1893.] on Theory and Practice in Electrical Science. 86 



4. The big steam engines, being compound and condensing, pro> 

 duce a horse-power with a smaller consumption of fuel than the small 

 high-pressure steam engines scattered throughout the works. 



5. The numerous attendants of the old steam engines and boilers 

 have mostly been transferred to other work ; only a few of them are 

 required at the central station, and one or two men can easily look 

 after all the electric motors used in the various parts of the works. 



Elsewhere, equally favourable results have been obtained by the 

 introduction of electrical distribution of power, and in this respect I 

 bog to refer you to a paper read before the German Institution of 

 Civil Engineers by Mr. E. Hartmann in April of last year, and to a 

 paper read by Mr. Castermans before the Society of Engineers in 

 Liege in August last, in which he compares in detail various methods 

 of transmission of power, of which the electrical one was adopted for 

 a new small arms factory. 



We may, therefore, take it for granted that the advantages 

 alluded to above have not resulted from local circumstances at Wool- 

 wich, but that they can be realised anywhere by the adoption of the 

 electric current for distributing power from a central station. At 

 first sight this result appears to be of interest only to the manu- 

 facturer, but the development of this idea may lead to far-reaching 

 consequences when we consider that cheap power is one of the most 

 important requisites for cheap production. You can see on the 

 diagram that the various buildings are separated by roads, and we can 

 easily imagine that in each of them an independent owner carries on 

 work, so that the diagram represents part of a manufacturing town. 



While power was generated by steam engines, the cost of pro- 

 ducing one horse-power varied a good deal in the different parts, and 

 the various owners could not have obtained their power on equal 

 terms, those possessing the largest steam engines having a distinct 

 advantage. This inequality is done away with altogether when the 

 power is distributed by electricity, as the current can be supplied for 

 large or small powers at the same rate per Board of Trade unit. It 

 is therefore clear that the establishment of central stations for the 

 generation of electricity on a large scale will bring about the possi- 

 bility of small works competing with large works in quite a number 

 of trades, where cheap power is of the first consideration. 



Another circumstance favouring small works is the diminution of 

 capital outlay brought about by the employment of electric motors. 

 Not only are the motors cheaper than boilers and steam-engines of 

 corresponding power would be, but the outlay for belting and shafts 

 is saved, and the structure of the building need not be as substantial 

 as is necessary where belts and shafting have to be supported by it. 



A commencement has already been made in this direction by the 

 starting of electric light stations, where the owners do all in their 

 power to encourage the use of the current in motors in order to keep 

 the machinery at their central station more uniformly at work. 



The introduction of electricity as motive power will apparently 



