said Mig. Starr, "can be a success,
the people 1 am associated with, conse-
quently we have the only successful wave
motor that can be made for seventeen
years from last January.
1--WE now have a model wave motor in
our office at 224 Fl. w. Hellman building.
"This model is built approximately one
twelfth the size that our 100 horse power
unit of the commercial plant will be at
Redondo. so that anyone seeing our office
model gets a perfect idea of what the
commercial plant will be.
I'VE are glad to show our model" said
Mr.. Starr, land all its parts to any one
desiring to see it. We have an honest,
bona fide and successful wave motor, with
nothing to conceal, but with everything
open to inspection by business men, en-
gneerS, mechanics and all who desire to
see it. Our wave motor is so simple and
easy to understand that child can I'M
derstand it, when he sees it work The
more skilled the engineer or mechanic
that comes to see it, the more positive
and the stronger is the Endorsement.
Some of the best mechanics and en-
gineers have seen our office model and
have asked all of them to criticise it.
saying to them: 1T is criticism that
makes the inventor a success, and not
compliments. And I am happy to be able
to state that since I perfected and COM
pleted the model now in our office, not
one criticism has been made, but many
congratulations have been given by able
engineers and mechanics as well as lay
men,"
Range of Patents
The Los Angeles Wave Power and
Electric company has been organized and
controls the Starr wave motor inventions
and patents for six counties, viz: Los
Angeles, Orange. San Bernardino, River
side. Santa Barbara and Ventura.
The company has the following well and
favorably known officers and directors;
Fred Starr, president and director, who
is the inventor of the Starr wave motor;
]. c. Beach. vice president and director.
of Los Angeles, is a mechanic and build
err; ]. H. Bacon, secretary and treasurer,
also director, is an investment broker;
w. f. B. Partridge, one of the directors
is an engineer and machinist and presi-
dent of the American Engineering and
Foundry company, one of the largest
foundry and machinery manufacturing
companies in Los Angeles; Fred Pilgrim
a director. is also an engineer and me-
chanic and president of the Pilgrim iron
works, extensive manufacturers of ma
chinery in Los Angeles; o. H. Mason, one
of the directors. is a mechanic and pro-
prietor of the Up-to-Date Pattern COM
pany, one of the largest pattern manufac-
turers in Los Angeles.
A large commercial plant of $4,000 horse
power capacity will cost to construct $50
per horse power or $2,500,OO0 and the
annual earnings of such plant, selling
power at wholesale, would be 81, 100000 If
the power were sold at retail and at less
than one-half of the present average
price of electricity 1t would pay the COM
pany 100 per cent annually.
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