Evening star., 1942-02-10
Switch 10 War Time
Brings Complaints
Of Inconvenience
Power Company Reports
1t Is Yet UnobIe to Check
Effect on Supply

Reports after the first day of the
new war time brought numerous
complaints of inconvenience to-
day, along with announcement from
power company officials that they
had not had sufficient opportunity
to check the effect on the power
supply.
Power officials blamed their in
ability to determine the results
on the fact that the change in the
clocks yesterday gave the day, first
under the new schedule, only %
hours. They hoped to be able to
tell more definitely after today's
24-hour period gives them a basis
for comparison.
Yesterdays % hours revealed an
increase in the use of power over
the corresponding day of last year,
but officials said this was in line
with the normal rise from year to
year. On February 9, 1941. the Po-
tomac Electric Power Co. gen.
Grated 3,469,00 kilowatt hours, COM
pared with 3,974,OOO yesterday. An
hour added to yesterdays schedule
would have swelled the output by
l20,000-odd hours.
Increased Morning Load.
Earlier rising resulted in an in
crease in the morning power load,
an electric company spokesman re-
ported, but a corresponding reduc-
ton in the evening load was re-
corded.
Meanwhile, it was apparent that
inconveniences resulting from the
change will be permitted to con-
tinue in most cases until advancing
sunrise affords relief. Postal car
riers, for instance, who yesterday
we're thrown behind on their rounds
because it was so dark when they
started that they could not read the
addresses on the mail, must settle
their difficulties by themselves, ac-
cording to District Postmaster Vim
cent Burke.
The postmaster said he planned
to make no change and predicted
that In two more weeks there would
be enough light to eliminate the
difficulty.
Few Were on Street.
The street light situation also en-
ters the picture. Formerly when
the lights were extinguished, few
people we're on the streets and there
was no confusion. But the war
time now finds thousands of work.
ers running for buses and street
cars in the dark In order to get to
offices oa time under the new
schedule.
Walter E. Kern, District Electrical
Department superintendent, said
there would be no change in the
hours at which street lights are
turned of unless Congress and the
Commissioners pass legislation per-
mitting the change. The schedule
now in effect, he explained, permits
the lights to remain on 3,942 hours
and 81 minutes each year. With
this as basis, the burning time has
been pro rated according to the
season OF year.
LlSlltS llOW NIL. tAC1 IL IS-
ported, from Is minutes after SUM-
set 10 80 minutes after sunrise. On
March 16, they will be turned on at
the same hour in the evening. but
will be extinguished Is minutes
earlier. This schedule will be fol-
lowed until April 10, at which date
they will burn from 80 after sunset
to As minutes before sunrise.
Traffic Lights Changed.
No difficulty Of this nature in
volved traffic lights. Traffic Director
William A. Van Duzer said they had
been changed in accordance with the
new time.
In many instances individual con-
Germs and work crews solved prob
lens to their own convenience. One
case of this was reported at the sub
terranean reservoir now under con-
struction at Mcmillan Park. Work.
men there were not satisfied to re-
port before dawn and to quit in the
middle of the afternoon. so they
went to their jobs today an hour
later.