Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-02-20

attached to keep the temperature below
the danger point.
1t was but fifteen years ago when the
first 10000 volt Transmission line in this
country was opened in southern Cali
fornia, transmitting sin~gle-phasc cur
rent from San Antonio canon to light
Pomona and San Bernardino, distant
fourteen and twenty-cight miles. There
were two banks Of small transformers,
raising tho pressure from 1000 to 10000
volts. In all, there were forty six-ktlo-
watt transforncrs-the largest Of that
day. 4 comparison Of these insignificant
machines with the six monster trans
formers being constructed by the Gene
raj Electric company at Schenectady for
the Great Western Power company of
California fully demonstrated the won
dcrful advancement of high tension
Transmission. These giant machines
each stand over twenty rect high. weigh
12S.O00 pounds and will send 1900 cleo
trical horse power ut n pressure Of 1oo,-
COZ volts. with the remarkable efficiency
Of 2S.6~pcr cent, a distance of 12S miles.
one of the very first watcrpower sta
ions to transmit alternating current
was the Gold King mine at Telluride,
col, in 1890.
1t was in 1877 that Or. William Sic
mems indicated the possible commercial
Importance Of electrical transmission for
considerable distances. About this time
Marcel Duprcz. u F~renchman, was cx-
perimenting in electrical transmission
and successfully sent three horsepower
a distance of twenty-five miles over or
binary telegraph wires, using a pressure
= - ,Ag i. lie. - pft a ia.1 NJ The.
motor only thirty-two per cent. Of the
energy cxpondcd-a very serious loss. In
1889 NJ. IIiIlairct Of Paris successfully
transmitted go horsepower ten miles to
actuatc a motor in % paper mill. All
these first transmissions were of direct
| current. In 1921 alternating current was
employed in tho Lauffcn-Frankfort Ger
| many. experiment.. There a hundred
horsepower. obtained from water power,
was transmitted n distance Of 19S miles
with a loss OF only Twenty-Five per cent.
The alternating current installation at
Telluride. Cal, was even more efficient.
These few installations Immediately at
tractcd tho attention OF such eminent en-
ginccrs and inventors as Edison, Tesla.
Thomson. Houston, Lord Kelvin and
Others and tho transformer was dovcl-
oped into tho wonderful machine Of to-
DAY. which brings tho mountain torrents
to the heart of the Industrial cities OF
the plains.
Nearly a hundred cities in the Onire't
States alone are to-day using electricity
supplied by transmitted w~ater-power.
Ten years ago Niagara Falls was or
scientific interest only; to-day 1t is dis
tributing over 100.GO horsepower to Buf-
falo. Syracuse, Rochester, Toronto and
other smaller places. Spier Falls, north
Of Saratoga Springs, which supplies the
industrial cities of Schenectady. Amster-
dam. Troy and Albany with electrical
current. was practically uuhcard Of. no
man had so much as dreamed OF har-
Messing the Kern river, the Feather riv-
or or any othcr stream in the Sierra Ne
vada range which now supply every city
on the Pacific coast with cheap electric
ity. The great wlter-power development
in the south along the Yuba and Yadkin
rivers were not even Spoken Of. The
Transmission Of wator-powcr has in
creased manufacturing to a very marked
degree. The population of cities provided
with cheap current has increased as
manufacturing plants hoclod to the
places whore economical power was
available. Millions of pounds of coal
have been saved and the electrical in
dustry has been stimulated to new and
greater possibilities.
Among the larger cities which receive
a greater portion of their electricity from
transmitted water-power are the fol-
lowing: Miles
Fro,, u.n.or