DEVELOPMENTS IN ILLUMINATION—MILLAR. 627 
is assuming greater importance than the lighting business, yet it 
is the lighting business upon which the reputation of the company 
for furnishing good service or poor service is most likely to de- 
pend, and which offers far more opportunity for cultivating pub- 
lic good will through acceptable service than does the power 
business. Most large electric and gas companies now have on 
their staff one or more illuminating engineers, and are devoting 
more attention than formerly to the subject of good Ulumination. 
IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 
In. conclusion, allow me to enter a plea for more general atten- 
tion to the subject of illumination. It is one of transcending impor- 
tance whether viewed from a humanitarian or a commercial stand- 
point. Some estimates for the year 1913 of its commercial impor- 
tance in this country have recently been published.'| According to 
these the manufacturer’s sales of materials employed directly for 
illumination in the electric-lighting industry alone aggregated 
$65,000,000, while the sales of machinery involved in the generation 
of electricity for lighting purposes aggregated perhaps half of this 
amount. The revenue of central stations derived from the electric- 
lighting business is estimated as exceeding $300,000,000. These 
figures suggest in some measure the importance of the electric-lighting 
industry and, of course, are in need of supplement by corresponding 
figures representative of the gas-lighting industry and of the miscel- 
laneous lighting business of the country. But if all such figures were 
available, they would only begin to suggest the commercial impor- 
tance of artificial illumination to the country. Who shall attempt to 
estimate the colossal additions to the wealth of the Nation which it 
makes possible through extending the hours of industry ? 
The importance of artificial Ulumination in another sense is diffi- 
cult to overestimate. 
“Health in the home is dependent upon proper sanitation. ‘Cleanliness is next to 
Godlmess’; without proper light, cleanliness is next to impossible. Adequate 
illumination promotes cleanliness. 
“Ophthalmologists tell us that inadequate or otherwise improper illumination 
occasions eyestrain which often results in headache and other nervous disorders. 
These, if prolonged, sooner or later undermine general health. So, good illumination 
affects general health by promoting sanitation and avoiding nervous strain. 
‘Good illumination has a more direct bearing upon the health of the eyes. If the 
eyes are closely employed upon detailed work, as in sewing or reading, under condi- 
tions of illumination which are improper, the eyes are fatigued, and if the occupation 
is continued, in spite of the fatigue, vision is impaired at least temporarily, and 
_ possibly is injured permanently. As compared with our forefathers we are distinctly 
a nocturnal people. We use our eyes a greater number of hours per day. Oculists’ 
records testify, and the prevalence of eyeglasses evidences, the deleterious effects 
upon the vision of the people asa whole. Who shall say what part of the prevalence 
1 Editorial, Lighting Journal, January, 1914. 
