Show the progress that has been made by the slates the proceedings of the national electrical association which held its annual session in new york city rec enly could hardly be expected to interest the nonscientific non scientific public except in a general way and yet it is true that this association has to deal with runny problems of vital interest to modern civilization and many directly connected with the well be ing of all mankind it is hardly possible to name any department of human activity in which the electrical agent is not now employed in some form and the number of its uses and appliances increases with such rapidity that only those who make a study or a business of it can keep pace with them electricity in now made to transmit vocal sounds between dis tant points to light our streets and buildings to propel our conveyances and to perform a hundred other useful and important offices and yet the science is practically only in its infancy wo are only just beginning to understand something of the nature and the powers of that wonder ful and all pervading dorco which we call the electric fluid the possibilities that lie before us in the development of electrical science and its application to the arts and industries are simply inconceivable in his address of welcome before the assoria tion the mayor put the case very happily when he baid already the wonders performed by the modern electrician surpass a thousand fold anything that was done by the astro bogers of old but you are at the threshold of possibilities as what was when he produced his first steam motor the revolution accomplished by steam power in the short space of tune within the memory of many here is to be continued and all probability outdone by the new force we call electricity may even be destined to solve the problems of inequality of fortune and others which confront the world by placing a cheap power within the reach of all this prophecy may seem to bo an astounding one but who shall say that it may not prove true some idea of the amount of attention now devoted to the subject of electrician electric ial science may be gained from the statement that when the national electrical association met in new york thred years ago it numbered on ay iy sixteen members now it has a membership of avei three hundred fo show the growth that all branches of electrical industry have made in ho past few years we may fuoti from the opening address of president dincan before the association in the united states today to day ht abaid there are isolated plants and central electric light stations producing every night arc and incandescent lights then are employed for the motive powei of dynamos steam engines gregat aar ing horsepower horse power and the capitalization of electrical companies during the last six months has increased there are now being operated in this country thirty foai electric railroads comprising miles of single track while forty nine other roads with an aggregate length of over miles are in course of construction careful estimates show that no less than passengers will be carried by the electric roads of the country during tho present year the increase of tho business is illustrated by the fact that there are single factories employing as many as 1500 persons in making electric motors there are eight journals devoted exclusively to electricity and its dependent industries dus tries in the united states among the questions of general interest discussed by the association was the placing of electric conductors underground and the advantages and disadvantages of the various subway systems considerable difference of opinion appeared to exist among the members of the association on these subjects the general sentiment of the association on the question of subways found expression in a resola ion adopted near the close of tho session endorsing the views of mayor BT ewitt who said in his address of welcome that if it were in his power to force the electric light companies to put their cables under ground he would consider himself a lunatic to insist upon a step conclusively proved to be practicable to this the association added its opinion that up to the present time no commercially practical method has been brought to ita notice by which high tension direct currents such as aro used for arc luhtin can be placed underground this resolution as will be observed refers only to electric light conductors As was stated by one of the speakers before the association the telegraph aad telephone problem is practically solved the underground system is found to work perfectly with these wires and the only difficulties now in the way are matters of expense and details of construction there are now about miles of telegraph and telephone wires in joew york and miles of cables are to be laid this fall new york leads all the cities in the world in this reform |