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Show j PROPHET OF THE A ( 'L --E L E C TKI C AGE :J I J I cvjri&i. ivu.. dj u icrr lorn ueraia -o. ah titdis reserved.) h J II M AGINATIVE seers from the days of Edward x a Bellamy down to the present liavciplcturcd in spec- e 3 I jaculai terms the climax of our electric civilization lt . I tbo era when tbe electric current shall perform for mankind crery service for which we now r.ely i n divers forms of muscular and mechanical dyna- 1 rales. Painted in flowing colors on the canvas of the I futurc, the material millennium picdicted by the I writers of fiction has Inspired tho dreams of vision- j .nrics and the ridicule of "practical" men. And not r even the most daring of the romanticists has ventured WH "' to fix the date of the coming electric age as within the l. probable lifetime of any one now on earth 1 1 Now science comes to the front and declares that ' tl)(. eicctrlc era the time when electricity alone shall g -. T ,r 0ur wheels, light our houses, cook our meals, heat ''I ' cur dwellings, icfrigerale our food supplies," perform !! tic thousand duties already known to be possible W I when' cheap enough power Is obtainable, and lnciden- " i n!K grow our crops and regulate our climate this I ; era." the "all-electric age." instead of being a dream of ,'lv ' ibe distant and undefined future, Is actually upon us. I ; To-morrow next jcar certainly within ten years.. 'I declares the foremost of British electrical scientists ; ' anil uuglncers, science will have pointed the way will 5? H tave made a practical possibility of the vhlqus of '-"'4 ; itcllnmy :id Wells. All that will remain then tobe H ' i5"10 ""l-" t0 fllul thc mollc-v Avitl1 wl,5c" t0 l)Ut llc 3 'discoveries of science Into effect, and capital Is never M ' j0U to follow where science leads. Men and women 3 I now In middle age may yet sec the physical Utopia "?"' T of the romancers as an actual existing condition. , M t That lhoe things are ocrlaliUles of the near future , $ and that America is to play a leading part in their uc- ' ftj coinplLslnucnt is the substance of a remarkable intcr- Tffl view which I had with Mr. S. Z. do Ferranti. presl- i . dcl)t of the British Institution of Electrical Engineers, J H. just as he had completed his recent tour of the "United v & States his first visit, by tho way, to the American 'v touthieut. Fresh from his inspection of the progress $ of electrical engineering in this couutry, Mr. Fer- 4 KB? ' rantl he drops the "de" from bis name in ordinary S m uslSc was full of enthusiasm over American hospl- 5 is tsllty. American inventive genius. American develop- m)) mcn"ts iu electrical application aud the eager reeep-v reeep-v mt tivlty of the American people toward new methods jjS , and new Ideas. ' m And wherever he went he found American electrical !H engineers and scientists equally enthusiastic over his own charming personality and Intellectual grasp. In M '. the electrical world his name has been familiar to W r every student for nearly a quarter of a century ns 1 S ' thrrt of one of the great pioneers in electrical science. k3 If ? To most American engineers this was the li' oppor- m tuulty of meeting him face to face, at: Ills four 8 i weeks of travel from city to city, in which he visited ! every Important eeutre from the Atlantic coast to ''H I chScaS0. "'3 a pei''ics of l"cheons, banquets and rc-'M rc-'M l ceptions to which invitations were eagerly sought by M i those whose names stand highest ou tho rolls of m American achievement. ffW . .. . ,...., ii... -r- T.Vi iilS lnllnc tllf Iia F lull, sienuer mm swuiiuy, i". -"uv uk" - ' I r t-plc;U Briton both in appearance and manner, ns well jj be may. HbT eroaTmic?nnirartJfmraflH 1 I Italian family that Includes In Its Uncage two Doges M j of old Venice and several BoIogne.se noblemen, with j " stniin of 1''l0lu,bh blood in latcr Keuerntlous" 0u hs Ilfl f mother's side and this may account for some of his Jj mental as well as physical characteristics there is an ISM ' American strain, his maternal gi-audmother having a been a nntlve of roughkeepsic, N. Y., of Dutch descent. Wm ': Born In England, he distinguished himself at a very ,M ' early age as a leader In the new science of electricity. vM His gi-eatest pioneer vork. by which his name became OT known to scientists the world over, was begun in U 1SS3, when he conceived the Idea of constructing a a great electric power station, with generating mits gB greater tlnn any that had theretofore been attempted, ct to supply electric cunent to the city of Loudon.. At &eVf that time American engineers, leaders in electrical !H ' science, were content to work at pressures of two aBm . b"iH hundred volts. B ! Young Ferranti planned to handle tbe current at a yB ( ten thousand volt pressure. Older meu of science deli de-li B dared him crazy. No machlnerv or apparatus had m f been built that would accomplish his purpose, Jm f md uo one could tell, they said, whether it- would ijM i- not. They were of the opinion that it would m oot Others accused him of 'dishonesty In attempting m l t( btain money with which to carry out what they jjfl ,( regarded as a chimerical project. But, audacious 5a f as his scheme undoubtedly was, he got the necessary tM i :apltal Interested, and it worked! To-day the great .M Deptford iowcr station, Bending its ten thousand volt tfjM I current through the Identical mains which were gfl i originally laid, stands as a monument to the young ifw cuSleor'8 genius and courage, for he not only had iM ' In tninm(-'e others chat the project was practical, but -1 to design and create every piece of machinery aud jM apparatus ned. And een now, after a qunrter of a Wm J century, no higher voltages are iu practice carried jM underground anywhere in the world. -M I So brief is the history of electrical development that 5 the man why thus pointed the way in the very earliest xl S days of the science Is still a young man as men of Jl ; affairs go. There may be a strand or two of grav In 11 his flowing mustache, a speck of silver n"bout the tern- I5 pli-s. but his step Is tho Jaunty troad of vonth, hla M manner that of an enthusiastic boy and hs ioiagiua- nf America Soon Will See the Realization of the Dream of Romancers, SSpSj Wm S ' According Jor Mr. Z de FerfntL the British' Authority S - tion and keenness of perception per-ception both undlmmed by the lapse of years. In Ids speech he Is ns frank and unreserved, as facile and as emphatic as any American. Amer-ican. "What have I ppen In America that interested me? Everything," he exclaimed, ex-claimed, In reply to my first question. "Your hospitality It is bouii'" 'clt as thougi . I had just come home. Every been ' i- klud. " .. , Surprises? I must confess con-fess that I have not been .greatly surprised, for I was prepared for everything every-thing I saw. I have never been in America before, although al-though I have booked passage pas-sage three different times. But I have been for years a close reader of the American Amer-ican lechnical press I get the American editions of the c"iei'tllic journals iu-stead iu-stead of the English and I kno-- just what your rn-gincers rn-gincers -t-ere t0. "What I have n has merely conrir- " my pn -ioua impressions." im-pressions." "Aud those were" 1 began. 'Those were that this Is a tremendous country, inhabited in-habited by most Interesting Interest-ing and progressive people, peo-ple, and that what you have already done In the way of electrical development develop-ment proves that America is to lake a leadlug part In bringing about -vhat I have termed the 'all-elcc-tric age. Conservation of Coal. "What do I mean by that? I mean the time that is approaching when fOyory pound of coal that Is 'burned will be turned Into drop of water that is utilized for power punxjses will be converted into current; cur-rent; when electricity will be the only means used for all the things that are now done by the direct burn (J' I JDE FERRANTI Q j Sl) ing of coal, by gas and by all other meam, of obtaining power; when the electric current will be so cheap that the thousand new applications of it to every variety of mechanical, Industrial, commercial and domestic uses which are now only possible as laboratory experiments will be within the reach of every one; when the means of applying electricity to these uses will "be so simple that every one can operate it in short, the time when electricity shall have supplanted all other forms for the transmission of energy and shall have brought new uses for energy into the rule of our everyday affairs." "What are the things that remain to be done before be-fore this Is accomplished?" I asked. "Better aud more etilcient means of utilizing the heat units iu coal, cheaper and more efficient methods of transmitting the electric current, higher eillcicncy and greater simplicity In the apparatus for the utilization utiliza-tion of the current these three, or any of them, will bring it about." "It is the general Impression," I suggested, "that the highest future developments In electrical lines are to come through the utilization of water power." "In the long run that may be." replied .Air. Ferranti. Fer-ranti. "but In mj judgment we shall reach tho all-elcc-trp age by another route the utilization of coiil on a more economical and olliclent basis than at present. It Is cheaper to-day to carry the necessary co.il to the point where power Is to be developed than to transmit the electric current. Your city of Syracuse is about one hundred and fifty miles from Niagara Full and about one hundred and fifty miles from the coal fields. It Is cheaper lo produce power in Syracuse lrom C"l than to send power to Syracuse fiom Niagara Fa, lis by method now known. v "Eventually the problem of cheaper transmission j i i over long distances will be solved by better conductors conduct-ors and Ie-5b e.pensle installations, but at present th'p capital charge the cost of maintenance ami the depreciation account on long distance transmission lilies is so much heavier than the cost of operating coal tralus on railroads that the latter is the cheaper method of transmitting power, and the present trend of research indlcajcs the enrller solution of tho coal problem than of the problem of distributing water generated electricity cheaply to any considerable dls tanco from its point of origin." j'We are not to seo the elevated and subway trains of New York operated by Niagara power, then?" I-aisked. I-aisked. "Not for many years, If at all," replied Mr. Far-rantl. Far-rantl. "I do not mean that the power of Niagara is not capable of much wider use than at present. I hope It will be used much more extensively than now, I visited Niagara, and I must confess that the sentiment senti-ment It inspired In me was one of sadness. When I saw the possibilities of that tremendous store of free power realized the incalculable energy that 16 hourly going to waste over the brink of the cataract, pictured to myself tho benefit to mankind If only this could all he utilized I was Impressed with, the folly, as It seemed to me, the almost incredible failure to grasp a gfoit opportunity for the advancement of human progress, that Inspired the restrictions placed upon the utilization of the waters of Niagara. For the benefit bene-fit ofa handful of tourists, through what uecins to me a .strained sentimentality that Is altogether at variance vari-ance with iny conception of the practical American character, the American and Canadian governments hnvu thrown away and are throwing away dally untold un-told wealth (bat would be a -great addition lo tup assets of the countries. "Even if it be necessary to preserve the beauty of that beautiful scene.'lhe engineer and tin artist, working work-ing together, could still devise means of taking many millions more bor&e power from the waters and yet preserve all that is beautiful -and Impressive about the cataract. I am sure I hat In lime tho American potiple will sec litis question iu this light, and that the power utilized at Niagara will bo luci eased enormously. enor-mously. "But it Is not along the line of water power development, devel-opment, but rather along the line of more clUcIeiit. tirtc of coal, that science is now pointing the wily to tile early realization j)t Iho all-electric age. "You in America are nearer to It than wc arc in England. Over there only about one per cent o( I he coal mined Is transformed into electricity. Iu this country ou must lie using at least two per cent of your coal for electric current. Your people are moro roiidy to adopt new Ideas and now methods yoli huvq no such social Inertia to overcome ns we have iu England. In England, howcer, wc have perhaps gone a little further thnn you have In pointing the way lo obtaining all the possible value fiojn tho goal, . "At present only about ten per cent of tho heat uultg in a ton of coal are utilized when it h turned Into electricity In the moat modern generating station-. The other ninety per cenLis wasted. The all-electric age will come when we have found how to utilize at lojtst twonty-llve per. cent of the posslblu power. of coal, and to inake use of the by-products which arc now entirely wasted. Along these Uixvs some of the bps.1 mhjds iu the world of gciewe are working. Thes.ti researches are iilrundy'glvlng promise of results sooner ihun tho world expects thorn." "Will this increased utilization of coal be through improved furnaces or by other means?" I asked. "More probably through the conversion of the coal into producer gas and the use of the gn.s plther for combustion under steam boilers or in gas engines." was the roply. "The ga3 engine and the gas producer pro-ducer are attracting the attention at-tention of experimental engineers en-gineers everywhere. Producer Pro-ducer gas, cither produced at the mine and piped to the point of utilization or converted at the mine into electric current, or produced pro-duced from coal which has been transported to the power plant, seems Jlkely to give in the near future not only the twenty-five per cent of the coal's energy that I have mentioned, men-tioned, brut also to be produced pro-duced by means that will enable the valuable byproducts by-products to be saved. "What, I anticipate is the establishment of electrical zones, with central power stations water power where that is available, coal where It is not. The areas of these zones will bo determined by economic conditions and the development develop-ment of means of-power transmission. Where coal is the source of power the by-product will be saved and materially reduce the qost of power production." "And these bj'-products are?"' "The most Important is fixed nitrogen," replied Mr. Permuti, "and in the allele all-ele trie age the nitrogen w hi be taken f.rom the coal without detracting from the power producing value of the fuel and converted into fertilizer for the restoration res-toration of .our Impoverished Impov-erished soils. From a ton of coal fixed nitrogen can be obtained that will be equivalent to one hundred - i-.i.-Wn. .if mil. ....!.. which is worth, about 500 a. ton. There A other ,Sro,Ucnt ,o "? the soil for agriculture as is nltiocn. -l i of restoring the soil Is more acute in BnRlftnd thn It is in America, but oven in this country, in the Astern svtJoitf.' your soils are already exhausted In man sections. With the Improved scientific processes for , tho utlilintlon of conl your farms will be res ored to their original fertility and kept fertilized at the minimum min-imum pf-'cost, while It has already been demonstrated that nitrogen can be successfully and commercially cvtractfd from the air whenever electric current can be produced cheaply enough. The other by-products of conl.-jbucu as tar aud oils, which have no fuel, value, probabfv will pay the cost of extracting the nitrogen, so that'lhe commercial cost of the coal will be much loss than it Is now. "With cheap electric power other imiortant agricultural agri-cultural advantages will be gained. It is well known that fruits and vegetables grown under glass develop much more full;- and rapidly if exposed to electric light. Tho time may come when the larger part of our food will thus be grown, on soli fertilized by the by-product of the coal or nitrogen electrically extracted ex-tracted from the air." ' "When the all-electric oge arrives what shall we see?' ' VFirSt. a groat extension of the use of electric lights. America .now leads the world in its use of electricity for lighting purposes, and it is fair lo assume that It will continue to load when current becomes so cheap that no other form of lighting Is economical In comparison. com-parison. Then wo shall also see all cooking done by electricity. Much is done today, even at the high .prices which arc necessarily charged for tho electric current. In the nll-elcctric age there will be no other " t t method of cooking In general use. With these two ' - IH advances in effect there will come a great reduction - - jH of the fire risk. M "Electricity is already the most convenient means ' iH of power. In the all-electric age It will also be the v . t H cheapest, and therefore the only power used for all ',,'? H machinery. To-day It Ls the only power used for , H urban railroads. In the all-electric age tho main line , -' " roads hIho will be operated by electricity. . ' ' "In the various manufacturing industries depending . ,. - H upon heat, such as the manufacture of pig iron, ri ! IH science has already demonstrated that it Is only neces- ,fr ' H nary to have electricity cheap enough to produce bet- - '' v ' H tor results than are now obtained by present processes. ' i- " . IH Electricity is already extensively ued in steel mnk- " ?"'- I IH ing; In Qic all-electric age It will supersede all other ' '' H methods. .',','' M "I do not need to mention the immense variety of y v H electro-chemical processes that would be carried on " ,'y ' H extensively In the all-electric age, but I will make one .' ; , ' ' H suggestion that may at first sound chimerical, yet Is '' r ' H not as absurd as itiyappcars at first glance. That If, " M the possibility of conttolllng the climate, or, at least, ' H (he weather, by electricity. It would be of immense jH benefit to agriculture If wc could have continuous snn- H shine at certain times of the year. It ls unnecessary H for me to point out that the all-electric age will be a ?s '-i H smokeless dra, and therefore the nucleus for heavy .' 'Y clouds will not "be present. This, however, is a prob- c "$ I lem of more importance In Great Britain than in ,ji ,- (i America. - , - -- c. M Yi nut mil,? uc uuuu iii ui; iv jui-u cut; wivuua un- j ih charge their moisture when and where wc will by H means of electricity. At present it Is considered quite i ' right and reasonable to canalbce rivers and make great M works for adding to the fertility of countries by M means of Irrigation, but T believe that the time f ., M will come when It will be thought no more won- j derful largely to control our weather than it is now " L H thought wonderful to control the water after it has H fallen on the land. I think that It will be possible to H acquire knowledge which will enable ns largely to- H control .by electrical means tbe sunshine which n H roaches us, and in a climate which usually has ample ,f ' M moisture. In its atmosphere to produce rainfall when - '. ? t H and where we require it. H "It seems to me that It may be possible, when wc M know a great deal more about electricity than wc do . k vM to-day, to setup an electrical defence along our coasts . t IH by which we could cause the moisture in the clouds r ("1 IH to fall In the form of rain and so prevent those clouds '??'' drifting over the couutry between ourselves and the -v' H sun, which they now blot out. It also seems to me . H that It will be possible, when more water on the coun- r'J H try is required, to cause the falling of rain from the -.ft H clouds passing over the highest part of the country, H and so produce an abundance of water which, prop- r jH erlv tiscd. would greatly add to the fertility of the ' -r H -5.""- Il land. M "Of course it may seem that these are only mad ' H visions of the future, but I think we can hardly con- ' H slder these results more improbable than any one ; . 1" H would have considered wireless telegraphy or flight H in heavier than air.;machincs fifty years ago. I men- H ' I ionIIeTn'bccausy they -would-conslitute another great- ,jgjnj H use of electricity in the all-electric age, which is not " $ H far off." . fV" I J M "How far?" I asked. H Mr. Farranti paused and thought for a moment i ll "Sooner than most people imagine," he said. "Sclcn- ' M tific nien arc working on all of the problems involved. . t jl Their rescnrclies are dving promise of success. I '- M should say, speaking conservatively, within ten years M we should have the necessary results. IH "1 do not mcau," he continued, "that we shall see ll the all-electric age In full effect and operation in a jl decade from now. What I mean is that science will - H by that time have shown the way have demonstrated jH the commercial possibility of the substitution of elec- M trlcity for all other forms of heat, light and power.. H it will then be a matter for capital, nad the billions I H of capital that will be required to carry out the possi- M bilities will not be subscribed in a day. We cannot H tell what iolltical or social revolutions may have oc- ' A H curred to make It impossible to get so much capital H and invest it safely by that time. The all-electric age ( 1 cannot be achieved unless a free rein be given capital H to put its money where it will be sure to earn an in- s M come. I do not defend the abuses of capital the use ' f 'f , M of combiuhtlons to gouge the people with high prices M or to enslave them with low wages but unless the -?. M presoDt agitation against wealth, which Is being felt " H In England even more than. in America, ceases there H' , M will be an end to electrical development, or a very " M great retardment of scientific progress at the least. , m "But with reasonable opiwrtuultios given to capital j H tho all-clcctrio age will surely como in the near future ' H tho ago of brightness aud of beauty, the smokeless r H era when all may eujoy the conveniences and luxuries ;' IH that electrloitv makes possible; when electrically op- H orated machinery will relieve labor from much of its jm mot toilsome drudgery: when our soils shnll be re- . H newed and our crops cultivated by the aid.of the , , ( jH nivslic current; when our coal supplies, instead of x, H apprcwiohing exhiiustion at lightning speed, will do so j H much more work to a ton of coal than at present that Jm their life Villi bo more than doubled, culminating in H tho groat day when the falling waters of nature's , H own power houses shall turn the wheels, light the . . H tiros and illuminate the dwellings of all the world.". H |