QUARTER CENTURY OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING 157 



One smiles nowadays at the idea of replacing two four- 

 foot gas jets by one 16 candle power lamp, but the fact of do- 

 ing so was a valuable lesson in illumination — proof that a 

 steady light, good in color, can actually with positive ad- 

 vantage replace lights of greater gross intensity, but lacking 

 these two things. 



A good many people who ought to know better, but have 

 not learned this lesson, still foster the idea that illumination 

 intrinsically bad can be made good by merely increasing its 

 quantity. 



The incandescent light practically won its way through 

 quality,, for only under rare conditions could it at first show 

 economy over gas at the prices generally current. Once intro- 

 duced and appreciated it was rapidly pushed ahead. It was 

 a thing to advertise in one's business and to brag about to 

 one's neighbors, and its use thus spread with the added 

 momentum due to fashion. With it came increased use of 

 arc lamps, partly in competition, but still consistently back- 

 ing up the public demand for bright light and more of it. 

 Pretty bad some of those early arcs were too, but they did 

 what gas had never done — they really lighted large areas 

 effectively by dint of sheer brilliancy. Between the arcs and 

 incandescents there was awakened a demand for public elec- 

 trical supply, though, by a strange streak of fate, the arc and 

 the incandescent systems, beautifully fitted to supplement each 

 other's work, fought Uke cat and dog, damning each other 

 with an ingenuity of objurgation that would be worthy of a 

 unique position in profane history. Apparently this mutual 

 abuse simply served to make violent partisans and both sys- 

 tems flourished. Forward steps were rapid, and on one hand 

 arc machines carrying a respectably large series of lamps soon 

 came into use, and the carbons, at first horribly bad, were so 

 improved in manufacture as greatly to better the steadiness 

 of the light. On the other hand, incandescent lamps were 

 greatly improved in manufacture so that their useful hfe was 

 largely increased, the baml^oo filament was fashioned into 

 as good practicall}^ working form as its nature permitted, and 

 the invaluable three-wire distribution was brought into wide 

 use. In large cities incandescent lighting was giving good 



