170 
FESSENDEN. 
DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICITY. 
a. Short Distance Transmission .—With the gradual increase 
in the use of electric light, the older system of distribution 
of electricity by direct current at 110 volts has proved un¬ 
equal to the problem. The amount of capital invested in 
the mains and feeders is so enormous and represents such 
an amount of locked-up money and such a large annual in¬ 
terest charge that stations working on this system have to 
charge so much for current that large users find it cheaper 
to own private plants. The capital of some of these com¬ 
panies is as much as $100 for each 16 candle-power lamp 
connected with their mains, and it is evident that this is ex¬ 
cessive. Moreover, owing to the strong prejudice against 
tearing up the streets frequently, larger mains must be put 
down than will be needed for some years, and when these 
are overloaded it is almost impossible to increase them. 
The present year has seen this difficulty met in two ways: 
First, more especially in England, by a raising of the vol¬ 
tage on the lamps to 220 volts. This has been done by sev¬ 
eral of the largest engine supply companies in London and 
elsewhere. The results are bound to be in the highest de¬ 
gree disastrous, and will create great prejudice against the 
electric light, and must ultimately be abandoned, with a 
very great loss of capital in trying the experiment. For the 
220 volt the carbon-filament lamp can never be made satis¬ 
factory, being necessarily of much shorter life than the 110- 
volt lamp and also less efficient. Moreover, the house fittings 
must all be altered, and the introduction of a potential dif¬ 
ference of 440 volts, which will occur since the three-wire 
system is used, will cause a number of cases of death from 
electric shock. The only possibility of success which this 
method has is in the general use of the Jablokoff-Nernst 
lamp, and so far this is not a commercial success. 
The other method, used in America and gradually being 
extended, is the use of sub-stations in the city, fed at high 
voltages, by alternating current stations situated on the out- 
