The Washington times., 1922-09-04

40 YEARS OLD;
DATE HONORED
Thomas A. Edison and His As
sociates Plan Celebration.
Industry's Strides.

This Ia the birthday OF electric
lighting service. Electrical men
everywhere are, figuratively speak.
ing, contemplating a huge birthday
cake on which there glow forty In
ca andescent candles. In New York
electrical mep are planning to COM
memorate the anniversary with
dinner, at which Thomas A. Edison
and his associates Of forty years ago
are to be the guests of honor. The
dinner will be held at the Commo-
dore Hotel next Monday evening,
September IL, and will bring to-
gether the leaders Of the electrical
Industry from all over the country.
There Is also being assembled an
historical collection OF early elec.
trical apparatus. This collection Is
being gathered by the Edison
pioneers-the men who worked with
Edison forty years ago-and by the
Associati Of Edison Electric Hum
mating Companies.
This collection will be on public
view at the Grand Central Palace
during the Electrical and Industrial
Exposition, which begins on Octo-
ber Z. Included in this collection
will be one of the Jumbo generators
from the original station. This is
the only generator that was saved
when fire partially destroyed the
station In 1880.
First Of Power Plants.
Electric lighting service as we
know II today was inaugurated on
September 4, 1882, in New York city.
The power plant was in a rebuilt
brick warehouse at 265-257 Pearl
street, and the territory served was
less than a square mile in extent.
There were only 1924 incandescent
lamps on the new company's lines.
The generating equipment in the
station consisted Of six bipolar
dynamos known as Jumbos. Each
was rated at 125.horsepower. Cur
rent from the central station was
transmitted to the customers prem
ises through conductors which had
been laid under the streets. This
marked the beginning of under.
ground electrical distribution, for
before that time telegraph wires.
ticker wires, and telephone lines had
been strung on poles.
Edison had perfected his incan-
descent lamp in 1879, and the build
ing Of the power plant and the lay
ing of the distribution system had
been carried on during 1881 and
1882. Experimental work in the
Edison laboratory and at the in.
ventor's home at Menlo Park, N. j.,
had shown that such a method OF
illumination was thoroughly prac-
ticable, but as with all progressive
measures there were skeptics and
doubters.
NotabIes See Switches Thrown.
II was announced that the new
lighting service would begin on the
afternoon Of September 4. A notable
group Of men gathered at the sta
ton to see the switches thrown;
others assembled at various build
ings where the new lights had been
installed, and crowds Of the curious
congregated around the show win
dows Of the few shops on Nassau
street that had been equipped. The
appointed hour came-the switches
were thrown and the lights went on.
With the exception Of the break in
service caused by the fire Of 1890.
the service thus inaugurated has
gone on uninterruptededly.
Today there are in this country
more than $500 operating COM
panies and the electrical output for
900 kilowatt hours daily. with a total
supply OF current for the month of
1881 sos. 900 kilowatt hours.
Vast Growth In Business.
The lighting company at the end
Of Its first month "a -service was sup
plying fifty.nine customers; the New
York Edison Company now serves
SIT. 200 customers in Manhattan ana
the Bronx. The cost of electricity
was then I cent for a 16-candlepower
illumination for one hour: today
160-candlepowerI hours can be had
for 1 cent. Forty years ago there
were 1884 lamps supplied from a
station equipped with six generators
OF 125.horsepower each.
Today the electrical load is equal
to more than 1880, 900 lamps and
the great Waterside stations OF the
| company are rated at more than
half a million horsepower.