The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-12-18
mo PROGRESS
ON LIGHTING
City Council Spent Another
Evening in Discussion
WELSBACH CO. EXPERT
Rather Scoffed at Present Lighting of the
City, But Explained by Saying That
the. Electric Lights Are Lo-
Gated Too Far Apart.

Gated Too Far Apart.
Light - electric, gas and intellectual
frightened the hours of business pro
eedure at the regular meeting of the cit,
council last night when members OF tn
Board of Trade, representatives of tn
Consolidated Lighting Co., the People
Lighting, Heating Il Power Co. and A
NJ. Brown, an illuminating expert iron
the Welsbach Street Lighting Co. o
America, appeared before the city faith
ers to discuss at further length the qles
tion OF all night and every night light
4 ing. lir. Brown described the lighting
conditions in cities where his company
had divided the contract with electrical.
ly lighting firms and gave other inter
esting data to show that gas lighting
has its advantages over the system used
in Barre at the present time Board OF
Trade members, as well as lighting sup
erintendents and counsellors entered
freely into the discussion and it seemed
to be the coneensus of opinion that the
aldermanic committee and the Board
OF Trade committee should ..moye on"
in the matter of reaching satisfactory
solution of the lighting problem.
The Welsbach man based portion
of his observations on what he had seen
of street lighting along the main
thoroughfare in Barre while aoming
from the train to the council chambers.
He observed, half facteously, that the
distance between poles at the present
time made the arcs and ineandeseents in
use appear like beacon lights, averring
that ii the merchants extinguisl.c,! the
store lights stranger would have to
feel his way along with the aid of
and other methods OF hand il.
Mr. Brown added he didn't
wish to discredit the Consolidated conn
pany in making this observation. The
poles were too far apart, he said, by
way of explanation.
From what he had seen Of the city
lights, Mr. Brown believed that two
Aelsbaeh lights would give as mitch II
Elimination as one of the ares. lie spoke
Iavorably of cities where the lighting
'ystems had been DIVIDED between eas
ind electricity and offered to snow mem
ocrs of the lighting committee around
DWELL, Mass, for instance, if they
would accept his invitation. Hefeupon. |
he mayor interposed belief that The |
members would prefer to ply their own /
expenses in the event Of such visit /
banking Mr.. Brown for his invitation
Il the same time.
Continuing, Mr.. Brown said his COM
AMY, which had the lighting contracts |
or many cities for many yeass, had |
ad but few complaints. He said that /
as lights must be visited twice each,
nee for lighting and once for extin-
nishing, and that these necessary visits
lade two daily inspections possible. lie
uaranteed that electric lights were
ot inspected as often. lnterrogatcd
rom time to time on different phases OF
he question, Mr.. Brown invariably sup
lied prompt answers and emphatically
DICED his confidence in gas lights, point
~ always to the Welsbach's record Tor !
,rviceable lights in otter New England
Owns and cities
II developed during the evening that
he gas company charges more for its {
rs than the price asked tlree years ago |
nd upon being questioned for reason I
Y Alderman Rossi. the superintendent a
ated that labor, coal and gasoline had c
sen in prices, increases which made the c
mp in rates inevitable. He also in |
rmed his auditors chat the price of a
'soline would be raised &C by Janu-
Y | and referred his statement to Mr.. c
rown for corroboration.
In airing his views on the perplexiu2
oblems of street lighting, Superintenj- /
/ Wharton said that he had first sat u
fed himself that his company could n
mpete with the electric company in r.
hitting the streets. lie had then sum e
oncd Mr.. Brown to substsntiate his q
gument for gas lighting. Addressing e
mself, then. 10 the Welsbach man, the o.
perintendent asked him whether or n
I he thought Main street could be p
hted with gas Just as well il not bet p
! than with electricity at the same lie
ice or perhaps cheaper. Mr.. Brown de-
red himself right then and there that oi
believed the gas proposition to be e
ogether possible. "
others who contributed light to the Il
cussion were Manager C. +. Millar OF st
, Consolidated Co., President Henry do
Phelps of the Board of Trade. and II. of
Ladd, who represented the same or q
lization. Mr. Millsr told of prepar- hG
a blue print plan of the present 10 III
ion OF lighting poles in the city. He
forwarded the plan to the general to
nager in Boston and it was proposed It
use the print as basis for figuring re
the advisahility OF using tungsten
lps instead of arcs or of dividing the
tenn between the two methodsof cleo
) lighting. Mr.. Millar proposed to give A,
tungsten system trial on Main street.
sidcnt Phelps Thought that both CON-
ing companies should furnish the
Il committee from the council and sit
Board of Trade with facts which ilv
ID convince them which would be the Nj,
ter way 20 light the streets. He stat an
that the board was after more and be,
Ter lights. nv
peaking as a committee member from cia
n