Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-12

d-t-S 81 I'loSI'SS - tilt Sti'NL 1fhiit' i4CiiI-
er Faithful to his duty. always on time
winter and summer, rain or snow, the
iampligiter adds his happy. hustling self
as a pleasin part of the life of the city S
thorouehfarcS.
I,ut with the encroachment of electric
ity on gas rs Il street illu,ninant the
days; OF the old lamplighter seem to be
numbered He will lingcr on for years,
no one knows just how many, perhaps a
score. perhaps more. But eventually lie
must Weld altogether
More and more each year his work i
being done by the turn If 4 switch at
the electric power house. What h. trudgeS
along and spends an hour il dons-at
night III Iighting. at dayhreak in extin-
cuishing-ie done in moment simply by
pushing . lever.
ONLY a few days ago the city added TO
its street electric lights tile last Of a
long string which has been put in place
within the pas: few months. \ consider
able number were installed last year, and
the District electrical department already
has il contelupla ton plans for what 1t
ho;,,s to accomplish in this direction next
Year.
IN spite of the fact, however. that por-
tiou- ~ peunS yiNaBii. avenue. llth street
and several othcr business thnronchtarcS
have been lighted Tor som" Years ~ CLOG
tri..;ty aud that = iarS" territory recently
ha> it.''.e added thereto, Washington Stlit
mas MANY ,.or" miles of than OF
electric lighted streets. II is still largely
j -as-lightcd cts.
Eut tho day seems to 10 approac ching
when the lamplishter shall lie seen no
more in the land The coming genera
ton may point back 10 the days of gas
lights as does the present to the time,
not MANY years gone. when the lighters
worked on a moonlight schedule and
when no lights were turned on if the
bright moon wa due to illume the earth
with her pure rays serene. IT has been
twelve years since the practice OF max
inS tile moon help to pas for the city 5
street lighting was discontinued.
'Oh. Yes. ! remember those days very
Well" said an old man who mas been
n lamplighter mere for the past twenty
years. longer than any other man now in
the service. In those moonlight days We
had to 20 to the gas office ever! afternoon
when the moon was supposed to shine
that night and if the clouds didn't break
away il time We lit the lamps. And then,
ether nights, we'd have orders to hang
round ill 9. ~ and sometimes i o'clock
to il th.. moOn,l come out. Ii she did,
WHY We'd turn the lights out again. Some
Of us used to wait round out Mount
Pleasant WAY. | remember. After we had
our lamps lit. we'd meet there and wait
20 see what Alistah Moon was going to
do.
In the moonlight schedule days. the
gaS company was paid stipulated sum
per year for each lamp. and extra for
service it was obliged to render on ac-
count of the failure Of the moon to make
good its promise to be on deck. Ii the
moon was scheduled to appear and the
clouds did not put iii their appearance
until after the lampighters had been
sent home. Neutrality-suspicious. had TO walk
the streets in the dark.
The territory covered by the big 100
candlepower incandescent electric lights
this year. the installation OF which was
completed only few days ago. com
prises Massachusetts avenue from the
Union station to Dupont Circle. Connecti-
cut avenue from Lafayette Square to the
million dollar Connecticut Avenue
bridge across Rock creek PennSyl, ania
avenue from 18th to 18th street. 18th
street from PENNSYLVANIA avenue 10 X
street. 18th street from the Mall TO Il
street. III street from 1ith to 18th street,
all around Farragut and Mcpherson
squares and Vermont avenue from Nc
Pherson Square to Thomas Circle. In
addition row OF forty -candlepowers
has been plBcpa in tho Cpnter nf thp