The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-05-23
G[|M MAKERS WILL
HONOR EDISON

st. Louis, Mo-, May 23.-Several
thousand delegates, representing
electric light companies, in all parts
of the United, Canada and Mexico,
are in attendance at the twenty-fifth
annual convention of the National
Electric Light association, which
opened its session formally today.
The convention will continue through
the week and one of the principal
features will be the celebration of
Edison Day, in honor of Thomas A.
Edison, whose genius alone is respon-
sible for more than two-thirds of
the wonderful progress of electric
lighting during the last thirty years.
In connection with the convention
there is a great and costly exposi-
ton at the Coliseum hall, which
shows in chronological form the pro-
gress made in electric lighting and
in the utilization of electrical power
since the first electric light plant
was established in Appleton, Wis,
in 1882.
During the Seventies Edison be-
gan to experiment with the problem
of lighting by incandescent lamps
and his work was first discussed in
the newspapers in 1873. The en-
thusiastic reports of the newspapers,
which predicted a great future for
Edison's system, caused an extraOr-
binary decline in the price of gas
shares. Edison made the first dem
onstration of his paper carbon lamp
year later at Menlo Park, but not
until the summer of 1880 did those
experimental lamps come into prac-
teal use outside of his laboratory.
Now, according to the statement
of Frank w. Frueauf, of New York,
president of the National Electric
Light Association, there are about
5000 central electric lighting stations
in the United States alone. More
LudA OuC hdlL vi thCOO Souu pdhlCo al
also engaged in the electrical sup
ply business. The central station
companies of the country have an in
vestment of 1,250,000,000. They
have a gross income of more than
$250,000,000 a year and develop
nearly 100000 horsepower.
In 1879 the first miniature cleo
trio railway carrying passengers was
put in. operation by Siemens and
Halske at the Berlin Exposition. 1t
was merely an exhibition plant and
not until two years later was a COM
mercial road put in operation in
Europe, a mile-and-a-half affair pust
outside of Berlin.
At present there is track mile
age of electric city and interurban
railways of 40,247 miles in the Unit
ed States, using S2,216 cars, and rep
| resenting capital liabilities of $4,-
557 100000.
Equally marvellous was the devel-
opment of the telephone industry
1t was at the Centennial Exposition
of 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell
exhibited his first telephone. Today
there are more than 100000 tele-
| phones in use in the United States
| and the amount invested in ex-
changes and lines amounts to more
than $550,000,O00. The investment
is steadily growing at rapid rate.
The first storage battery, French
invention, was built in 1881, and was
exhibited at the Paris Exposition. 1t
was many years after that time when
the invention was put to practical
use. In 1888 Tesla contributed ma
terially to the development of the
electric power industry by his valu-
! able inventions and discoveries in re-
lation to alternating currents. Not
until then was it made possible to
make practical use of the transmits
sion of electrical power.
The first electrical power trans
mission plant was established in
1890 in small town in the Colorado
mountains, where the plant furnish
ed power for mine. Since then the
most marvellous progress has been
made and power transmission is one
of the most important features of
electrical industry.
The discovery of the X-Rays by
Roentgen in 1895 was at first only
of scientific interest, but has ievel-
oped in a great measure and has
made the X-Rays a valuable assist
ant in modern surgery. The inven-
ton of wireless telegraphy was the