Full text of "Pacific Gas and Electric magazine"

See other formats

^^l^^#ii SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY ROOM X

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1223 04552 2175

SAN FRANCISCO
PUBLIC LIBRARY

•621.5
Pll vol. 1

R;^M

'^:::^^F.'

REFERENCE BOOK

Not to be taken from the Library

Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive

in 2010 with funding from

San Francisco Public Library

j_^ w?

;#i^^^f ^/

Sg!^'"',

(^-V/

iL**.."^ ^

http://www.archive.org/details/pacifi(Dgaselectr11910paci

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC MAGAZINE

CONTENTS FOK JUNE

PAGE

The New Office Building, 445 Sutter Street Frontispiece

The New Electra Water Wheel C. F. Adams 3

Landmarks in Nineteenth Century Progress John A. Brilton 6

Minimum Charges Ceo. B. Furniss 8

The Electric Meter Testing Dep't and Its Work . . .5. /. Lisberger 9

The Application of Reinforced Concrete Piling. . .H. C. Vensano 14

Accidents and Their Lessons J. P. Cogblan 19

The Gas Meter John Clements 20

The Office End Chas. L. Barrett . ... 21

Baseball News 23

Gas Stories 23

Editorial 24

Question Box 25

Personals 26

Local Notes 26

Home Again R. J. Cantrell 27

Biography — Chas. L. Barrett 28

Additions to Library of the Pacific Gas Ass'n E. C. Jones 29

Hope for the Gas Man Verse 30

He Passed the Hat Stor^ 30

Directors and Officials Pacific Gas and Electric Co 3f

Directors and Officials San Francisco Gas and Electric Co 32

Municipal Matters C. C. Holberton .... 32

Terms — 50 cents per i'ear. Single Copies, 10 cents.

GENERAL OFFICES
San Francisco Gas and Electric Company and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 445 Sutter St., San Francisco

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

JUNK. 1909

No. 1

Electra Water Wheel

Recently Designed for the Electra Power Plant

By C. F. Adams.
Engineer, Electric Construction.

*"*"* 'j OME time a^-o one of the

S? 5000 K. W. generators at
I Electra went out of com-
I mission. Certain bolts failed
I that secured a Avater wiieel
.............4 bucket to its disc. This

machine is again in service,
driven by a new water wheel in which
the chance of a similar failure has been
eliminated.

When the 2000 K. W. generators were
first installed at Electra and Colgate,
running at 240 R. P. ]\I., conservative
designers decided that a single wheel
and a single stream were out of the

question for such a large machine, and
so two 1000 K. W. wheels were mounted
on each shaft. These wheels, be it said,
have run without trouble until the
buckets literally wore out, after about
seven years' service. Later a single
wheel was designed for a 2000 K. W.
machine, and placed in successful opera-
tion at de Sabla on an operating head
of 1500 feet.

The success of the 2000 K. W. ma-
chines and the growing demand for in-
crease of power-house output, led to the
consideration of 5000 K. W. units to
run at 400 R. P. ]\I.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

With tlie call for larger units and
higher speeds, the water wheel designer
proposed a single wheel and a single
stream for this new 5000 K. W. machine.
The result was the well-known two-
bearing set with an overhung water
wheel taking the enormous impact of a
seven inch stream under 1250 feet head.

Experience has demonstrated that

conservatism is of value, even in the
designing of water wheels.

Our latest type of wheel, designed by
Consulting Engineer W. E. Eckart, is
the result of the practical experience
gained through a lifetime observation
of this class of water wheels.

The vital feature of, the high power,
high speed wheel, is the design of the

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

bucket fastening. The inanufaeturers
of large wheels had all adopted a type
of fastening which seemed to be final.
Two heavy lugs forced over and bolted
to a driving disc was the standard pat-
tern of fastening.

In a 5000 K. W. wheel of eighty-eight
inches diameter on the stream center
line, driven at a speed of 400 R. P. M.,
each bucket in turn receives an impact
of about twelve tons, delivered 6.6 times
a second. Steel has its limits, and under
the.se strains the bolt holes became en-
larged and the occasional breakage of
bolts was a source of anxiety.

New and stronger grades of steel
were tried without much improvement.
The duty required seemed to be greater
than the design and material would per-
mit without ultimate failure.

The emergency called for radical
treatment and the designs finally ac-
cei)ted were of this order. The bucket
fastening was obtained by a single lug
or extension, dovetailed into two steel
clamp rings. The through bolts were no
longer the sole sujtjjort of the bucket,
but were mainly of service in holding
the clamp rings in place. Each bucket
lug fitted against its following bucket,
and the entire structure became virtually
a .solid. The driving disks were forged
from Government armor plate. Nickel
steel taper bolts were the fastenings.

The l)uckets ai-e open hearth steel cast-
ings.

The work of machining and assembl-
ing this wheel was undertaken by a
local manufacturer. The work required
rigid precision and the utmost care, and
the wheel when assembled is shown in
the illustrations, which were taken at
the factory and at the power hoiise,
after going into service. The design of
this wheel is covered by letters patent,
recently issued to its designer.

The wheel is of such robust construc-
tion that we are justified in the opinion
that the final limit of power for a single
water wheel has not yet been reached
The modifications in the water wheel
itself were accompanied by changes in
the shaft pedestals. An extremely heavy
sole plate was designed for the shaft
pedestal support. The pedestal was
retained in position by heavy keys,
supplemented by through bolts. The
new bearing caps contain five l)abbitted
semi-circles of ample width, to resist
any upward movement on the part of
tlie shaft. Tliat a rotor weighing twenty
tons sliould have any tendency to rise
from its bearing might require explana-
tion. This tendency does exist under
certain accident conditions. The opera-
tion of this new machine is being ob-
served with mucli interi'st and con-
fideiu'c.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Landmarks in Nineteenth Century Progress

Bv John A. Brittox.

TyEBSTER defines the word invent
as follows :

' ' To discover, as by study or inquiry ; to find
out; to devise; to contrive or produce for the
first time. ' '

Discovery or invention by any of the
means outlined in the above definition
may be divided properly into three
classes — destructive, obstructive and
constructive. In so far as history in-
forms us the inventions of the centuries
prior to the Nineteenth were of the de-
structive and obstructive type, rather
than the constructive. It is undoubtedly
true that we have much to learn of the
ancients and that we are to-day apply-
ing largely the results of the researches
made in gone by days, but there has been
preserved to us but few of the really
beneficial inventions. In matters other
than the discovery or application of ap-
pliances in a mechanical way, it is un-
doubtedly a fact that we have as yet
much to learn from our forefathers.
Productions of genius in the arts, in
literature and in architecture far sur-
pass anything of modern times, and we
are looking daily to the Old World for
inspiration in others than the pure me-
chanical devices which during the Nine-
teentli Century have done so much for
the U5)lift of man.

In literature we have but to think of
those wonderful minds (to-day the
guides of all students) who existed in
the Komerian period, such names as
Sophocles, Plato, Demosthenes, Sim-
onides and Pindur, all of whom existed
before the Christian Era. whose works
have been handed down and are to-day
the wonderment of man.

In architecture we have confronting
us in the older worlds, and to the same
extent in the newer, evidences of the
wonderful .skill and science of the men
who designed the edifices that survive
time itself. Students of architecture
will bear in mind the following types
which are still copied and reproduced
in our modern structures: the Cvlco-

pean, Babjdon, Assyrian, Egyptian,
Grecian, Roman, and last, the Renais-
sance. In the ruins that have been un-
covered of these wonderful works of
art. it is clear that methods and means
of handling the massive stones which
formed the structures must have been
invented, and put into play, by the mas-
ter mechanical minds of those ages, but
the records of the means employed are
unfortunately lost; they are, however,
reflected in the Cyclopean type of archi-
tecture, the existence of which dates
from twelve to fourteen hundred years
before Chri.st. Massive stones, 9'x4'x8',
were placed in buildings two hundred
feet in height, and we cannot but won-
der what mechanical appliances were
used for such purposes. In the ancient
ruins in Yucatan and Peru, large blocks
of stone, some 27'xl4'xl2', were used,
not only in the foundations, but in the
superstructure of buildings. The Roman
type of architecture was undoubtedly
borrowed from the Greeks, as they are
mere modifications of the Ionic. Gothic
and Corinthian types so common in the
Grecian temples.

While architecture brought about a
certain amount of inventive skill, due
to the necessity for the handling of the
massive blocks that were used, it origin-
ally sprang from the modeling of
wooden structures, when men were
forced in the earlier days of creation to
contrive means to protect themselves
from the inclemencies of the season.

For the inventions that have been
particularly beneficial to man we must
look to the accomplishments of the
Nineteenth Century, for in ail of the
centuries before we have no record of
anything approaching the strides that
have been made in useful and beneficial
inventions for the betterment of man
and his progress along the lines of our
present better civilization.

The destructive and obstructive inven-
tions of the centuries prior to the Nine-
teenth and those which have been pre-

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

served to us were possibly made neces-
sary, because of the need in the anei(>nt
times in the greater portion of the
world, eliminating' the hi<;her elegance
and civilization of Greece and Rome, of
the survival of the tittest. Men were
taught the feat of arms ; the capture
and submission of countries other than
their own was their principal thought ;
excursions and incursions of the Gauls
into all parts of Europe, the over-riding
of Great Britain, and the final peopling
by the wild tribes of savages inhabiting
the northwestern part of Europe of the
Asiatic countries, made the presence of
inventive minds in the matter of de-
structive implementes of warfare more
necessary than for inventions for the
uplift of mankind. One of the earliest
inventions known was that of gunpow-
der, commonly attributed to China, and
used many thousands of yeai-s before
the birth of Christ.

To assume to recite the beneficial in-
ventions of the Nineteenth Century
would involve a reprint of the published
reports of the Patent Office for the past
sixty years.

The first in point of beneficial inven-
tions, singularly enough, is illuminating
gas. This was first discovered and ap-
plied by Wm. Murdock, a Scotchman,
in 1792, but not until 1803 was it made
a commercial possibility. Its first in-
troduction into the United States of
America was at Newport, Rhode Island,
in 1813. Of the illuminating gas and its
particular characteristics, methods and
manufacture, I will later treat.

Next in point of importance to the
masses of people was the discovery and
application of steam for the operation
of railroads. This dates from 1801, the
first railroad being built in England.
The introduction of i-ailroads into the
United States dates from 1828, when the
Baltimore Ohio Railroad was incorpor-
ated and operated with twenty-three
miles of track.

The next invention of general effect
was that of telegraphy, dating from
1825 and made possible by Sturgeon's
invention of the electro-magnet. The
Morse system was not installed until
the year 1836, the previous attempts at
telegraphy being largely that of sul)-
marine. and on a litnited scale. Sub-

marine telegraph as a commercial suc-
cess was nuide possible by the invention
of Thompson of his deflecting galvano-
meter, which was perfected in 1858 and
at that time applied to the first Atlantic
cable.

In 1876 telephony was discovered by
Dr. Bell, and its many and daily uses
are of too eonnnon knowledge to require
any further explanation.

Electricity, as applied to general uses
for light, heat and power, was not de-
veloped until 1879 and 1880, when Edi-
son and B)-ush together brought it out,
although at different dates, the open are
direct current lamp and the carbon
filament incandescent, and while these
have undergone many changes in the
past twenty-nine years, they are prac-
tically to-day what they were at the
time of invention. Prior to that time
the Jablakoff candle was a mere play-
thing or toy, not commercially possible.

In 1885 the Roentgen or X-ray was
discovered.

In 1885 Auer von Welsbach invented
the incandescent mantle, which is
known by his name, which revolution-
ized the uses of illuminating gas and
saved it from being absorbed by its
competitor — electricity.

These practically constitute the bene-
ficial inventions of the Nineteenth Cen-
tury to the extent of listing those which
are generally used and commonly
known of. Prom each of them has
sprung a thousand and one other inven-
tions, allied and collateral, and daily
new applications of these particular in-
ventions are being made.

It would seem that of the beneficial
inventions of the Nineteenth Century,
electricity (both for transmission of
sound, signal, light, heat and power)
and the discovery of the manufacture of
illuminating gas have been of the great-
est benefit to mankind. Wireless tele-
graph, which is merely one of the ad-
juncts and collateral inventions of
electricity, is the latest and newest of
all, and promises to be of the greatest
benefit. The recent experience in the
saving of life on the S. S. "Republic"
by the use of this weird control of
nature is sufficient justification for plac-
ing it in the front rank of the beneficial
inventions.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

inimum

By Geo. B. Furniss.

arges

•yHB Boston Edison (Electric) Com-
*■ pany appeared before the Massachu-
setts Gas and Electric Light Commission,
April 15, 1909, on petition of consumers
that the minimum charge of $1 per
month be reduced or eliminated. The
following costs were submitted (Elec-
tric World, April 22, 1909) and to
which have appended similar costs for
the Oakland District.

Yearly Items in Meter Boston Oakland

Expense Electric Electric Gas
Interest on cost and deprecia-
tion, 6 and 14% — Gas 6
and 7% 2.79 2.39 1.01

Te.stins and repairing 77 ..5.3 .d-i )

Cost of reading meters 42 .17 .17

Lamp dei)reciation and losses .32 .00 .00
Expense per bill rendered, or
substantially per meter —

Accounting 66 .49 .49

Billing 7.5 .09 .09

Collecting 88 .59 .59

Cashier's Department 15 .05 .05

Postage 36 .03 .03

Stationery 15 .07 .07

Armature loss, B40 023 K.W.

@ 4c (1.60) .92 .00

Executive and General Fixed

Expenses, Taxes, etc 00 .00 .00

Total 8.85 5.33 3.72

Should the executive, general and
fixed expense, etc., of the corporation,
and department costs incidental to
meter service be proportioned to this
item, which is proper, the above costs
would be about doubled for Oakland,
and probably the same for Boston.

The object of this article, however, is
to show that the minimum charge is not
a rental on the meter, but a basic cost
of the installation. For instance, we
might thus consider the cost for an
electric meter installation in the Oak-
land District.

Presuming that a consumer used but
$5.33 worth of current in a year, and
paid for same at the regular rate of 9c
(60 K. W. H.), then as a matter of fact
the Company has only collected its ab-
solute meter expense and furni.shed the
current free. Should the Company col-
lect $12 from this consumer on the basis
of a minimum charge of $1 per month,
then this same consumer has paid the
diiference between $5.33 and $12, or
$6.67 for current, or lie per K. W. H.
This makes a period from 60 to 74

K. W. H., only where a consumer pays
an "excess" rate, but reducing this to
the monthly basis of $1, this small frac-
tion disappears; figures 9c.

Again, had the consumer used $12
worth of current (133 K. W. H. @ 9c)
then as a matter of fact he has had 133
+ K. W. H. for $6.67 or 5c per K. W. H.
In other words, he has had the same
rate as a merchant who according to
our schedule must use 1250 K. W. H.
jier month to obtain a 5c rate.

Had no current been used during the
month, then the minimum appears as a
bonus of 55c, which, however, is readily
absorbed by general expenses and costs
incidental to keeping a supply available.

Upon the consumer using the mini-
mum amount, the Company assumes the
meter costs, which is cared for in the
base rate and which anticipates that the
consumer uses or pays for at least 11
K. W. H. or $1 per month.

The electric costs for Oakland appear
much lower than for Boston, due to
handling the gas in conjunction with
the electric meters in reading state-
ments, accounting and collecting. As
there is generally one electric meter to
one of gas, the two should be added for
cost per consumer, which will thus show
an increase, due to higher labor and ma-
terial costs on this Coast.

The minimum also serves to discour-
age people holding meters for possible
use, "when company comes in," for in-
stance, with little or no consumption.
Otherwise, a large investment in meters
would be required, which would in-
crease the Company's capitalization,
maintenance costs, and in turn affect
the rate, rates being based on the in-
vestment. "Sets and Outs" cost 34c
per year per meter installed. This,
against $2.05 per year interest and de-
preciation on a meter, argues against
leaving a meter lay without use.

Hence the layman's doctrine. "I will
pay for all I use, but no more," is met
by, "No bill is rendered for less than
one dollar," This is to defray exactly
what is used, viz., "Service."

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Electric Meter Testing Department and Its Work

By S. J. LlSBER«EK.

Engineer, Electric Distribution, See. II.

rOR a long time manaf^ers of central
station systems contented themselves
with the belief that in selecting- a meter
which had an average accuracy under
wide ranges of load and of moderate
initial cost they were properly taking
care of the meter work of their system.
Few seemed to appreciate the import-
ance of the relation of meters to their
revenue and to their prosperity. So-
called motives of economy led many
managers to spend practically nothing
in the keep-up of their meters which in
itself is the cause of much loss of
revenue.

The more common mistakes may bo
classed as follows :

1. Failure to give proper attention
to meters after purchase — i. e., insuffi-
cient or lack of testing when received in
tlie storeroom before being set on the
consumer's premises; of inspection after
being set ; of testing to check the ac-
curacy of registration ; and failure to
clean or maintain after installation.

2. Improper metering; or, in other
words, the installation of meters of size
disproportionate to the consumer's serv-
ice. The tendency is largely towards
over-metering, resulting in improper
registration, and, as a rule, loss to the
company, as well as an excess invest-
ment in meters.

Systems grew and prospered ; the
plant increased in size; the distribution
lines grew to cover more territory; the
number of meters doubled in a few
yeai-s; and yet the meters, or, as they
were often called, "cash registers."
Avere left to take care of themselves iu
the same old way.

Speaking now, particularly, of our
own conditions, but little testing was
done on the sy.stem generally as late as
3904, although some of the larger plants
were paying some attention to their
meters. Each department took care of
its own meters as they saw best. There
was no organized jNleter Department,
and consequently we were without

standard methods of testing, forms of
report, or standard types of testing in-
struments. The instruments that we
were using were of the ordinary com-
mercial tj^pe, and but few had been
checked with so-called "standards"
which might be relied upon. The prob-
lem, then, before the engineers of this
Company was the organization of a
Meter Department to take care of the
meter work over the entire system.

In order to give an idea of the rapid-
ity of increase of the number of meters
on the system, it will be of interest to
note that on January 1, 1906, there
were approximately 28,500 electric
meters in service in all of the proper-
ties now controlled by or affiliated with
the Pacific Cxas and Electric Company
(inclusive of the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Company). On January 1, 1909,
in the same territory, there wefe in use
api)roximately 50,000 meters, showing
an increase of 21,500 meters in three
years, or in other words, about 7,150
meters per year. These meters are scat-
tered over twenty-fovir counties of the
State in which the Company operates,
endiracing a territory of many thousand
square miles.

About a year ago, a committee, eom-
])rised of INlessrs. Ilolberton (chairman),
Downing, Varney and Lisberger (secre-
tary) Avas appointed to prepare a plan
for handling the meter testing work of
the system. An analysis of the territory
showed that there were five geographi-
cal divisions of the territory covered by
the Corporation which couhl be defined
as meter testing districts. These dis-
tricts are known as the San Francisco
District, which embraces all territory
within the City and County of San
Francisco : the Peninsida District, which
embraces all territory as far south as
and including San Jose and Santa Cruz
and up to Alviso ; the Oakland District,
covering all territory south of the
Contra Co.sta County line as far south
as Alviso; the Marin District, embrac-

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

ing the Marin peninsula,. Santa Rosa,
Napa, and all territory as far east as
Napa Junction ; and the Interior Dis-
trict, embracing all territory from Napa
Junction as far north as Chico, to the
east to Grass Valley and Nevada City,
and including in general all territory
not covered by the other districts. The
segregation of the territory in this man-

ner limited the amount of traveling that
each meter tester would have to do.

Under the plan of organization, each
one of the above territories was to be
handled by one of the members of the
Meter Committee, the committee as a
whole having charge of all of the meter
work on the system.

In the various territories, several

fi'O TSA/ T/OME T£f!
STO CELL
STO l?£S/ST. Br SHUNTS

STANDARD LA3CA?ATO'i'Y

/f\/0/CAT/NG i^/ATT MTK.

Precision/ ifoirMere/f
ere.

OAfCiANO MeTe/?,o£Pr.
sec sTo's

M/SC£LL/INC:OL/3

POC?TABL£ STO'S.

S£MI
PO/?TABL£
SEC. STO'S.

SAA/

r/?AA/CJsco

3AN JC5E

/PEO woco

SAN

eAFAEL

I^£7-£/f OCPTS.
S£C STo's
0C4T£0 H£R£ .

/POT ST09

Pacific Gas and Electric Companv. san francibco, c»

02539

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

classes of work had to be undertaken.
Power houses and sub-station meters,
which included all switchboard instru-
ments such as ammeters, voltmeters,
power factor indicators, indicating and
integrating' wattmeters; and consumers'
meters of the A. C. and D. C. types, of
large and small capacity, installed on
various types of load; all of which had
to be tested and calibrated.

In addition to the above, it was neces-
sary to select a standard type of testing
instruments to be used by the field men.
Certain so-called "meter centers" were
to be established where the field meter
testers might cheek their field instru-
ments against secondard standards kept
thei'e. in order to save time and expense
occasioned l)y sending the meters to and
from a central laboratory.

Certain points were designated as
"repair centers," to which meters in
need of serious attention might be sent,
so that the field men might devote their
entire time to testing, rather than re-
pairing meters.

And last, but not least, a central
laboratory was to be established, where
primary standards would be kept, and
all standardization work done.

This organization is shown in Fig. 1.

Obviously, with the various types of

meters installed on the Company's sys-
tem, several methods of testing were
necessary. For example, more care and
attention should be given to a consumer
such as an interurban railway or a
cement mill than to the ordinary resi-
dence consumer who has only a nominal
bill. This involved the selection of
standards which should be used on the
various classes of work, and designating
the frequency of test for the various
classes of consumers.

The Meter Department is now using a
light portable set, known as the Knopp
instrument, for testing residence con-
sumers whose consumption is only nomi-
nal; rotating standards for testing con-
sumers of the intermediate class, i. e.,
medium size power consumers and light-
ing consumers in a congested district
where meters of large and small capac-
ity are all mixed together — and indicat-
ing wattmeters and rotating standards
for consumers where the consumption
is very heavy.

Prior to the organization of the Meter
Department there were no standard
forms of test cards or reports in use.
There were many conditions to be met
on the system, and after much work the
Meter Committee finally adopted a
standard test card, the form of which

Heghler No.
Consumer

Address

PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO.

METER DEPARTMENT Test No

_^^_ Load

- Business ..

Time of T,^l From

nnk- — I.n,l T,-,!

Am. No.
V. M. No.

Wm. No.
Wnlrh No.

HfG. METER RO. CO. KO. j TT'E

VOLTS AMPS.

WIRE j PHASE !^»l«-

DIAL 1 IMST.
CONST. 1 CONST.

RATED OPEralIng' ^£,0,^0 J^OH^^
WAns 1 WATTS 1 : fOUNO

ACTOR
LEFT

1 i

METEK M.

C. T. HO.

TYPE

AMPS.

RATIO

P. T. HO.

TYPE

WAns

VOLTS PRI.

VOLTS SEC. RATIO {

Why Tested^
Tested u'ilh

Portable Load
Consumer's Load

Tested

Assisted by .

Fig.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

STANDARD

METER

METER No.

VOITS

AMPS.

WATTS

REV.

K CONST.

WAn
HOURS

REV.

K CONST.

HOURS

wAns

"Ic LOAD

CORR. FACTOR

FOUND FEH

Sec
Pit

lied?

Remarks:

^ D„„,.-

iim

o
u

Jeu

)ei

Creeping _

Cleaned Brushe.

Fig. 2a. ( Back )

is shown herewith (Fig. 2 and Fig. 2-A)
which is now used all over the system.

The next step involved a method for
observing the results of the tests. From
this much benefit is to be derived, as it
is not only indicative of the benefits ac-
cruing from the meter tester's work,
but it serves to show what type of meter
is most accurate in service. Each month
there is made up from each meter dis-
trict a meter accuracy sheet, from which
at a glance may be seen the results of
the work of the month ; and from this a
total sheet is made up, showing the
work of the testers ail over the system.
This accuracy sheet shows the number
of each type of meters tested, the num-
ber and percentage of meters not cor-
rect, of meters not recording, and of
meters slow and fast.

While these records have been in use
only for a period of a few months, the
results are most gratifying. The aver-
age accuracy of the meters on the sys-
tem when the work was started, showed
less than 60 per cent of the meters were
recording correctly ; about 22 per cent
were running slow ; about 10 per cent
were running fast, and about 8 per cent

of the total number of meters tested
were not registering at all. Certain
parts of the system showed up better
than others. One case is brought to
mind where the total number of meters
not recording was as high as 29 per cent.

In several of the districts where we
have had an opportunity to go over the
meters that were tested a year ago, we
have found that the number of meters
running correctly is very nearly 90 per
cent, as against 60 per cent when the
present system was started.

In the organization of the Meter Test-
ing Department, mention was made of
the standard central laboratory. The
Company has installed in Oakland, and
will have in full working condition very
shortly, a standard central laboratory
for checking and standardizing all
classes of instruments. This standard
laboratory is equipped with a potentio-
meter, standard cells, standard resist-
ances, shunts and precision instruments
for checking ammeters, voltmeters, fre-
quency indicators, and for undertaking
all classes of work which must be done
by the IMeter Department.

In addition, there is installed a stor-

Pacific Cas and Eleclric Magazine

Is I he Meter Properly Leveled Fastened to Wall..

l.-i the Wall f Stone Wood ,

or Partition [_ BricJc Cement

f Dampness Vibration

T)ocs Location of Meter

} Chemical Fumes Damage

Subject it to

1 Dust External Magnetic Fields..

WIRING:

Old or New

Are House and Service Wires in Proper Meter Terminals

Permit Illegal Use of Current

(Evidence of S. C. on Meter Cover.)

Starts on Polarity

Creeping

Bate Eev

Meter Left ,

Fig. '■}. Inspector's Report

.Min.

.Sec.

age battery, having a capacity of 2000
amperes at 4 volts, or 4000 amperes at
2 volts, for testing high ampere capacity
meters ; a small 50-volt storage battery
of sufficient capacity to drive a small
motor generator set, for generating
steady currents, both A. C. and D. C, of
any voltage from 0 to 750 volts and of
any frequency between 0 and 100 ; and
a very small storage battery (made up
of lead stri})s placed in test tubes)
having a capacity of .001 ampere at 500
volts, for use in cheeking 500-volt volt-
meters on the potentiometer.

In addition, there is the necessary
equipment of galvanometers and multi-
plying instruments.

I have endeavored in the foregoing to
outline some of the problems that con-

fronted the Meter Committee, and how
they have been met. The work of the
JMeter Department is now well under
waj-, and the various testers throughout
the system are now testing about 3500
meters per month. Other problems are
still waiting solution.

Attention is now being given to a
standard set of specifications govern-
ing, in so far as possible, the meter in-
stallations for all classes of service, and
specifying the size and types of meter
to be set for various installations.

All new types of apparatus are tested
in the laboratory before they go into
use on the system, and the development
and investigation of new meter testing
or metering apparatus is receiving the
attention of the department.

RATHER SUSPICIOUS

Admiral Robley Evans tells the fol-
lowing story against himself. He had a
Congressman for a guest, and, having
run out of his favorite brand of whisky,
made up with some he could not guar-
antee. He explained this, and added :

"Here, however, is some brandy that
I've kept untouched for a good deal
more than twenty years."

"Hand me over the whisky decan-
ter," was the rejoinder.

' ' Why ? ' ' asked the Admiral. ' ' What 's
the matter with the brandy?"

"That's what I want to know, l^ob."
said the guest; "but if you have had it
untouched in your possession for more
til an twenty years, there must be some-
thing pretty bad the matter with it."

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

"Station "C, " UiiklanU, Partially Completed.

The Application of Reinforced Concrete Piling in the

Foundations of Station "C," Oakland, of the

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

By H. C. Vensano.
Engineering and Construction Department

IN CONNECTION with the construc-
^ tion of the new 9000 K. W. steam
turbine station for the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company recently constructed
at First and Grove streets, Oakland, the
use of reinforced concrete piling w^as
decided upon as proper for the founda-
tions of the buildings and machines.

While the use of concrete piling is not
new and such piles had been used con-
siderably in Europe and the East, yet
at the present time very few have been
driven in this part of the country.
Therefore, the conditions which lead to
their adoption may be of interest.

The building for which foundations
were to be provided was to be 80 feet
by 155 feet overall, divided into two
sections : one 43 feet by 80 feet, 62 feet
in height, in which were to be located
the 9000 K. W. turbine and auxiliaries
and to be equipped with a forty-ton
bridge crane ; the other section, 80 feet
by 122 feet and 41 feet in height, in
which were to be installed the boilers,
eight in number. (See Fig. 1.)

This building was to have a steel
framing and concrete roof. The walls
were to be constructed of corrugated
steel, but the foundations were to be
designed to allow for the substitution
of six-inch reinforced concrete curtain
walls at a future time.

The property upon which this build-
ing was to be constructed is located
upon the Oakland Estuary. The natural
foundation in this location is a fill made
a number of years ago upon the mud of
the estuary bank. This layer of fill,
consisting chiefly of cinders and ashes
mixed with some earthy material, is
about six feet thick and ciiiite compact.
Underlying this is a foot or two of black
mud, then about three feet or more of
a sandy blue elaj, very wet and very
soft. This is, in fact, a "quick" mud
whieli flows into and fills any excava-
tion made in it. Beneath this clay or
mud is a yellow clay, regarded locally
as the hardpan. This, although quite
wet on top, is very compact. Wooden
piles driven therein within a .short dis-

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

If)

tanr-es of the new building site are
claimed by the contractors who per-
formed the work to have been driven
practically to refusal at a depth of
about tweutj^-five feet below the surface
of the fill.

On the north end of the proposed
building, the hardpan lay from eight to
ten feet, and at the south end frona
twelve to fourteen feet, below the sur-
face. From the general character of this
material, it was the writer's opinion
that it could have been safely loaded
with about three tons per square foot.
In fact, older buildings at present
standing, whose foundations have been
carried on this stratum, are loaded to
about this amount.

In designing the foundations, there
were three possible methods to l^e con-
sidered, i. e.. To carry all the founda-
tions to hardpan; to use wooden piles
capped with concrete below the surface
of the ground water ; or to use concrete
piles with concrete caps. The first
method would have necessitated con-
crete piers and foundations varying
from eight (8) to fourteen (14) feet
deep, besides requiring expensive ex-
cavation and sheet piling work in keep-
ing out the quick mud. This was at
once discarded when considered from
the standpoint of economy as compared
with the other methods.

In considering the second method of
wooden piles and concrete cajjs, it was
found that the permanent level of
ground water was from six to seven feet
below the top of the filled surface, or
about eight feet below the proposed
finished building floor. Concrete foun-
dations eight feet deep and supported
on wooden piles would then be required.

The third method, involving the use
of concrete piles, would allow the foun-
dations to be made as shallow as con-
sistent with strength regardless of the
ground water level. It was decided,
therefore, that with proper reinforce-
ment capping piers about twenty-seven
inches deep could be used.

The last two methods were then com-
pared from an economical standpoint.
As finally designed, 180 concrete piles
were used in all. This included all
piling, not only for the building, but

also for the turbine and boilers. These
piles were designed to support a maxi-
mum dead load of about twenty tons.
While this load is actually carried by
the piles of the boiler foundation at the
present time, those siipporting the
building are, in general, loaded only to
about twelve tons, due to the fact, as
previously stated, that the building is
at present covered with corrugated
steel, though ultimately to have con-
crete walls. When these walls are
finally con.strueted, the piles will be
loaded as above stated. Those beneath
the moving turbine, considered as a live
load, were loaded to twelve tons.

The capping of these concrete piles,
about twenty-seven inches deep, would
require an excavation of only about fif-
teen inches, thus leaving the fill in a
practically undisturbed condition. This
fill having been tested with loads of two
tons per square foot, it was decided
that 1000 pounds per square foot could
be safely carried by it. In the case of
the turbine and boilers, where the piles
were rather far apart (not closer than
three to four foot centers) this pressure
was allowed upon the fill and deducted
from the load to be carried by the piles.
For the building, the piles were as-
sumed to carry the entire weight. For
purposes of estimating, the allowable
load on wooden piles was assumed at
fifteen tons for dead and twelve tons
for turbine loads. In this case, as the
fill would have to be entirely excavated
to the mild line in order to leave the
piles low enough that they might be
permanently moist, nothing could be
allowed for the value of the soil in
bearing and it was necessary to figure
the piles as carrying the entire load.

Under these conditions, it was found
that while 180 concrete piles were re-
quired, the number of wooden ones
necessary would have been 347. This
large increase is due not only to the
somewhat smaller figured carrying ca-
pacity of the wooden pile, but in a large
measure to the additional weight of
concrete in the foundation. The addi-
tional amount of concrete required to
extend the piers an added depth of six
feet and to provide in a few instances
for larger eappings to cover the addi-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

tional piles amounted to 575 cubic
yards. As a comparative cost, we then
had:

Cost of concrete piles in place (180 (cv

$41.10) ^ $7,-100

Cost of reinforcement in place (neces-
sary for piers, etc., in connection with
concrete piling) 700

Total .$8,100

Estimated cost of wooden piles — 347 (a)

$11 in place $3,817

Estimated cost of additional concrete @

$10 per cu. yd. (including forms) .... .■),750
Estimated additional excavation, 700 cu.

yds. @ 50c 3.50

Total .$9,917

These figures show a saving of .$1.S17
in favor of the concrete piles, or about
20 per cent of the total cost. The cost
of concrete as estimated compares very
favorably with the actual cost of the
material as actually placed. The price
of $11 per wooden pile is a figure based
on prices quoted by contractors for this
class of work, so that the actual saving
was very nearly as indicated. This eo.st
of the concrete piles was also high, due
to unfavorable conditions for their use.
Under favorable circumstances, I be-
lieve a further saving of $1000 or more
could have been made. The conditions
producing this result were as follows :

The construction of this plant was
undertaken on very short notice, due to
the failure of certain sources of power
upon which the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company had been relying. The work
was therefore undertaken in the latter
part of July with the intention of hav-
ing the plant in operation by December,
if possible, to provide for the heavy
holiday and winter lighting loads. This,
of course, required every effort to lie
made in the line of speed. Wooden pile
foundations would have been the quick-
est form of construction. This type
would have been used in spite of the
additional cost had it been found pos-
sible to obtain a quicker delivery upon
the steel frame of the building. As the
obtaining of structural steel is, in gen-
eral, a governing feature as regards
time in the construction of such build-
ings, this was the fir.st item looked into.
It was found that fifty working days
was the best guaranteed delivery ob-
tainable. This allowed about two cal-

endar months for construction of the
foundations. It was estimated that ten
days would l)e ample for pouring the
concrete after the last pile was in place.
Allowing ten days for hauling and driv-
ing, and ten days for obtaining ma-
terials and fabricating the piles, left
l)ut thirty days for the setting of the
concrete before driving.

iMr. L. J. Mensch, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
because of his experience, was called
upon for advice and it was decided that
the piles could be driven at this early
age provided proper precautions were
used. IMr. iMensch was given the load
to be carried per pile, and he, in con-
junction with the Company's engineers,
designed and agreed to furnish and
drive them at the price noted under the
comparative estimate. He was to be
responsible for all piles destroyed in
driving and to be prepared to furnish
such extra ones on this account as
miijht be needed.

Fig. 2. A Concrete Pile Under the H.immer.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Fig. 3. Pile Cap.

They were to be from 22 feet to 25
feet long, 12 inches square in cross sec-
tion, reinforced with four 1-inch round
or four %-inch twisted bars spirally
wrapped with No. 5 wire with 3-inch
pitch and extra wrapping at the point
and top.*

A mixture of concrete in the propor-
tions of one part cement to one part
sand and two parts crushed rock was
decided upon and used. This rich mix-
ture, together with the risk the con-
ti-actor assumed by being responsible

* A complete description of the piles and method
of driving can be found in the Engineering News,
Vol. No. 60, page 620, by Mr. L. .T.Mensch.

for all piles destroyed in driving, neces-
sarily resulted in an increased cost.
Had there been sufficient time (from
sixty to seventy-five days for setting)
to allow for the use of a 1 :2 A concrete
mixture, the cost would probably have
been $1000 or $1200 less. As an' actual
fact, only three piles were broken in
driving, and at least one of these was
defective before being placed under the
hammer.

As time progressed, it was found that
the structural steel would not be de-
livered as guaranteed, so that the start-
ing of the driving was not begun until
fortv davs from the time that the first

Fig. 4. Pile Carrying Test Load.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

pile was poured, instead of thirty days
as planned.

A steam hammer was employed for
driving' and, to the writer's knowledge,
these were the first i-einforeed concrete
piles to be driven on this Coast by this
method. Figure 2 shows a pile under
the hammer. They were struck about
200 blows on an average, the final pene-
tration being from 14 to % inch.

As a protection to the head of the
pile during driving, a special casing,
constructed of sheet steel, was bolted
around it. This casing was made six-
teen inches by sixteen inches in cross-
section and wedges Avere driven be-
tween it and the pile. In this way a
closer joint was obtained than by at-
tempting to design a close-fitting cap
to use without wedges. It was made
twenty-four inches long and was ar-
ranged so as to project twelve inches
above the top of the pile. In the space
so left, sand was placed and upon this
a steel block to directly receive the
impact of the hammer. While this sand
cushion worked satisfactorily, it was
found later on that wooden plates could
be substituted therefor with equally

good results and with a slight saving
of time. The accompanying cut, Fig 3,
shows the cap in place ready to receive
the sand.

A test pile twenty feet long was first
put down. Its final penetration was
4/10 inches. The test load was placed
on it during the two succeeding days
and the results of the test are tabulated
elsewhere.

The load consisted of sacked cement
(Fig. 4 shows pile carrying test load).
Twenty-five tons were applied the first
day, when the noted settlement was
0.26 inches. This increased over night
to about 0.31 inches. The next day the
load was increased to thirty-five tons,
when the settlement noted was 0.40
inches. After one hour's time had
elapsed this had not increased. More
load was then applied. At forty-three
tons the pile began to settle quite
rapidly and at forty-nine tons the set-
tlement was 1.75 inches. This load Avas
left on over night and the following
morning the settlement was 2.62 inches.
Upon removal of the load the pile rose
.20 inches. This was taken to have
been the elastic distortion of the ma-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

terial in the pile itself and was very
nearly eqnal to the entire settlement
noted at twenty-five tons. It is the
opinion of the writer that 35 tons was
about the ultimate load of the pile.

Since the completion of the station,
no apparent settlement has taken place
in any of these foundations, and the
piles seem to be doing their part effici-
ently. It may be noted in conclusion
that the fill gives very little lateral sup-
port to the upper ten feet or so of the
piles. The turbine when running at full
load, however, produces scarcely any
vibration in its foundation. It is very
(i(>nl)tful if wooden piles, even with

their increased number, would have
produced as rigid a foundation.

TEST OF PILE
Age, 40 days. Length, 20'. Number of blows
to drive, 175. Penetration under last blow,
0.4". Driven with steam hammer. Weight of
hammer, 5000 lbs. Fall, 42".

Eleva-

Settle-

Load

tion

ment

Date

Time

ti)ns

top of

pile

feet

inches

Sept.

10:30 a.m.

None

2.525'

Sept.

10:45 a.m.

2.525'

Sept.

12:15 p.m.

25.5

2.508'

.017'

0.20"

Sept.

8:00 a.m.

25.5

2.499'

.026'

0.31"

Sept.

9:20 a.m.

35.0

2.491'

.034'

0.41"

Sept.

10:30 a.m.

43.0

2.470'

.055'

0.66"

Sept.

11:20 a.m.

49.0

2.378'

.147'

1.76"

Sept.

8:00 a.m.

49.0

2.308'

.217'

2.60"

Sept.

8:30 a.m.

35.0

2.303'

.222'

2.66"

Sept.

9:30 a.m.

3.0

2.319'

.206

2.47"

Sept.

10:00 a.m.

None

2.319'

Accidents and Their Lessons

By J. P. COGHLAN

Manager, Claims Department.

Within the past year three linemen
for the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company have been severely injured by
falling from poles. Two fell because
the buckles, or clasps, in their safety
belts became unfastened ; the third be-
cause the buckle snapped in two at the
slyiuk. In the first two cases the acci-
dents could have been avoided had the
buckles been secure against unclasping.
In the other, a testing of the belt from
time to time would have exposed its
weakness.

The (,^ourt of Appeals has reversed
the judgment obtained liy Matthew
Ryan against the Oakland Gas, Light
and Heat Company in 1905. Ryan was
injured by the walls of a trench caving
upon him. The Comi)any showed that
it had provided ample material with
which to brace the walls of the trench
and that Ryan and his fellow workmen
were experienced enough to have prop-
erly used it had they so desired. This,
the Court held, was sufficient perform-
ance of the Company's duty. The
Court said: "It (the Company) dis-
charged its duty when it furnished the
material with which to brace the trench
and competent men to put in the
braces."

Recently an operator in the Sacra-
mento Power Division, while shutting
off a 5000-volt arc-light machine, acci-
dentally touched the metal part of the
switch at a time when his other hand
rested on the frame of the machine.
Both hands were badly ])urned. Had
he kept his hand off the frame of the
machine he Avould not have been in-
jured.

In the Woodland District a few
weeks since a gasmaker stood in front
of an open stack valve of a gas machine
while another workman turned on the
air blast. The blast threw a .sheet of
tiame through the valve opening and
burned the gasmaker 's hands and face.
A prudent man would not have put
himself in such a position.

In the Sacramento District a lineman,
a short time ago, disobeyed his fore-
man's instructions to wear rubber
gloves while working on primary wires
on a green pole. As a consequence,
current passed through him and the
pole to the ground. He narrowly
escai)ed bt^ng killed. As it was, both
his hands were severely burned.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Gas Meter

By John Clements.

THE many complaints and charges
against the gas meter would lead
one to think and almost to believe that
no reliance whatever could be placed in
the service they are intended to per-
form. That is, if we take into consider-
ation the opinions generally expressed
by the consumer that usually makes the
complaint, or in other words, registers
the kick.

Of course gas men know that in, I
may say, ninety per cent of the com-
plaints of high bills, the cause lies with
the user of gas, or it may be in a few
instances due to faulty house piping or
poor installation. A gas company, after
installing a meter has nothing whatever
to do with the amount of gas consumed,
for this is positively under the control
of the user of the gas.

In the course of many interviews with
complainants, I have often explained
the situation in this wise : Gas is on tap
for your use, you are entitled to use
much or little as you may choose or
need, just as you do with the item of
water. For instance, you go to the
water faucet in your pantry to draw
some water. If you draw a glass full
that is all well and good. If you draw
a tub full, no one is there to say you
nay. So it is with the gas. If you
simply wish to warm a pint of water
you do this. If you desire to heat up
your thirty or forty gallon boiler for a
bath, you do this. No one is at hand to
say that you shall not do so. The gas
company is represented only by the gas
meter which tells you and them at the
same time, just what you are using and
just what it is costing you.

The gas meter as in use to-day is the
result of the efforts of men that have
made a careful study of the measure-
ment of this important and useful com-
modity for the past ninety years. In
that time it has been perfected so that
it is to-day an accurate and reliable
instrument ; as much so as the chrono-
meter, thermometer, roadometer, or any
of the many devices used for the meas-
urement of standards. This device, the

gas meter, has been so far perfected
that in the past twenty years no ma-
terial change has been made in its con-
struction. The same may be said of the
watch which you use every day and on
which you rely.

Speaking of watches and gas meters,
I have before me a report read by no
less an authority than Emerson JMcMil-
lin before, and by the reqiiest of, the
Columbus (Ohio) Board of Trade in
Alarch, 1885 — twenty-four yeai's ago.
In this report Mr. McMillin showed that
a test had been made of 2122 meters.
Of this total number, 33.9 per cent reg-
istered fast, 55.7 per cent registered
slow, 12.5 per cent registered exact.
The fast meters avei'aged 2.88 per cent
fast ; the slow meters averaged 2.76 per
cent slow. There were eighteen meters
oixt of this total of 2122 that failed
to register, having holes through the
diaphragms that allowed the gas to
pass through without registering. These
seem like a good showing. Then why
should Ave not take a firm stand, and
insist on our rights to collect the bills
as shown by the meter statements,
knowing after careful test that the
meter is correct? To again quote Mr.
McINIillin, ' ' Now may I ask would 2122
first class watches show a better rec-
ord?" I ask you, myself, is there any
other instrument used to measure stand-
ards that is more accurate? Is the
grocer's scale more reliable? I think
not.

The gas meter as made to-day is a
device worthy of our confidence or the
confidence of any one at all familiar
with mechanical art. The best of ma-
terial and the best of workmen are em-
ployed in its construction; besides all
this, the gas meter is subjected to gov-
ernment test. No manufacturer sends
out a meter until it has stood this test.
What other instruments for measuring
standards is subjected to more exacting
rule or regulation. Again, before the
gas company sends out a meter to be
placed on a consumer's premises, it is
tested "by them by the best known and

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

most modern methods. This test is the
same as that made by the government
agents in the original test.

So much for the new meter. Now for
the meter that has been in service and
has been taken out for any cause. Be-
fore it is reset it is again tested; a
complete record is kept of all meters.
A company with Avhom I have been con-
nected had a daily report sent from the
meter shop to the general manager's
office, showing the result of the test of
all meters handled by that department.
Looking over an old report I find one

in which the test of 425 meters was
made; 234 were exact, 137 were fast,
and 50 were slow, 4 were dead, or in
other words, failed to register. The
fast and slow meters were within the
accepted limit and practice of all gas
companies, with two exceptions, four
being 10 per cent fast and two being 10
per cent slow. These were not meters
that were taken here or there, which
would have been the fairest test, but
were meters that were supposed to be
out of order because complaint was
made against them.

The Office End

V/'OIJ fellers that expect a disquisition
from The Old Man on accountics,
you 'uns of the green eye shade and the
light shaded green, are goin' to be dis-
appointed this time, for this, the initial
squib in the last column of the very
latest of late magazines, is what our
friend. Ye Greek Prof., would term, a
Paen of Welcome.

Here, then, is a right good toast to
the new hot-air vehicle of the gas en-
thusiast: May its poetic effusions ever
be in such harmonious meter as to stand
the test desired by their most zealous
adjuster, and fill the bill of its largest
consumer, and to the end that its larg-
est consumer may not be the waste
basket, let each contribute so to the
best of his ability as to cut out the
"Slow" percentage and the "D. R. "
condition and make it show upon the
proving table as we know the majority
of our other meritrieious measures do,
strictly "O.K."

The Boss, in devising this small med-
ium of defective grammar, really did
not know that his small foot could step
on so manj^ people's toes at one time,
and if he has not found it out by this
time, I for one am not going to tell him.
This being apropos of something ob-
vious— what T want to advise is, that all
you 'uns with the innate talent, the
proven talent and the undisputed
genius, get right down to work and

second the motion in such right good
earnest that our New Effort may be ac-
complished with such slight effort as to
be noted in the world of the Public
Utility Pamphlet as the Best Effort yet,
and at the same time confer upon The
Boss much deserved honor for another
muchly thought out new Worry.

Getting down to ' ' brass tacks, ' ' other-
wise the title of this column, "Ain't it
awful, Mabel," how The Boss can think
out worries? Not content with makin'
us put on a 5-o 'clock-to-midnight crew
to take care of that "rate-excess-green-
ink-nightmare"; the determination of
the power-load-revenue, goin "way
back" to the "lay-down" point; the
fateful monthly consumer 's-balance-
prove-out, and the other of the winter
diversions, but here, right at the mo-
ment when a quiet peaceful summer lull
promised, is sprung upon a trusting and
trustful following, of all the most dis-
rupting of disquieting argumentative
things — BASEBALL. Yep, that most
beaten-up national pastime is beginning
already to suffer at the hands of some
two, three or four corporation nines,
with their accompanying umpires, and
I look for results in the near future that
will require the employing of several
physicians upon the collection and
statement-reading staff. I want you
Boys to desist, however, in the fervor of
the spirit of the game, from passing
those consumer's ledgers with such

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

well-judged out-curve and spit-ball
effects that they are landed upon the
lower vault floor in such generous con-
fusion, instead of in their proper racks ;
at the same time I want you to take
more minutes than two for your lunch,
and not more than the balance of the
afternoon for your lunch hour.

The last preceding sentence brings to
mind a recently discussed matter of
much moment to us all who think they
love the old Company and would do
anything within reason for it, and that
matter is the one of, punctuality in the
morning arrival. While in the indi-
vidual instance the loss of time in not
arriving promptly at 8:30 is slight, in
the aggregate of many instances daily,
the loss to the Company is large. Con-
sider this, 0 ye faithful, how it would
feel to smite your own personal pocket
in this regard were you employers, and
score the shortcoming off with that
often not seriously enough considered
instrument, the Golden Rule.

Looking to that millenium condition
of efficiency that a well-managed, large
gas-electric office aspires to, and believ-
ing that in our new office building, just
about being completed, the psychologi-
cals will be more propitious than has
yet been the case in the Company's his-
tory, I want to reiterate the slogan of
our old comptroller, Mr. Conlisk, "DO
TEA:\I-W0RK!" You fellers know as
well as anyone that this is the keynote
to the more perfect manipulation of our
90,000 consumers' accounts, from the
application moment to the collection of
the final bill, and I want to impress on
all of you in the Office End that alert-
ness for information for the Company's
good, and for the consumer's, during
the whole twenty-four hours, properly
reported to your immediate superiors,
for action, will come nearer bringing
about the above condition at the soonest
possible moment, than any other
method, and incidentally will ingratiate
you with the powers that be and the
OLD MAN.

LIGHTING TIPS

In San Francisco on April 17, 1906,
the streets of the city were lighted by
5462 gas lamps and 1257 electric arcs
(A. C. series), a total of 6719; after re-
habilitation in May, 1906, there were
2229 gas and 984 electrics, a loss of 3133
gas lamps and 273 electrics. On May 1,
1909, there were in place, 5020 gas and
2350 electrics, a total of 7370.

CHEER UP, GIRLS

Woman to Manage Gas Works

Miss Ina Richmond has been ap-
pointed manager of the IMagherafelt
Gas Works in Dublin, Ireland. She is
the first woman to hold that post. She
first entered the postal service. Later
she studied gas manufacture and dis-
tribution. She is said to be one of the
best equipped experts in her line of
work in Ireland.

THE EXCEPTION PROVES THE
RULE

San Francisco, Cal., May 19, 1909.
San Francisco Gas & Electric Co.,
City.
Gentlemen : — I am in receipt of your
joint report of engineers regarding
supply and charges for gas, etc.

Am pleased to say that I have no

complaint of gas or charges for same at

any time, but have always received

courteous and fair treatment from you.

Yours truly,

WM. T. FONDA.
3011 Sacramento street.

Some men are in such a desperate
hurry to cut across to Leisure Avenue,
that they get lost up some blind alley. —
Crocker Quality.

' ' Tell your troubles to the Gas ]\Ian ;
he will lighten them for you."

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Baseball News

Announcement is made of the organ-
ization of the San Francisco Gas and
EU'ctric and the Pacific Gas and Elec-
ti'ic baseball teams.

Preliminary "try-outs" of hopeful
applicants are now being held, and from
Jill indications the two teams will put
11]) some fast ball.

To stimulate interest and to make the
liDVS stick to their practice, the Station-
cry Department offers a trophy to the
wiiniers of the first game, i. e., a large
ipiart bottle (of mucilage).

Following is the line-up according to
latest advices :

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Sc-aiilon, C. 1) P. Swan, Ilov S.S.

Hale, A. E C. Bartbol, 6 U.V.

Malley, R. (Mgr.) .1st Mcnsiug, AI L.F.

Baiieau, ,1 2d Murphy, C. E (IV.

Trowbriilgc, A. L.. ..jil

San Francisco Gas & Electric Company

Jlolt, ('. K Mgr. Lallv, R. E :u\

Eociiev, ,1 P. Egan, W. (Capt.) .S.S.

Murphy, E C. Bennett, A. N R.F''.

Cavanaugli, W. A. .1st Hanifin, H. L. . . .L.E.

Melbourn, L. A. . . .2<l. Mogan, F C.F.

Some Strange True Gas Stories

A Suggestion to Our Gas Engineers — after that, remarking to the collector
Being the Detailed Account of a each time, "Pwhat kin a mon do whin

Gas Miracle ^^^^ ^^^^^ -^^^ °^ ^^ *^^ wurrks."

Some years ago the Pacific Gas Im-
provement Company, which was ab-
sorl)ed by the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Company, had a very trouble-
some consumer, an old Irishman, Avho
k(»pt a saloon on the waterfront. His
bills for gas were largely in arrears,
and he seemed to have the advantage
of the situation, the meter being set in
the rear of the saloon, and he defied any
employee of the Gas Company to enter
and shut oft" his gas. However, the col-
lector was a man of fertile resource,
ami as the Irishman kept vigilant watch
it the front door, he crept in under the
wharf, thus securing access to the rear
of the saloon, and shut off the meter,
taking the precaution to insert a blind
washer to prevent the gas being turned
iin again, departing as he had entered
undetected. The Irishman, seeing that
his enemy did not return, thonglit he
liad won the day, hut when he pi-eparcd
to light up that evening, he found he
bad no gas, although the stop cock was
liirned on. Nothing was left but to go
to the Company's ofifice and pay the bill,
which he did the next day with very
poor grace. He paid his bills promptly

The Meter-man's Proverbial Presence
of Mind

A meter-man sent out to inspect a
meter, set in a basement, was very much
annoyed by a pet dog, which persisted
in snapping at him to such an extent
that he was being deterred in his work.
As the dog made an extra vicious snap
he struck out with his heavy pliers,
catching him, with some surprise to
himself, squarely on the head, ending
his earthly career then and there.
Alarmed at what he had done, with
visions of dismissal from the Company's
service flitting through his mind, he
hastily dug a grave in the sand and
gave his dogship a decent burial, after
which he finished his job. As he left
the premises, he met the lady of the
house who was anxiously looking up
and down the street for her doggie. She
inquired if he had seen her darling Fido
anywhere. Naturally enough, he knew
nothing of the pet's Avhereabouts, al-
though he opined he had seen a dog
answering to the description disappeai'-
ing around the corner as he had come
in. To this day, no doubt, the pet's dis-
appearance remains a dark mystery.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Prm.ISHED I.V THE INTEKEST Of- THE EMPUiVEKS
OF THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. BRITTON, -
R. J. CANTRELL. -
A. F. HOCKENBEAMER

Editor

Nf.ws Editor

Business Manager

r,,iimiiini'':ili>iii- roiitaiiiiii'-' it.-iu- nf iiut-iv-t to tli.
nioiiili.TS -li.iiil.l I., -i'lii tMili- \. ■^^- i;.l;t.,i-. I: .1. i ann-.ll
44'. Sim. r >t . -an Kiaii.i-.-. .. i ,.1 In ..v.!. i i. . .ii.i.. ar in a
(■ertuin i->ii.j tli.-'?.j it.^-in- iniL-t li..- in lln- han.lx.i tli.j Ny\\--
Editor by the twelfth of the precudin^ month.

Vol. I

JUNE 1909

No. 1

EDITORIAL

The main purpose of this publication
is to bring into closer relation the three
thousand or more members of the staff
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, located from Fresno on the South
to de Sabla Power House on the north,
from Lake Van Norden on the summit
of the Sierras on the east, to the City of
San Francisco on the west, a territory
embracing over 31,000 square miles,
equal in area to the States of Vermont,
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island and Connecticut combined.

It is believed that the result of the
circulation of this magazine in all the
districts and divisions of the Company
will aid in giving to the employees a
In-oader scope of the work of the Com-
pany, of which each one is an integral
part; that each may become interested
in the efforts of the other and that all
will work towards a closer unison in
establishing the fact that public service
corporations are designed and con-
trolled, not merely for the mercenary
gain of dollars, but for the broader pur-
pose of giving to consumers the best
service possible and at the lowest prices.
This cannot be accomplished without
the entire co-operation of the staflF of
men who are really, in their individual
positions, the controlling elements of
th:)se who have the executive control.

The publication of this magazine is
not to be a mere sporadic effort, but it
is intended to be as permanent as the
structures of the corporation. It will
seek monthly, not only to educate the
men of the corporation, but likewise to
educate the entire reading world, and it
is hoped and expected that it will
achieve a circulation finally which its
position and reliability will deserve.

Within the staff of men and women
constituting this great organization,
there must exist latent talents, which,
awakened by opportunity, would give
expression frankly and freely to their
thoughts, not only regarding the cor-
poration itself, but regarding the masses
of people who are contributors to the
corporation.

Let the motto of the men and women
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
he. "Solve all questions of doubt in
favor of the Consumer."

A smiling coiintenance wnll correct
more troubles than bags of gold.

The daily press print erroneous .state-
ments in bold type and on the front
])age, and correct them in agate in an
obscure corner.

While the tendency of the times for a
decade past has been that of antagonism
towards public service corporations,
largely due to the attitude of corpora-
tions towards the public, of late there
lias been a marked change noticeable,
which may be attributed to the fact that
conservative management has seen the
necessity in the preservation of capital
invested, of making by price and
((uality. its commodities necessary and
attractive, in being content with a
reasonable and legitimate return on its
investments, and by education, showing
the extraordinary risks attendant upon
service to the people, of transpm-fation.
light, heat and power.

The following editorial from the San
Francisco Chronicle of May 20. 190!).
indicates the awakening of a sane and
safe conservatism. The go.spel therein
enunciated has been preached from the
housetops of the corporations ever since
the adoption of the amendment to our
Constitution in 1879. not hoM-ever for
the purpose of acquiring a monopoly,
but for the prevention of the levying
of tribute, and as more pronouncedly
affirming that competition in service of
public service corporations does not
compete, and also that Avhat is wanted
1iy the public to insure low rates is
proper regulation under guarantees of

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

monopoly. Regulation and unrestrained
use of public streets produce conditions
of necessary protestation, resulting in
combination eventually detrimental to
the public good. The press seeking to
serve the dissatisfied announces doc-
trines tending to throw all public serv-
ice bodies into disrepute, forgetting in
their campaign of uneducation, that the
laws will fully protect invested wealth
devoted to public use, and that such
wealth if unhampered by confiscatory
restrictions would aim to earn only that
revenue which its risks and investments
entitled it to do.

NEW GAS COMPANY THREATENED

If It Comes It Will Raise the Price of Light
All Over the City

All public utilities within a city should be
monopolies, either public or private, as the
people desire, for the worst conceivable mo-
nopoly is better than the best possible competi-
tion in such services as lighting companies,
water companies and street railroads render.
The reason is obvious. It is only the profits of
a monopoly which will justify the extension of
service into unremunerative territory. Unfor-
tunately thirty years ago we did not know that
and incorporated into the State Constitution a
provision depriving every municipality in the
State of control of its own streets by enacting
that any one may open the streets to lay con-
duits for furnishing light or water unless the
municipality is itself performing that service.
The result, as we have repeatedly seen in this

city, is that whoever desires and has the money
may establish a plant to supply light to some
congested section of the city, which it can
always afford to do at a lower price than that
for which any one can render the same service
to the whole city. The intruding company never
extends its service to unproductive territory, but
leaves that wholly to the old company. The old
company reduces its rates in the competitive
districts, whose people profit by the transaction.

But the rest of the city loses. When rate-
making time comes it is evident that the books
will show" less profit than would have appeared
had the old company had all the business.
Whatever the rate fixed, the courts will require
that it be remunerative, and it is self-evident
that the greater the ratio of unproductive, or
slightly productive, territory the higher must be
the rate to yield a reasonable income on the
investment of the old company. That rate is
fixed, either by the Supervisors or the courts,
and fixed at such a figure that the people in the
outlying districts pay a higher price than they
otherwise would in order that the limited con-
gested district may get a lower price. And that
holds good whether the rate fixed be high or low.
In any case the legal rate will be higher than
it need be or would be if there were no com-
petition. Usually in this city the result has been
that the old company has bought off the new,
paying, perhaps, double the cost of the new
plant, for which bonds are issued, upon which
consumers must pay interest forever. Sometimes
the new companies seem to be formed solely for
blackmail purposes.

It is announced that we are to have a new
competitive gas and electric light company. If
one conies, we cannot help it. The result will be
unnecessary duplication of plant in the district
occupied, whose cost will be paid by increased
rates for light in the rest of the city.

Question Box

All employees are urged to make free use of this department to ask questions regarding any phase of the
Company's work on which they desire information. The same freedom should be used in answering questions.
Address questions and answers to Mr. R. J. Canlrell, News Editor.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PERSONALS

Under this Heading a Full Page will be
Devoted to Personal Items

Petaluma Loses an Old and Valued
Employee

Mr. George A. Clark, accountant for
the Petaluma Company since October,
1901, passed away in Petaluma recently.
Mr. Clark leaves a wife and three
children, to whom the employees of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company beg
to tender their heartfelt sympathy.

INlr. Earl Henley, manager Land De-
l)artment, has just left for an extended
trip throughout the East.

Mr. Geo. H. Bragg and bride have
just returned from a month's tour of
the Hawaiian Islands. We extend best
wishes for their happiness.

]\liss Laura Seavey, who has been
with the Petaluma Company since
August, 1904, has just resigned her
position to take up housekeeping. We
wish her joy and great happiness. Miss
Loretta Horwege succeeds Miss Seavey.

Vice-President and General ]\Ianager
John A. Britton and ^Messrs. Lee, Hock-
enbeamer, Downing and Lisberger have
just completed an extended trip to the
Northern Districts, including de Sabla.
Ceuterville, Colgate, Folsom, Newcastle.
Deer Creek and Rome power plants.

The Association of District Managers
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
met at Sacramento on Saturday, JNIay
15th, in the rooms of the Sacramento
Chamber of Commerce.

The regular monthly meeting of Divi-
sion Superintendents was held at the
Sacramento Sub-station on Saturday.
May 29th.

Mr. Geo. J. Vincent, of the main office,
is away on a leave of absence, account
of sickness.

Johnnie Yablonsky, of the Collection
Department, and ladies, spent Monday.
May 31st. at Vallejo.

LOCAL NOTES

What of Interest Occurred in Your District
or Division ?

Quick Action Saves Lives

(Chronicle, May 13, 1909.)

By rare presence of mind and quick
action John L. Sullivan, a gas works
employee living at 2120 Greenwich
street, yesterday stopped a runaway
team at Greenwich and Webster streets
which threatened to place a score of
lives in jeopardy. When Sullivan
lu-ought the foaming horses to a halt
they were almost on the brink of a fire
cistern in which a gang of laborers were
at work twenty feet below ground.

Sullivan is a man of massive build
and he hung to the horse while he was
dragged along the street. Within a
dozen feet of the cistern's mouth he
brought the team to a standstill. He
was badly bruised about the legs by
being dragged along the street. Sul-
livan is a man of middle age. He has a
wife and a large family of children.

The City of Gridley will endeavor to
bond the town and purchase the Grid-
ley Electric Light and Power Co.. evi-
dently not profiting by the errors of
other municipalities. *

Report from i\Iarys\'ille Power Divi-
sion, under date May 21, 1909, gives
cause of trouble on secondary oil switch
as follows:

The trouble with the 4000-volt oil
swit'-h on Panel No. 6 was caused by a
rat getting in contact with the 4000-volt
terminals. The terminals Avere covered
witli about six, thicknesses of empire
cloth, covered with two thicknesses of
linen tape and painted with P. & B.
paint. The rat must have knawed the
insulation ofl', causing an arc to start
lietween one terminal and the switch
frame. We had a similar accident on
April 11, 1908 (see Accident Report of
that date).

On Wednesday, May 26th, a fire de-
stroyed the roof of the old power-house
at Napa, now occupied by Briggs Bros,
as a pump works.

Pacific Cas and Eleclric Magazine

HOME AGAIN

By R. J. Cantkell.

Very few of us, in the hustle and
bustle of the past three years, have
realized that we, like many other busi-
ness outcasts, have been without a
home; that the largest corporation in
the great West has had to seek shelter
at the hands of others, to crave the
privilege of a roof under which to carry
on our gigantic affairs, and now that
we look forward to the short time
which intervenes, separating us from
our new and permanent headquarters,
comparisons loom up before us and we
realize the magnificent strides that have
been made by our company as a whole,
and particularly by the chiefs who have
guided us and brushed aside each
obstacle as it confronted them, until at
last we feel the gratifying sensation
stealing over our senses that we are to
have our own home again — our own
roof over our heads, and all designed to
fit our wants, our best desires and pur-
poses.

In February of 1906 the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company was proud ; we
walked with a strut into our new and
beautiful offices in the Shreve Building,
and smiled out upon the world with the
feeling that none were better provided
for than we. The San Francisco Gas
and Electric Company was the possessor
of a fine and handsome office building
of its own, the best of its kind our City
had ever known. Then came the fire —
we were driven out, trampled in the
dirt and dust, without home, without a
l)laee of meeting, scattered from Oak-
land on the east to the ocean on the
west, and chaos reigned supreme.

Three days we groveled and stumbled
in the dark, our spirits sunk down to
the lowest degree, oiir hearts were torn
and bruised and we staggered under the
fearful load that had been thrust upon
us. when the powerfiil minds which had
(IfiTuinated us and created and reared
use from the very cradle, loomed up
strong and confident with a nucleus in
Oakland. Two days more only inter-
vened Avhen the home of one of our
officers, in San Francisco, was chosen as
an informal meeting place, and it was
then and there decided that San Fran-

cisco should again be our field of action,
with temporary headquarters at our
branch at Haight and Fillmore streets.

Following this move in rapid succes-
sion two rooms in Haight street, near
Fillmore street, were secured as a tem-
porary meeting place, from which point
scouts were sent out to secure larger
and more comfortable quarters, where
we might all be together again and
better take up the broken strands of
our business, which had been scattered
far and near. The next move was to
the corner of Franklin and O'Farrell
streets, where we grew from two rooms
to a dozen or more, but still we were
not content, for some of our brothers
in toil were still away from us, across
the Bay, and we chafed and fretted
until we could all be together again and
form the same strong chain, without a
break, that had existed before.

We won, the strong always win, and
while we gained our end, we stand with
heads unbared to the good Sisters who
helped us to this end, by relinquishing
in our favor the home which had shelt-
ered them for many years, that we, in
turn, might lessen the burdens of our
afflicted neighbors and friends by shed-
ding light and warmth among them and
bringing them back to a realization that
all was not lost, that we had been
bruised but not broken, that we were
still the indomitable, persevering and
progressive race that history had re-
puted us to be.

And now we are going home again ; we
are not proud, we are grateful ; we have
fought a great battle, we have won ; we
are stronger than ever before, but we
never rest, we are looking for new
worlds to con(|uer, and always move
onward, forward and upward.

[Editor's Note. — All of the above
proves the old adage that, "A rollint:
stone gathers no moss." A careful
scrutiny of our new building will fail
to reveal any moss.]

Learnins:

Tlie chief art of learning is to attempt
but little at a time.

Learning without thought is labor
lost, thought without learning is peril-
ous.— Confucius.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH

CHARLES LELAND BARRETT

SECRETARY

SAN FRANCISCO GAS

AND ELECTRIC

COMPANY

Charles Leland Barrett, the present secretary of the San Francisco
Gas and Electric Company, Tvas born in the City of San Francisco on
the 27th day of March, I860. He attended the grammar schools until
June, 1875, and subsequently the St. Augustine Cadet Academy at
Benecia, Cal. He is the son of Wm. Grout Barrett, who Was secretary
of the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company for over trventy-four
years, and who was a truly representative gas man in every sense of
the word. His mother Was Sarah Cardy Sherman.

After leaving school Mr. Barrett tool( a position under his father
as cashier's clerl( of the then San Francisco Gas Light Company in
1876, remaining there until the year 1878, when he became agent of
the Butlericl( Pattern Company, remaining with that firm for eleven
years; in 1889 he tool( position as bookkeeper with the J. W. Girvin
Company, agents of the Boston Belting Company, which position he
resigned to accept that of bookkeeper with the San Francisco Gas Light
Company, being steadily advanced by reason of his merits and abilities
to office manager and cashier, and finally became secretary of the
Conipany, which position he has since filled.

He Was married to Olga Carola Block on the 14ih day of
November, 1900, from which union has resulted two children, namely,
William and Theodore.

Mr. Barrett, in his connection with the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Company, has endeared himself to all his employees, as Well as
to the public with whom he has come in contact, his natural cheerful
disposition fitting him particularly for the responsible position he occupies.

It is not known that he is the possessor of any fads other than the
desire for the briny deep, being a yachtsman of some renown, and
through storm and calm sailing his boat into the inlets and outlets of
San Francisco Bay.

The temperament and sterling honesty and integrity of his father
is fully reflected in the son, and to those who know him best, the hope
is expressed that he may be with us as he is for many days to come.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

San Francisco, April 29, 1909.
Following is a list of books added, to
the Library of the Pacific Coast Gas
Association since the publication of its
last catalogue in 1908 :

Modern Power Gas Producer Practice — Horace
Allen.

Allen 's Digest of U. S. Patents of Air, Caloric,
Gas and Oil Engines and Other Internal Com-
bustion Engines. Vol. I, Plates A. D. 1789-
190.5; Vol. II, Plates A. D. 1789-190.5; Vol.
Ill (2 parts). Claims A. D. 1789-1905; Vol.
V, Index.

Keport of Committee on Meters — American Gas
Institute.

American Gas Institute Proceedings. Vol. Ill,
1908.

American Gas Light Journal. January-Decem-
ber, 1874; January-December, 1875; January-
December, 1876; January-December, 1877
January-December, 1878; January-December
1879; January-December, 1880; January
December, 1881; January-December, 1882
January-December, 1883; January- December
1884; January-December, 1885; January
December, 1886; January-December, 1887
January-June, 1888; July -December, 1888
January-June, 1889; July-December, 1889
January-June, 1890; July-December, 1890
January-June, 1891 ; July-December, 1891
January-June, 1892; July-December, 1892
January-June, 1893; July-December, 1893
January- June, 1894; July-December, 1894
January- June, 1895; July-December, 1895
January-June, 1908; July-December, 1908.

A Bulletin on the Care and Operation of Re-
cuperative Benches — W. A. Baehr.

Baldwin on Heating.

Electrical Hluminating Engineering — William
E. Barrows.

Internal Combustion Engines — Rolla C. Car-
penter and Diedrichs.

Annual Reports Chemical Society. Vol. I; Vol.
TI, 1905; Vol. Ill, 1906; Vol.' IV, 1907.

A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture and
Distribution of Coal Gas, 1868 — Samuel
Clegg, Jr.

Congress of Gas Associations of America Pro-
ceedings.

Electrical Engineer's Pocl^et Book — Horatio A.
Poster.

The Malcing of Bates and the Additional Busi-
ness System of Costs — W. H. Gardiner, Jr.

Gas Enrichment (From a London Standpoint).

Gas World. January-June, 1908; July-Decem-
ber, 1908.

Steam Power Plant Engineering — G. F. Geb-
hardt.

The Utilization of Wood Waste by Distillation
— Walter H. Harper.

Analysis of Mixed Paints, Color Pigments and
Varnishes — Clifford Dyer Holley.

Illinois Gas Association Proceedings, 1907-1908.

Air Compressors and Blowing Engines — Chas.
H. Innes.

The (Sas Engine — Forrest R. Jones.

Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas. Janu-
ary-June, 1908; July-December, 1908.

Journal of Gas Lighting. January-December,
1873; January-June, 1874; July-December,
1874; January-June, 1875; July-December,
1875; January-June, 1876; July-December,
1876; January-June, 1877; July-December,
1877 ; January-June, 1878 ; July-December,
1878; January-June, 1879; July-December,
1879; January-June, 1880; July-December,
1880; January-June, 1881; July-December,
1881; January-June, 1882; July-December,
1882; .January-June, 1883; July-December,
1883; January- June, 1884; July-December,
1884; January-June, 1909; July-December,
1908.

Road Preservation and Dust Prevention —
William Pierson Judson.

Fuel, Water and Gas Analysis for Steam Users
— John B. C. Kershaw.

Steam-Electric Power Plants — Frank Koester.

Light. January-December, 1908.

Technical Methods of Chemical Analysis. Vol.
I, Part I; Vol. I, Part II — George Lunge.

Development and Electrical Distribution of
Water Power — Lamar Lyndon.

Production et Utilisation des Gaz Pauvres— L.
Marchi.

Self Instruction for Students in Gas Supply —
Mentor.

Notes on the Operation of Large Carburetted
Water Gas Sets — W. Cullen Morris.

Municipal Reports, Lighting Streets and Public
Buildings, 1898-1907, S. F. Gas and Electric
Company.

National Commercial Gas Association New Busi-
ness Report for 1909.

Nelson 's Encyclopedia. Vol. I, A-Bedl ; Vol. II,
Bedm-Ceut. ; Vol. Ill, Ceve-Deende. ; Vol. IV,
Dendr-Fern.; Vol. V, Fern-Gun; Vol. VI.
Gun-Joan; Vol. VII, Joan-Mart; Vol. VIII.
Mart-Numid.; Vol. IX, Numis-Presc. ; Vol. X,
Preser-Sax; Vol. XI, Saxo-Ten; Vol. XII.
Tenn-Zym.

New England Association of Gas Engineers Pro-
ceedings, 1906-07-08.

Production of Gas, Coke, Tar and Ammonia at
Gas Works, 1907— Edward W. Parker.

Compressed Air Plants for Mines — Robert Peele.

The Gas Engine — Cecil P. Poole.

Public Service Commission, 1st Dist., State of
New York. Annual Report for year ending
December 31, 1907. Vol. I and Vol. II.

Public Service Commission, 2nd Dist., State of
New York. First Annual Report for year
1907. Vol. I and Vol. IL

Report of Board of Revision on Distribution of
Gas.

Report of Commissioner of Corporations on the
Petroleum Industrv. May, 1907, Part I;
August, 1907, Part IL
Rojiort Electric Powers (Protective Clauses).

Report of the Public Policy Committee of the
American Gas Institute. October, 1907.

Report on the Transportation of Petroleum,
1906.

Suction Gas Plants— C. Alfred Smith.

Statement of the Commissioner of Corporations
in Answer to the Allegati(uis of the Standard
Oil Co.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Sugg 's Photometers and Gas Testing Apparatus.

The Chemistry and Technology of Mixed Paints
— Maximilian Toch.

Hydro-Electric Practice — H. A. E. C. Von Schon.

Western Gas Association Proceedings, 1906.

Wisconsin Railroad Commision Reports. Vol. I,
July 20, 1905-July 31, 1907.

Hanns Juptner on Heat, Energy and Fuels.

Institution (The) of Gas Engineers Transac-
tions, 1908.

E. C. JONES,
Librarian Paeifie Coast Gas Assn.

Hope for the Gas Man

St. Peter was sad and weary
For years he had stood by the gate.
He had listened to stories and pleadings,
Life stories of love and of hate.

He turned them all down in a jiffy,
All failed when it came to the test,
While many had lived fairly decent.
Yet no one had lived at his best.

The work for the day was near over,
St. Peter looked tired and thin.
He'd sent a multitude down below,
But nary a soul had passed in.

But hold, "How's this," St. Peter cried.
As a quiet soul stood trembling,
'"What hast thou done of bad or good.
Of anything worth remembering?"

The spirit spake with husky voice,

"I know I cannot pass.
For I was called the meanest man,
I sold the people gas."

St. Peter stood silent and thoughtful.
But at last he said with a grin,
"You've had trouble enough for one

poor soul.
So I guess Fll let you in."

_Chas. T. McKenzie.

Welcome to Los Angeles

"I won't pay my bill. I don't have to ;
I moved from your old town. Nobody
can not make a living there. I don't
like your old town. I never come back
any more. I never want to hear from
you any more. I live in Los Angeles
now. I tell you good-by for ever."

He Passed the Hat

The colored parson lu^d ju.st con-
cluded a powerful sermon on "Salva-
tion am Free," and was announcing
that a collection would be tal<:en up for
the benefit of the parson and his family.
LTp jumped an acutely brunette brother
in the back of the church.

"Look a-year, . pahson," he inter-
rupted, "yo' ain't no sooner done tellin'
us dat salvation am free dan you go'
askin' us fo' money. If salvation am
free, what's de use in payin' fo' it?
Dat's what I want to know. An' I tell
yo' p'intedly dat I ain't goin' to gib yo'
nothin' until I find out. Now "

"Patience, brudder, patience," said
the parson. " I '11 'lucidate : S 'pose yo '
was thirsty an' come to a river. Yo'
could kneel right down an' drink yo'
fill, couldn't yo'? An' it wotxldn't cost
yo' nothin', would it?"

"Ob eou'se not. Dat's jest what I — "

"Dat water would be free," con-
tinued the parson. "But s'posin' yo'
was to hab dat water piped to yo'
house? Yo'd have to pay, wouldn't
yo'?"

"Yas. .suh, but "

"Wal, brudder, so it is wid salvation.
De salvation am free, but it's de havin'
it piped to yo' dat yo' got to pay fo'.
Pass de hat, deacon, pass de hat."

The Perfect Man.

There is a man who never drinks.
Nor smokes, nor chews, nor .swears;
Who never gambles, never flirts.
And shuns all sinful snares —

He's paralyzed !

There is a man who never does
A thing that is not right ;
His wife can tell jtist where he is
At morning, noon and night —

He's dead!

"We Have Many Avocations
' ' ]\Iy gas meter is out of order also my
neighbor ^Ir. Sehmitt. Will you please
send somebodv to fix them?"

' ' Only One of Our Troubles ' '

"I Avish that you would send a gas
leak at your meater."

There was a girl in our town.
And she was wondrous wise,

This learned lass blew out the gas,
She is now in Paradise.

Pacific C.as an J Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

ANDERSON, F. B.

BOTHIN, HENRY E.

BRTTTON, JOHN A., ViccPres. and fiou Mgr.

CROCKER, W. H.

DE SABLA, E. J., JR.

DRUM, F. G, President.

DRUM, JOHN S., Second Vice-President.

HOCKENBEAMER, A. F., Treas. and Conip.

MARTIN, JNO.
MONTE AGLE, LOUIS F
PEIRCE, CYRUS
SLOSS, LEON
STRINGHAM, F. D.
TOBIN, JOSEPH S.
WEEKS, GEORGE K.

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

Drum, F. G President

Bbitton, John A VicePres. and (ien. Mgr.

FOOTE, D. H Secretary

Lee, F. V. T Asst. General Manager

HoCKENBEAMER, A. F Treas. and Conip.

BOSTWICK, H Seeriitary to President

Love, J. C Auditor

Waltox, S. V Commercial Agent

Cantrell, R. J Property Agent

Kline, W. H Tax Agent

Hunt, J. H Purchasing Agent

COGHLAN, J. P Claims Agent

Henley, E. B Supt. Land Dept.

Jones, E. C Chief Eng. Gas Dept.

Downing, P. M Eng. Hydro-EIec.

Wise, J. H Eng. Construction

Adams, C. F t>iiff- Elec. Construction

Varnev, F. H Eng. Steam Stations

HoLBERTON, GEO. (' Eug. Distribution

Lisbebger, S. J Eng. Distribution

ROBB, Geo. C Supt. Supplies

Boslev, W. B Attorney

MANAGERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS

Arthur, W. R Auljurn Water District.

Parratt, a. P Berkeley District.

Florence, E. W chico "

Heryeobd, H. B Colusa "

KuSTER, J. D Fresno ' '

Werry, John (i rass Valley ' '

POINGDESTRE, J. E Marysville ' '

Clark, O. E \;i|ia "

Leach, F. A., Jr ();ikland "

Weber, H I'etaluma "

Newbebt, L. II Redwood (,'ity ' '

McKlLLIP, C. W Sacramento ' '

Edwards, H. J Sin .lose "

Foster, W. H Ma ri n ' '

Petch, Thos. D Santa Rosa Ristrict.

Hall, J. W Stockton Water District.

Stephens, A. J Vallejo District.

OSBORN, W. E Woodland ' '

Adams, I. B Colgate Power Division.

Young. D. M De Sabla ' '

ESKEVV, W. E Electra ' '

Young, C. E Marysville "

Clark, ('. I) Nev. Tower "

Hughes, W Oakland ' '

< 'OOPER, H. M Placer Water District.

Hanse.v, .1. () San .lose Power Div.

Burnett, .\. H iSo. Tow«r "

h'iNELV, W. C Sacramento ' '

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

SAN FRANCISCO GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

BOTHIN, H. E.

BRITTON, JOHN A., President.

CONLISK, C. W.

DE SABLA, E. J., JR.

DRUM, F. G., Vice-President.

DRUM, JOHN S.

HALSEY, N. W.

Barrett, f 'has. L Secretary

HOCKENBEAMER. A. F.
MARTIN, JNO.
McENERNEY, GARRETT W.
PEIRCE, CYRUS
STRINGHAM, F. D.
WEEKS, GEORGE K.

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

Gray, F. S Siipt. Elec. Contract Dept. Butler, J. D

. Auditor

-<::>o<:i^-

Municipal Matters

San Francisco

The Board of Supervisors of the City
and County of San Francisco are this
year setting aside $3-40,000 for the light-
ing of the streets and public buildings.

The Board of Supervisors have just
passed a new underground ordinance
designating two additional districts
from which the poles and wires must be
removed in the years 1909-10 respec-
tively.

They have also passed an amendment
to the ordinances covering the opening
of streets, which is somewhat novel in
that all corporations are obliged to
mark upon the curbstone a symbol
which will fix the ownership of any
service trenches in the streets. Each
company is given a different symbol, so
that an inspector seeing a trench lead-
ing to a premises has merely to look
upon the curb where the trench enters
to find out who constructed same.

Oakland*

Realizing the rapid expansion of Oak-
land's business district, the Company
has just completed the building of con-
duits and manholes on Franklin street
from Seventh to Fourteenth streets, tie-
ing in with the old underground on the
side streets between Broadway and
Franklin streets, and the City of Oak-
land is now contemplating an under-
ground ordinance which will make
these underground districts by law.

The Company has now completed the
work of removing the 60,000 V leads
from Oakland and Berkeley, as was
promised these cities some time ago.
Sacramento

The City Trustees have passed an
underground ordinance which requires
that in three years all of our poles and
wires must be removed from the water-
front to Twelfth street, and from I to
L streets.

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC MAGAZINE

CONTENTS FOK JULY

PAGE

General Offices and Annex Frontispiece

The Steam Turbine Installation at Oakland. . .F. H. Varne^ 35

Electric Distribution 5. ./. Lisherger 38

The Lighting and Ventilating of Schools E. C. Jones 39

At Your Service — Verse IV. J. Driscoll 40

Notes on the Design and Construction of

Riveted Steel Pipe Lines James H. Wise 41

The Service Connection Charge George B. Furniss 46

Accuracy of Measurement Olio A. Knopp 47

The Load Dispatching System of the Pacific

Gas and Electric Company P. M. Downing 48

The New Stenographer — Verse 50

Cumulative Dividend Claims of Preferred

Stock to be Liquidated 51

What's in a Gas Pipe? JV. R. Morgan 52

Overheard on the Ferry Boat J. D. Butler 52

Men Must Work Frances Stevenson Downing 53

Old Nag and His Works F. E. Cronice 53

Steps in the Moving of a 1 0,000 Barrel Oil Tank . W. B. Barry 55

Irrigation Notes 55

Concerning Municipal Ownership 56

Editorial 58

Biography — Edward Campbell Jones 60

Calculation for the Focal Date 62

TRANSf^issioN Line Calculations 62

New Business S.V. Walton 63

Our First Match Game — Verse C. S. Brearty 64

Baseball News 65

Local Notes 67

Accidents and Their Lessons J. P. Coghlan 67

Personals 68

Question Box 69

Directors and Officials, Pacific Gas and Electric Company 70

Terms — 50 cents per year, Single Copies, 10 cents.

General Offices. Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Southwest Corner Franklin and Ellis Streets, since June, 1906.

Pacific CtAS and Ei^ectkic
Magazine

VOL.1

JUL.-?', 1909

No. 2

The Steam Turbine Installation at Oakland

By F. H. VARNEY
Engineer o( Operation and Maintenance

of
ticiti ill (
iiiid iittc
mover r(

liiiii'. i. I

pruinpl

II H fith of July. 1!)(IS. the iiiaii-
•iiiciit r('(|iicsti'(l tliJif tlu' niattiT
a il.OdO K. W. tiirhiiK' iiislalla-
)aklaiiil lie <_'ivi'ii coiisidcratioii
iitioii. The clioict' of a priiiir
•sled between two types of tiir-
•.. tlie horizontal and the verli-
;iMd after tlie i|iiesti<iii i>\'
di'liverv and relative iiin-ils n\'

ImiIIi types liad been fully considered,
tlie Curtis vertical turbine, built by the
(Jeneral Electric Coiii|)aiiy. was deter-
mined upon.

This deeisioii was reached about the
middle ol' .Inly, and orders were re-
ceived to have the plant in operation
lor I he Chi-istiiias load. The Engineer-
ing- Depart iiieut. therefore, had to
undertake to design, construct and
place in operation a complete turbine
|i]ant ill one Inindred and si.\ty-tAVO
days.

It is hard for tlmse whose avocations
lie in fields other than technical, to ap-
preciate the immense amount of detail
involved in an eiiiiineerinij: problem of
this nature. Preliminary surveys must
be made: preliminary plans drawn and
submitted for approval: then come the
worl\inu' di'awin^s. and these in turn
must be e.xamined and an_\' cliaiiires
made before it is too late, \'i>\- it must be
rememlx'fed that uiire the engineer's
thoii'/hts have been translated into con-
crete, iron and steel, they cannot lie
i'e\nked at any future session, and his
work iiiiisl stand as a monument to
cither his ability or his iiic(mipetenc\\

.\ll braiiclics of the department were
now actively eiiirat^ed in prejiarini?
thi'ir i)articular portions of the work.
The preliminary work liad been com-
pleted and approved: the tinishinj;
touches were l)ein<r jriven to the work-
ing' drawin},'s: specilications drawn up,
and many a tiny lamp inirned loiii,' into
the small hours <d' the morniii!.' in an
earnest eiideavoi' that no detail should
b.' overlooked. In due time, therefore.
all the plans and specilications were
rdiiipleted and approved, and the con-

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

>fiitiuii under Coustruotiiin
Sh:)wing erection of Boilers, Steel and Concrete Roof going on at the same time.

tracts were awarded and signed. Some
of the contractors, who were never
known to make deliveries in less than
nine months, fairly gasped Avheu they
were informed what was required of
them, biit on account of the heavy
bonus and penalty attached to each
contract, they determini-d to strain
every effort to complete the contracts
on time.

The engineer cannot lose sight of cer-
tain given factors, and while promises
are made in perfectly good faith, their
fulfillment may be indefinitely deferred
on account of apparently insurmount-
able obstacles. An engineer in charge of
work, therefore, must be everywhere;
must anticipate delays, and be ready to
step instantly into the breach with a
solution; he must have an accurate
knowledge of human nature, and be
able to swing troublesome contractors
into line; he must be, in truth, the
coacher of the team. It is gratifying to
know, therefore, that with our organiza-
tion; the personnel of those in charge.
both in the office and in the field, and
the esprit de corps which makes pon-
sible the existence of that great funda-
mental principle of success — -TEAM
WORK — ■ we were able to complete the
turbine installation (from the first day
of breaking ground to the time of actu-
ally operating the turbine under its own
steam), in seven days less time than
that set by the management.

While avoiding a ])urely technical
discussion of our installation, it Avill be
a matter of general interest to those of
our readers Avho are meeting the public,
or whose ledgers record the daily sale
of many thousand kilowatt ' hdlirs, to
more clearly understand the-'many ele-
ments that are necessary.-to.*gVoduce our
salable product, i. e.. electric' energy.

Did you ever stop to consider what a
mysterious and intensely interesting
]iroduct our Companv manufactures?
Tnlike that of any other manufacturing
concern, none of our employees have
ever seen our product, yet we handle it
in quantities large and small, and upon
receipt of an order from a customer we
can instantly ship the goods to him — by
wire. The manufacturer of some poAver-
ful locomotive could take you to his
factory and trace the development of
his product from the raw material to
the high-speed express engine. We can
neither show you the raw material nor
the finished product, but we can take
you to some rocky point overlooking one
of our great reservoirs in the moun-
tains, and tell you that there are untold
quantities of our product under the
shinnuering surface of the water ; or
standing in front of our steam turbine
in Oakland, we could tell you that our
product is being manufactured at the
rate of over two huiulred thousand
units daily.

The turl)in(' j>lant in Oakland, known

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

as Station "C," is situated on a portion
of the property of the Oakhuul (ias,
Liglit and Heat Company, a sul)sidiary
company of the Paeifie (Ja.s ami Eh>etrie
Company. The property is hounded hy
First street. Grove street. Jefferson
street and the Oakland estuary-. The
steam turhine is the largest single
driven unit on the Pacific Coast, and
occupies about one-tenth of the space
required for a corresponding recipro-
cating engine plant of the same capac-
ity. The advantages of this type of
j)rime mover over the reciprocating en-
gine are numerous. An interesting in-
cident occm-red in this relation worthy
of comment. One of the problems that
the o))erating engineer has to contend
with in the use of the reciprocating en-
gine is in jacking over the engine by
hand, when it is necessary to do any
overhaiding work. The matter of pro-
viding the turbine with similar appar-
atus for turning it through j)art of a
revolution caused us considerable
thought, but one day, during tlu' as-

9000 K. W. Ciirlis Tiirliitip.

seml)ling of tlu' turbine, we were sur-
prised to see one of the erecting men
climl) into the ventilator tine at the top
of the turl)ine and revolve the turbine
with ow hand. Some idea of the per-
fect balance of the turbine may be
gained when it is stated that the revolv-
ing jiarts weigh seventy-two tons. An-
other interesting feature is that thi.s
entire weight is carried on a thin film
of oil which is forced into the step l)ear-
ing under a pressure of more than half
a ton to tlie square inch.

The condenser, shown to the left of
the turbine, is larger than the turbine
itself, and if the tubes were withdrawn
and ])laced end to end, they would ex-
tend for a distance of sixteen miles. A
story is told of a certain marine en-
gineer, upon his first visit to the station
and viewing the condenser, he ex-
pressed his admiration for it. but was
in doubt as to the use of the "small
vertical thing" at the side of the con-
denser. This "small vertical thing,"
however, is capable of developing
twelve thousand horsepower.

One of the greatest sources of worry
to the engineer of the condensing plant
is circulating water. "Losing the
water." as it is termed, is a very serious
matter, but owing to the precautions
which have been taken at Station "C,"
this danger is far removed. A forty-
two inch pipe has been laid to the pier
head line in Oakland estuary, and at
the time of the lowest tide we have a
triHe over six feet of water over the in-
take. By keeping the mud dredged
away from the pump suction, an ample
supply of circulating water is assured.

This sturdy unit of twelve thousand
horsepower is served ])y eight water
tul)e safety boilers, with sui)erheaters,
installed in batteries of two. and four in
a row facing each other, as will be
noted in the i)hotograph. Two sheet
steel stacks, well guyetl. rise to a height
of one hundred and ten feet aliove the
l)oiler room tlooi'. witii am|)le cajiacity
for four l)oilei's each. The Ilanunel t.vpe
of furnaces with return Hame oil burn-
ei's are used througliout.

The visitor at Station "C" is im-
pressetl with the compactness of the
itistallati(Ui. The turbine ami its auxil-
iary ap|)aratus is accessible at all points.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

li.-ihT Kh„i,i,

yet the amount of waste room has been
reduced to a negligible quantity. The
lofty effect of the turbine room, with its
long, graceful windoAvs. recall the days
of the stately baronial hall, but the sup-
pressed song of the busy little exciter
engine, the hum of the turbine and the
muflled roar of the oil burners all blend
into that familiar sound of the well-
ordered turbine room, and remind us
that we are living in an intensely active
and progressive age. and in the flushing
dawn of that great To-morrow, we turn

towards those phantom forms of the
greater things that are to be, still
draped in the veil of the Future.

Station "C" is entirely a generating
station. The distribution station, with
the necessary switchboards and high
tension switches, is an entirely separate
building, and will be known as Station
"A." The transmission station will
adjoin, and will be known as Station
"B, " thus giving us three distinct types
of stations, i. e.. generating, distribut-
ing and transmitting.

Electric Distribution

By S. J. LISBERGER

Engineer of Electrical Distribution

The advent of the Tungsten lamp into
the lighting field some time ago was
received with a show of incredulity by
many of the lighting men. Grave argu-
ments against its first cost, its fragile
filament, and its size were presented.
The Tungsten lamp has, however,
"made good," and is to-day recognized
to have done for the electric lighting
world almost what the Welsbach mantle
did for the gas lighting industry.

The most recent development of the
Tungsten lamp has been a sign lamp of
4 c. p., consuming 1 1-3 watts per
candle-power, or a little more than 5
watts for a 4 c. p. lamp, operating on a
circuit voltage of from 8 to 12 volts.

This lamp should find most ready use in
sign work, where it is possible, with the
use of compensators, for the man using
the sign to light his sign just three
times as long for the same money.

Another argument raised against the
Tnng.sten lamp was the inability of the
manufacturers to make a lamp for 200
volts. This has been done and the
200-volt lamp is now a commercial
product. The manufacturers are also
making small compensators to screw
into the ordinary socket, which reduce
the voltage from 220 volts to 27 volts,
which makes an ideal proposition for
individual socket work. The same type
of compensator is made for sockets
transforming from 110 to 27 volts.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Lighting and Ventilating of Schools

By E. C. JONES
GoS Engineer

IX THE '-Gas AYorld," London, of
February 15, 1908, the relative merits

of the systems of gas and electric
lighting- in Council schools is considered
in a letter from the Gas Light and Coke
Company to the London County Coun-
cil.

The gas company bases its claim that
gas lighting is not less hygienic than
electric lighting upon two principal
sources of evidence — the results of in-
vestigations carried out altogether in-
dependently by two well-known scien-
tific investigators, Professor Vivian B.
Lewis and Dr. Samuel Reidel. The for-
mer, it is explained, conducted his in-
vestigations entirely on his own ac-
count, the latter at the request of the
Metropolitan Gas Company. Dr. Rei-
del's conclusions as quoted in the com-
pany 's letter are as f oIIoavs :

Heating Effects. — The conclusion is
that there is no marked difference in
the heating effects under either illumin-
ant. The temperature of the air of a
room in which gas was allowed to re-
main burning for a considerable time
was not raised to any greater extent
than in a similar (uninhabited) room
in which electric light was maintained
for the same period.

Ventilation Effects. — The ventilation
was determined before and after the
evening's work, and it was found that
the ascending currents of air from the
gas burners had a marked effect in
stinndating the ventilation of the room.

Slerilization of Germs. — The moisture
condensed on a cool surface in a room
in which gas had been burning lor
about three hours was entirely sterile,
whilst such sterility was not noted inider
similar conditions in a room lighted l)y
electricity. This is a most impoi-fant
fact, and it follows that the l)iirning of
gas mu.st also produce sterilization of
tlie air itself. Increase of ventilation
causes a diminution in the bactei-inl
contamination in most cases by intln.x
ol' purer air, so that the mode of illumi-

nation which produces most eflficient
ventilation should, ipso facto, pos.sess
more hj'gienic character. On all points
gas possesses a greater sterilizing effect
than electric light on the air of the
room.

Production of Carbonic Acid. — This.
gas is not an impurity but a normal and
necessary con.stituent of the air, and is
now recognized as harmless in nuich
larger quantities than could result from
any reasonable consumption of gas. In
these experiments 50 j)arts of CO- per
10.000 were on some occasions (by de-
sign) exceeded, but no physiological
effects were noted. This, ciuantity of
CO- was an exceptional one, and could
never be reached in an ordinary venti-
lated room.

Medical Observations. — The average
final frequency (of the pulse) was prac-
tically constant and nearly the same
under both lights.

The average frequency of respiration
decreased under both systems of light-
ing to very similar amounts.

A progressive decline was noted in
body temperature, and the average falls
per hour under both .systems were very
close indeed, the difference in the
method of illumination being appar-
ently quite powerless to affect them.

Interesting results were obtained as
regards the action of the two kinds of
light on the eyes of the suli.jects. The
sensitiveness of the eye to the light was
found to be api)reciabiy diminished on
exposure to electric light, an effect not
noticed in the case of gas.

'I'hree lioui-s under electric light af-
fected the motor nuiscles of the eyeball
more than an etpial ex[)Osure to gas. In
sliort. all the exi)eriments made on the
eye were more favorable to gas, a con-
clusion wliicli strongly suggests the
necessity \'ni further research under con-
ditions iHore snitable to oplitlialmie
w nrk. (This most important conclusion
is confii-med liy llic observations of
other iiuie|)cii(b'nt and scientific au-
thorities.)

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The results of these experiments show
fairly conclusively that under ordinary
conditions either light can be used with-
out the least prejudicial influence on
health.

It remained to try the effect of a leak-
age of gas into a room. Coal gas con-
tains certain poisonous constituents, the
chief being carbon monoxide, and has
in certain cases been inhaled with fatal
results. With a view to studying the
effect of coal gas when breathed in
large quantities three subjects were
placed in a room, the door and windows
of which were closed and the fireplace
blocked with a tight fitting screen.
During the preceding eighteen hours gas
had been turned into the room at the
rate of 0.6 cubic feet per hour, or, say
one-half of the consumption of one of
the burners. When the subjects entered
this rate was afterwards increased to
8.8 cubic feet per hour, equivalent to
six burners, full on, the air being well
mixed from time to time. Tlie three
men remained in this gas-laden atmo-
sphere for four hours and twenty min-
utes, and beyond an increased rate of

respiration and a few minor symptoms,
no very marked phj^siological effects
were observed.

It will be noted that this was no ordin-
ary leakage, but a steady flow at the
rate of three times the ordinary con-
sumption, such, in fact, as could only
occur through breakage or other acci-
dent. When it is borne in mind that an
exceedingly small leakage of gas can be
detected at once by its characteristic
smell, it will be seen how difficult it is
for a condition to be set up capable of
affecting the health. This is borne out
by the extreme rarity of cases of gas
poisoning among the many milions of
gas users in this country. It would be
as unreasonable to condemn gas light-
ing on the score of such occurrences, as
to treat a fatal fire from defective wir-
ing as an ordinary incident of electric
lighting.

The medical conclusions are in ac-
cordance with those arrived at from the
chemical and physical data, and prove
conclusively that the choice between the
two sy.stems of lighting does not depend
upon hygienic consideration.

At Y

our oervice

"TV /fRS. JOXESI have you heard the latest, the fad that's now eome in style?
iVJ. ^°^ killing the blues it's a wonder and beats Christian Science a mile.

As a way to get rid of your troubles, to unburden your sorrows and cares,
It 's the best thing that 's yet been discovered to substitute laughter for tears.

"Go down to the Gas Company's Office with visage determined and grim,

You'll see a young fellow there smiling, then go tell your troubles to him.

Tell him your meter is leaking — your Gas Bill was never so high.

That the Company surely is cheating — it's the "hot place" for them when they die.

"That you closed up your house for the summer (nobody could get in)
But your Gas Bill kept on a 'coming and you think it's a shame and a sin,
You never use Gas for lighting — you "ve just purchased oil lamps by the score.
But the size of your bill just for cooking is bigger than ever before.

"He'll listen with care to your story and will tell you thej- trj' to do right.
He may give you a 'bit o' the blarney,' explaining why you have such poor light;
Anyhow you can't help but be cheerful as your anger begins to subside
And you feel that the 'Gas Robber' story was written when 'somebody lied.'

"So when you feel blue and weary and the day's work seems awfully long.
The baby is cross with the 'teethiu' " and everything seems to go wrong.
Then go down to the Gas Company's office — he's there to humor your whim.
What's the use of your having troubles — just go down and unload them on him."

-W. J. DfilSCOLL.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Notes on the Design and Construction of Riveted
Steel Pipe Lines

By JAMES H. WISE
Civil and Hydraulic Engineer

IN THE installation of pressure pipe
lines for hydro-electric plants, some
interesting phases of design and con-
struction occur, and it is the purpose of
this article to give a few of the features
which have arisen in the placing of
three pipe lines belonging to the Pacific
(ias and Electric Comi^any, viz., at the
Electra, Deer Creek and Centerville
power plants ; all pipes are riveted steel
througliout.

The Electra pipe line is 3565 feet in
length, varying in diameter from 36 to
40 inches and in thickness or metal
from No. 6 B. W. G. to ^ inches. It
supplies water to a 10,000 K. W. plant
with a total static head of 3466 feet, and
has been in operation since the early
part of 1905.

The Deer Creek pipe line is 5573 feet in
length, 42 and 48 inches in diameter and
varying in thickness of metal from -fV
to i; inches. The static head is 831 feet,
feet.

The Centerville pipe line is 2580 feet
long, 36 and 42 inches in diameter with
metal from ^ to -jV inches in thickness
and a static head of 580 feet.

The two latter pipe lines furnish
water to 5500 K. W. units and have
l)een in operation from one to two
years ; all three are giving satisfactory
service.

The design of a pipe includes the
clidice of profile, the determination of
the diameter, the thickness of metal and
riveted joints for various lengths of the
)iipe and the location of angles, air
valves and anchorages. As the last
three depend largely upon the physical
i'eatures and topography of the pipe line
site, of these nothing will be said.

For a known quantity of water the
determination of the economical diam-
eter or diameters seems first in import-
ance. It is, of course, obvious that for
t he same profile a pipe of small diameter

will have a small first cost as compared
with one of large diameter and conse-
quent increased weight; on the other
hand, the friction losses or reduced
effective head at the water wheels is
much greater for a small pipe than for a
large one. Loss of head means loss of
energy and revenue. Since we must
have two losses, one interest on the in-
vestment, the other loss of revenue due
to pipe friction, the problem resolves
itself into a determination of the par-
ticular pipe which will make the sum of
these two losses a minimum.

It was proved diagramatically by Mr.
Arthur L. Adams and mathematically
by the writer and others (A. S. C. E.
Transactions, Dec, 1907) that a pres-
sure pipe line fulfills the conditions of
greatest economy wherein the value of
the energy annually lost in frictional
resistance equals four-tenths (0.4) of
the annual cost of the pipe line. The
mathematical proof of this statement is
given below (see Footnote No. 1).

It is desirable that the pipe fulfill the
foregoing conditions of economy when
operated under average normal plant
output. This is, of course, determined
by a knowledge of the variations in load
and quantity of water obtainable for the
plant. The design of a pipe is governed
largely by the profile as well as the
length of line and static head. For ex-
ample, referring to Fig. 1, profiles / and
// are identical in length and total head,
yet the economical diameter of / would
be less than that of //, although satisfy-
ing the same conditions; for while //
is nearly ideal, the greater length being
of thin metal uiuler low pressure, / has
a long stretch of heavy pipe under
almost static head.

Pipes I and //, if of the same length
and diameter, would necessarily give
the same losses, but as has just been
l)ointed out, /will have a much larger

Pacific Cas and Eleclric Magazine

first cost and consequent annual interest ultimate strength and an elastic limit of
charge. The diameter should, there- approximately 30.000 pounds is custom-
fore, be reduced at a saci'ifice of some arily used. Safety factors of four or
revenue in order to satisfy the condi- five are usual practice and the thickness
tions of economy as previously stated, of the steel plates for various pressures
We, therefore, have a definite ride gov- are determined accordingly. The longi-
erning the cost of a pipe line where the tudinal joints of f„ inch metal or less
static head and quantity of water are are double riveted, developing about 70
known. per cent of the strength of the plate.
Passing to the other details of riveted For a heavy plate, that is i inch or over,
steel pipe design it may lie generally a triple riveted, double welt .joint of
stated that'steel of nhout (id. (11)0 pounds al)out 85 per cent efficiency is used. Tlic

Footnote No. 1.

Taking two familiar equations as a basis, viz:

P =r: Qwh = power loss due to pipe friotiou

flV2

li = -; — p = heaa loss due to piiie friction
-g< I

where d ^ the diameter of tlie pipe; 1 = the length of the pii)e taken as unity; f = the

coeffieiency of friction (assumed constant) ; w — 62. .5 lbs., wt. of 1 cu. ft. of water; and

A^ = velocity in the pipe of a known quantity of water.

We have by combination,

QwflV-'

- 2gd

but Q = AV and A = -—

SQ«\vfl
therefore P= — ^., — ;.— , substituting- d in terms of V.

TT-gd'" "

; If e = unit value of energy per year

S(.2'Hvt'l

Pe = r,^- X e ^ L ^ annual loss in dollars of energy consumed

'^ in friction.

But as all terms in the second member are constant except d, we may write the equation

To obtain the annual interest cost of the pipe, the following assumptions were made:
t =: thickness of metal
ird =; circumference of pipe
m=: weight of metal per cubic indi
i =: annual interest cost of metal per pound
I =: annual interest cost of pipe
Therefore, I = Trdtmi, but, for any pressure, the thickness of the pipe varies as the
diameter, or, in the form of an equation, t = sd, where s is a constant depending upon
head and safe stress assumed. Eliminating t, we have I^Trd-msi, all terms in the second
member of the equation are constant except d; the equation, therefore, may be expressed
I = Nd^, N being a constant.

The problem is to find the conditions under which the sum of I and L or the total
yearly loss (T) expressed in dollars will be a minimum.

T = I + L =Xd^ + ^

The first derivation of T with respect to d gives us

dT 5K

dd=2Xd-^

if the second member equals zero, the total losses are a minimum;

therefore 2Nd = -^tt
d^

multiplying both sides by -ir- , Ave have -r- Nd" = — p- or in terms we rcadilv reeoffnize.

The conditions are therefore satisfied when the yearly value of the energy lost equals
-g- or 0.4 of the interest on the investment in pipe.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazim

4:J

transverse scams are chiefly desiii'iii'i I lu wjiudii 1 1'Jinsportatioii, as well as liaiid-

si'ciirc watertiuhtiiess. ,',; inch nict;il oi- liim in llic field, the sections are made

less havinu' single i-ivctcd jind \ incli of iiji of Iroin three to five courses i'rom

over double riveted j lints. twt-nt y-nnc Id twenty-seven feet lonj:'.

In tile shop tlie plates ai'e punched tc The laying- of the pipe is usually

templet, rolled and Ixiltcd up into sec- heiiun at the power house and carried

tions. The punelie(| lidles, which ai-e up the trench or tunnel. The distinct

alHnit i',; inrh less in iliaiiietei- than the operations of tlie field work are placing;

ccild rivet, are then rejniied iml sn that and holtioL;- up, i-eMuiing-. I'ix'cting,

alter asseiiii)linL;- t 111' hnles are elejin and eanlkioL:' and paintinL:'. After the sec-

t'aii' and almul /,; inch laru'cr than tlie tions are entered and bolted, the holes

rivet. The livel ill'.; is ddiii' with an li\- are reamed as shown in Fig. '1. The

i-aiilic riveting machine or pneumatic riveting gang then follows (Fig. 8), con-

liaiiimer, the .joints are then caulked and sisting of one rivet heater, one man in-

tlii' metal cTeaned of all rust and scale, side the pipe with a pneumatic "holder

The sections are then eitln-r dipjx'd in a im"" and two num. on lai'ge rivets, hand-

lint asphaltic compound or painted wit h linu- the pneumatic hammer. ("om-

ii pii>e prcsci'vat ive inside and (Mil lie- pressed air at from sixty to eiglity

i'oi-e shipment, l""iir cniiveiiience in i)ountls prcssni'c is used for all luirposes

Kig. 2, R»'nniiiig.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Fig. 3. Rireting

and u.stially supplied by a small pipe
paralleling the trench. Following the
riveting gang, one man (Fig. 4) caulks
all the field seams as well as the shop
joints, which may have opened np dur-
ing transj)ortation. After caulking, the
pipe is given a second coat of paint
inside and ont, or if dipped, the pipe is

gone over, touching up the spots which
may have been bared in handling or
transportation.

After a pipe is installed and in opera-
tion, the question sometimes arises as to
the maximum amount of power a pipe
will deliver. For instance, under con-
ditions where a large ciuantit^' of water

Vvz. 4. Caulking.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

is availahk' tluriny seasons of liigli run-
off or where one of two or more pipe
lines supplying' a power house is being
repaired, it may be desirable to get the
maximum output from the pipe lines in
use for a short period of time.

This question is also capable of simple
mathematical proof (see Footnote No.
2) and it may be stated that a pipe line
is delivering the greatest amount of
])ower when the loss in head due to
fi'ictional resistance efpials one-third of
the total static head or the effective
head is two-thirds of the static. This
fact was recently born out at a test
made at the de Sabla power house
wherein one 5000 K. W. unit and two
2000 K. W. units were sinuiltaneously
drawing on pipe line No. 1. This pipe
is 6080 feet long, 30 inches in diameter
and under a total static head of 1530
feet. The three nozzles were opened
gradually to full opening and gauge
and Avatt meter readings were carefully
noted up to a full load of 7715 K. W.

At maxinnim output tlicrc was a total
loss in head of 48-4 feet, or nearly one-
third of the static head. This loss could
not be further increased because the
three nozzles were wide open, so that
it was not possible to carry the test
beyond the critical point where an ad-
ditional discharge from the nozzles
upon the wheels could give a drop in
the watt meter readings. It is noted,
however, tliat the output of 7715 K. W.
was obtained before the nozzles were
fully opened, showing that in all proba-
l)ility the critical point had at least been
reached. The water wheels, however,
are designed for a definite condition
and there is therefore a drop in effici-
ency when the spouting velocity is de-
creased. The station or plant output,
therefore, reaches a maximum before
the point of greatest pipe line delivery
is obtained, that is, under conditions of
an increasing stream discharge.

Reverting to profiles / and // (Fig.
1), it may be at once stated that / is

Footnote No. 2.

That a pipe- line is delivering its greatest output wlien tlie friction loss is equal to
ciiie-third of the total static head is proved herewith. In addition to the skin fricion loss,
tlitre are entrance, exit, angle and other losses, all of which are usually small in a properlj'
designed pipe line; to avoid complications, therefore, only the first mentioned will be used

V-'
in this deduction, though all losses could be expressed in terms of ^^

Using the well-known formulae:

P = Qw (H — li,) ^ power output

h, = -:i — i =^ head loss in skin friction
2gd

Q=:AV

where A =: cross-sectional area of pipe

V =: velocity of flow

Q= quantity discharged in second feet.

We have by substitution

^'> = 2^dA5 0'-^i=l iV

')'

Since g, d, A, f and 1 are constant for a given pipe, we may write Q = C'li, -

Therefore P = Cwh,2 ii_(<„.)|
differentiating with respect to h,

dh,
P is, therefore, a maximum when the riglit member equals zero or
1 , , , — A

iCwh, -11— ^Cwli,-
when

Mnltiplviug linth sii

■.•,C\\

have

-^11 = 1.,
The conditions of maximum mitpul ixist, 1li(r(fiire, «li
tliat the eflfcetive head is % of the sialic oi- lolnl head.

iw ill 1 lie I'ipe is such

Pacific Cos and Electric Magazine

capable of iiiiixiinuin pipe line output
while // i.s uot, for the reason that with
a friction loss amounting to one-third
of the static head, the hydraulic grad-
ient falls below the profile at the upper
end of // and would endanger or col-
lapse the pipe. In / every part of the
line is at all times under considerable
pressure. We could safely crowd the

de Sabla or Electra lines to their great-
est capacity, while with the Deer Creels
line it would be hazardous to allow the
hydraulic grade to approach the line.

The foregoing covers a few of the in-
teresting phases of pipe line construc-
tion and operation and is intended to
include only the mo.st imi)ortant ques-
tions which may arise.

The Service Connection Charge

By GEORGE B. FURNISS

Oakland District

THE charge for connecting the con-
sumer's premises with the Com-
pany's gas or electric main is one
that occasionally meets with opposition.
The applicant for service says that he
cannot use either commodity unless it
is brought to him; he is willing to pay
for what he uses but not for the Com-
pany's plant.

There are two ways of selling goods :
f. 0. b. at factory, or the place of stor-
age, or f. 0. b. destination. Where the
purchaser pays for the delivery of gas,
or electricity, that is the conveyance,
connections, then the price rate is based
f. o. b. at the main (mea.sured on the
consumer's premises for convenience).
The pipe or wire connecting the prem-
ises becomes a fixture to the property. It
is of no value to the Company excepting
upon there being a consumer on the
premises, and then it becomes as much
a part of the premises as the piping or
Aviriftg within the house.

Should the Company assume this con-
nection expense, then by caring for this
in its operating costs, or plant acco;int,
every consixmer would have to pay his
pro rata of this in the commoditj' rate,
rates being based on the costs of opera-
tion and interest on capital invested.
By the consumer paying outright for his
service connection, the direct expense
Avhich he occasions by taking service,
then this expense does not become a con-

tinuous tax on all the con.sumers, as
would be the case if the commodity rate
had to provide for this outlay.

The question of delivery is becoming
a serious one in all lines of business.
p]astern factories were the first to quote
prices subject to purchaser jjaying
freight. Then lumber yards quoted
prices at the yard, adding "cartage"
for delivery. This has become a general
practice among wholesale houses. Groc-
ery "package"' stores followed with
"cut" prices because purchaser took
his goods at the .store ; no wagon de-
livery. Furniture nouses advertise
"specials" on small articles because
"none delivered." Ice cream concerns
advertise bricks "50c at the store; 85c
delivered," and so on.

For years dry goods houses main-
tained extensive wagon delivery service.
We now find these concerns transferr-
ing their deliveries to package express
companies. In other words, for every
package delivered, there is an express
charge paid, so that the firm either
stands so much loss on each delivery, oi-
an undue profit on the purchaser who
carries the package home.

The logical conclu.sion is that where
delivery costs cau be economically sep-
arated from the commodity cost, that
same should be done so as to give the
purchaser a net price free from the pro
rata of an expensive delivery mainten-
ance cost.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

A Few Words About Accuracy of Measurement

By OTTO A. KNOPP
Oakland District

IX EVERY walk of life we coine in
touch with the question of accuracy.
If we purchase a piece of property the
accuracy of the location is questioned ; if
the woman bargains with the grocer the
accuracy of his scale is doubted. The
gas consumer says, "I did not burn
1000 feet," or the consumer of elec-
tricity claims to have burnt only half as
much light as in the previous months,
and his meter showed twice as much as
usually. The policeman claims the auto-
mobile was running at the rate of fifty
miles an hour, but the chauffeur em-
phatically denies having exceeded the
eighteen miles an hour speed limit. Your
friend asks you to wait a second, and
returns after half an hour without ex-
cuse. In all these cases the question
arises : How accurate was the measure-
ment, and how accurate can we measure
under ditferent circumstances; and
wlien shall we call a measurement cor-
rect? The last question should be
answered with : Never — as no human
meastirement is correct, but is only ap-
proaching correctness within certain
limits; and here we come to the other
question : Hoav accurate can we measure
under different circumstances?"

The most accui-ate results in measur-
ing are obtained with the balance and
pendulum clock. The most accurate
balance in the possession of the French
Bureau of Weights and INIeasures is able
to detect a difference in weight of less
than one part in a hundred million. The
scale is so accurate, as stated by authori-
ties, that it will indicate a difference, if
two counter weights, balancing another
weight, are placed side by side or on top
of each other, because the weight which
is on top of the other is farther away
From the center of the earth than the
otlier. Therefore the sum of both is
liulitcT- than if placed side by side. The
best jiendulum clock can be relied upon
to one-half of a second in one month,
or less than one part in five millions.

Through astronomic measurement we
;ifi' in the position to determine the time
of one ilav id ;in accurac" of 1/300 of

one second or one part in twenty-five
millions.

Through optical measurement we are
able to determine the length of one
meter within less than one part in ten
million. All these extreme accuracies
are obtained under the most favorable
circumstances with the most delicate
instruments and the most ingenious
methods human skill can produce.

In practical or commercial measure-
ment all circumstances affecting the ac-
curacy are not always known. Instru-
ments have to be rugged and simple;
methods have to be ciuick and sure. All
this tends to introduce a certain degree
of uncertainty, and lowers the accuracy
of the measurement. When we speak
of 1000 cubic feet, Ave seldom mention
the pressure of the gas nor the heights
above sea level at Avhich Ave supply the
gas. One thousand cubic feet at the
meter will be some 1030 or 1040 at the
burner Avhen the gas escapes into the
air. The same 1000 feet Avill be no more
than 300 to 400 feet in the high pressure
main of the supply system. But this is
not the worst uncertainty. One un-
satisfied customer claiming he did not
get 1000 feet of gas, put the accent on
gas, and here Ave are up against it Avith
our measurement, as the meter, says the
customer, measured the air in the gas,
too.

Similar trouble we experience Avhen
Ave supply electric lighting current. A
customer claims he got half the light,
but the meter shoAved tAvice as much.
The meter is found correct, and the ciis-
tomer's statement, too. after we alloAved
duly for exaggeration.

The commercial measurement of the
products of a Inisiness firm is in most
cases an easy matter, as our methods of
measuring are in most cases far in ad-
vance of practical requirements, but in
case of gas and electric companies the
difficulty is, as above mentioned, great.
We have no nutter yet to measure the
heat units of a certain amount of gas
supplied, and have.no meter Avhich Avill
measure the ejcclric candle poAver hours.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Load Dispatching System of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company

Bi, P. M. DOWNING

Engineer of Operation and Maintenance

IN THE operation of an electrical sys-
tem the objects tlrst to be considered

are continnity of service and regaila-
tion of voltage. With a system having
but few sources of supply, and these
located near together, the problem is a
comparatively simple one, but as the
number of generating stations is in-
creased, and lines are added until they
form a network extending for hundreds
•of miles, the problem becomes more
■complicated.

The system of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company is unique in that it
has a greater mileage of high voltage
lines receiving power from a larger
nimd;)er of sources than any other sys-
tem in the world.

Not only do the ten hydro-electric
power houses of this company, aggre-
gating an installed capacity of approxi-
mately 67,000 kilowatts, all run in par-
allel, but they are connected in with
and receive power from the Northern
California Power Company, the Great
Western Power Company, the Stanis-
laus Power Company, the Snow Moun-
tain Water and Power Company, the
steam stations at Oakland, San Jose,
San Francisco, and the gas engine
station at Martin.

On first thought it would seem that
the regulation and handling of load
iinder these conditions would be a diffi-
cult matter. On the contrary, it is very
simple. The present method of opera-
tion has been a gradual development.
It was early found that in order to
operate successfully under these con-
ditions, two things were essential:

First. That so far as handling the
load and regidation of voltage was con-
cerned, there should be but one person
in authority.

Second. Tliat there should be a per-
fect telephone service between the prin-
cipal power houses and the important
switching stations.

The Bay Counties Power Company
was the nucleus of the present system,
ami for several years Colgate was con-
sidered the master i)lant. From this
point was handled not only the speed
and voltage regulation, but also the line
switching of the entire system. This
arrangement continued in effect until the
extension of lines brought the import-
ant center of switching near JJavis, and
for a time the operators at that place,
acting with Colgate, handled the work
which had formerly been controlled en-
tirely from Colgate.

With the taking over of the Standard
Electric Company and the operation of
that system in parallel with the Bay
Counties, it became necessary to control
the two systems from some point, so far
as possible common to the two. By
virtue of its location, South Tower was
selected as being the most suitable
place, and from that point the load dis-
patching was handled until about a
year and a half ago, when it was found
advisable to relieve the' regular station
operators of this responsibility, and to
create the position of load dispatcher.
Thus has the load dispatcher's office
come to be the center of the operation
of the entire system, from which every
power house, switching station, etc.,
receives orders.

On the load dispatcher rests the re-
sponsibility of keeping the voltage nor-
mal and seeing that the fluctuations of
load are projjerly taken care of among
the different power houses. To do this
requires not only a thorough knowledge
of the power house conditions, but a
knowledge of the character of the load
on the system throughout the day, as
this has a decided effect on the regula-
tion of the lines.

A superintendent cannot take out of
service a power hoiise, transmission
line, or anv other part of the system
which wou.^' 'ft'ect the operation of the

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

4i)

whole, wit lioiit first receiving' authowty
f(i do so from the load dispatcher's
office. However, the division of load
and regulation of voltage is by no
means the most important part of the
load dispatcher's duties; that of re-
establisliing- service after an interrup-
tion, without unnecessary delay, is a far
more difficult problem, and very often
calls for quicker and more decisive ac-
tion. Operatino' as we do with every-
tliing running in together on a common
network consisting, of approximately
sixteen hundred miles of sixty kilo volt
lines, trouble on any line will affect the
entire system. Then it is that the load
dispatcher is busiest. The trouble must
be located and the particular section of
line on which the trouble occurs must
be cut out. The different generating
stations may be thrown out of synchron-
ism, or the trouble may even be so
severe that the different machines in
the power house may be thrown out of
synchronism. If the trouble is far
enough removed from the station, the
generators will not be thrown out, and
the interruption is therefore only mo-
mentary; nor is trouble on one part of
the system ahvays noticed over the en-
tire system. This is taken care of by
the s.vstem of switching in use, whereby
immediately when trouble occiirs the
different power houses are separated,
leaving one or more running together
with such lines and load as they can
conveniently carry.

An experienced operator can, from
the sound of a transformer, motor, or
regulator, at once tell when trouble
occurs. If the station be a switching
jioint, he should be able to handle the
switching quickly enough for the
troul)le to show only as a slight mo-
mentary drop in voltage on the un-
affected section of line. This condition
is ]iossible by reason of the inductance
and capacity of the line and would not
obtain on shorter lines of higher con-
ductivity.

Innueiliately after the operation of
;iny high tension switch, either on a
direct order from the load dispatcher's
office, or during trouble Avhen the regu-
lar routine tests are being made, such
art ion is immediately reported to the
dispatchei-. Tn this office is located a

board showing diagramatically every
generating station, transmission line, sub
or switching station, also every switch
in any of these difl'erent stations or on
the lines. Stations and lines are repre-
sented by being painted on the board,
but the switches are represented by
dummies which can be ad.justed to show
the switch open or closed. The par-
ticular kind of switch, i. e., whether oil
or air, is shown by the shape of the
dummy; the oil switches being circular
and the air rectangular.

The advantages of a board of this
kind will be appreciated when one con-
siders that there are in service on the
entire system, approximately one hun-
dred and tw^enty-five oil and three hun-
dred and fifty air switclies, the position
of every one of which nuist be known
by the load dispatcher.

When an order is given to operate a
switch no change is made on the board
until the operator to whom the order is
given reports that the order has been
carried out, when the dummy switch is
set accordingly. In this way a load dis-
patcher coming on watch can tell at a
glance what lines are out of service and
what switches are open or closed.

Thus will be seen the importance and
necessit.y of reliable telephone com-
munication, particularly betw^een the
dispatcher's office and the principal
switching points.

Telephone circuits are run on all higli
voltage transmission lines and ordin-
arily these give very satisfactory serv-
ice. Very often, however, they are of
high resistance and not suitable for use
over long distances on account of in-
ductive troubles from the high voltage
wires, wdiich during times of trouble on
the transmission are great enough to
make the telephone entirely inopera-
tive. They are, therefore, used only
for the local seiwice on that particular
section of line, the more important busi-
ness being carried over a line leased
from the Pacific Telephone and Tele-
graph Compan.N'.

The leased line extends from the gen-
eral office in Han Francisco to the load
dis|iatcher's office in Oakland, thence
to South Tower, Stockton, Sacramento,
^larysville and Cliieo. Prom Oakland
a bi'anch runs to .M ission San Jose where

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

connection is made to a leased line of and shown in the form of a daily service

the Stanislaus Company. Branches run report which readies the general office

from South Tower to North Tower, by 8 :30 each morning,

from Stockton to Electra and from Sac- In addition to showing the load cini-

ramento to Davis. At Marysville our ditions, this service report gives the

own private line from Colgate connects time and duration of interruptions to

to the leased line and at Chieo connec- service at any sub-station, weather con-

tiou can be made to the private line ditions, rain or snowfall, depth of snow

from de Sabla and Centerville. at different gauging stations, depth of

In the dispatcher's office is kept a water in storage reservoirs, amount

careful record of the energy delivered flowing in ditches or over diverting

from the different generating stations, dams, and such other information as

and daily load curves are plotted show- may be of interest and importance,

ing (a) the load generated at our own This very important work is in the

water power plants; (b) the load gener- hands of three dispatchers, a dispatcher

ated at our own steam plants; (c) the being on duty at all times. Mr. Fred

power purchased, and (d) total load on R. George is Chief Dispatcher, and to

system. him has fallen much of the develop-

This information is completed he- ment of the dispatching sy.stem. He is

tween midnight and 8 a. m. for the assisted by ^Messrs. C. P. Pierce and "W.

twenty-four hours ending at midnight. D. Skiner, as Assistant Dispatchers.

The New Stenographer

IIIAVK a new steii(iyra|ilirr — she came to work to-day,
8he told 1110 that she wrote the latest system.

Two liiindred words a minute seemed to her, she said, like play.

And word for word at that — she never missed 'em!
I gave her some dictation — a letter to a man.

And this, as I remember it, was how the letter ran: •

"Dear Sir: I have your favor, and in reply would state

That I accept your offer in yours of recent date.
I wish to say, however, that under no condition

Can I afford to think of your free lance proposition.
I shall begin to-morrow to turn the matter out;

The copy will be read}' by August 10th about.
Material of this nature should not be rushed unduly,

Thanking you for your favor, I am yours, very truly. ' '
She took it down in shorthand, with apparent ease and grace;

She didn "t call me back all in a flurry.
Thought I, "At last I have a girl worth keeping 'round the place;"

Then said, ' ' Now write it out — you needn 't hurry. ' '
The typewriter she tackled — now and then she struck a key,

And after thirty minutes this is what she handed me:
"Dear Sir, I have the Peever, and in a Pile I Sit

And I except the Offer as you Have reasoned it,
I wish to see however That under any condition

can I for to Think of a free lunch Preposishun?
I shall be in to-morrow To., turn the mother out.

The cap will be red and Will cost 10, about.
Material of this nation should not rust N. Dooley,

Thinking you have the Peever, I am. Yours very truely. "

— Granite Cutters ' Journal.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Cumulative Dividend Claims of Preferred Stock
to be Liquidated

COMMON STOCK REISSUED
Last Step in Financial Work of Rehabilitation is Now Accomplished

THE last step in the financial opera-
tions extendiny over three years,
by which the Pacific (ias and Elec-
tric Company has re-established its posi-
tion snbseqnent to the disaster of 19U6,
was taken Jnne 22nd.

At a meetin<>- of the directors of the
company an arrangement was perfected
whereby tlie claims of the preferred
stockholders for cnmnlative dividends
will be liquidated by a reissue of com-
mon stock, now held in the treasury of
the company. One full paid share of
common stock is to be given on each
two shares of preferred stock, in con-
sideration of a release by the holders
of the latter of their rights to the 6
per cent cunuilative preferential divi-
dends unpaid from April 1, 1906, to
August 1, 1909.

LAST OBLUiATIOX WIPED OUT.

Tliis wipes out the last obligation
against the company

and places it in
to be a dividend-

what is clannec
paying position.

The last dividend on the preferred
stock was j)aid a few days before the
fire. Thereafter an assessment of $10
a share was levied on both the pre-
fei-red and common stock. That on the
foi-mer was paid in full, while the
entire issue of $20,000,000 of common
stock was turned l)ack into the treasury
by its holders. Since .$15,000,000 of
this was afterward reissued by the com-
l)any in the process of its its work of
relialjilitation.

In the meantime no dividends were
paid on the preferred stock. As these
dividends were cumulative, the claims
of the holders of the preferred stock had
aggregated a total sum of $2,000,000, or
$20 a share, up to August 1st.

RKissur: roMxiox .stock.

'i'o meet this claim, the directi)rs of
the comj)any decided to reissue the com-
mon stock in the treasurv, turning it

over to the owners of the preferred on
a basis of one share of common for each
two shares of preferred held by them.
As the cumulative dividend claims on
the preferred are $20 a share, this trans-
action is on the basis of a valuation of
$10 a share for the common stock. It
was recentlv ([uoted in the market at
$14.

The result is that the company now
has a clean financial slate, ancl it is
presumed that it will be in a position
to resume its dividends of llg per cent
quarterly on the preferred, beginning
from August 1st, to which date the divi-
dend claims on this stock will have been
liqiudated.

It is reported at the offices of the
company that this oflt'er has already
been accepted by the holders of more
than 72 per cent of its preferred stock.
It is also stated that those who accept
the offer will be required to present
their certificates to the secretary Avho
will note on them the fact that the
release from the accrued divideiul obli-
gation has been executed.

LAST STEP COMPLETED.

"This is the last step in the financing
of the company since the fire." Cyrus
Pierce said. Outlining the dift'erent
transactions in the refunding bonds and
the turning back of the conniion stock
into the treasury he said: "The com-
pany is now one of the strongest con-
cerns on the Coast. It is controlled by
local capitalists, and San Francisco
should take a pride in the fact that it
re-establishes itself in a secure financial
position."

There are 100,000 shares of the pre-
ferred stock of the company, and the
present transaction involves tlie re-
issue of 50,000 shares of the couniion
stock, the jiai- value of wliicii is
$5,000,000 and the present market value
$2,200,000.

— S. !•'. ('lii-(ini<-lc,.Iiiiic :!il, lilll!).

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

WHAT'S IN A GAS PIPE?

By W. R. MORGAN. Gas Departmem

What's in a gas pipe? The answer
seems a simple proposition. Experience
proves, however, that almost anything
in the universe may be found in a gas
main, as well as gas.

Regarding the normal contents of a
gas main, opinions differ according to
the point of view from which the sub-
ject is considered. The scintillating in-
tellects employed in supplying informa-
tion through the medium of the daily
new^spapers would have us believe that
"the mains are filled with air, and a
substance that would make good roof
paint, but which cannot be extracted
even with a corkscrew" (an all-power-
ful in.strument in the estimation of a
reporter).

To the complaining, gas consuming
public, the mains exhale a mysterious,
awe-inspiring vapor, more effective as
a motive power in the meter, than as
a heat producer in the gas stove.

To the weather beaten veterans, who
have spent their lives laying 526 miles
of pipe throiighout San Francisco
streets, these mains contain at one and
the same instant, a docile servant, a
stern master, and a treacherous enemy.
The scientifically trained gas engin-
eer draws recklessly upon the alphabet,
and states that the mains are filled with
N.. CIL, COs C.H., 0=, CO, and H>,
which to him spells GAS ; a mixtiire of
hydrocarbons ; a thing of heat units,
candle-power, and specific gravity; the
r-esult of 117 years of untiring research
and inventive effort on the part of mas-
ter minds in the fields of chemistry and
mechanical engineering ; it means light,
heat and power, and satisfies three of
the vital re(juirements of civilization ;
it lights our streets, warms our houses,
cooks our food, saves oiir time, pre-
serves our tempers, and prolongs our
lives inasmuch as by its use, tlie avail-
able length of each day is increased by
half. It is the life-blood of the com-
pany and together with its complement,
Electricity, has called into being an
organization that is one of the most in-
spiring exam])les of magnificent team-
work to Ije found in tlie mod(>rn in-
dustrial world.

"OVERHEARD ON THE FERRY
BOAT."

By J. D. BUTLER. Auditor

(Time: Early morning — arrival of
cars at ferry boat.)

New Resident, noting the mad rusli
of some of the passengers from cars to
the boat, inquires of Old Resident :
" Why are some of the passengers
hurrying on to the boat with such un-
usual speed?"

Old Resident : In a linrrv for l)reak-
fast.

New Resident : That is strange, why
do they not get breakfast at home ?

Old Resident : The reason why they
do not get breakfast at home is that
they are pressed for time.

New Resident : That is strange, why
do they not take time?

Old Resident : It is simply this way —
the one who prepares the breakfast
tries to make a fire in the coal stove,
but it takes so long to start the fire and
to cook a meal that valuable .sleeping-
time is wasted and the first instructions
that are called out to the one preparing
to start for San Francisco are, "I will
not have time to get your l)reakfast.
you M'ill have to get it on the boat."
After a time it is considered final. Now.
if these misguided individuals would
use gas as fuel in {M'eparing breakfast
as I do, same would lie ready for tlieni
in a short time.

New Resident : That is a fine idea. I
will adopt it at once. We were up this
a. m. a full hour and I just about made
the train. When I start using gas as
you do I will then commence to enjoy
sulmrban life.

Old Resident: I see you are modern.
It would be a good idea to tack up a
sign at each station, "Cook with gas
and enjoy your breakfast at home";
or have a "spieler" with a megaphone
call out on arrival of cars at the boat,
"Cook Avith gas and save time and eat
lircakfast at home."

KNOWLEDGE

When you know a thing, to hold that
you know it ; and when you do not know
a tiling, to allow that you do not know
it ; this is knowledge. — Confucius.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

"Men Must Work"

By FRANCES STEVENSON DOWNING

IX THE magazines devoted to electri-
cal cnoineering- we read of the latest

inventions along the engineering
line, the newest and most efficient type
(if generator and transformer, "the why
our scheme failed," or "had such and
such concrete been used" — all of which
to the engineer is interesting and profit-
al)h3 reading.

Stacked on the library table in the
liome of an engineer I know, and con-
spicuous in their green and yellow cov-
I'l'ings, the engineering magazines have
a prominent place. The files of A. I. E. E.
are complete, and a glance at book-
cases shows Alternating Currents,
Dynamo Electric Machinery, Lead Stor-
age Batteries, etc., and last, though it
should have been mentioned first. Conic
Sections — Calculus, etc. Isn't this a
forbidding list for a family library?

It is laughable, the alacrity and zeal
with which I have learned to grasp one
of the weekly contributions. For after
years of association it has become a part
of the operation — and I know a part of
the maintenance of the home.

Situated as the plants are, away from
the disturbing elements of city life, the
Ixiys perform their duties with great
|)recision, and their leisure time is spent
in healthful exercise. After a snappy
game of ball, they enjoy the magazines

with their up-to-date bits of fiction, or
the engineering magazines provided by
the corporation. This is money well
invested, for to get the best results from
these boys their minds must be filled
with something other than the routine
of their work. For what machine can
be run without oil? And the cooling
process must be used on tired minds.

After an accident to a machine at
one of the largest plants, I was talking
to one of the operators of his narrow
escape. "Well," he said with a smile,
"some one had to do it and it was up
to me to throw the switch." So you see
there are heroes hidden deep in the can-
yon that the city office seldom hears of.

I have listened to the arguments of
engineers — theoretical and practical. I
have lived and loved the life of an
operator's wife — and have known the
details of the division superintendent's
office, and am now watching with in-
terest the details of operation and main-
tenance of one of the greatest power
systems of the world. Through these
periods of evolution I have tried to co-
operate and have always given a cheery
good-bye to an engineer I know when I
am left alone with a leased line and
A. C. volt meter for companions, all of
which teaches me that

"Men nuist work."

-<^o<:>-

Old Nag and His Works

By F. E. CRONISE
Comptroller's Department

TIIH thief who makes a restoration is
l)argaining with his conscience —
he has more to restore if he would.
This is the idea of a well-known. (|uick-
pai-agraph man. Lately this oflicc lias
liMil a case in point.

Out iu (ho ]\lission ther(> is a 1\vo-
story iuiusc covering a small lot atid
coutaiuing many ;ii)artmenls. the rooms

can hardly be called rooms, and the nar-
row lialls are dark even in the morning.
A clerk from the Gas Company was ad-
mitted there one evening by a hospit-
able small boy, who ran shouting,
"Papa, papa, there's a man who wants
to see you" A red-whiskered, middle-
aged German, shrewd enough in looks
aiul businesslike, came (|uicldy iVoiii Ihe

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

kitflicn. iiiul led tlic visitdi- into a siiiall.
clean bedroom, Avith one little window
opening' into the back yard, and care-
fully closed the door. "I've come to
ask for particulars about the refund
you left for the Pacific Gas and P^lectrie
Company tlie other day," said the clerk,
"the incident is somewhat unusual, and
it would be interesting to know what
the amount covers."

With the fluency and earnestness of a
professional exhorter came the reply :
"I was employed by your Com{)any
and was discharged. On leaving I took
several paint brushes that did not be-
long to me. As a counter claim, I might
rely on the fact that the Company re-
tains several brushes which really be-
long to me, but no — I will not clo so,
that sin rests entirely with the Com-
pany, and is its own lookout — that
wrong does not decrease my sin, for
which I now pay."

"Was that all?" asked the questioner.
The returned sum was over generous.

"Well, during my employment, I re-
ceived from the foreman scraps of iron,
window glass, pieces of lumber, all of
which would i)rol)al)ly have gone into
the ash-barrel."

"And was that all?" insisted the
((uestioner, with a half-remendiered
ifuotation from the well-known para-
graph man in his thoughts.

"No," hesitatingly, his smoothness of
oratory and English deserting liim.
"Out with it."
"I — drunked some alcohol."
"How much?"

"T cannot tell the quantity, but I be-
lieve not more than — a gallon. It hap-
pened in 1905, I was a most fearful sin-
ner, the devil was in complete control
of my body. But I have since repented
and believe that, if I am to hope for
arrayment like the sun. moon, and stars,
I must atone, and pay for all I have
taken. I feel now that I am entitled to
the order of the moon. The millennium
will soon come, a thousand years, dur-
ing which we are to be ourselves, with
no influence either of God or Old Nag
(the devil), and thus may be judged
justly."

Not being up on the different brands
of religion, the Gas Company's repre-
sentative began to feel very inadequate.

and sought the door-handle. The rc-
funder's calm manner was changing t(j
the wild and fervid.

"Before you go," he demanded, "tell
me. what would you cbj if you had failetl
to pay your pf)ll-tax back in 1S93?"

'J he Com{)any"s agent only blushed,
guiltily.

Continuing the repentant said, "I
lived in Illinois for six months; then,
just before the poll-tax was collected. I
movetl into another State, where I was
not asked to pay. Now, where would
you send the money?"

The visitor insisted on escaping.

The next morning, however, he re-
turned, carrying with him the con-
science money. He handed it to the
wife, a forlorn looking woman, who had
her story too. brief, but, like her hus-
band's, full of torture and conflict.
"He would give all of the good money
he earns away, he would send every
cent here and there to make up for
things." As the messenger was turning
from the door, the oldest child, a girl of
thirteen, opened her mother's hand and
murmured, "FIFTEEN DOLLARS!"
and the two boys, six and five years old.
insisting on a sight.

Religious text-books are published at
a rate of seventeen cents per volume,
there are five hundred in the set, better
printed than one Would expct. and
bound in cloth. They come from Penn-
sylvania, but bear no label of author or
compiler, so that investigation would be
required to show whether so much
active and inconvenient atonement
comes from enthiisiasts of one of the old
Dutch sects or some publishing house
that can make money by putting out
books at any old rate to influence re-
pentant sinners.

NOT FOR HIM

"Sir," said the youth, as he entered
the private office of the busy merchant.
"I am looking for a situation."

"Nothing doing, young man," replied
the b. m. "Had you wanted a job I
might have been able to do something
for you. but I have too man.y people
on the ])ay roll now who occupy sit — •
nations."

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Steps in the Moving of a ] 0,000 Barrel Oil Tank
from San Francisco to Sacramento

By W. B. BARRY
Gas Department

THE necessity for a larger oil storage
tank in the Gas Department at
Sacramento became apparent a
few months since, and it was decided to
take a 10.000 barrel tank from the North
Beach Works, place it bodily upon a
l)arge and transport it to Sacramento.

The tank is 56 feet in diameter by 25
feet high, weighs about 51 tons, and was
in a hole 13 feet deep with a brick wall
around it. reaching from the bottom of
the hole to a height of 1'] feet above the
grountl.

The contractor chosen to do the
handling was one who had had previous
experience in moving a much larger
tank about a year ago, when a 30,000
baiTcl tank was moved from the Pacific
Gas Improvement Company's Works in
San Francisco to the works of the Oak-
land Gas, Light and Heat Company in
Oakland.

Tlu? wall was first leveled on one side.
As soon as this was finished, jacks were
inserted under the edge of the bottom
flange and the tank lifted clear of the
foundation. Small timbers and ordin-
ary housemover's blocks and jacks were
then placed underneath, and it was by

these means raised to a level with llie
ground.

As soon as a proper height was
reached, the clearance being then such
that the use of larger timbers was pos-
sible, these were placed underneath
with rollers between them, and the tank
began its first land journey, a horse and
windlass being used for motive power.

In preparation for loading, the barge
was tied as close as possible to the
shore, long timbers placed between the
shore and the barge and the tank rolled
aboard, an operation which required
but twenty-five minutes.

The barge was one used for carrj-ing
grain on the river, and though it was of
ample length, the tank was over the
water on either side about five feet.

Sacramento is over 125 miles from
San Francisco by water, but the trip
was made without incident in tow of
the river steamer San Joaquin No. 4,
Captain Lowry, and in a convoy, and
the barge with its load was finally tied
at the liank of the river near the gas
works of tlie Sacramento Electric, Gas
and Railway Company, ready to be un-
loaded.

-<:^0'Ci--

Irrigation Notes

Several thousand carloads of South
Yuba Company's Avater finds its way to
Chicago, New York and other Eastern
cities yearlj^, and is there sold at a very
high price per pound. (Drupaceous
fruits are not sokl by the miner's inch.)

The South Yuba Company is expend-
ing this year about $100,000 on better-
ments in tlie Auburn Irrigation Division.
Four regulating reservoirs are being
constructed and one large storage reser-
voir (Lake Valley) is to have its ca-
pacity increased nearly 50 per cent.
Canals are being enlarged and new pipe
lines are being installed.

The fruit growers in the vicinity of
Auburn. Newcastle, Peuryn, Rocklyn
and Loomis are already taldng advant-
age of the expansion of the Company
and are almost daily applying for ad-
ditional water for land which is being
oi)ened up.

It is interesting to note that of all the
water stored in the South Yuba Com-
pany's reservoirs such as Ford.yce, Lake
Van Norden, Spaulding, Meadow, Ster-
ling, Rucker, Feeley and others, the
proportion diverted to the Auburn
Division has increased from one-third
to one-half in the past ten years.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Concerning Municipal Ownership

WEIGHING THE BURDEN

(Editorial in tlie Deti'oit Frvi' l*rcss.)

There are two ways of showins' suc-
cess or failure of municipal ownership
in Eno'land, the country now most fre-
quently chosen as an example for Amer-
ican communities to follow.

One of the Avays is to select some
isolated venture and from its reports to
cull such facts as will seem to bear out
the claim that the municipally con-
trolled enterprise is proving highly suc-
cessful. This is the method commonly
adopted by the zealous advocates of
municipal socialism on this side of the
Atlantic. Such facts as go to prove that
"municipal trading," to use the En-
glish term, is a miserable failure can be
easily suppressed, and the difficulty in
securing promptly at this distance the
official report thus garbled sometimes
saves the advocate from immediate
exposure.

Another way of getting at the truth
of the case is by referring to unbiased
government reports or to standard au-
thorities. The figures found in these
volumes are compiled without regard
to controversy. They are reliable and
deductions from them can be trusted.

One such volume is the "Statesman's
Year Book," which for forty-five years
has been carefully revised from official
returns and is accepted as authoritative
upon the matters of which it treats.
There is a flood of light to be found in
its pages by the reader who will com-
])are its statistics in the latest volume
with those contained in the publication
of former years.

One of the most obvious objections to
municipal ownership is that it tends to
increase at a tremendous rate the bur-
den of taxation and the indebtedness
of local communities. What has the
Year Book to show on this point?

Under the head of Local Taxation,
the Year Books for 1895 and 1908 re-

spectively, have the following para-
graphs :

The total amount raised for local ex-
penditure was as follows (in England
and Wales) :

1891-92 £ 6.3.328.895

1904-05 143.59-1.317

Here is an increase of more than 100
per cent in the total amount of money
raised and spent by English municipali-
ties within fifteen years. It means that
the taxes of rich and poor have been
more than doubled. This nuist largely
l)e due to municipal ownership in En-
gland, for it is within that period that
the country has entered upon its vast
plans of public ownership.

The Year Book for 1895 does not give
the debt of local communities, and it is
necessary to go to the volume for 1903
to find data on that point. What has
been the growth of these liabilities as a
conse(|uence of acquiring and operating
public utilities in England during the
last five years? The figures are fairly
staggering. They follow:

At the end of the financial year 1899-
1900 the outstanding lix?al debt of En-
gland and AYales amounted to £293,-
1364,224.

At the end of the financial vear 1904-
1905, it was £466.459,269.

The debts of the municipalities in-
creased 60 per cent, the taxation in-
creased 125 per cent! Could there be a
more telling proof of the frightful cost
of municipal socialism than is given in
these official figures?

A comprehensive policy of municipal
owership involves, even under the most
favorable view of it, a tremendous bur-
den. It is not a policy into which a city
should be plunged light-heartedly with-
out consideration.

When a city is staggering under such
a tremendous Imrden. a brief interval of
general financial disturbance, a few
seasons of bad management, a year or
two of the reign of graft, and municipal
bankruptcy follows.

..gi ^1 J — -

Pacific Gas and Eleclric Magazine

AS USUAL

Ucciiiisr lit' tlic ovcrsi.u'hl of its city
ofliecTs, in failinu' to provide lor tlie
item of depreciation, in their manage-
ment of the municipal li<ihting plant,
Lowell, Mich., is forced to consider the
advisability of selling out the plant to
a private corporation. The plant orig-
inally cost the city $28,700, and the in-
vestment now has reached $35,000. No
provision has been made for deprecia-
tion, and now it is estimated that it
would cost at least $8,000 and perhaps
$15,000 to i)ut the plant in good con-
dition. The money is not available, and
the city officers are considering a
proposition from the Grand Rapids-
iMuskegon Power (Jompany to buy the
plant for $32,000. — Public Service.

CITY VIOLATES ITS OWN LAWS

The ( 'ity of Seattle has been caught
in the act of violating its own ordin-
ances again. This time the eomi^laint is
made against the Lighting Department,
of which L. P). Youngs is superintend-
ent, and the violation was reported to
the Board of Public Works by Superin-
tendent A. V. Bouillon, xit a corner on
King street the Lighting Department
strung overhead wires and replaced
several transformers. Under a ruling
of the Board, all public service com-
panies must first obtain permits. An
inspector from the Department of Pub-
lic Utilities ordered the work stopped,
tiie emjiloyees of the Lighting Depart-
ment giving him the laugh and the work
Avas finished. — Municipal Journal and
Engineer.

]\runi('ij»al ownership is the finest
thing in tiieory and the worst in prac-
tice of anything we have in this great
country — Lawrence, Kan., Gazette.

THE NEW WATCHWORD

Accoi'ding to I'l'ofessor Aleyer, of the
Railroad Commission of Wisconsin, one
of the chief aims of a public utilities
coiinnission should be to bring about a
Ill-arty co-operation between the cities
ami till' utilities companies which serve

tlu'Ui. the ultimate i)urpi)se being to
secu)'e for the consumer the best service
at the lowest price compatible with a
fair return upon the capital invested.
According to his view tlie conunission
is not merely on the one hand to pro-
tect companies from the open attack of
denmgogues and the insidious attacks
of grafters, and on the other to protect
cities from the rapacity of corporations
whose motto is "charge all the traffic
will stand." It is beyond and above
this — to bring the two parties to a
franchise agreement into a spirit of
cordial and intelligent co-operation.

DECEIVING THE PEOPLE

^lost of the arguments in favor of
numicipal ownership and operation are
based on the financial reports of muni-
cipalities where no allowance is made
for depreciation or taxes and many
other items which should be figured as
a part of the business. Deficits are
saddled on to taxpayers under other
names, and while the reports look fine,
ihey are worthless for any purpose of
comi>arisou. England has waked up to
the fact that in addition to false book-
keeping to make a good showing by
municipalities owning public utilities,
more than $25,000,000 annually has
been added to the national budget to
help them make both ends meet.

SPECIAL MUNICIPAL BOND ELEC-
TION AT PETALUMA

Proposition No. 1: Shall the City of
Petaluma incur a bonded indebtedness
of $11), 000 for the cost of a bridge over
the Petaluma Kiver?

Proposition No. 2: Shall the City of
Petaluma incur a bonded indebtedness
of $10,000 for the cost of a rock-crush-
ing plant or works?

Proposition No. 3: Shall the City of
Petalunux incur a bonded indebtedness
of $25,000 for the cost of additional fire
api)aratus, consisting of certain exten-
sions and additions to tlie present fire
protection system of said city?

Tlie foregoing propositions wei'e all
answered by the citizens of Petaluma in
the negative nn .Line 17. lllilit.

Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PUBMSHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE EMPLOYEES
OF THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. BRITTON, ...... Editor

R. J. CANTRELL. . . - . . NEWS Editor
A. F. HOCKEN'BEAMER - - - Business MANAGER

Comniiinii'iitiijns coiitaiiiins items of interest to the
members slioulil lics.-nt tnlheXi.ws Editor. R, , I. Cantroll.
445 Slitter St., Sini fniini.,,,. (-,1 In ..r.l.r t. .appear in a

certain issu.- III. -.' i|.-i.t- mu-i L.. in th,. han^l- of tlie News
Editor hy the t\\.-lfili ,,i tin- |M-i'r..ilin- month

Vol. I

JULY 1909

No. 2

OPPORTUNITY

In an organization as large as that of
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
each issue of the magazine will, of
necessity, meet new readers in those
who have recently come among us, and
it is to these men (and women, too)
that this is particularly addressed,
although they apply to all in the com-
pany's employ.

OPPORTUNITY comes regularly to
all, but few of us recognize it, since it is
usually in very modest guise — some-
times only a simple message to be de-
livered, and at other times a really diffi-
cult undertaking to carry out. A simple
undertaking, well carried out, is gener-
ally a safe indication of an ability to
undertake greater things.

Promotion in a large corporation is
based largely on past work and, of
course, seniority; but of the two, past
work is usually the determining factor.
Often, too, opportiinity does not appear
in attractive form. Work is offered
which may not be as attractive as that
which at the time is in hand, although
of greater importance to the Company,
and may involve more or even harder
work in less congenial surroundings, or
perhaps a combination of all, but,
nevertheless, the man who sidesteps is
neglecting opportunity, and is pretty
sure to have an increasing difficulty in
connecting with another chance. More-
over, it nuist be apparent that the only
type of man on whom a corporation can
rely is one who can be depended upon
at all times to do what is required of
him in any sphere M'ithin the limits of
his capabilities.

A new man. starting on a loAver rung
of the ladder, has a not unnatural feel-

ing of being a rather insignificant unit,
but if he will only think awhile he will
recognize that the organization is made
up of a large number of such individual
units, and its success or failure is
largely governed by their proper co-
ordination.

In each individual group these units
are thoroughly understood and their
capabilities known and appreciated by
the superintendent or foreman in
charg-e. The superintendent or fore-
man in charge, as the case may be, in
turn is known and .judged by* the en-
gineer or head of the department as
much l)y the work which his men are
doing as by his own work, and in a like
way the head of the department is
known t'o the executive of the company.
It will be obvious, therefore, that no
matter how far down the line, or how
insignificant the unit may appear to be,
he is actually very close to the manage-
ment, who can at any time find out. by
inquiry through regular and direct
channels, what men are available for
work to be undertaken. Were this not
the case, it would be almost impossible
to operate successfully any large organ-
ization.

Looking, then, at the situation from
the broad viewpoint outlined, it shoiild
be at once apparent to all that oppor-
tunity, and with it advancement, is
more likely to be met with in a large
organization than a small one and is
largely in the hands of the men them-
selves. It is true that there are in-
stances where a man's talents are not
recognized as quickly as they deserve
to be, but these are far enough apart
that they can fairly be taken as excep-
tions to the rule.

In a recent address given to some
young engineers about to go out in the
world, it Avas said that "excuses are
poor substitutes for results. ' ' This very
short and pertinent piece of advice is
one that can be profitably remembered
by all. To this may be added one other
word, and that is that we should always
try to do whatever is asked of us as best
we can, without regard to our own feel-
ings in the matter, remembering always,
that the ability to do what we u-ant
usually comes only after a long appren-
ticeship of doing what wc can.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

ON GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

In the several departiaents of this
( 'oiiipany, standard methods of aceount-
iiiii', of proeedui'e, or of construction, are
IVom time to time adopted and issued
by those in authority. These instruc-
lions are sent out to the various super-
intendents, managers and others, for
their guidance, in order that the work
upon the system may be uniform. In
many eases, there are some very natural
ci-iticisms of the instruction or stand-
ai'd, but the criticisms, as a rule, are the
result of their having been considered
simply from a local viewpoint. General
instructions on accounting or proced-
ure, in all cases before they are issued,
are given very careful consideration,
with a view to their effect upon the
whole system and as to the attainments
of the results desired. Standards of
electrical construction usually originate
in the Engineering Committee, where
all the physical departments are repre-
sented, and are only adopted after they
have been thoroughly discussed and de-
termined upon by the committee as
being the best practice for the system
as a whole. If, therefore, the employees
upon whom the duty falls to carry out
the instructions issued will only bear
this in mind, there will probably be less
occasion for criticism.

Free criticism is, at all times, invited
and can be made either by letter to the
liead of tlie department or can be
Ill-ought up for discussion at the
inontlily meeting of managers or super-
intendents. The instructions, however,
should in all cases be followed, unless it
seems to the manager or superintendent
llutt the interests of the company will
sutfcr in conseipience of their being
literally ol)eyed, in which case the mat-
ter should be inmiediately l)rought to
the attention of the head of the depart-
ment.

exception to tlie I'ule. While the editors
had no doubt of its ultimate success, at
the same time the appearance and the
reception of the first number can fairly
l)e said to have been beyond their most
sanguine expectations — a result which
was almost entirely due to the prompt
support given by those who were asked
to contribute, and tlie painstaking work
of all of those employees who devoted
their spare time to the work of prepar-
ing the magazine and getting it out.

The measure of its success has not
been determined entirely from our own
viewpoint, but rather from the many
kind words which we have received
from the editors and publishers of
similar magazines, as well as from the
engineering fraternity at large; and to
all of those who have sent us their good
wishes and words of appreciation, as
well as to the initial contributors, we
extend our thanks. We now feel justi-
fied in saying that this magazine is a
success, and with the liberal support
which we know we have both in and out
of our company, it will so continue.
This number, we think, is an improve-
ment upon the first, and we hope to im-
prove each one until we arrive at that
perfection to which all editors look
forward, but few attain.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

'i'lic launching of a new enteriirise is,
as a rule, accompanied by some misgiv-
ings on the part of its sponsors, and the

lirst issue of till' new inagazinc was no

EDITOR'S NOTE

The IMagazine looks to the entire per-
sonnel of the company for contributed
articles. The fact that you may not
have been called upon specifically does
not indicate that your contributions are
not desired. The contrary is true and
articles are solicited from all employees
of the company.

Some of you may not consider that
you have the necessary literary ability
to write for publication ; in such cases
the Editor will be only too glad to put
contributions submitted, in proper form.
If you have not the time to write a
complete article, send in the data from
which an article may bo prepared. This
is your magazine, and it is up to you to
(In your share in providing material and
making it \vli;it it is intended to be —
an employees" magazine.

60 Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

BIOGRAPHICAL
f \ SKETCH

EDWARD CAMPBELL JONES

GAS ENGINEER

PACIFIC

GAS AND ELECTRIC

COMPANY

Edward Campbell Jones, who is l(nown to the gas engineering world,
not onh in the United States of America, but on the Continent as Well,
deserves the distinction of being at the present time the onlv gas engineer
resident upon the Pacific Coast.

He comes from a family of gas men, his father, Mr. Edward Jones,
having built the first gas worl(s in Lowell, Cambridge, Worcester, Provi-
dence, Richmond and other cities in the New England Stales.

He Was born in Boston, Mass., on February 8, 1861, and at the
age of sixteen entered the emplov of the South Boston Cas Light
Company. Being of a natural mechanical and inventive turn of mind,
his rise in the intricacies of coal gas mal(mg processes at that time Was
veri) rapid, and within two vears he had invented the "Jones Photo-
meter," an instrument of such surprising simplicity; that it not only sprung
into use as an invaluable adjunct to every gas plant throughout thf world,
but more than that, it made a name for its inventor, which will go down
in perpetuity in the annals of gas engineering.

At twenty years of age he was Secretary of the corporation which
employed him, and at twenty-two he was appointed Assistant Superin-
tendent of the South Boston Gas Light Company, which position he
retained until 1885. He became Superintendent of the Boston Cas
Light Company on March 8, 1889, and on January 27, 1890, was
appointed Assistant Engineer of that company.

In 1890, the San Francisco Cas Light Company desiring some one
to take charge of the construction of the large installation at their North
Beach Works, called him from his labors in the East, and on May I,
1891, he assumed the duties and responsibilities of Assistant Engineer
of that company, and when, later, the Edison Light and Power Company
merged with the San Francisco Company, Mr. Jones became Engineer
of both the Cas and Electric Departments. Looking for a larger field
for his work, on March I, 1902, he accepted the position of Chief
Engmeer of the California Central Cas and Electric Company, and upon
the absorption of that company by the California Cas and Electric Cor-
poration, he became Chief Cas Engineer of all of its plants, and on
January I, 1906, again returned as Chief Engineer of the San Fran-
cisco Cas and Electric Company, at the time of the purchase of that
company by the Pacific Cas and Electric Company.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine 61

// would he impossible to recapitulate the numher of valuahle in-
ventions and improvements of gas mal(ing apparatus which can be
credited to Mr. Jones.

His particular field of tvorl( in later pears has been the development
of the crude oil Water gas process. In 1906 he undertool( the erection
of a plant for the San Francisco company for the manufacture of gas
bp that process, which called for a high degree of ability, original
thought, and in many wavs a daring experiment, namel]), that of building
generators which would have a dailv capacit]) of four million cubic feel.
The result of his efforts have been shown in the plants of the San Fran-
cisco company and that of the Oal^land company.

He has been largely instrumental in the development of high pressure
gas distribution in all of its phases. He has been the father of out-of-
door gas worI(s, defying old lime principles, by building purifiers and
gas worlfs without any other covering than the blue dome.

In literary work he has found lime from his many onerous duties to
write many interesting and instructive articles for technical magazines
and for the several technical societies of which he is a member, prominent
among them being "An Experience with Napthalene Deposits," "The
Relation of Intensity of Light and Visual Perception," "Leakage and
Condensation," "Purification of Gas." Particularly to the Pacific
Coast Gas Association has he contributed yearly at its meetings, articles
for which he has become famous and which have given him a world-
wide reputation for a thinner and obsen^er. His paper upon the restora-
tion of the gas department of the San Francisco company, following the
earthquake of 1906, indicates more clearly than anything he has done
the sturdy character of the man and earned for him the gold medal
presented by the Pacific Coast Gas Association for the most meritorious
paper read at its session held in September, 1906.

His affiliation with organizations allied to the industry in which he
has given the better part of his life are many. He was a member of the
American Gas Light Association from 1879 until its absorption by the
American Gas Institute, of which latter society he is a charter member.
He is also a member of the New England Association of Gas Engineers,
an Honorary member of the Guild of Gas Managers, Mass., a member
of the Western Gas Association, a charter member and Past President
of the Pacific Coast Gas Association, a member of the Massachusetts
Charitable Mechanics Association, a member of the Technical Society
of the Pacific Coast and of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, in all of which societies he is by no means a drone.

Mr. Jones is the proud possessor of three sons, Edward Stratton,
Leon Barrett and Dwight Williams. The two former are already fol-
lowing in their father's footsteps, and under his direction and tuition bid
fair to become as prominent in the gas world as he has become.

Of fads and fancies, Mr. Jones is the possessor of but few, being
of that temperament that application to his work has left him little or no
time for indulgence in other pleasures or pursuits.

He has of late, however, turned to be an agriculturist, which, as has
been happily said by some one, is differentiated from that of the farmer,
because a farmer makes his money in the country and spends it in the
city, while Mr. Jones, a true agriculturist, makes his money in the city
and spends it in the country.

He has recently possessed himself of a happy home m the Portola
Valley, where free from the cares and anxieties of city life, and the
particular and peculiar annoyances of a gas man, he can while away the
leisure hours beneath his own vine and fig tree and under the shade of the
magnificent redwoods which dot his happy home.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

CALCULATION FOR THE FOCAL DATE

Tlie dctcriiiiiiatidii of the focal date is
;il)solutely necessary wJiere meter state-
ments are taken on varions days during
the month, if the station delivery is to
l>e accurately compared with sales as
shown by the consumers' meters. Dur-
ing the fall months, if statements are
not read on the last few days of the
month, it will l)e found that the station
delivery for the calendar month far
exceeds the total monthly sales to con-
sumers. This is due to the fact that
delivery is increasing as each day grows
shorter, while if a route of statements
were read on the 15th day of the mouth,
the consumiition on that route would
have no opportunity to show its share
of the increased delivery, as it relates
to the la.st half of the previous calendar
month as well as to the first half of the
ue.xt calendar month. This is reversed
in the spring months, as the days of the
last of each month are longer than the
first days of the month, and the station
delivery may be less than the sales.

There is much economy in having the
statement reading, billing and collect-
ing divided throughout the month, and
not having all of this come on the few
last overcrowded days of. the month.
This can be done and the proper com-
parison made between station delivery
and sales, by determining the focal or
average date of statement taken as
follows :

EULE.

^Multiply the consumption of each
route by the date on which the state-
ments were read, divide the total of
these products by the consumption of
all routes, and the result will be the
average or focal date. For example, the
territory is divided into four routes,
date of statement taking and total con-
sumption of each route being as fol-
lows :

1. 2.36,000 eu. ft. X 8th = 1.888,000

2. 324,000 cu. ft. X 12tli = 3,888,000

3. 256,000 cu. ft. X 16th = 4,096,000

4. 267,000 cu. ft. X 20th = 5,340,000

tion by consumers' meters, with our
station delivery, from the 15th to 15tli
of month, we find that we have an ac-
curate basis on which to figure our loses
by leakage and broken-down meters.

1,083,000 eu. ft. 15,212,000

The total product, 15.212,000, divided
by total consuiuption, 1,083,000 cu. ft.,
gives 15 — as the average or focal date.
If we will compare this total consump-

TRANSMISSION LINE CALCULATIONS

A vf'ry few years ago the calculation
of a three-phase high tension line was a
matter of some considerable difficulty,
involving, as it did, a long calculation,
both mathematically and graphically.
This for the reason that all units had to
be taken in their primitive form and a
number of complex e(|uations solved. In
a recent article publi-shed in the "Elec-
trical World" of June 10, 1909. p. 1454,
I\Ir. Harold Pender has simplified the
calculation by the careful preparation
of a number of line constants, worked
out for various frequencies and spacing
of wires. These constants, in the form
of tables, are not very extensive, and
are, it is claimed, exact. By their use
the calculation of the high tension line
becomes comparatively simple, involv-
ing but very few minutes' work,
whereas under the old order of things,
the complete solution involved a good
many hours' work for the average en-
gineer. From time to time, time-saving
methods have been developed, both
graphically and algebraically, but it is
believed that INIr. Pender has put the
matter in its simplest form, both as
regards the expenditure of time and
energv.

JUST IN TIME

A German shoemaker left the gas
turned on in his shop one night, and
upon arriving in the morning struck a
match to light it. There was a terrific
explosion, and the shoemaker was
blown out through the door almost to
the middle of the street.

A passer-by rushed to his assistance,
and after helping him to arise, inquired
if he was injured.

The little German gazed at his place
of business, which was now Inirning
((uite briskly, and said :

"\o. I ain't hurt. But I got out
sliust in tiiH(\ Eh .'"'

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

NEW BUSINESS

By S. V. WALTON, Commercial Agenl

The Standard American Dredging
Company, which lias a contract for
dredging out Lake Merritt, in Oakland,
began the work with a gasoline driven
suction dredger, but owing to the great
length of delivery pipe was unable to
handle the required amount of material.
To overcome this a large electrically
driven booster pump was installed on
the pipe line about midway between the
dredger and the delivery end. This
pump practically doubles the capacity
of the dredges. Current is delivered to
the pumping station by a lead armored
cable, extending from the Twelfth-
street dam, and is carried on the trestles
that support the pipe line.

A large gold dredger of a type
slightly different from those in use in
the Oroville, Yuba River and Folsom
districts was started i-ecently on Butte
Creek, in Butte County, a short distance
below our Centerville Power House.
The dredger has an installation of
about 400 horsepower in motors and is
supplied by a line direct from the Cen-
terville Power House. The current is
delivered at 2300 volts and transformed
down to 440 volts, by a ])ank of trans-
formers installed on a barge alongside
the dredger.

The plant of the Pacific Fruit Cooling
and Vaporizing Company, at Newcastle,
was recently connected to our lines.
These peojile expect to cool the fruit
down to about 35 degrees Fai-enheit be-
fore it is loaded on the ears, and that
by doing so they will require less ice
and will reach its destination in much
better condition than by the present
system of refrigeration. The plant is
driven by a 100-horsepower induction
motor.

Outside of the City and County of
San Francisco, and exclusive of the
lighting load, there is at the present
time connected to the systems of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company 105,-
411 horsepower in motors, covering all
phases and grades of power, from a
coffee grindei- to the largest dredgers
in the \\'iirld.

The contract with tlie town of Yuba
City, covering service to a 75-horse-
power pumping plant, was signed dur-
ing the month, and the work of instal-
ling the line is being rushed along by
us. The pumping plant will be ready in
a short time. It is owned by the town
and is being built in a thoroughly mod-
ern and up-to-date way.

THINGS THE GAS COMPANY IS

BLAMED FOR BY THE

CONSUMER

When he mails a check in payment of
his bills wathout furnishing his ad- ■
dress, and is very much incensed be-
cause his account is not credited
therewith.

When he moves out and does not notify
the company, somebody else moving
in after him and using the gas in his
name, he being generally very much
surprised and grieved when a bill is
rendered him long after his vacating.

When his cook is so much interested in
Laura Jean Libby that she keeps all
the burners of the gas stove going at
full tilt when one would be sufficient.
While kicking about his high bill he
invariably praises his cook's careful-
ness and economy.

When he tries to locate a leakage of gas
in his house pipes with a lighted match.
The sudden surprise resultant there-
from being only equaled by the shock
he receives when he learns that the
gas company is not liable for damages
and strangely declines even to make
allowance for the gas that he caused
to be lost.

When he thinks it essential, in order to
get a good light to have the gas blow
like the exhaust from a steam boiler.
The unoffending collector, when pre-
senting his bill, being the visible em-
bodiment of the company, is generally
called upon to do vicarious atone-
ment.

When he rents out rooms and inchules
the gas and electric bills with the
rent until he learns that people are
not, as a rule, economical with com-
modities that are furnished free; he
invai-ialtly condemns the meters, but
it is observe(l that he never repeats
the experimrnt.

64 Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine

Our First Match Game

N a quiet sunny morning in the merry month of May,

The "Has-beens" formecl a ball-club, and declared that thi y wonl.l piny
Any set of would-be artists of the diamond and the bat,
And beat them out at any game from "sides" to "one o' eat.'

Their challenge was accepted, and at length arrived the da.y

For the testing of the merits of these gallant old birds gay.
Proudly marched they to the diamond, these mighty men of brawn,

And on their younger rivals cast they withering looks of scorn.

"Pop" Yablonsky holds the first base, mighty Butler's in the box;

While Quigley fastens on the mask and shakes his tawny locks.
And swears by forty kilowatts and a jug of good old rum.

That the Kid who makes a run that day will certainly "GO SOilE. '"

"Spike" Angelo is playing "Short" while Gus (ye tribe of White),
Lightly two-steps down the field and takes his place in "Right."

Cunningham's on "Second," and Oldis holds down "Third"

While young Joe Walsh anel Bowman tightly on their harness gird.

The Company's Queen of Beauty, surrounded by her Court,

Thrice waves her wand, and then she smiles bewitchingly at "Short."

The megaphones and cow-bells join in a mad refrain.

As the umpire quickly takes his place and calls out loudly, "GAME."

Joe Butler takes the base-ball, and rubs it on the ground.

Expectorates upon it, and waves his arms around
In mystic evolutions; while before the gazers' ej'es,

His body takes on shapes of most peculiar form and size.

Suddenly his body straightens, and as from a ten-inch gun

Shoots the spheroid toward the batter, and the umpire calls, "Ball One."

Hotly waged was this great battle of the boys against the men,
For at the ending of the sixth the score stood ten to ten.

The youngsters now come to the bat, their last chance of the day;

But the old men make it "one, two, three" on a classy triple play.
"Now or never we nuist beat 'em," cries Frank Oldis from the bench,

"If we don't," quoth shifty Bowman, "no more beer my thirst will quench."

Cunningham raps out a single, and takes "Second" on a balk,

White and Angelo retired are, Oldis is allowed to walk,
Walsh is hit and takes a bag, Cunningham goes down to "Third" —

Two men out, three on bases, ' ' Our last chance ' ' is now the word.

Forward proudly steps Yablonsky, head erect and eyes aflame.

For he knows that on him now rests all the winning of the game;

Two "Balls," then two "Strikes" are called, his face is getting very pale

While his team-mates whisper 'mongst them fears that he 's gone somewhat stale.

Now he grasps the "scantling" firmly, and assumes a graceful pose.

And when the pitcher throws a "spit-ball" hits it fairly on the "nose."'

Swiftly speeds the hard hit pellet almost to the pitcher's box.

While Johnny quickly sprints towards first base, and with cheers the gr.Tiid-
stand rocks.

"Cunny" races for the home-plate, Avhile the youngsters chase the ball.
His wind is broken, still ho speeds in answer to his team-mates' call.

With one last effort leaps the pitcher forward towaril Yablonsky "s fly.
And it falls into his left mit. and the great game ends a "TIE."

AFTERMATH.

Johnny's muscles are much stiffened, Oldis' face is nicely tanned

Cunningham eats off the mantle, Joe Walsh sports a crippled hand.

But it was a well-fought battle, and we'll say to one and all

If vou're not, vou might once have been, CEACKERJACKS AT PLAYING BALL.

— C. S. BEEAETY.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Baseball News

Sub.so([ii('iit to our last issue the Pa-
cific Gas and Electric Company has
played six games of ball, and the San
Francisco Gas and Electric Company
two games with score as follows :

May
May
]\ray

.lllllC
.lllHC

Juno

](i Paeific Gas & Elec. Company'
Mercantile Trust Co '.

23 Pacific Gas & Elec. Company

Eastman Kodak Co

Pacific Gas & Elec. Company

Soutliern Pacific Co

(ilitli Company of Artillery...
I'licific Gas & Elec. Coniimny
I'aiilie Gas & Elec. Company

Juveniles

I'acific (ias & Elec. Company
Standard Gas iMiginc Co. ..

.■?o

.Tune 12 I'ost Team (I'residio) 5

San Francisco Gas & Elec. Co. . . 4

.Tune 19 Post Team (Presidio) (i

San Francisco Gas & Elec. Co... 5

Saturday, June 26tli, the first game
of a series of live to be played by the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company and
the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company, was pulled ofi' at St. Ignatius
College athletic grounds, with the result
that the Pacific Gas and P^lectric Com-
pany employees have changed their
coloi's from blue and white to black.
The score was 7 to 3, favor of the San
Francisco Company.

Vice-President and General Manager
John A. Britton umpired the game and,
while not in the hospital, experienced
many close shaves during the skirmishes
following some of his raw decisions —
notably when he called Hall, of the
Pacific team, out at home when the
ealclici- (Murpliy) missed him about a
mile. Anolber I'iot was barely averted
wIk'u l>ill Cavanau'jii. in sliding;' to sec-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

ond. was put out when two feet off tlie
bag and the umpire called him safe.

Sullivan must have been near-sighted
when he tried to slide home in the fir.st.
Mensing, playing left field for the Pa-
cific team, was the star of the day and
is credited with a double play with a
man out on a fly and straight drive for
first. Arthur Ilall made a sensation in
the fifth when he got a fly after making
three complete revolutions round a
mud scraper. Scanlon's three-bagger
was the best strike work of the day.
Did you hear Gus White holler when
the San Francisco boj's were at the tail
end? When Brarity caught the fiy in
center, who was the most surprised, he
or the fans? The first of the ninth,
with the San Francisco team to the bat,
is too sad to relate. Sullivan started the
slide with a bingle at second. The Pa-
cific pitcher blew up and the team went
to pieces — the score jumped from 3 to
1, favor of the Pacifies, to 7 to 3, favor
of the San Franciscos.

Wilcox has succeeded to Baricau's
former title of "String Bean."

The "Boss" can never umpire again.

Sunday forenoon, June 20th, at 10
o'clock at Adams Point, Oakland's
public baseball grounds, witnessed a
very spirited ball game by players of
the Oakland Gas, Light and Heat Com-
pan3\ The players gathered punctually
and the class exhibited was largely in
excess of the manager's expectations.
Fast ball was a feature of the game, and
three-bag hits were of common occur-
rence. Avhile on the contrary many
strike-outs were credited to both l)at-

teries. The players have expressed a
desire to form a team from among best
material and present themselves foi-
challenge against any of the organized
teams of the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company 's offices.

On June 27th, according to schedule,
the players will gather for a socia])le
game, but more purposely of trying fo)-
special positions. Enthusiasm prevails
and the boys are now anticipating a
desire to obtain ball suits, towards
which end several projects have been
eited.

WIRELESS

In all its purity-
Leaving no mark

Out of obscurity
Only a spark

Flashed into futurity
Cleaving the dark.

Lightning's celeritj^

Swifter than wind
Harnessed in verity

Caught and confined
Boon to posterity

Help to mankind.
— Frances Livingston Montgomery.

The Way He Resigned from the
Montana Central Railroad

I'm getting tired of these barren hills.

No place to go but the tank.

The mosrpiitoes are hell, the sheep pens
smell, and the grub is awfully rank.

I've worked like a slave till I'm near
mv grave for the "Monkev Central
Pike."

I've a notion I deserve promotion and
I'll get it or go on the hike.

On receipt of this letter if you've noth-
ing better to offer a man of my stamp,

Than O-S ing trains on this dismal dump

And running a worn out six horse
pump.

I think 111 go on the hike.
Yours truly,

OPERATOR.
Yirselle. ^Montana.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Local Notes

On May 17, 1909, during a storm in
tlie northern part of the Sacramento
Valley, the Centerville-Nicolaus line,
one of the main 60,000-volt pole lines
belonging to the Pacific Gas and Elec-
tric Company, was struck by lightning
near Shippee Station on the Northern
Electric Railway.

Five of the 40-foot poles were struck
by lightning and badly splintered. In
two cases large slivers, nearly the entire
length of the pole, were torn out.

The most remarkable part of the in-
cident is that not one of the 14-inch
four-part California type insulators
Avere injured.

About one mile north of these five
poles, the top 4/0 aluminum cable was
cut clear in two about four feet out
from the insulator and the other two
cables of the three-phase line only had
one strand holding.

A sheep herder who happened to be
near the line at the time, saw it struck
by lightninsi'.

C. E. YOUNG.

when the thief not onl,y steals the cur-
rent but the meter in addition to the
current, the language does not provide
words adequate to express an opinion
of him. A theft of this kind recently
occurred in one of the districts of the
Company.

The City of San Jose is having in-
stalled some ornamental iron posts for
the support of arc lamps for street
lighting. These posts are of very neat
and simple design, and present a very
handsome appearance. The city is to
be congratulated on its taste in the
selection of such posts.

The current thief has always been re-
garded as a contemptible type ; but

The townships of Ross and San
Anselmo have recently entered into con-
tracts with the Company for the instal-
lation of over three hundred incandes-
lights and twenty-five arc lights, for a
period of several years. This system was
completely built in a little over forty
working days, and was put into opera-
tion early in June. This will si;pply
lighting to over fifteen miles of streets
in these two towns.

Accidents and Their Lessons

By J. P. COGHLAN

Manager, Claims Department

Henry Rogers, an apprentice electric-
ian, was drowned in the South Yuba
river, near the Nevada Power House, on
-June 3d. Pie and three other boj^s were
playing with a fire hose on a bridge in
front of the power house. The hose was
under heavy pressure and at a moment
wlien it was being handled lightly flew
(int of Roger's grasp. As it freed itself
it hit him in the chest, knocking him
off the l)ridge into the river. The
lii)\- iiiiide a brave effort to swim

ashore, but the current overcame him
and he was carried down r-tream to his
death.

Rogers was at the threshold of his
career. He was only eighteen years of
age, but had entered his chosen employ-
ment with enthusiasm and ambition. He
had a pleasing personality and the in-
dustry and character that make for suc-
cess. His death was a dislinct loss to
the Company and an immeasurable sor-
I'dw to bis faiiiih'.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PERSONALS

The following circular letter to heads
(if Departments, District managers and
Division superintendents was issued
from the office of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company on July 10, 1909 :

"It becomes my sad duty to advise
A'ou of the death at San Jose, on Satur-
day, July 10th, of H. J. Edwards, Dis-
trict manager, of the United Gas and
Electric Company.

"Mr. Edwards has been associated
with the gas industry on this Coast for
over thirty years last past, occupying
positions of importance and responsi-
bility with several companies operating
in the gas and electric field in San Jose,
and has since 190-4 been the active man-
ager of the San Jose District.

"His genial manner and charming
personality, together with his sterling
integrity and native honesty, made for
him a name and reputation in San Jose
that will be hard to ecpial. B3' his mas-
terful control of men and opportunities,
he earned for himself the sobriquet of
'The King,' which he justly deserved.

"His loss will be a great one, not only
to the people of Santa Clara County,
but to the corporation which he served
so valiantly and so well.

"It is fitting that a man, who has al-
ways done his duty and never shirked
a responsibility, and who earned the
admiration of all, should be remem-
bered, especially by those with whom
he was so closely associated."

"After life's fitful fever he sleeps
well."

Mr. A. E. Gilkey, an electrician in
the Marysville Power Division, and
Miss Anna Murshel, a popular tele-
phone operator of Marysville, were
married in Sacramento on Monday,
June U, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Gilkey will
reside in Marysville. Their many friends
extend best wishes.

Joseph Kline, the father of Tax Agent
W. II. Kline of this Company, died in
Valle.jo, June 3d, aged 82 years. De-
ceased was an old resident of this State,
having crossed the plains from Iowa
with an ox team in 1856. In 1860 he
settled in Solano County where he
resided until his death.

Chas. L. Frechette, a counter clerk of
the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company, was drowned on Sunday,
June 27th, at Tennessee Cove, Marin
County, on an outing with a number of
other employees of the Company.

While engaged in gathering mussels,
he lost his footing, slipping into the
surf. J. Judge and W. Webber, two
of his fellow employees, plunged in
after him, and in an heroic attempt to
bring him ashore nearly forfeited their
own lives, as he had already lost con-
sciousness and all three were weighted
with clothes and heavy outing shoes.
Judge was, fortunately, thrown on a
rock, where he clung until he recuper-
ated, but Webber, although a strong
swimmer, was pulled out .just as he was
completely exhausted, and on the point
of giving up the struggle.

Chas. L. Frechette was with the Com-
pany for nearly six years and on ac-
count of his bright, sunny disposition
was a general favorite, and his unfor-
tunate death has thrown a gloom over
the entire office. He was 27 years of
age, and although not married he leaves
a mother and sister to mourn his loss.

On Saturday, June 19th. a joint meet-
ing of the District Managers and Divi-
sion Superintendents of the Company
was held in Santa Rosa. The meeting
was attended by all members wdth the
exception of Mr. H. J. Edwards, San
Jose, and ^Ir. 0. E. Clark, Napa, who
were ill, and ]Mr. H. B. Heryford, of
Colusa, who was detained at home ou
account of being on the committee in
charge of the Water Carnival held at
Colusa June 19th and 20th. The meet-
ing at Santa Rosa was voted as being
one of the most enthusiastic and live
meetings yet held.

A. G. Stayart, operator on the 12 to 8
a. m. watch at Station "D," San Fran-
cisco, was married on June 5th to ]Miss
Lucile Loux. After a week's absence
on a honeymoon he has returned and is
at his post.

Mrs. Daisy M. Finely, wife of AY. C.
Finely, Superintendent of Sacramento
Power Division, died on July 3, 1909,
after a lingering illness extending over
two vears.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Question Box

Question,
water?

-What is

miner's inch of
E. S. S.

Answer. — Prior to March 23, 1909, the term
"miner's inch" as an absolute measure of
water was somewhat indefinite. The head
under which a miner's inch was measured,
namely 4 inches, was definitely stated, but
the size and shape of the orifice was a matter
of conjecture. On the above date, however,
by California statute, a miner's inch was de-
fined as one and one-half (1.5) cubic feet of
water per minute. This does not involve head,
size or shape of orifice, and it is, therefore,
specifically defined.

J. H. W.

Question. — How do you reduce quan-
tity of water stored in a reservoir when
given in cubic feet, to miner's inches
per twenty-four hours? L. R. T.

Answer. — The term "miner's inch per 24
hours" is a convenient unit of measurement,
especially in plant operation, because by this
means the capacity of a reservoir can be
readily converted into days or hours run for
the particular plant under consideration. The
quantity of water stored by the reservoir in
cubic feet divided by 2160 gives the capacity
in miner's inches per day. The 2160 is the
quantitj' of water in cubic feet that one
miner's inch would deliver in twenty-four
hours.

J. II. w.

Question. — Will yo>i please tell me in
your Question Department of the Pa-
cific Gas and Electric jMagazine, the
time that intervened from the shutting
off of the gas from San Francisco on
April IS, 1906, and the date on which
the gas was again turned on to the
city. Q. C.

Answer. — The gas was shut off from the city
at 7:27 o'clock on the morning of April 18th,
and turned into the mains again on May 7tli
at 9:47 a. m., nineteen days later. The work
of repairing the mains was commenced on the
morning of April 18th, and we were ready to
turn gas into them within nine days, but on
account of the lack of water for fire protec-
tion, it was not deemed advisable to do so
until the later date.

A very interesting and instructive paper
by Mr. E. C. Jones upon this subject, entitled
"The Story of the Restoration of the Gas

Supply in San Francisco after the Fire, ' ' will
be found in Volume 6 of the Proceedings of
the Pacific Coast Gas Association.

Question. — When does the new State
demurrage law become eft'ective, and
what are its principal provisions?

K. D.

Answer.- — This law became effective June
19, 1909. Twenty-four hours, computed from
7 a. m. of the day following delivery of
freight, is allowed for unloading. Demurrage
thereafter is at the rate of three dollars for
the first day, and six dollars per day there-
after.

Forty-eight hours are allowed for loading
cars. The railroad company is allowed to col-
lect six dollars per day after the expiration of
this time, and such additional damages as the
railway company may sustain through failure
of the consignor to load cars within the forty-
eight hours. This time is computed from 7
a. m. of the day following delivery of cars.

Question. — When do accounts become
outlawed under the laws of California?

W. D.

Answer. — Book accounts, two years; notes,
four years from maturity: other amounts due
under contracts executed in the State of Cali-
fornia and payments under which are to be
made in this State, four years from due date.

Question. — (a) How many city arc
lamps are there in San Francisco?

Question. — (b) How mam- miles of
wire does it require to furnish service
to them?

Question. — (e) Is it true that the
Company furnishing light loses tlie
revenue for the whole night, even
though the lamp is out but a short time?

M. J. B.

Answer. — (a) 2580 lamps.

Answer. — (b) 414 miles of wire; 4% miles
of cable.

Answer. — (e) Yes.

If a woman's a rag and a bone
and a hank of hair.

Then man is a jag and a drone
and a tank of air.

— ' ' 'I'l-uiiluill Cheer. ''

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

AXDERSON, r. B.
BOTHIN, HENEY E.
BRITTON, JOHN A.
CROCKER, \V. H.
DE SABLA, E. J., JR.

DIRECTORS

DRUM, F. G.
DRUM, JOHN S.
FOOTE, D. H.
HOCKENBEAMER, A. F.
MARTIN, JNO.

MONTEAGLE, LOUIS
PEIRCE, CYRUS
SLOSS, LEON
TOBIN, JOSEPH S.
WEEKS, GEORGE K.

OFFICERS AND HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

DiiLM , F. ( i rri'si( k'lit

Bkitton, John A Vicu-PreH. ami Gen. Mgr.

Lek, F. V. T : Asist. (iciicral Manager

IldCKENisEA.MKi!, A. F Tpcas. anil ('(inip.

FoiiTE, D. II Secretary

B.^UKETT, Cjias. L Asst. Secretary

Bosi.EY, W. B Attorney

Love, J. C Auditor

Ki.iNE, AV. H Tax Agent

C.\NTREi.i., R. J Property Agent

\N'ai.to.\, S. V Connnercial Agent

Cotaii.AN-, J. P Claims Agent

IIlxt, I. H Pnrchasing .\gent

Hexi.ey, K. B Supt. Land Dept.

Jones, E. C Engr. Cias Dept.

DowNix.i, P. M...Engr. 0. ct M. Hyd.-Elec. See.
Vai!NEV, F. 11. ..Engr. 0. & M. Steam & Gas Eng. Sec.

Wise, J. II Civil and Hydraulie Engr.

Adams, C. F Fngr. of Elec. Construction

Hoi.BERTON, (ii'.o. C...Engr. of Elec. Distrib'n ( Sec. 1 )

LlSBEUGER, S. J Engr. (if Elec. Distrib'n ( Sec. 2 )

RoBFi, Geo. C Supt. of Supplies

BosTWK'K. II Secretary to President

MANAGERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS

Leach, F. A., Jh Berkeley DisI

Florence, E. \V Chico

Heryford, H. B Colusa

KisTER, J. D Fresno

Werry, John .....Grass Valley

PoixGDESTRE, J. E. . . .MarysviUe

Foster, W. H Marin

Ci.ARK, 0. E Napa

AVerry', John Nevada

Leach, F. A., Jr Oakland

AVEiiER, H Petaluma

Newbert, L. H Red wood City

McKiLi.iP, C. W Sacramento

Edwards, H. J San Jose

Fetch, Tlios. D Santa Rosa

Stephens, A. J A'allejo

Osborx, AV. E \Vo,„llan(l

AuTHCK, A\'. R Auburn Water District

Scakfe, Geo Nevada "

EsKEW, W. E Standard

IIali., J. AV Stockton

Adams, I. B Colgate Power Division

Young, D. M De Salila

EsKEW, AA'. F. Electra "

YoixG, C. E MarysviUe "

Scarfe, Geo Nevada "

Clark, C. D North Tower "

Hughes, AV Oakland "

Finely, AV. C Sacramento "

Hansen, J. O San Jose "

Biknett. a. II South Tower "

'jr^BS^JST'-T^-^

Vol. I

Contents for c^lugust

No. 3

History of Gas Lighting in San Francisco.

E. C. Jones .

Storage System of the South Yuba Water

Company .H.M. Cooper .

The Ridge Substation at Berkeley C. F. Adams. . .

The B. & S. Guage and the Slide Rule Richard Powell. ... 89

Short Cuts 93

Autobiography of an Atom of Oil 95

Question Box 97

Commercial Dexelopment of Mechanical

Drawing ]os P. Baloun 98

Foe and the Gas Trust — Verse James Montague. . . 103

Editorial 1 04

Biographical Sketch — Paul Milton Downing 105

Obituary — Harry J. Edwards J. A. B 107

Municipal Matters C. C. Holherlon ... 1 09

Baseball News 110

Commercial Notes S. V. Walton 113

Local Notes 114

Personals I ' 5

A Meeting of the Gassy Meeters 117

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies 10 cents

THE DAM AT LAKE FORDYCE

Storage System of the South Yuba Water Co. Page 79

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

AUGUST, 1909

No. 3

The Historjr of Gas Lighting in
San Francisco

B\) E. C. JONES, Engineer, Gas Department.

SAN FRANCISCO was incorporated in
the year I 850. This city was the largest
and most important in the State of Cah-
fornia, which was ad-
mitted into the Union
September 9, 1850.
At that time coal gas
works were being
built in many of the
older and larger cities
of the eastern states,
and gas was being
introduced as a light-
ing agent for the first
time. It was in keep-
ing with the progres-
sive spirit and indomi-
table will of the early
San Franciscans that
this city should con-
sider the introduction
of illuminating gas
during the first year of its corporate existence.
Peter Donahue, a pioneer and one of the
builders of San Francisco, was then engaged
in the foundry business. He and his brother,
James, were the first iron founders in Cali-
fornia, and their shop at the foot of I ele-
graph Hill was the nucleus from which grew
ihe present Union Iron Works.

PETER DONAHUE

One Sunday in 1850, Peter Donahue,
while strolling over the sand hills south of the
town, climbed to the top of one on Bush
street. Looking down
from the top of the
hill, he was impressed
by the rapid growth
of the town, and re-
marked to his friend,
Martin Bulger, "Bul-
ger, this is going to
be a great city at no
distant day. There
will have to be gas
works and water
works here, and who-
ever has faith enough
to embark in either
of these enterprises
will make money from
them." San Francisco
at that time had more
the appearance of a straggling country town
than of a city. Montgomery street was occupied
from Washington to Sacramento streets, and
there were buildings of a temporary character
scattered as far as Pacific street on the north,
and California street on the south. Wash-
ington, Clay, and Sacramento streets had
buildings as far west as Kearny street, with

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

iSk

an occasional dwelling house farther out
toward Stockton street. A few dwellings on
Stockton street and Dupont street marked the
limit of city settlement. Kearny street north
of Sacramento street, with the cross streets,
furnished dwellings to most of the inhabitants.
The business streets of the town were San-
some and Battery, with Clay, Sacramento
and Commercial streets east of Montgomery.
Montgomery was the busiest of them all, as
it led down to "Long Wharf," then the gen-
eral point of landing and embarkation for all
water craft. South of
California street were
enormous hills of drift-
ing sand. In the neigh-
borhood of Third
and Howard streets
was Happy Valley,
having a small popu-
lation, while Turk
street in the vicinity
of Mason and Taylor
streets was called St.
Ann's Valley, where
a small stream of
very pure water sup-
plied the water used
for domestic purposes
in the neighborhood.
There was also a
settlement at the Mis-
sion Dolores, reached
by a road winding through the sand hills
north and west of Market street.

At this time it was doubted by many
whether San Francisco was destined to be the
future metropolis of California, owing to the
great number of high hills and the absence
of any natural supply of water or wood.
Even the bracing west winds from the ocean,
which now make San Francisco attractive as
a summer resort, were urged against it.

Under these circumstances, it required
courage to propose the investment of money
necessary to construct a gas works. Peter

JAMES DONAHUE

Donahue had faith in the ultimate success of
his undertaking. He knew little or nothing
about the manufacture of gas, but proceeded
to study everything on the subject obtainable.
The brothers, Peter and James Donahue,
then had in their employ a young man named
Joseph G. Eastland, who, encouraged by
them, took a great interest in gas matters and
made a study of the business, with the assur-
ance that the gas works would be built and
that his studies would bear fruit.

A franchise was obtained, and the San
Francisco Gas Com-
pany was incorporat-
ed August 31. 1852.
The original officers
were Beverly C. San-
ders, president, and
John Crane, secre-
tary. James Donahue
was elected president
in 1856, and con-
tinued in office until
his death in 1 862.
The beginning of
the gas business in
San Francisco was
fraught with difficul-
ties, owing to the dis-
tance from source of
supplies. The Dona-
hue Foundry had but
one cupola, contain-
ing only enough iron to pour a single gas re-
from Philadelphia, round Cape Horn, and
they were laid aside as completed until
enough was made to build the works. There
was difficulty in obtaining cast iron pipes for
street mains, but these were finally shipped
from Philadelphia, around Cape Horn, and
were laid in the city streets.

The original works of the San Francisco
Gas Company was built on the lot of land
bounded by First and Fremont, Howard
and Natoma streets. The reason for selecting
this site was the fact that it was located on

History of Gas Lighting in San Francisco

GAS WORKS AT FIRST AND HOWARD STREETS

tide water, there being a sharp indentation of
the bay at that point. Lighters containing
construction material and coal for gas-making
were landed directly on the beach at the gas
works. The site is at present writing six
blocks from tide water.

The gas was made from coal brought from
Australia and distilled in iron retorts set in
benches of three retorts each. The gas was
purified by wet lime purifiers, using lime in
solution in water.

On the night of February I I, 1854, the
streets of San Francisco were for the first
time lighted with gas, and in commemoration
of the event, a banquet was given at the
Oriental Hotel. Following is a copy of one
of the invitations to this banquet:

Office of the
San Francisco Gas Company

February 8, 1854.
Sir: — The Trustees of the San Francisco Gas
Company request the honor of your company at the
Oriental Hotel, from 7:30 to 9 o'clock, on Saturday
evening, the I I th inst., on the occasion of their intro-
ducing Gas Light into the streets of San Francisco.
Very respectfully,

John Crane, Secrelar};.
In 1855, the company had 12 miles of
street mains, and its storage capacity con-
sisted of two gas holders at First and How-

ard streets, with a combined capacity of 1 60,-
000 cubic feet. The price of gas at this
times was $15.00 a thousand cubic feet.

In 1856, Joseph G. Eastland became sec-
retary of the company, and filled this posi-
tion through successive years until 1878.

The printed rules of the company in 1855
read as follows:

Gas will be supplied by the meter at the
rate of Fifteen Dollars per thousand cubic
feet, and where there are no meters, the cal-
culation will be made from the size of the
burners.

All Bills are payable weekly. Consumers
are respectfully and particularly requested
to pay their Bills promptly. In default of
payment of Gas consumed, within three days
after presentation of the Bill, the flow of Gas
may be stopped until the Bill is paid. Serv-
ice pipe from the main to the Service Cock,
will be furnished free of charge, in houses
where more than four burners are used. The
Company, or its authorized agent, shall at all
times have the right of free access into the
premises lighted with Gas, for the purpose of
examining the whole Gas apparatus or for
the removal of the meter and service pipe.

On May 2, 1862, the Legislature granted
a franchise to the Citizens Gas Company of
San Francisco for the full term of fifty years.
Two 100 varas at lownsend and Second

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

streets were purchased as a site for the new
works, and John P. Kennedy, a gas engineer
of New York, was employed to erect the
works. Construction work was begun in the
fall of 1 863, but gas was not furnished to
the general public until January, 1 866. The
franchise limited the maximum price that
might be charged for gas to $6.00 a thou-
sand cubic feet. In less than two years, as
soon as it was ready to deliver gas, the
Citizens Gas Company sold out to the San
Francisco Gas Company.

In April, 1 870, the City Gas Company
was organized. Four blocks of land were
purchased at the Potrero, and work was
begun June, 1870. When completed the
works had a capacity of 1 ,500,000 cubic
feet daily. The maximum price for gas was
fixed at $4.50. This company had a short
life, and was purchased by the old company.

The Metropolitan Gas Company was or-
ganized in March, 1871, and began furnish-
ing gas in April, 1 872, at a maximum price
of $3.50. The plant was located on Mis-
sion Block, 43 Channel street, southwest of
Ninth street. Gas was made from petroleum,
distilled in iron retorts, but it was not a suc-
cess. The company, shortly after its start,
was purchased by the San Francisco Gas
Company.

On April 1, 1873, the San Francisco Gas
Light Company was formed, with increased
capital and the merging of properties and
stock of the San Francisco Gas Company,
the Metropolitan Gas Company, and the City
Gas Company.

During the year 1882, the Central Gas
Company came into the field as an opposi-
tion company, and subsequently took on the
name of the Central Gas Light Company.
In the competition which followed, the rate
for gas went as low as 90 cents a thousand
cubic feet. Between 1882 and 1884, the
Central Gas Light Company was leased by
the Pacific Gas Improvement Company. This
last company existed until it was merged into

the San Francisco Gas and Electric Com-
pany September I, 1903.

During all these years coal gas was manu-
factured by the San Francisco Company,
and improvements in the art were adopted as
fast as they made their appearance. Clay
retorts were substituted for those of iron, and
improved furnace construction increased the
yield of gas made from a pound of coal.

In 1 888 the production of crude petro-
leum in California warranted the introduction
of the manufacture of water gas, then in
general use in the eastern and middle states.
During the year 1888, 690,333 barrels of
oil were produced in California. It will be
interesting to compare this with the production
in 1907, amounting to 40,311,171 barrels.

This gas was made from anthracite coal
brought round Cape Horn from the Port
of Swansea in Wales, and enriched with
California petroleum.

The first water gas plant in San Francisco
was built at the Potrero Gas Works. The
pl<int consisted of two Springer generators.
At this time the gas was supplied to the city
by the old Howard-street works, then mak-
ing coal gas, and the works at Potrero. The
King-street works had been shut down. The
manufacture of water gas proved such a suc-
cess, owing to the increased amount of petro-
leum produced and the lessening of the cost,
that it was decided to construct a modern gas
works, including all of the new improve-
ments in water gas making, together with a
modern coal gas plant as a protection against
a failure or shortage in the supply of oil.

Joseph B. Crockett was then engineer of
the company. He had entered the employ
of the City Gas Company in 1873, and was
engaged at the Potrero during the construc-
tion of the works. When that company was
merged with the old company he was em-
ployed at the Howard-street works under
James and WiUiam Beggs. WiUiam Beggs
was the first gas superintendent on the Pa-
cific Coast. By industry and fidelity Mr.

History of Gas Lighting in San Francisco

▲

,ji,ii^ii£!Skii,.

THE NORTH BEACH STATION

Crockett was advanced rapidly to the position
of assistant engineer and then engineer, until
he filled the position of president-engineer
before he was twenty-eight years old. He
had an ambition: he conceived the idea of
constructing a thoroughly modern gas works
on lines intended to care for the city's gas
demands well into the future. With this in
view, the company secured land at North
Beach, between Bay street, Laguna and
Webster streets, and the Bay of San Fran-
cisco, and under his direction the North
Beach Gas Works was built. It was his
pride and was recognized for many years as
the finest gas works in the world.

It was the good fortune of the writer to
become connected with the San Francisco Gas
Light Company in I 89 1 , and to have charge
of the construction of this new works under
Mr. Crockett. At this works what was then
the largest gas holder in the United States
west of Chicago was constructed. This holder
had a capacity of 2,000,000 cubic feet.

Construction work was begun on this new
plant in May, 1 89 I , and the water gas por-
tion of the plant was completed and started

making gas in six months. On the completion
of this work, the old Howard street plant
was dismantled.

On December II, 1 896, the San Fran-
cisco Gas Light Company extended the scope
of its business by merging with the Edison
Light and Power Company under the new
title of the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company. The San Francisco Gas Com-
pany continued its corporate existence until
December 7, 1 903, when it was dissolved.

The Equitable Gas Light Company was
incorporated February 2, 1898, to make
"dollar gas" under a method called the Hall
Process, which was never a success, and re-
sulted in the installation of a regular water
gas plant during the year 1900. In August,
I 903, this property was sold to the San Fran-
cisco Gas and Electric Company.

The Independent Electric Light and Power
Company, incorporated March 29, 1899,
and the 'Independent Gas and Power Com-
pany, incorporated January 5, 1901, were
started by Claus Spreckels. These companies
entered into active competition with the old
company in both gas and electric business.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

,y^ngW\

The gas works of the Independent Com-
pany was constructed on land adjoining the
Western Sugar Refinery at the Potrero, and
consisted entirely of water gas apparatus.
Four sets of what is known as the double
superheated system were first installed, and to
these have later been added two more water
gas sets. This company constructed a 500,-
000 cubic foot relief holder, and a 1 ,000,000
cubic foot storage holder.

In November, 1903, these properties were
merged into the San Francisco Gas and Elec-
tric Company by purchase.

In 1 902 the manufacture of crude oil
water gas, using petroleum solely as a ma-
terial for gas-making, was being developed in
some of the smaller cities of California, and
its manufacture and use were so successful
and satisfactory that the attention of the larger
companies was attracted. In February, 1906,
a single gas oil unit, having a daily capacity
of 4,000,000 cubic feet, started operation at
the Potrero Gas Works of the San Francisco
Gas and Electric Company. Previous to this,
a similar unit had been constructed at the
works of the San Mateo Power Company, at
Martin Station, in Visitacion Valley, and this
works had been connected to the Potrero Gas
Works by a 1 2-inch steel high pressure pipe,
suitable compressors for pumping the gas had
been installed, and some of this gas was used
in San Francisco. Preparations were under
way for increasing the number of oil gas
units at the Potrero Station when, April 1 8,
1 906, San Francisco was visited by the
greatest earthquake in its history. This earth-
quake completely destroyed the North Beach
Station of the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company and the works of the Pacific Gas
Improvement Company. The works of the
Equitable Gas Company were also destroyed.
At the time of the earthquake the North
Beach Station was the only plant of these
three in operation. A portion of the city gas
was being made in its water gas works. The
works of the Independent Gas and Power
Company and the Potrero Station were not
injured by the earthquake, and the fires in the
generators were not drawn, but had it not been
for the oil gas installation at the Potrero
Station, it would have been impossible to
have supplied the city with gas without con-
structing a new gas works.

When the supply of gas was resumed after

the fire the Martin Station was then called
upon to furnish oil gas up to its capacity.

7 he oil gas unit at Potrero and the water
gas plant of the Independent Gas and Power
Company supplied the rest of the gas needed.
After the fire the company added three more
1 6-foot oil gas units to the Potrero plant, so
that at the present writing the gas supplied to
the Potrero Station, reinforced by water gas
manufactured at the Independent plant from
lampblack (recovered as a residual from oil
gas making).

Following is a complete list of officers of
the San Francisco gas companies from 1852
to the present time. The list contains many
names that are dear to us in memory, names of
men who have made the history of the gas
business in San Francisco. Notable among
these are two secretaries of the San Francisco
Gas Company, the San Francisco Gas Light
Company, and the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Company — Joseph G. Eastland and
William G. Barrett. Each of these men
occupied the position of secretary for twenty-
two consecutive years.

PRESIDENTS.
San Francisco Cas Company
(Incorporated August 31, 1852)
1832-1835— Beverly G. Sanders
1856-1862 — James Donahue
1863-1865— J. Mora Moss
1866-1867— Peter Donahue
1868-1869— Joseph A. Donohoe
1870-1873— Peter DonaTiue

San Francisco Cas Light Company
(Incorporated April 1, 1873)
1873-1883— Peter Donahue
1884 — Eugene P. Murphy

1885-1896— Jos. B. Crockett

San Francisco Cas and Electric Compan\/
(Incorporated December 11, 1896)
1896-1901— Jos. B. Crockett
1902-1905— Wm. B. Bourn
1906 to date-John A. Britton

SECRETARIES
San Francisco Cas Compan\)
1852-1855— John Crane
1856-1873— Joseph G. Eastland

San Francisco Cas Light Company
1873-1878— Joseph G. Eastland
1879-1896— William G. Barrett

Sun Francisco Cas and Electric Company
1896-1901— William G. Barrett
1902todate-Chas. L. Barrett

LAKE ALTA, IN PLACER COUNTY

The Storage System of the South Yuba
Water Company

Bp H. M. COOPER, Auburn Water District.

THE denudation of the forests of Cali-
fornia since its settlement in 1849, more
particularly in the middle central section of
the State, has made the conservation of water
a difficult problem. The United States Gov-
ernment realizing the necessity for the preser-
vation of the forests, primarily for water
conservation, has, within the last decade, estab-
lished stringent regulations, and has, at cer-
tain vital points of the State, established forest
reserves for the purpose of protecting the re-
maining trees, and aiding thereby the protec-
tion of the watersheds, that, in the future
years, will be invaluable to the industries of the
Coast. Within the northeasterly regions of the
South ^'uba system little or no timber ever
grew, the granite walls of the Sierra Nevadas
affording little foothold for foliage.

The high altitudes precipitate large quan-
tities of snow during the winter season and
the run-offs from the watersheds controlled
by the South Yuba Water Company, follow-
ing the average winter, more than provide for
the needs of the company in its supply of water
for mining, irrigation, and domestic purposes.
The watersheds, particularly of Lake For-
dyce. Lake Spaulding, Meadow Lake, and
the chain of lakes known as Felley, Culberton,
etc., would provide, with additional storage,
more than sufficient water to supply not only
the needs of the South Yuba water system
as at present developed, but also the entire
Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys with
water for municipal purposes, and there would
then be a sufficient quantity left to supply
the entire City and County of San Francisco.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Lakes of Lake Vall

Many opportunities are presented for the
utilization of the waters stored at the higher
ahitudes for the generation of electric power,
particularly in the canyons of the Yuba
River, and on the South and Middle Forks
are splendid reservoir sites as yet unde-
veloped. 1 he dams at Lake Fordyce and
Lake Spaulding could be materially mcreased
m height to afford additional storage.

The following is a brief description of the
present storage capacities possessed by the
South Yuba Water Company generally, giv-
ing the character of dam, structures, and
capacities of present available water.

Few people, aside from those directly inter-
ested, realize the importance of an efficient
water storage, and the great cost and many
details necessary to conserve a portion of the
winter floods for use during the dry or irrigat-
ing season.

The South Yuba Water Company diverts
from storage alone, into the canals about

1,000,000 miner's inches; this is the amount
of water in reserve and is not drawn upon
until all overflow or surplus .water has been
consumed. The present season storage was
drawn upon on July 20th, and with reason-
able care on the part of consumers the amount
should be sufficient to keep up the supply dur-
ing the dry season.

As early as 1850, ditches were con-
structed to supply water for miners using
"long toms," although it was not long before
the system of hydraulic mining was intro-
duced, necessitating more ditches and an in-
creased water supply; later all hydraulic min-
ing was enjoined, which decreased the de-
mand for water to such a degree that improve-
ments in the system came to a standstill.
Within a few years the consumption began to
increase, due to the rapid strides in electricity
requiring hydro-electric generating stations,
and the development of deep-mining using
water to operate pumping plants, hoist, etc..

Storage System of the South Yuba Water Company

/j^S^

)iNC 106,500 Miner's Inches

and the planting of extensive orchards which
depend entirely on storage water for irriga-
tion, until today the water requirements are
much greater than ever before.

To meet the almost continuous growing de-
mands, a series of lakes has been and is now
being constructed for storage purposes. At
present this system comprises 23 lakes and
reservoirs, which have a combined holding
capacity of 48,700 acre feet, or 1,227,000
miner's inches, equivalent to 2,122,022,000
cubic feet, or 15,915,165,000 gallons.

The above figures represent the total amount
of stored water. Absorption, which is the com-
bined action of evaporation and percolation,
represents the loss of a large amount of water.
Howeyer, the loss from deep lakes is much
less than from shallow ones having the same
surface area, where climate and altitude are
identical. The evaporation is least when the
air is quiet, the temperature of water low, and
the atmosphere moist. When brisk winds are

blowing which disturb the water surface, on
a hot day, the evaporation is greatest, as the
unsaturated air readily absorbs the vapors
arising from the disturbed water. Naturally,
the deeper the lake the less water is exposed
to the sun, holding the water at a lower tem-
perature than otherwise. The cool water tends
to condense the moisture from the warm air,
which is a gain, rather than a loss as many
would suppose. In a shallow lake with the
temperature of the water higher the evapora-
tion is greatest, therefore, when conditions
permit, it is desirable to draw off the small
and shallow lakes during the early part of the
season, thereby preventing a considerable loss
due to evaporation. The deep water lakes are
held intact until the latter end of the season.
The largest and most important storage is
Lake Fordyce, lying in portions of sections
25, 26, 34, 35 and 36 T. 18 N., R. I 3 E.,
with a small part in section 3, T. 17 N., R.
I 3 E., covering a flooded area of 5 I 0 acres.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

BEAR VALLEY LAKE

WATER LEAVING ALTA POWER HOUSE

With a capacit}- of about 400,000 miner's
inches. The dam was built in 1871 and
1872, and is composed of solid masonry,
75 feet high and 645 feet long. It has a
catchment area of 30.15 square miles, a
maximum capacity of 875,000,000 cubic
feet, which is equivalent to 20,090 acre
feet or 404,166 mirjer's inches in 24
hours. Elevation at crest of dam, 6294
feet; at bottom outlet, 6225.

The dam is of earth and rock fill, faced
with 3-inch x 8-inch plank on inner side,
with a maximum height of 92 feet, and
length of crest 800 feet; the width of
crest 5 feet, and the maximum width of
base I 39 feet; the inner slope is 1:1, and
the outer slope i:\ and \:\.

The spillway is 99 feet wide x 3 feet
7 inches deep, with checking planks bring-
ing high water to crest of dam.

The outlet pipe is 36 inches in diameter,
of {-inch iron, surrounded by 4-inch con-
crete. Flow controlled by a slide gate of
cast iron, 3 feet 6 inches x 5 feet 2] inches,
placed at upper end of pipe, and operated
from crest of dam by mechanism and stem
on face of dam. There is also a 30-inch
gate valve at the lower end of outlet pipe.

Storage System of the South Yuba Water Company

The work on Fordyce
was started by the South
^ uba Water Company
in 1875. During the
years 1874 and 1875
a large force of men
was employed, and the
dam was completed to a
height of 55 feet. A
masonry wall of two
tiers of rock was built
to form lower face. 1 hen
the body of the dam
was built up of loose
rock, hand placed; in-
ner slope of dam was
then formed by layer of
rock and earth and
faced with boards. In
I 88 1 , another tier, I 6
feet high and 5 feet wide
at the crest, was added,
bringing the dam to its
present height. It is
estimated that the run-
off is sufficient to fill the
reservoir at least twice
during the driest year.

The following list
gives a detailed account
of each lake:

Name of Elevation at Capacltv, Hater Depth
Lal(e. Crest of Dam. AJincr's Ins. Ft. Ins.

vvirinnvvvrararaMvraaMaHBHaM'iS «-i

DAM AT LAKE SPAULDINC

Sterling ....

6700

33.220

Spaulding ..

1 1 7,600

Lake Valley.

5846

106.500

White Rock.

7752

13.500

Meadow .. .

7249

92.620

Bear Valley

4365

6.500

Van Norden

6770

106.500

Upper Peak

33.200

Lower Peak

10.600

Kid Peak..

32.300

2fi

Lost River..

5.000

Blue

23.900

Rucker ....

9.600

Fuller

19.400

Upper and Lower Rock

26.000

Upper Feeley

6,000

Upper Middle

and Lower

Lindsay

Culberson

With the exception of Lake Valley, (he
whole of this water comes from the water-
shed feeding the South ^'uba River, and with

the exception of Bear Valley Lake and Lake
Valley, the storage water is controlled by
Lake Spaulding, where it is drawn from the
outlet gate into the river to be again diverted
to the Main Canal leading to the lower coun-
try. At Bear Valley a certain portion of the
water is turned out of Main Canal into the
lake, which is used for a combined storage
and regulator, from where it is drawn into the
Boardman ditch, which in turn connects with
the Lake Valley water at the head of the
Alta Power House pipe line. After leaving
the water wheels at the flower House the
water is again taken up and flows as far west
as Roseville. Placer County. The Main
t anal, after leaving Bear Valley, continues
its course as far west as Grass Valley, Neva-
da ( ountv.

The Ridge Substation at Berkeley^

By C. F. ADAMS, Engineer, Electrical Construction.

(Fig. I) The Ridge Substation

TO PERMIT the removal of high tension
wires from the cities of Oakland and
Berkeley, the Ridge Substation (Fig. 1) was
constructed. It is located a little east and
south of the quarry of the Spring Construc-
tion Company, and is now the terminus of the
60,000 volt lines from South Tower and
Elmhurst, and also of one of the branches of
the Great Western Power Company. The
low tension feeders, 1 1 ,000 volts, running
from this station supply current to Berkeley
and Oakland, and entirely replace the
60,000 volt lines which formerly passed
through Berkeley and Oakland. The station
is constructed entirely of concrete, steel, and

glass, and is designed to withstand any of the
troubles and fire risks which are incident to
high tension switching stations.

Back of the station are located the air
break disconnecting switches (Fig. 2), the
concrete reservoir and water cooling tower,
and the 60,000 volt potential transformer,
used for synchronizing purposes.

The air break switches are of the standard
horizontal double blade, rotating type, shown
on drawing No. L-2 I 34, the only new fea-
ture being the substitution of angle iron frame
for the previous all-wood construction.
Switch frames also support a line short-cir-
cuiting device, and a set of disconnecting

Ridge Substation at Berkeley

2,'jJHy\

(Fig. 2) Air Switches

switches attached to the synchronizing bus. and from this station is shown on the condens-
The entire structure is clearly shown in Fig. ing wiring diagram (Fig. 3).
I . Fig. 2 gives a view also of the rear of the The building itself is divided into two
station, 60,000 volt inlet windows, etc. The mam sections by a fire wall. The east sec-
general arrangement of circuits leading to tion contains the 60,000 volt oil switches and

9.0 mi.fo
r^Oraqa Sub.

Elmhurat I6ai
t c u . to June . t . 9 n
' ^o •*'■■ 'lunc. -to

5. -t ml. -I eu.iaV >"^

2. -^ nti. 'I ou. I?2 ^

R\D6E (sub "G")

(Fig. 3) H. T. Switching Diagram
So

/^B

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

wiring. The west section contains the trans-
formers, the 1 1 ,000 volt oil switch compart-
ments, and the switch board and operating
devices for the entire station.

treme trouble conditions, and possible ignition
of oil.

The oil tub rests on a metal shelf and is
removed for inspection by means of a small

(Fic. 4) 60 K. W. Switch

Referring to the high tension switches
(Fig. 4), some feature of their mounting are
novel. The switch itself is of the horizontal
two-break, type, the contacts being immersed
in coil held in a wood fibre container.
The switch top is of Catalina marble. Each
pole of switch is mounted in a concrete cell
with sheet iron doors. The height of this
cell places the conductors out of reach of the
attendant. The cell is designed to resist ex-

truck with a screw elevator. Each complete
three pole switch has its own concrete
compartment, and the walls of these com-
partments support the single pole discon-
necting switches used on each side of the oil
switches.

In the transformer room are located four
1500 K. W. transformers, and space has
been provided for six more when required.

The transformers are of the water-cooled

Commercial Development of Mechanical Drawing

^Aff^SBBf^^

type, the circulating water being handled by section of which is shown in Fig. 6. These

a small motor-driven centrifugal pump. The switches are the S. P. K-2 type of switch,

water drains into a concrete sump, and manufactured by the General Electric Com-

thence is elevated into the concrete reservoir pany, and each pole of the switch is enclosed

(Fig. 5) Plan of Station

and cooling tower. It is fed by gravity in a separate compartment. The operatmg

through the transformer cooling coils. mechanism for the three switches is connected

The I 1 ,000 volt oil switches are mounted to a single operating shaft and released by a

in a reinforced concrete structure, a cross- single trip.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

(Fig. 6) Section of 11 K. W. Switch Cells

The operating mechanism, disconnecting
switches, etc., were constructed by the Sacra-
mento Supply District. The switchboard is
built of ebony asbestos wood, mounted on a
pipe frame and braced to the concrete walls
and columns.

The illustrations cover fully the details
of this station. At the present time but
two sets of 1 1 ,000 volt feeders are carried
from this station. These feeders will be
increased as the growth of business may
demand.

The B. C®, S. Gauge and the Slide Rule

By) RICHARD C. POWELL, Oakland District.

^Ib^

±)

;i* J.O'f-

l S.6Z-

PowELL B. & S. Gauge
Back of rule. Dimensions to scale of L scale.

- -1

IN the last six or seven years, a number of
articles has appeared giving applications
of the slide rule to wiring problems. Most
of these, however, presuppose the diameter
as known or the rule as marked. This is true
of the following: Tidd (Electrical World,
April, 1901), Falch (Electrical World,
August, 1907) and Howard (Electrical
World, January, 1908); also, in Pick-
worth's "Slide Rule," I 0th Ed.

Sakai (Electrical Journal, Oct., 1905)
finds the resistance from the formula, log.
(IOR)=n/IO, and Nachod (Electrical
World, Sept., 1907) gives a method for
finding the diameter from the gauge number.
The writer ("Tables for Engineering Calcu-
lations," 2d Ed.) finds the diameter ( area,
resistance, and weight from the formulae

lU + n

20
50 — n

10
n— 10

10
25 — n

The formula for resistance is, of course,
the same as that given by Sakai. These for-
mulae give the complete logarithm but only
the mantissa, or decimal part, is to be set off
on the L scale on the back of the rule. The
characteristic, or integral part, merely gives

the decimal point for the sequence of figures
which are read off on the C and D scales on
the front of the rule. For sizes up to No. 1 6,
the resistance and weight will be found accu-
rate within about I %. The diameter and
area are quite accurate for the smaller sizes,
but are in error about 3% and 5'/ij, respec-
tively, for No. 4/0. More accurate for-
mulae of the same form can be written as is
seen later, but perhaps the extreme simplicity
has some advantages, and it is easier to re-
member the error than the more exact for-
mulae.

The A. I. E. E. Committee on "Units
and Standards" states that the diameters of
the B. & S. or A. W. G. are obtained
from the geometrical series in which No. 4/0
=0.460 inch, and No. 36=0.005 inch.
Hence, there must be a logarithmic relation
between the gauge numbers and the diame-
ters, since we have an arithmetical series (the
gauge numbers) related to a geometrical
series (the diameters). As this relation is a
somewhat complicated one and involves in-
commensurable quantities, the properties of
the gauge numbers are not readily inferred
from the gauge numbers themselves, as is the
case with the Edison gauge. Hence the
necessity for a table.

Since the diameter of No. 0 is not unity
and the diameters decrease as the gauge num-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

bers increase, the equation for the diameter is
of the form

k
d =

the numbers 4 0, 3/0, and 2 0 being re-
garded as ^3, 2, and —I, respectively. To
find the constants k and r we may substitute
the two sets of values, d=0.460, n^ 3,
and d=0.005, n=36. Or, merely substi-
tute one set, remembering that k must be the
diameter of No. 0. The equation then re-
duces to

0.3249
'^^ 1.12293"
From this the area in C. M. follows, since
C. M.=dM0', or
_ 105500
^ "" 1 .26098"

Taking logarithms,

log d=0.51175— 0.05035n-l.
log a=0.0235 — 0.1007n + 5.

The intergers, — I and +5, are placed by
themselves since they merely indicate the de-
cimal point, which is probably known before-
hand. Hence, neglecting these integers and
writing to only three decimals, we have
logd = 0.512 — 0.0503n,

log a = 0.0235 — O.I007n.

Since we may add and substract any integer
we please, the equation can just as well be
written

logd = 2.5l2 — 0.0503n — 3,

and it is seen that substractions are to be
taken in the algebraic sense as indicated by
the order of the equation. For example, if
n=20,

log d .„ = 0.51 2 — 1 .006 = 0.506
log a,„ = 0.0235 — 2.014 = 0.01.

By mtroducing values for the resistance

and weight per thousand mil-feet, we deduce

the equations

log r = O.I007n + 0.993 — 2,
log w = 0.504 — 0. 1 007n + 2,

where r and w are the resistance and weight

for copper per thousand feet. Similarly, for

aluminum

log r' = 0.t007n + 0.208 ~ 1.
logw'=0.981 ~0.1007n + I.

These formulae will give results agreeing very
exactly with those of the tables. Ordinarily,
however, such accuracy is not required, and
only the sizes from 4 0 to I 2 are needed.

The exact formulae can be simplified and
made to cover approximately a range of
twenty gauge numbers with an accuracy well
within I 9( , excepting in a very few cases.
The accuracy is greater for the larger sizes.
These approximate formulae are

Diameter,

log d = 0.51-~.

Area In C. M.

log a = 0.022— iQ'
Resistance of copper per 1,000 feet,

log r= ,Q-.
Resistance of aluminum per 1,000 feet,

log r' = 0.212 + —'
Weight of copper per 1,000 feel,

log w = 0.502— 1^.
Weight of aluminum per 1,000 feel,

log w' = 0.98— -^-

Resistance of copper per mile,

log r = 0.72-|-yQ-
Resistance of aluminum per mile.

log r' = 0.934 +
Weight of copper per mile,

log w = 0.224 — -y"^-
Weight of aluminum per mile,

log w' = 0.602 — Jq ■

In these equations the right hand member
is readily obtained mentally. The decimal
part only of this number is to be set off on the
L scale on the back of the rule. The se-
quence of figures for the desired quantity is
then read off on the D scale on the front of
the rule, the decimal point being known from
experience. Negative logarithms present no
difficulty since the negative logarithm of a
quantity is arithmetically equal to the positive
logarithm of its reciprocal. Any number on

B. ^ S. Gauge and the Slide Rule

the C scale above 1 0 on the D scale is the
reciprocal of the number on the D scale be-
low I on the C scale. Then, for example,
in finding the resistance of 4/0, set off 3 on
the L scale on the back and read the answer
on the C scale above 1 0 on the D scale.

The approximate equations also give the
following rules which may be more easily re-
membered than the equations:

Diameter.- — Set off on the L scale one-
half the gauge number. The diameter will
be found on the C scale above 32.4 on the
D scale. When n is negative, read on the
D scale below 32.4 on the C scale.

Area. — Set n on the L scale and read C.
M. on the C scale above 1 .05 on the D scale.
When n is negative find C. M. on the D scale
below 1 .05 on the C scale. Also, the area
in C. M. may be gotten by reading off the
square of the diameter on the Aor B scale.

Resistance. — For copper merely set n on
the L scale and read answer on the D scale
under I on the C scale; and when n is nega-
tive find on the C scale above I 0 on the D
scale. For aluminum, set n on the L scale
and read result on the D scale under 1 .62
on the C scale; when n is negative read on
the C scale above 1.62 on the D scale.

Weight. — Set n on the L scale and read
weight of copper on the C scale above 32 on
the D scale; for n negative find on the D
scale below 32 on the C scale. For alumi-
num use 96 in place of 32.

By cutting an opening through the back
of the rule and marking both the L scale and
the back, the slide rule can be made to give
the properties of the B. & S. wire gauge with
the greatest accuracy and convenience.

The gauge numbers are multiplied by
1.007 and these points marked off on the L
scale. If one wishes to carry these marks to
give sizes smaller than No. I 0, he will have
two marks near a given number. For in-
stance, near the two he will have 2.01 for
No. 2 wire and 2.08 for No. I 2 wire. All
these marks, however, will be so near the

number on the L scale that no new designa-
tions are necessary, with the exception of 4/0,
3/0, and 2/0, which are placed at 7, 8, and
9, respectively.

An opening is cut through the back expos-
ing the L scale and the set marks placed as
shown in the figure.

To find the diameter set at d the mark on
the L scale of half the gauge number. Read
the diameter on the C scale above 1 (or 10)
on the D scale. For 4/0. 3/0, and 2/0
use the set mark d/o. The area in C. M. is
found on the B scale under the 1 (or 1 0) of
the A scale.

To obtain the resistance of copper per
1 ,000 feet, set the gauge mark on the L scale
opposite r and read on the D scale under the
I (or 10) of the C scale.

For weight of copper per 1 ,000 feet, set
the gauge mark opposite the set mark w and
read on the C scale above the 1 (or 10) of
the D scale.

For the size necessary to give a certain
drop in volts V, we have

log Jj.

where I is the current in amperes and d is the
distance in thousands of feel to the load.

The quantity . , '* found on the D scale

in the usual manner and n/10 is read off the
L scale on the back. It is to be remembered
that when 5 V/Id= 1 , we have No. 0 wire,
since the logarithm of 1 is zero. Also when
this quotient is less than I , that is a fraction,
the necessary size is larger than No. 0, and
we read 7, 8, and 9 for 4 0, 3 0, and 2 0.
respectively. Should the quotient be less than
unity and the number on the L scale less than
7, we must use a cable larger than No. 4/0.
In this case the C. M. usually near enough to
determine the size of cable to be used will be
found on the C scale above 1 0 on the D
scale. The exact C. M. is this number mul-
tiplied by 1.05.

The safe carrying capacity in amperes for

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

numbers 4/0 to 1 4 may be found from the
equations

log I = 2.266 — 0.076n (weatherproof)
logl=2.l03— 0.073n (rubber covered)

Or, for weatherproof, set off 0.0 76n on the
L scale and read I on the C scale above I 85
on the D scale. When n is negative find I
on the D scale under 1 85 on the C scale.
For rubber covered take 0.073n and 127 in-
stead of 0.076n and 185.

The ordinary formulze for reactance and
capacity per mile of single wire are (where a
is the distance between wires in inches and d
is the diameter)

Reactance for one cycle per second

(0.00465 log J + 0.0019) ohms,
0.03895

capacity c :

", in microfarads.

Substituting the logarithmic expression for the
diameter in the above, we obtain

: 0.00463 ( log

n+ 18 0.007n - 0.063 \

' ' 20
0.03895

n + 16
log a + 20

0.214 — O.OOJn

If we neglect the terms containing 0.007n
we see that the greatest error will be for the
smallest value of a and the largest negative
value for n. Ordinarily, this will be for a
= 1 2" and n= —3, that is. No. 4/0 wire. In
this case x will be found in error about one-
fifth of one per cent and c about two-thirds
of one per cent. Therefore, we may correct
the formula for c to give an error not greater
than ono-third of one per cent.
The final equations then read

log a + +

18 + n
20

215.5
0.0392

log a -f-

For any given frequency f the reactance is
fx and is read off without any additional
setting by moving the runner to f, which
accomplishes the desired multiplication. Or,
instead of 215.5 in the denominator, we
would have 215.5/f. It is to be noticed
that (I8+n)/20 and (I6+n)/20 are
gotten at once, mentally.

What's the Use

After making a long trip on the train and
being worn out, and after making prepara-
tions for a nice trip and figuring on covering
much country and feeling that your "Peer-
less" (No. 528) is a trusty old buggy, when
you get out about six miles from the nearest
town the tire blows out and you have to get
out in the sand on a sweltering hot day, with
black gnats thicker than hair on a dog's
back, to make repairs — What's the Use of
having an Automobile?

Why, Mary"!

"Now remember, Mary," the teacher said
just before the school exercises, "if you for-
get some of the words when you are singing
your song, don't stop. Keep right on. Say tum-
tum-tummy-tum or something like that, and
the words will come back to you and nobody
will know the difference. Now don't forget."

On exhibition day little Mary edified her
audience with something like this:

.... and she \vears a wreath of roses
Around her tummy-tum-tum." — Everybodv' s.

Under this lille, ii is hoped each month to include a number of handy formulae, simple and approximate
methods, in all branches that B>e may run across or use in the day's worl(, so that ive may all reap the benefit
of the combined experience of those in the employ of the company.

The editor requests all employees having data of the Ifind to Ifindly submit same for publication. The
fad that a man may feel that he has not the necessary literary qualifications should not discourage him. Send
the salient features to the editor and il mill he put in convenient form and published jvilh proper credit.
Everybody get in and help.

CONVENIENT HYDRO-
ELECTRIC POWER
FORMULAE

By JAMES H. WISE, Civil and Hydraulic
Engineer.

Formulae for quickly determining approxi-
mate results in all branches of engineering
work are quite essential not only for making
rapid mental determinations, but for checking
more precise calculations which are not in-
frequently of many operations and are thus
subject to error.

Knowing the quantity of water and static
head in feet, four very simple rules for de-
termining the hydro-electric output of a power
plant have been developed and are herewith
also expressed as equations. It will be noted
that three units of water measurement are
embodied and the output can, therefore, be
calculated direct without conversion.

A miner's inch is taken as 1.5 cu. ft. of
water per minute.

(a) i M. I. will develop 2 H. P. with 1000' head

(b) I Min. Ft. ■• •• 1 K. W. •' 1000' •'

(d) I 6 K. W. •■ too- "

(a) Q (Miner's inch ) X H (feet) X .002 = H.P.

(b) Q (cu. ft. per min.) X H (feet) X .001 = K.'W.

(d) Q (cu. ft. per sec. ) X H (feet) X .06 = K.'W.

The conversion of K. W. to H. P. or vice
ver.sa, can readily be made in the usual
manner.

The value of the above equation lies in the
fact that losses such as friction or head loss
in the pipe, generator, water wheel, and trans-

former losses are all taken mto consideration,
(. e., as usually occur in high head installa-
tions of western practice.

Assuming a pipe line efficiency of 95%
a water wheel " 80%

a generator " 96'^r

a transformer " 98' J

we have a plant efficiency of 71.5%. Allow-
ing a still further loss of 1.5% to 2% for
inefficiency in regulation nozzle losses, etc.,
we obtain a switchboard output of 70o; .

Assuming well known constants, the fol-
lowing deduction of one of the formulae is
given herewith:

w = 62.5 lbs. wt. of one cu. ft. water
I H.P. = 33,000 ft. lbs. per min.
1 M.I. = 1.5 cu. ft. of water per min.
Q = quantity of water

H = static head from forebay to center of
nozzle for impulse wheels and from
surface of head water to tail water sur-
face in the case of turbines.

From the well known equation
p = QwH

we have
P. or H.P

1.5 X 62.5 X 1000'

.70:

.990

33,0C0

or practically two H. P. The approximation
being large by one-half of \ ' i , the other
formulae are obtained directly or deduced
from the foregoing.

A practical application of the formula is
as follows:

Assume the Chalf Bluff ditch is furnish-
ing the Deer Creek powerhouse continuously
with 3500 M. I. of water, the head is known
to be 830'.

Therefore

3 500 X 830' X. 002=5,8 10 H.P.
or =4.360 K.'W.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

cTWAKING AND REPAIRING

NEEDLE AND NOZZLE

TIPS

Bp L. L. FLAGG, Electra Power Division.

A simple method is used very successfully
at Electra for making new needle and nozzle
tips and repairmg old ones that have become
worn and leak. The method is used for all
sizes of nozzles from '/z" to 7 J/?" and
gives fine and accurate work.

(Fic. 1)

Figure I shows a needle tip, A, in section
screwed on a mandrel, B, that is fitted to
screw on to the lathe spindle. Take out cross
feed screw and fit cross feed slide, E, so that

it slides freely on ways. Take a piece of
^4"x2" steel and shape one edge exactly to
the shape of needle or nozzle, but leave it
Yl" longer at each end. C on Figure I
shows a piece fitted for needle.

(Fig. 2) Nozzle and Guide

Take off top slide on taper attachment and
fit a piece, G, of %"x4" steel in its place.
This is to screw guide, C, on to and also to
set it to the right taper.

Bolt a roller, D, to cross feed slide, E, so
that it will come against finished face of guide
of C. Attach a rope, F, to cross feed slide,
E, and run it over a sheave on the same level
with E, to a weight, W, which will need to
be about 200 lbs. Feed the tool to the cut
with the compound cross feed and run car-
riage so that it feeds down the slope on the
guide. The accuracy of the finished work
will depend entirely on the accuracy of
guide C.

Figure 2 shows a 6^" nozzle and a guide
for it.

"No man has yet reached so high on the
ladder of fame that he is justified in calling
for more ladder." ^f , n

timaoo I roverb.

cAutobiography of an Atom of Oil

IN the Pliocene age I was a stalwart limb
of a grand old oak growing upon
the mountain sides of a beautiful country
reaching down to the ocean. A huge glacier,
on its onward progress to the seas, buried me
many thousands of feet in the earth. There
I lay in peaceful contentment for ages, while
the slowly increasing heat of the ground trans-
formed me into particles of liquid matter.
From time to time the earth was rent with
great shocks, and seams opened up so that
faint streams of a new light came to me.
Portions of the trunk and limbs off the tree
of which I was a part, having undergone the
change to liquid, began to ascend to the un-
known world above me in a vaporous form.
Finally strange and awful sounds were heard,
and an opening appeared; with bubbling joy
I leaped to the surface, to find myself caught
by strange hands and stranger people, and
was at once locked in the cavernous depths
of what seemed to be a huge cylinder, moving
along with terrific power, bumping over un-
even surfaces, stopping, halting, until at last
one day I was permitted to escape, only to be
again imprisoned, and I then felt myself
moving along, drawn by a power over which
I had no control, until I learned from the
general conversation of those about me
(whose language I commenced to understand)
that I was going to be made into an article
which the inhabitants of the earth, under
which I had so long been buried, used to sup-
plement the God of Light — the Sun, and the
following IS as near as I can remember the
conversation which took place. The names
of various parts of wonderfully made machin-
ery through which I passed on my subsequent
voyage again to he returned to the elements
from which I came, I learned from overhear-
ing directions from a gruff man with a harsh
voice, who seemed to preside over the desti-
nies of this peculiar world.

"My, but it is getting warm," said the
Generator, a tall, rotund piece of insensate
matter located under a canopy which pre-
vented the light of heaven from coming in, to
a whizzing, whirling piece of apparatus called
the Blower (I have since learned the appro-
priateness of it as applied to some humans),
as it went at break-neck speed and blew its
breath into the face of the Generator. "All
right," said the Blower, "I'll slack up in a
minute," but he did not slack up until the face
of the Generator blushed and glowed like the
rising of the sun in the early morning. Then
I heard a low voice call out, "Wait for me";
and Steam came puffing along, driven with an
intense force and joined me in my onward
march, as we forced ourselves into the pres-
ence of this rotund body. "Let me out," I
cried, as I puffed and boiled, "you are burn-
ing me up." "Cool off," I heard the IVash-
hox say in a limpid tone, and the Lampblack
bade me "good-bye" as he drifted off to a
bottomless pit. I am glad to say that we also
parted company with a very disagreeable
chap called Naplhalene. "I will give you a
lift," said the Holder, and from there I was
passed along to the Scrubber. "You are very
dirty," said he, "and need cleaning badly,"
and after completing his herculean task, he
sent me rejoicing to his neighbor called the
Purifier. "I don't like some of your com-
pany," said Purifier, "that fellow sulphur-
etted-hydrogen is no companion for you ;
leave him with me, and I will take care of
him," and then I heard a low, sweet voice
from the Fan saying, "Hurry along," but
was stopped on my onward progress by the
Governor, who cautioned me to "Be quiet,"
and not to take on so much speed. After I
parted company with the Governor, the
roaring and howling of Mr. Main and Mr.
Service, (and they were very unsociable) ad-
monished me to part company with them, and

/^KSf^\

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

I was arrested by a little fellow who said his
name was Meter, and who insisted upon
measuring me in every part before he would
permit me to proceed. I then entered upon
a zone of intense heat, compared to which my
experience with the Generator was as a cool
summer's breeze. I asked who the chappie
was that was making me so uncomfortable.
He replied that his name was IVelsbach, and
I can assure you that I was effectually done
up by him. A peculiarly garbed individual,
whom I afterwards learned to be the house-
wife, remonstrated that I possessed too large
a bill, and I have since found that this is a
common complaint against me in this form,
though for the life of me I cannot see why.
After getting away from IVelsbach, I found
myself once more communing with Dame
Nature, and wonder if I will again have to
undergo the same amount of burying and
resuscitation that brought me into such warm
company as Old Welsbach.

STOCKTON WATER CO.

THE MERCURY RECTIFIER

The Mercury rectifier, as developed for
automobile and other battery charging, has
reached a stage of development hardly pre-
dicted some years ago. One of the difficul-
ties with the rectifier was due to the fact that
it had to be watched. If the current went
off, the battery ceased to charge; if the
rectifier was left on the circuit all night, it
was likely to overcharge. Rectifiers have
now been developed to such a point that they
are automatically started. Dial switches are
set to a suitable point, and the rectifier does
the rest. As the battery is charged, the
charging current is decreased as the battery
voltage increases. The rectifier cuts itself
out of the circuit as soon as the battery is
charged, and thus no current is wasted; and,
to the user of an electric machine, the auto-
matic rectifier is indeed a valuable asset,
owing to its simple operation.

Descriptive Data on Well No. 3 at
Pumping Station No. 2

Began settmg up, April I, 1909.

Began boring, April 10, 1909.

Finished boring, June 19, 1909.

Finished well, June 30, 1909.

Total depth, 961 feet.

Depth cased, 926 feet.

262 feet 1 4-inch double well casing at
top of well, of No. 14 gauge. 676 feet 12-
inch double well casing for balance. No. 1 4
gauge. The I 2-inch casing laps I 0 feet in-
side of the 1 4-inch, having been cut off at 252
feet from surface and the upper part removed.

The I 2-inch casing is perforated at all the
sand strata but one, at 767 feet, this one
being considered too much like quick sand.
The perforations are '/2 inch x I '/2 inch,
made in four tiers, one perforation above the
other, and put in plentifully. Forty-three
strata of sand were penetrated, varying in
thickness from I to 1 2 inches. The total
thickness of the 43 strata was 190 feet.

Below 700 feet there were I 3 strata hav-
ing a total thickness of 77 feet. Nearly all
the strata of sand were what we call "coarse
sand, " with more or less small gravel. They
all showed an abundance of water, but there
was no very unusual strong flow until 948
feet was reached, when the water flowed
slightly over the top of the casing, even with
the pumps operating heavily on near-by wells.
Several wagon loads of sand were sand-
pumped from the bottom of this well before
the sand stopped running up into the casing.
This well penetrates an unusual number of
water-bearing sand strata, it not being usual
in this locality to find more than half that
number in 1 ,000 feet.

We think this well good for one and one-
half million gallons in 24 hours, with our
centrifugal pumps.

All employees are urged to mal(e free use of this Jeparlment lo asl( questions regarding ani) phase of the
compan\f's worl( on rohich they desire information. The same freedom should be used in answering questions.
Address questions and answers to R. J. Cantrell, Nevis Editor.

Question. — Have variable speed motors
been used in this State with any marked de-
gree of success, and if so, where and what do
they operate? Chico.

Answer. — There is a large installation of 5 H. P.
single-phase, G. E. Co. Type "R-I", variable speed
motors in a printing establishment in San Francisco.
Their operation has been very successful. There is
also a large number of polyphase, variable speed
motors in use in the mines of this State and Nevada.
Variable speeds are obtained by varying the resist-
ance m the rotor by means of a drum controller.
The operation of these motors is quite successful.

S. J. L.

Question. — Tables are obtainable giving
capacity of wire for transmission of electrical
energy. Can similar tables be had giving
capacity of pipes for conveying gas at various
pressures? If so, where? A. C.

Answer. — In Newbigging's "Handbook for Gas
Engineers and Managers", pages 258 to 263, there
15 a number of tables giving the capacity of various
sized pipes at different lengths and pressures. All
are calculated from Poles formula for low pressures.

Question. — Are there any single-phase,
A. C. motors used in elevator work in this
State? If so, how do they operate?

Chico.

Answer. — The single-phase motor is not suitable
for the above type of work, and there are practically
no installations where the same is used. Polyphase
motors of special type are used successfully for
elevator and hoist work. c i i

Question. — How much distillate or gaso-
lene a horse power is required to operate
an engine of 20 H. P. or less, operating at
full load? G. R.

Answer. — An oil engine when given the best of
care and running under good conditions as regard-
ing load, etc., will use slightly less than one-tenth
gallon of 53° distillate a horse power hour, and a
slight increase over this of gasolene. It is not safe,
however, to guarantee the foregoing quantities for
average conditions, as the consumption will be more
nearly ' ^ gallon, or one pint, a horse power hour,
which is a safe and sane figure for both.

W. B. B.

1350 d-'

,'h^
\ si

Q — cu. ft. per hour.

d ^diameter pipe in inches.

h ^pressure in inches water.

s ^specific gravity.

1 =length of pipe in yards.

W. B. B.

Question. — What is the longest high ten-
sion line under the control of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company? R. M.

Answer. — The longest possible transmission of
power over the lines of the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company is from the de Sabia Power House to
San Francisco, via Nicolaus, Elmhurst, and Mission
San Jose — a distance of, approximately, 250 miles.
P. M. D.

Question. — It has been frequently noticed
that an induction meter installed on a motor
load will be found "stuck." What is the
cause and remedy? B. K..

Answer. — An induction motor, in starting, lakes
from two lo three times its normal full load current.
This heavy current rush causes the disk to be attracted
toward the magnets, causing the shaft to jump off of
the jewel, or sometimes out of the top pivot bearing.
The remedy is to set the pivot bearing and the jewel
so that the shaft will have an easy movement, but
not lo leave so much play as to allow it lo jump out
of the bearings when this heavy current rush lakes
place. X Y Z.

Commercial Development of Mechanical

Drawing

B^ JOS. P. BALOUN, Chief Draftsman.

MOST men and women, even as children,
have made drawings, or rather pictures
as they called them, and I venture to assert
that they were very creditable and that
parents were fonder of them for the humble
efforts shown. Before those days, when they
were mere tots and comforted their mother by
struggling to move, crawl, and finally walk,
they also found unmeasured pleasure in
taking a piece of white chalk or crayon and
using it on the wall or floor. The total in-
trinsic value of all this "chalk talk" of baby-
hood days was really without any positive
denomination, quite to the contrary ; we me-
chanically damaged more than was necessary.
Now many were unfortunate enough to
have the playful marking of a white wall or
tablecloth suddenly come to an end by the
upsetting of father's or Jack's ink well. You
all know the sequence of such accidents from
mother's hands. So you may gather from
some early reminiscences that efforts at pic-
ture making or drawing were not always ap-
preciated by the elder members of the family.
Later on, when we were well in our teens,
preparation for academic work taught the use
of the dividers and compass, straight edge,
ruler, and a sharp pencil. You will note that
I said "sharp" for a purpose; for next to a
dull knife, and a dull conscience, give me a
dull student and he will have a dull pencil.

How thoroughly the keen, alert teacher of
our drawing class of those preparatory days
insisted on us drawing fine lines and filially
co-elaborating the finished work with arduous
and pretentiously executed border lines and a
configuration of several minor designs in order
to develop a complete set of corners to match,
or more truthfully, to emphasize the drawing
proper. We all remember how we were

criticized for not shading our drawings suffi-
ciently or correctly, also for coloring with
too much haste. A lot of time was always
wasted on the "frills instead of on the main
garment."

But, to-day, compare the modern evening
technical schools both in this country and
abroad, their methods and results, with the
public and private pedagogical endeavors of
a few years ago. For example, the young
apprentice shipbuilder, machinist, electrician,
plate worker, pattern maker, boiler maker, or
blacksmith, or the technical salesmen such as
are now in great demand in our large manu-
facturing concerns, all these young men
can to-day, both in the large cities on this
Coast and throughout the United Slates,
secure instructions in the subject of mechan-
ical drawing absolutely free to themselves
and at the expense of the city or county.
Moreover, the practical value of such an
efficient course of instruction is due to the
present standards such technical schools and
colleges are endeavoring to maintain. Many
of their tutors having been in the rank and
file of the apprentice mechanics for some
time at least, such experience, combined with
a theoretical knowledge of the subject, places
the teacher of today in a position to direct
the training of young men.

The attempts to develop an international
conversational language are well known, and
probably the nearest approach to this at pres-
ent is the complete drawing showing to the
trained mind and eye of every nationality
the finished results as indicated in a mechan-
ical drawing. Our combination of lines and
circles and parts of them is infinite and
equally so in our numerical designation of
each integral part. The general use of such

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

a mechanical language must ever remain in
vogue for all transactions between artisan
and the commercial world. That expression
of thought and demand, representing the
world's smallest or greatest function or detail,
can not be explained and executed more
quickly or correctly than by the drawing
completely dimensioned, and representing to
some scale the correctly proportioned outlines
of the completed structure or one of. its in-
tegral details.

Thus we all acquire a conventional habit
of speaking by pictures, for with the aid of a
pencil we can easily follow a verbal descrip-
tion of a complex detailed piece of mechan-
ism, when the correct sketches are produced
as they are described. The eye always per-

bne's first practical sketches will exert a guid-
ing influence on all future work. It unques-
tionably requires considerably more patience
to place an idea on paper than to enlarge and
reduce the proportional parts carelessly, but
such an acquired ability will be an asset well
worth the short apprenticeship necessary.

With the practice of sketching mechanical
details and suggestions comes a valuable ad-
junct to the successful business man's needs,
and that is to present a given detail to him in
the form of a perspective. There are those
who are so busy in other lines that it is not at
all surprising that plans, elevations, and sec-
tional views do not immediately appeal to
them. At this period the commercial end of
our manufacturing interests finds it is exped-

ceives the actual detail of construction much
quicker than the elaborate verbal description
of the same.

The ability to make good sketches is of
great value and importance in the mechanical
world, and the more so if they be made with
especial regard to correctness of the propor-
tional parts. A little care in the execution of

ient to have a mechanical perspective, such
as an isometric projection, presented for con-
sideration, its valuable feature consisting in
showing three sides of a detail or structure at
the same time, the angles of such a projection,
as the name indicates, are equal to one another,
namely 120°. A glance at the accompany-
ing illustration will show this noticeable fea-

OUTBOARD AND I^

'O li=^o

ILLUSTRATING THE COMPLEX

COURTESY OF THE UNION IRON \

-5f^

M^^^^

o o «

lARD PROFILE OF

H DAKOTA

AIL OF A MODERN CRUISERj

RKS COMPANY, san francisco

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

j^SS^

ture, and as the draughtsman can readily pre-
pare a projection of this nature from the usu-
ally obtainable plan and elevation of the given
design, the effect produced by a mechanical
perspective drawing at such an early stage is
similar to a photograph of the same structure
after completion.

A book on history, art, science, or language
expresses a "volume of thought" ; just so does
the complex set of drawings of a battleship,
power generatmg station, lumber mill, sky-
scraper, factory, machine shop, a printing,
binding, or folding press, or a watch; any of
these and a million more ideas are to-day
being developed on paper in drawing form
first before a single detail is manufactured.
The larger of the elements of these archi-
tectural, mechanical, or electrical develop-
ments are designed and drawn to smaller
scales in absolute proportion to the finished
element. The smaller details, such as some
automatic mechanism, are schemed and com-
pleted in drawing form many times the size
of the resultant; for example, a watch two
inches in diameter can better be developed to
the finished requirement when made in draw-
ing form, twenty-four inches in diameter, or
expressing it technically, to a scale of I 2 to 1 .

Our grand specimens of naval architecture
known as first-class battleships of to-day
could not have their $5,000,000 value of
hull and equipment with all main and auxil-
iary machinery, ordinance, and details of
every nature from the wireless telegraphic in-
stallation on the mast top to the steel rivets in
the keel, properly detailed to the practical
working drawings of the shop on less than
5000 standard 30" x 42" sheets. Thus
the attempt to build any such enterprises as
these magnificent, valuable masterpieces of
our present day without a most complete set
of drawings would be a dismal failure. A
glance at the accompanying longitudinal sec-
tion of one of Uncle Sam's recently con-
structed vessels satisfactorily illustrates the
internal organism and exterior detail.

True, our linotype machine does not need

drawings to make the type, but the machine
before completion and as now in the market
needed many sheets of them for its manu-
facture. The rivet and bolt machines seem
to get along without drawings to make their
output — quite so, but the experienced oper-
ator well knows how sensitive the various ad-
justments are to get longer and larger bolts
and rivets; these required innumerable draw-
ings and sketches. The conductor and motor-
man handle their cars to the satisfaction of
the company without drawings, but that same
company knows that their rolling stock, from
the trolley support to the powerhouse and
the transmission system beyond that, required
a volume of drawings for their construction.

The advance of the world to-day is due
to the invaluable drawings of its wonderful
enterprises, and to the skillful ability of our
presidents, managers, superintendents, fore-
men, mechanics, and apprentices of each and
every one of our industrial institutions and
their various departments in being able to read
and discuss the merits of the engineering con-
structions in their respective lines through the
medium of mechanical drawing.

zA Receipt for Sanity

Are you worsted in a fight?

Laugh it off.
Are you cheated of your right?

Laugh it off.
Don't make tragedy of trifles.
Don't shoot butterflies with rifles —

Laugh it off.

Does your work get into kinks?

Laugh it off.
Are you near all sorts of brinks?

Laugh it off.
If it's sanity you're after.
There's no receipt like laughter

Laugh it off.

Henry Rutherford Elliot.

Poe and the Gas Trust

B]) JAMES MONTAGUE.

Gas has been put into the Poe cottage at Fordham. Such an alleged improvement
in the poet's time would have made it impossible for him to write "The Raven," but
his thoughts might, nevertheless, have found some equally metrical form, like this
for example:

In that capital of Boredom, which is known to fame as Fordham,

Where the brawling Bronx breaks bravely on its shingly, shelving shore,
Once — Oh, recollection bitter! — came a gruff and grim gasfitter.

Knocking with a pair of pipe-tongs — knocking on my chamber door.
"Wretch!" I savagely inquired; "don't you see that I'm inspired;

Don't you see I'm writing poems like no man has writ before? "
"Say, I've come to set a meter!" said the man, and I, discreeter.

Let him in, although I mumbled as he stumbled through the door:

"Set a meter? Why in thunder do you set one here, I wonder?

That's my business, setting meters, I have set them by the score.
All my plagaristic brothers borrow mine and use no others.

That is what, in their opinion, I invent my meters for."
But the man with tongs and hammer, fell to work amid a clamor.

Breaking pipes, while his apprentice sauntered to the shop for more.
And in eight distracting hours, said "She's finished, be the powers!"

And, departing, left the meter perched above my chamber door.

"Troth," I said, "a merry meter, how could anything be sweeter?"

As I listened to the whirring of the wheels that raced and tore.
And I left the jets all burning so the wheels could keep on turning.

And, inspired by their music, reeled off poetry galore.
But ere long a bill collector came around to nag and hector

Me for money, and I learned from him a thing whereat I swore —
Every single revolution forced from me a contribution

To the Gas Trust of the magnitude of ninety cents or more.

"Turn it off!" I shrieked in terror. "Better is the gloom of error.

Better is the deepest pit upon the night's Plutonian shore
Than this light, whose gloom-dispelling my expense account is swelling

So that even Rockefeller would go broke against the score."
But, though no more gas was burning, still the meter kept on turning.

Churning, easy money earning, for the Trust's o'erflowing store.
Still it sits there ticking, clicking, and whenever I go kicking

To the Trust to choke it off, they calmly answer, "Nevermore!"

](i:i

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PIF.I.ISHEI> IN THK INTEKKST OF THE EM I-I.l IVKE?
OF THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTEIC COMPANY

JOHX A. BRITTON, -

R. J. CANTRELL. -

A, F. HOCKENBEAMER -

Editok

News Editop.

Business Manager

ComiiHinications c'ont;iinini,' items of iiiltM-r^t to tin
meinl)ers slioul.l lifseiit to th.' N'r«s Editor. I; .1. ranir.^ll
44-') SutttT St.. San Kraiirisco, i 'al. In onliT loai)|i''ar in i
certain issue tliese items must lie in the liaml.^ of the New
Editor by the twelfth of the preceding month.

Vol. I

AUGUST, 1909

No.

EDITORIAL

Ingratitude has been defined from time
immemorial as the greatest of sins, and with
it can readily be classed DISLOYALTY.

Loyalty is a characteristic which should
govern the acts of every man who occupies a
position in life in which he is dependent upon
others for a livelihood. It is not a mere return
for daily, weekly, or monthly wages for a man
to fulfill the duties allotted to him of time
serving, within the hours of his employment
or of those prescribed by regulations of organ-
ized labor. 1 he man who occupies any posi-
tion, from that of laborer to the highest office
in the gift of his employer, should devote, not
only his actual physical and mental energies
to its employment during hours prescribed, but
should at all other times be eager and will-
ing to do everything that will tend to the bet-
terment of the company by which he is em-
ployed. The man who does otherwise is to a
degree disloyal to the interests which he
serves, and, unless he can devote his entire
energies and abilities to do of that which
makes for the betterment of his employment,
should not, under the cloak of being a mere
attache, remain in the employ of the company.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company
expects from every employee that same meed
of loyalty that the employee himself would
expect and does require from those with
whom he associates. It is unfair and unjust
for any man not to give all that he possesses,
within reasonable limitations, to the interests
which are helping him to gain a livelihood.

The editor feels that a more loyal band of
willing workers does not exist than those on
the roll of the company, and it is the desire
of this magazine to instill into the minds of all
of the men and women employed, that their
interests and their welfare, not only physi-
cally, but mentally, is of paramount import-
ance to the management.

Let loyalty, therefore, to the interests for
which you are laboring, be the one leading
idea in your minds, so that the success and
increase of prosperity of the corporation will
be assured not only to yourselves, but to those
who are directly, financially, interested in the
corporation.

With this number of the magazine is a
large view of the 250 men and women com-
prising the general executive and local forces
at headquarters in San Francisco. The
photograph was made one noon hour in the
back garden of the old convent that was
leased and occupied for office purposes from
the time of the fire until the removal, August
20th, to the company's own, big, new office
building downtown. Although the group is a
large one it shows but one-sixteenth of the
army of 4,000 people that comprise the con-
stant working force of the company's entire
system, which is spread as a mighty network,
connecting cities, towns, and po'wer plants,
over all that immense central third of Cali-
fornia from Chico to Fresno and from the
Sierras to the sea. But from individual ele-
ments in this group radiate the personal in-
fluences that control, unify, and coordinate the
connected parts of the widely spread plan and
make of seemingly scattered interests one great
commercial enterprise.

What the editor most desires is plenty
of raw material, — not too raw, of course, —
and then the chunks and screenings from all
the mines of personal information can be con-
verted into illuminating gas or into electric
energy that may reach its readers through a
live wire, but without shocking them.

104

BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH

PAUL MILTON DO^A^NING

ENGINEER OF OPERATION

c/lND MAINTENANCE
HYDRO-ELECTRIC SECTION

As illustrative of what pluck and energy
will accomplish, the gradual rise of Paul Mil-
ton Downing, Engineer of Operation and
Maintenance of the Hydro-Electric Section
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
will prove interesting.

He was born at Newark, Mo., on Novem-
ber 27, 1873, and like all others, native of
his State, he has had "to be shown" during
the whole of his life. He graduated from the
grammar school in May, 1 889, and took the
degree of B. S. from Washington College in
I 891 , thereafter entering Stanford University,
from which he graduated with the degree of
A.B. in 1895. During his college career he
took a particularly active part in athletics and
was a feature of the football team in all of
the years in which he was connected with
Stanford University, becoming captain of the
team in his year of graduation. The victories
earned by that team are of record and are a
tribute to the determination of the man which
has marked his career ever since.

He was first employed by the Tacoma
Light and Power Company, Tacoma, Wash.,
as a dynamo tender. Seeking for other worlds
to conquer and dissatisfied with the position
of unimportance in the electrical engineering
field, he became the assistant motor inspector
and power house operator of the Market
Street Railway Company, San Francisco,
during the years 1896-7. In the latter year,
the Blue Lakes Water Company began the

PAUL MILTON DOWNING

operation of the old power houses at Blue
Lakes City, Cal., and, his merits being recog-
nized by the promoters of this industry, he was
offered and accepted the position of station
superintendent. 1 his was one of the first
hydro-electric plants operating in California
and had I 800 K. W. capacity at the time
operating at 1 0,000 volts, stepped up from
2300 V. generating rating, and the current
was principally used for the supply of mines
in and about Jackson and Sutter Creek in
Amador County.

In 1 898 he became associated with John
Martin, at that time agent for the Stanley
Electric Mfg. Company, in the installation
and operation of electrical apparatus, especi-
ally in connection with long distance high volt-
age transmission systems. During his connec-
tion with Mr. Martin he installed the hydro-
electric plant for the Tuolumne Light and
Power Company. His restless nature at that
time forbade limiting his capabilities to mere
installation of apparatus, and in 1900 he be-
came the chief electrician for the Standard
Consolidated Mining Company at Bodie, Cal.
As indicative, in a measure, of the versatility
of the man, he subsequently became the man-

lO.T

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

ager of the Colusa Gas and Electric Com-
pany, Colusa, Cal., and had, while with it,
charge of the installation of the electric dis-
tribution system, and also rebuilding the gas
works and managing both branches of the
industry.

In 1901 he became the division superin-
tendent of the Bay Counties Power Company
at San Francisco, handling all work in con-
nection with the transmission and distribution
of ]X)wer generated from hydro-electric sta-
tions and transmitted at that time — what was
deemed a few years before impossible —
45,000 volts.

Since 1 903 he has occupied the position of
superintendent of the sub-stations of the Cali-
fornia Gas and Electric Corporation and oper-
ating engineer of that corporation and the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and is in
a way, illustrative of the magnitude of the
work under his immediate construction and
control. There are at the present time de-
pendent upon his oversight five hundred miles
of ditches and flumes; eleven hydro-electric
power houses, ranging in capacity up to
20,000 K. W., and having a total capacity
of 50,000 K. W. ; 800 miles of three-phase
transmission lines carrying voltages up to 60,-
000; he has charge of a hundred sub-stations

supplied from the above lines, these sub-
stations having installed a total rated capacity
of 90,000 K. W.

In charge of this great division of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, he has
endeared himself to all of the employees under
his charge. He has a most attractive person-
ality, and is able to accomplish, without fric-
tion, the work of supplying more than one-
third of the State of California with electric
light and power.

No better evidence could be given to the
rising young man of today of the good results
which must follow from strict attention to
duties imposed upon one. As he progressed
from a college graduate, he was quick to grasp
every opportunity that presented itself for his
betterment, and showed by his untiring devo-
tion to duty, coupled with the physical ability
of his own, ability to withstand the shocks of
the very requiring obligations, and so has
worked into a position as great in importance
as that occupied by any man in the United
States of America.

A smiling countenance and quick percep-
tion of right and wrong, a fairness of action,
and with all, a temperate mind and body, are
not only good things to possess, but they are
excellent examples for the rising generation.

Reading Gas Meters

'I once had a most peculiar case," said a
celebrated oculist. "Every time this patient

started to read he would double No, he

was a sober man!"

"Poor fellow!" remarked a listener. "It
must have interfered sadly with his progress
in the world."

"Not at all," responded the oculist. "A
gas company gave him a lucrative post — he
went round checking the meters."

Grand RapiJs, Mich.. Juh 28, 1909.

Editor, Pacific Cas and Electric Magazine,
San Francisco, California.
Dear Sir: — IVe have received a cop^ of y^our
publication, the second issue of Volume One, and
rvc would li\e to subscribe to it.

Enclosed herewith please find fiftv cents for which
you will Ifindlv send us the publication for one year.
Permit us to congratulate you upon the variety and
value to gas and electric men of the articles published
in this issue. This magazme should unquestionably
be of value to your organization. It will be a
pleasure to receive it each month.
Very truly yours.

Child, Hulswit & Co.
By M. S. Child. Secretary.

In Memoriam — Harry J. Edwards

THE announcement in ihe July issue of
this magazine of the death of H. J.
Edwards, District Manager at San Jose, was
but a brief epitome of the man.

Of all the various records of his life, as
printed in the daily press, there is none that
more fully and
feelingly illustrates
the man as he was
than the following
editorial from the
San Jose Mercury
and Herald, pub-
lished on Sunday,
July II, 1909:

By John E. Richards.

"Years ago,
when Harry J.
Edwards was in
the prime of life
and when we were
associated in busi-
ness engagements
and enterprises
which called for
the most strenuous
exercise of our di-
verse abilities and

out of which grew a relation of personal
friendship and confidence which will ever
remain a treasured memory, he asked me to
write his obituary, and I promised so to do.
I am impelled tonight to fulfill that promise
by the spirit of my dead friend which calls
to me from beyond the veil.

"I shall not deal in dates, nor in family
records of births and marriages or movements
from place to place. 'We live in deeds, not
years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings,
not in figures on the dial.' I shall, however,
refer to the stock from which he sprang. He

HARRY J. EDWARDS

was a direct descendant of Jonathan Ed-
wards, that rigid old Puritan theologian and
the foremost reasoner of his time; though his
descendant was not a theologian, he had that
stern sense of the real right of things and
clear, practical insight into the simple facts
of our human life
and nature which
marked him as an
Edwards by right
of birth. It would
seem strange to
call Harry Ed-
wards a Puritan,
but that IS because
the real Puritan
character is so
little understood.
Beneath the hard
crust of the con-
ditions and age in
which Puritanism
was developed,
there flowed
through the hearts
and lives of the
New England
forefathers a very
warm current of
humanness. They lived close to Nature's
heart, and the intensity of the human quali-
ties which they there developed are easily
discernible in their descendants of today the
world over. So Harry Edwards, in his
very marked characteristics of interblended
strength and weakness; in the intense human-
ness of his many-sided character, was a
Puritan at heart; a true type of his ancestry.
"I dwell upon this side of his nature be-
cause by it he was best known and will be
longest remembered. I could cite numberless
instances illustrating these striking traits of his

1(17

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

/jS^\

character from the first time I ever saw him,
when he risked and almost lost his own life
in rescuing a workman of his company from
asphixiation, and came to with a joke on his
lips, down to the last time I saw him, a few
days ago, when he shook his head gamely
and told us he was 'still in the ring.' Who
but the sturdiest kind of a genuine man could
have fought and won the battles of the last
quarter of a century during which he rose
from the position of a collector of the old gas
company to be and to remain the local head
of the greatly increased and diversified en-
ergies of that institution in the face of per-
sistent and intense antagonism? Who else
among us could have retained throughout
this struggle a perfectly imperturbable good
nature, have made friends of his antagonists,
have won every battle of his life save the
final one by sheer force of personal character,
and have gone down to his grave at last with-
out an enmity and with a smile on his face?
Who else could have originated that delicious
fiction of 'The Royal Family' round which
many of the jests of his every-day intercourse
with men were woven, and have ruled his
subjects with an unquestioned scepter until the
title of 'The King' became his by general
acceptation? Dispute however we may about
the rules and proprieties of our social life, we
must all agree that it took a man, a genuine
man, a large-hearted and many-sided man, a
King among men, to take the place and play
the part in life which Harry Edwards, 'The
King,' took and played successfully for the
past twenty-five years in San Jose.

"There is another side of his nature of
which I should speak. Harry Edwards was
a Puritan in the strictness of his views regard-
ing the character and exalted place of woman
in society, and the sacredness of home. And
this, considering his strongly marked physical
characteristics, is no slight praise. Among
his thousand jokes and sallies, no one ever
heard or saw him take pleasure in the merely
gross. He bore a strong likeness to Lincoln

in the play of his humor; but, like Lincoln,
he had no relish for vulgarity. Those who
go to his home today to look their last upon
his face will find in that home, and its occu-
pants, ample proof of his fidelity to our best
ideals of what a man's home life should be.

"Finally, as to his friends, their name is
legion, and they are to be found in every
walk and condition of life. Every man of
his acquaintance is his friend. Every man
who now is or ever was in his employ is his
friend; and his best friends are those who
know him best. Friendship has many degrees,
and there are many men who, from their own
coldness of heart or fickleness of temper,
never come to realize, in this life, the Divine
quality which true friendship between man
and man can attain. But Harry Edwards
did realize and experience in his relations with
no small circle of his fellow-men the best and
noblest that there is in human friendship. His
friends were 'grappled to his soul with hoops
of steel.' Hundreds of them today will stand
with tear-wet cheeks about his grave and
testify that this is true. By these his friends
Harry Edwards will be more missed and
mourned and will also be longer and more
affectionately remembered than any other man
who has recently, in this community, passed
from this to another life.

"A word as to that passage. For three
years we have watched his struggle in the
grasp of the dread destroyer, going gamely
on; have seen his form distorted and his visage
changed by the intensity of the duel between
himself and death. But he did not change.
The same dauntless spirit, the same indomit-
able will, the same cheerful nature which had
faced every other issue of his strenuous life,
looked with clear and fearless eyes into the
face of his unconquerable adversary; and
through it all and down to the very final
moment of the struggle for life, yes, and
beyond it, we saw that Harry Edwards was,
every inch of him — a man. 'After life's
fitful fever he sleeps well.' "

Municipal Matters

To this, the writer can add but Httle. From
a personal acquaintance with Harry Edwards
extending over a period of twenty-five years,
emphasis can be laid upon the good words
penned by Judge Richards.

The one strong characteristic of Harry
Edwards was his unfaltering loyalty to those
for whom he labored. His friendships were
as strong as his own mentality, and he never

forgot a friend or forgave an enemy. He
represented a type of the Californian that
buffeted the storms of an awakening civihza-
tion, and went to his final rest with the same
resoluteness of purpose that marked his whole
active life.

It will be many days before California will
duplicate such a man as he was.

J. A. B.

cTVlunicipal Matters

B\) GEO. C. HOLBERTON.

The city has provided a fund of $1000
to enable the Chief Engineer of the Fire De-
partment to inspect and mvestigate the work-
ings of high pressure water systems for fire
protection in eastern cities.

If IS interesting to note that in the vicinity
of the company's North Beach works, the
Board of Public Works have removed the
old buildings on the west of the North Beach
playground site and will immediately con-
struct tanks which are to be used for swim-
ming purposes. In case of emergency these
tanks are arranged so that they can be drawn
upon by the Fire Department. Plans have
also been perfected for the erection of a
gymnasium on these grounds, and bids on
same will be called for in the near future.

As we are all aware from the daily press,
San Francisco is installing a very elaborate
distributing system to take care of any bad
fire which might occur in connection with an
earthquake. The general plan has been quite
thoroughly outlined, but it might be interest-
ing to note some of the details, for instance, a

contract has been awarded to the United
States Cast Iron Pipe Foundry Co. for
$920,988.50; seventy carloads of this pipe
have been shipped and fifty-eight have ar-
rived and have been unloaded. The bids
for the gate valves have been awarded to the
Pelton Water Wheel Company. As this
amounts to an expenditure of approximately
$400,000, it is interesting to note that the
award has been made to a local concern.

There are also plans and specifications out
for cast steel special castings aggregating 155
tons; also certain cast steel specials will be
awarded on the 1 6th of August, involving
2378 tons.

The city is also installing a special pipe
testing plant so that all this pipe can be thor-
oughly tested and investigated before being
placed. The pipe proving press has been
tested up to I 200 pounds pressure the square
inch. This testing plant has been erected at
Sixth and Hubbell streets and power for
same has been supplied by the San Francisco
Gas and Electric Company.

109

jr ^-^ ,

Basebal
News

— —

-^^h

1 MURPHY AND MENSING

FEENEV AND CONWAI

Saturday, July" 10

San Francisco captured the second game
of the series by the score of 8 to 5.

The Pacific's team appeared on the field
with several new men. Scanlon pitched
good ball. Feeney and Murphy, the battery
of San Francisco, played ball from start to
finish, and certainly proved a big help toward
gaining the second victory.

SCORE

P. G. &E. Co.— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.

Hall, lb 5 I I 10 0 0

Sullivan, 2b. ..... 5 0 I 1 2 2

Barieau, s 4 0 2 2 4 0

Mensing, 3b 3 0 I 0 3 1

Murphy, If ..3 I 0 I 0 3

Barthol, rf 5 I I 0 0 0

Scanlon, p 4 I I I 3 I

Bear, cf 2 0 0 I 0 I

Ortega, c 2 I 0 II 0 0

Total 32 5 7 27 12 8

S.F.G.& E.Co.— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.

Mogan, 3b 4 I 0 I 2 I

Melbourne, 2b. ... 4 I 0 4 3 I

Egan, s 4 2 I 2 3 I

Murphy, c 3 2 I 9 0 0

Cavanaugh. lb. ... 5 0 2 8 0 0

Brearty. cf 4 0 0 0 0 0

Lally, rf 3 0 0 0 0 0

Hanifan, If 3 0 I I 0 0

Feeney, p 2 2 0 2 I I

Total 32 8 5 27 9 4

Score by Innings ... 1234 56789

P. G. & E. Co.... 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
S. F. G. & E. Co.. 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 3

Two-base hits — Cavanaugh, Sullivan. First on
balls — Off Scanlon, 2; off Feeney, 4. Struck out — •
By Scanlon, 8; by Feeney, 6. Umpire, Conway.

Saturday, July^ 17

The Hibernia Bank team gave battle to
a picked nine chosen from Pacific and San
Francisco. In the first inning, after Melbourne
and Murphy went out, Trowbridge singled to
center, Egan advancing him to third on a long
hit to right field, scoring a moment later when
Cavanaugh hit past short. Trowbridge, Hall,
and Mensing all drove the horse-hide to differ-
ent parts of the lot, putting three men on bases ;
when Melbourne, by a long hit to the right
field fence, sent the three runs across the pan,
scoring himself a moment later when Murphy
^vith his big stick sent a safe drive to center
field. After the second, it was simply walk-
ing, until, at the close, San Francisco and
Pacific team had 1 3
. ____ to Hibernia's 3.
A .liOvfT^ii* Hibernia's three runs
came in the ninth,
made after Barieau
missed an easy
grounder to short.

MECOWAN

Pacific & S. F. SCORE
G. & E. Co.— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.

Melbourne, cf. . . . 5 2 2 I 0 0

Murphy, c 5 2 I 3 2 0

Barieau, ss 3 I 1 2 3 1

Egan. 2b 3 0 2 4 0 0

Cavanaugh, rf. . . . 4 0 0 0 0 0

Trowbridge, 3b. . . 5 I 0 2 2 I

Hall, lb 4 2 I 9 I 0

Mensing, If 3 3 I 4 I 0

Feeney, p 3 2 I 2 2 0

Totals 36 13 9 27 II 2

110

Baseball News

Hibernia Bank— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.
Muhl. ss 4 I 1 2 2 6

Mahoney, 2b 3 I 2 2 0 2

Delisle, cf 3 I 0 1 0 0

Byrne. 3b 2 0 0 2 I 3

Dougherty, p 3 I I 2 3 I

Molly, c 3 0 0 6 I 0

T. Dougherty, lb.. I 0 0 6 0 2

Beardsley, If 2 0 0 I 0 0

Ellrod, rf 3 0 0 2 I 0

Totals 25 4 4 24 8 14

Score by Innings... 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Pac. & S. F I 4 0 3 2 0 0 3

Hibernia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

Two-base hits — Melbourne. First on balls — Off
Feeney, 4; off Dougherty. I. Struck out — By
Feeney, 3; by Dougherty, 5. Umpire, Conway.

SaUirday, Juljr 24

A good crowd showed up at St. Ignatius
Stadium to see San Francisco put the finish-
ing touches on Pacific to the tune of 4 to 3.
This was the best game of the series, plenty
of hitting and just enough misplays to make
the game even.

As the score shows, up to the ninth inning
the game stood 3 to 3. In the ninth, Brearty,
the first man up, hit for a single; Egan drove
a long hit to the outfield, sending Brearty to
third, where he stood while the "boy wonder"
Bigley, a new find, did his usual stunt,
striking out. Murphy saved the day by send-
ing a long hit to right garden, scoring Brearty
— ending the game with the score in favor of
San Francisco.

Here is the story told in figures:

P.G. &E.Co.— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.
Hall, c 4 I I 12 0 0

Mensing, If 4 I I I 0 0

Barieau, ss 3 I I 0 2 2

Trowbridge. 3b. . . 4 0 0 2 I 3

Swan, lb 3 0 0 4 I 0

Barlhol, cf 4 0 I I 0 0

Sullivan, 2b 4 0 I 3 I I

Bear, rf 3 0 I I 0 0

Scanlon, p 4 0 I I 2 0

Total 35 3 7 25 7 6

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

THE ONLY MURPHY IN CHARACTERISTIC POSE

S.F.G.& E.Co.— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.
Oldis, cf 4 I 0 0 0 0

Brearty, If 4 2 2 2 0 0

Eagan, 2b 4 I 0 7 5 0

Bigley, rf. & ss.... 5 0 0 0 2 4

Murphy, c 4 0 0 9 3 0

Bennett, ss. & rf.. . 4 0 0 0 I 0

Lally, 3b 4 0 2 I 0 I

Feeney, p 4 0 2 I I 0

White, lb 3 0 0 7 0 I

Total 36 4 8 27 12 6

Score by Innings... I 23456789

P. G. & E. Co 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0

S. F. G. & E. Co.. 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 I

Two-base hits — Brearty, Murphy, Hall, Feeney.
First on balls — Off Scanlon, 2; off Feeney, 1.
Struck out — By Scanlon, 12; by Feeney, 8. Um-
pire— Van E. Britton.

cA Challenge From the Colgate
Team

On July 25th the team from the Colgate
Power House played its initial game with
Oregon House, winning easily by a score of
1 4 to 6.

One of the features of the game was the
work of Superintendent Adams, who more
than surprised the boys by his batting and
the manner in which he covered first base.

The second game, with the Rackerby
team, showed a great improvement over the
former game. From the first inning Colgate
was in the lead, the final score being H to 1 .

They are well organized and desire to
play any team in the company.

WALLACE FOSTER

NEEDED THE MILK

It was three years ago. The statute of
limitations has run even if the tale is a true
one. Up to one morning three years ago
Wallace Foster, the local manager of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Co., had never seen
a deer. He had a vague notion that they
might have four legs and that they lived out
in the balmy woods. It was in this blissful
state- of mental darkness that the man of live
wires, meters, and water gas found himself
at the head of a ravine in the Lucas Valley,
waiting, rifle in hand, for his friend Tom
O'Connor to drive a buck up to him. In due
time the brush cracked and a deer jumped
out about ten feet from the quaking hunter.
There was a deafening volley from the rifle
and lead was sprinkled over the yellow hill-
sides from Black Gulch to Big Rock. As
the smoke cleared away a deer lay dead
twenty feet from Foster. O'Connor and his
friends rushed up and at first sight of the
carcass were horrified. "Where are the
horns?" yelled O'Connor. "Horns," queried
the electric baron. "Horns?" Just as one
of his great arc lights is wont to throw a
penetrating brightness into the gloom and mist
of a moonless winter night, so his mental light
began to penetrate the darkness that befogged
the situation in his "mind's eye." "Horns?"
he queried again. "I don't need horns, but
what's the matter with milk?" This tale is
vouched for by O'Connor, who, when he is
not busy doing an architect stunt on buildings
is energetic in annoying his friends. — Marin
Coiinlv Tocsin.

Commercial Notes

Bl, S. V. WALTON, Commercial Agent.

A contract has been closed with the Pat-
terson Ranch Company, for delivering about
1 000 horse-power to be used for pumping
water from the San Joaquin River, for the
purpose of irrigating a tract of ! 8,000 acres
of land.

Arrangements have been made with the
North American Dredging Company for de-
livering about 800 horse-power to them at
the Stockton Channel, near the city of Stock-
ton, for dredging out the Stockton Channel
from a point just inside the city limits to the
San Joaqum River, a distance of about
8,000 feet. They have found that electri-
city is a much cheaper power than steam or
gasoline, both as to economy of equipment
and operating cost.

A contract has been closed with the United
States Government for supplying light and
power to the Navy Yard at Mare Island.
The island is supplied by means of a 1 0,000-
volt submarine cable about 2,000 feet long,
extending from Vallejo across the Mare
Island Strait.

A contract has just been entered mto with
the Los Gatos Ice Gas and Electric Com-
pany for delivery of current to it at our
Mountain View substation. The Los Gatos
company will distribute this current in Sara-
toga, Los Gatos, Los Altos, and intervening
territory. The company already has a small
water power plant in Los Gatos, but is un-
able to develop enough power to supply the
demand.

Several new contracts have been secured
in the San Joaquin Reclamation District. It
has been four years since we first ran a line
into this district and supplied power on the
Orwood, Rindge, Victoria, and Woodward

Tracts, the installations for the first year
amounting to only 500 horse-power. The
land owners were soon convinced that pump-
mg by electric power was cheaper and very
much more convenient than by steam or gaso-
on other tracts. Our main 60,000-volt Herd-
lyn-South Tower transmission line reaches
the west side of the district, where a sub-
station is established on the Orwood Tract,
the various tracts being supplied by I 0,000-
volt lines extending from the sub-station.

J. D. Farwell, of the Los Gatos Electric
Gas and Ice Company, has very recently
closed a contract with this company for
power to supply Los Gatos, Saratoga, Los
Altos, and all the intervening territory be-
tween Old Mountain View and the above
mentioned places. They will take current
at I 1 ,00 volts from Mountain View sub-
station and build sixteen miles of line to
Los Altos and Los Gatos, to tie into their
present and existing systems. This will open
up a fine field for the sale of power for irriga-
tion purposes in the many fine ranches in this
territory. It is expected that they will com-
mence to take power by October I st.

A Hard-headed Tenderfoot

Dinah, crying bitterly, was coming down
the street with her feet bandaged.

"Why, what on earth's the matter?" she
was asked. "How did you hurt your feet,
Dinah?"

"Dat good fo' nothin' nigger (sniffle)
done hit me on de haid wif a club while I
was standin' on the hard stone pavement." —
Ideal Power.

Local Notes

In the gas department in San Francisco
a large amount of street main work is bemg
done, I 6-inch mains, for the purpose of stiff-
ening pressures, being laid on Third, Fourth,
and Fifth streets, from Folsom to Market;
a I 0-inch pipe on Hyde street from Sutter to
Ellis and Hyde street from Ellis to Golden
Gate avenue.

In Oakland a low pressure loop to connect
the various feeders of low pressure in the
middle section of the city is being hastened
to completion, while many miles of pipe in
the northern extensions of the city, around
Lake Merritt, are being laid to accommodate
the many new buildings at present under con-
struction.

The work in the meter repair shop at Oak-
land is in such state that an enlargement of
their present quarters at Station "B is
essential.

A 30-inch governor has been ordered for
installation on the Oakland low pressure sys-
tem.

At Sacramento a new oil tank with a ca-
pacity of 1 0,000 barrels is being installed,
and a pier is being built out from the station
into the river for a supply of water and
unloading oil.

At San Jose, four purifiers, formerly at
Oakland, are being erected, and the storage
holder of 500,000 cubic feet capacity, is
well under way.

At Vallejo the foundations are being pre-
pared for the installation of the 200,000
cubic foot holder recently ordered, and a very
considerable amount of street main work is
being done.

At Colusa, the holder formerly in use at
Point Orient, in Contra Costa County, is
being erected.

A rotary meter, with a capacity of 50,-
000 cubic feet an hour, is being installed as
a station meter at Fresno.

The San Jose and Santa Clara County
Railroad Co., operating an electric railroad
system in San Jose and Palo Alto, has de-
cided to extend its railroad lines from the
city limits of Palo Alto to the campus of
Stanford University. Power will be supplied
from the Palo Alto substation of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company.

The city of San Jose advertised a "Big
Noise Carnival" on July 3d, 4th, and 5th.
The streets were well decorated, and the
night electric illuminations were very good.
Over 3,500 incandescent lights were used in
the main streets, stringers of lights enclosed
in red lanterns being suspended across the
streets, which gave a very pleasing effect.

Too Much Limbtirger on
Sacramento Cars

Sacramento, July 30. — 1 he Sacramento
Electric Gas and Railway Company issued
orders to-day to the effect that no freight
would be carried on their passenger cars on
and after August 1 st. The cause of the
announcement is said to be due to the exces-
sive loads of ice cream freezers and limburger
cheese that were carried, to the annoyance of
the traveling public and officials of the com-
pany.— San Francisco Post, July 30.

114

Following the policy of the company ever
since its organization, district managers dis-
playing merit in the conduct of the several
duties allotted to them are advanced to posi-
tions of responsibility as opportunities afford.

The following changes in District mana-
gers occurred during the month of July:

The vacancy occasioned by the death of
H. J. Edwards of San Jose has been filled
by the promotion of J. D. Kuster, formerly
of the Fresno District.

E. W. Florence, manager at Chico, pro-
moted to the more extensive field of Fresno.

H. B. Heryford, manager at Colusa, ad-
vanced one step along the line to the district
managership at Chico.

Will M. Henderson, formerly in the Gas
Department under E. C. Jones, and lately
occupying the position of supermtendent of
the Sacramento Gas Works, was selected to
fill the vacancy at Colusa.

E. C. Wescott has been appointed assist-
ant manager of the Sacramento Supply Dis-
trict. He was formerly connected with the
Canadian General Electric Company, the
Allis-Chalmers Company, the Stanley Elec-
trical Manufacturing Company, and the Gen-
eral Electric Company of Schenectady. For
the past two years he had charge of the recon-
struction of the York-Haven power plant.

FAREWELL DINNER TO
E. W. FLORENCE

(From the Chico Record, July 23.)

E. W. Florence, manager of the Chico
district of the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, was recently promoted to the man-
agement of the Fresno district and will leave
soon with Mrs. Florence and their son to
assume his new duties. As a farewell greet-

ing over thirty-five of his friends, business
and professional men of the city, tendered him
a banquet at the Diamond Cafe last evening.

J. R. Wood presided as toastmaster, and
orchestral music was furnished by J. Paul
Miller and sister. Miss Regina Miller. It
was an "electrical" evening, and the menu
was in accordance. The toasts were prompt
and witty, and it was an evening long to be
remembered by those participating, and was a
fitting farewell to the guest of honor who has
won his way to success in this city.

The menu was as follows:

AN ILLUMINATION

D\) a Bunch of Live Wires on the Occasion of ihc
Departure of the

HIGH POTENTIAL
To a Drier Clime

Dry Martini Cocktail

(1550 Volts)

Chicken Consumne en Cup

(Cas House By-Product)

Green Onions Ehmann Olives

Cross & Blackwell Chow Chow

(Tenth of the Month Sourhall)

Filet of Sole en Maltelet

(Meter Rale Suclfer)

While Chianti Wine Pemese Chateau

(Direct) (Alternating)

Grenadines of Veal aux Champignons

(Asphyxiated)

Queen Fritters

(Meter at the Cas House)

Sliced Tomato-Cucumber Salad

(With Transformer Oil)

Roast Spring Chicken, with Dressing

(Was a Chronic Kicl(er)

French Peas Duchess Potatoes

(Shocking!) (Oh, Ed!)

Ice Cream a la Mode

(Fresno Daily Diet)

Red Chianti Wine

(Real juice)

Roquefort, Swiss, or American Cheese

(Twenty Candle-PoXDer)

Bent's Toasted Crackers

(Insulated)

Liquer, King Alfonse Cafe Noir

(Short Circuit) (Lights Out)

Dearest Eddie, we will miss you
When we come to pay our bill;

But we know good old John Martin
^'ill maintain your prices still.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

/ISm^.

GAS MANAGER AS GUEST
OF HONORj

(From the Fresno Republican, Aug. 2.)

A dinner was given at the Hughes Hotel
last Saturday evening at which John D.
Kuster, retiring manager of the gas company,
was host, and E. W. Florence, the future
manager, was the guest of honor. Covers
were laid for twenty employees of the com-
pany, and as the crowning feature of the
evening, Mr. Kuster was presented with a
gold ring, set with a diamond in a lion's
head. He has been manager of the company
in Fresno for three and a half years, and will
go to San Jose to accept a similar position.
He is expected to leave some time during the
week. A. J. Devlin, foreman of the gas
works, H. J. Carling, Jr., accountant, and
C. C. Humphrey, superintendent of street
work, made neat speeches of felicitation to
Mr. Kuster and welcome to Mr. Florence.

LINEMAN INJURED

Gus Stalter, a lineman for the United Gas
and Electric Company, met with a serious
accident Thursday at Belmont. He was
cutting branches in a tree between that place
and Gardner's Sanitarium when he fell a
distance of twenty-five feet, striking on his
back. He was at once removed to the sani-
tarium, where his injuries were treated. Mr.
Stalter had three ribs broken, besides suffer-
ing internal injuries. It is thought no serious
results will occur.

John A. Britton, President of the San
Francisco Company and Vice-President and
General Manager of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, will leave August 24th for
the Orient on the S.S. "Siberia," returning
to San Francisco about the end of October.
Captain Zeeder will retain command of the
ship.

JOHN YABLONSKY

John Yablonsky is the second oldest em-
ployee of the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company, being superseded only by Zachary
Floyd, the present superintendent of the Meter
Department, by a few months. He was born
in Birmingham, England, in 1 834, and came
to San Francisco by way of Cape Horn in
I 85 I . As a young man he went to work in
a printer's office, as a printer's devil, but left
the printing business and entered the employ
of the gas company in July, 1862, in the
capacity of general helper at the shop, clean-
ing meters, threading pipe, aivd setting and
reading meters. In 1 865 he was given the
position of sub-collector, and in 1 866 pro-
moted to the position of collector, \vhich he
has held ever since without intermission. He
married in 1871, building a home in Ala-
meda, where he still resides with his wife.
He is a Thirty-second Degree Mason, a
Knight Templar, and Past Master of Oak
Grove Lodge, F. & A. M., of Alameda.

"Johnnie," as he is familiarly called,
owing to his cheerful, optimistic disposition,
may truly be said not to have an enemy in the
world, and in spite of his seventy-five years
he is full of ambition and industry. He is.
as a rule, the first man at the office in the
morning, does a full day's work, and his
ambition is to round out a term of half a
century's active service with the company.

116

zA cTVleeting of the Gassy^ cTVleeters

A WELL attended meeting of the Gas
Kiln Literary Association was held in
Room 7. Franklin and Eddy streets.

The gathering, comprising as it did an
aggregation of embryonic artists, poets, and
philanthropists, was a decided success.

Brother Angelo was unanimously elected
High Exalted Kiddo. His speech of accep-
tance was very touching, so much so that
many of the members will subsist on a snail
diet for several noons.

The benevolent and beneficient Brother
Donovan was chosen Master of Delicatessen
on account of his well-kno\vn free-lunch pro-
clivities.

The position of Financial Secretary was
the plum for which many contended. Brother
Quigley, by the use of drastic measures, suc-
ceeded in having himself appointed to the
enviable position. He immediately levied an
assessment of five cents per capita payable
on demand. The "modus operandi" for ob-
taining the same was not divulged.

Brother Cunningham, by reason of his
versality in such matters, was selected to rep-
resent the club in the flowery realms of elo-
quence and poetry. The rendition of his ini-
tial contribution fitting so well with his en-
vironments, tended to produce a comatose
condition deleterious to clerical manipulations.
The disease appears to have been contagious,
as it has since become necessary to post notices
warning the bookkeepers that tardiness result-
ing from over-sleeping will not be tolerated.

A few of Brother Cunningham's deepest
thoughts are here appended:

Here we are, and if forever,
Then forever, here we are;
For we would not, if we could be
On the Observation car.

We are not what others call us.
If we were we would not tell.
We feel that we, like other mortals.
In the end will go to — well!

To the haven of the happy,

To that dear eternal rest;

For no Books are kept in Heaven,

And Gas and Juice are never messed.

A general rumpus caused by rival claims
of fourteen members for first baseman honors
on the Ball Team was narrowly averted.
Brother Murphy brought his legal acumen to
bear on the case and finally pacified the con-
testants by deciding that the entire subject was
"incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial."

Brother Hyland's telephonic engagements
interfered with his assimilation of the argu-
ment of the learned and erudite Brother Mur-
phy, but he and Brother Conens later en-
gaged in a heated argument over the relative
importance of Emeryville and Larkspur.

Brother Brearty's exploitation of certain
hallucinations regarding his past prowness as
a ball-tosser was taken cum grano salts.

The meeting finally adjourned to enable
Brother Kuechen to locate his stool.

A man in workingman's garb one day
called at a local dentist's, and the door was
opened by a maid.

Workman — "Is the gent in that draws the
teeth?"

Servant — ^"No, sir; but I expect he will
be in shortly."

Workman (pausing on doorstep) — -"Does
he give gas?"

"Yes."

"What does he charge?"

"One dollar."

"What! One dollar? Do you mean to
say, miss, a fellow's got to swallow over
1 000 feet of gas to have one tooth pulled
out? No fear; I reckon I knows a bit about
it, for I \vork down at the gas works myself.
I'll go to another dentist and have it pulled
out without gas."

117

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

,^^jjjg^

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

DIRECTORS

ANDERSON, F. B.
BOTHIN, HENRY E.
BRITTON, JOHN A.
CROCKER, W. H.
DE SABLA, E. J., JR.

DRUM, F. G.
DRUM, JOHN S.
FOOTE, D. H.
HOCKENBEAMER, A. F
MARTIN, JNO.

MONTEAGLE. LOUIS
PEIRCE, CYRUS
SLOSS, LEON
TOBIN, JOSEPH S.
AVEEKS, GEORGE K.

OFFICERS AND HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

Dkum , F. ( i President

Brittos, Joiix A Viee-Pres. ami Gen. Mgr.

Lee, F. V. T Asst. General ^Manager

HocKE.NBEAMKR, .\ . F Treas. and Comp.

FooTE, D. H Secretary

Barrett, Chas. L Asst. Secretary

Bosi.EY, ^y. B Attorney

Love, J. C Auditor

Kline, W. H Tax Agent

Cantrei.l, R. J Property Agent

AVai.to.v, S. V Commercial Agent

CoGnr.AX, J. P Claims Agent

Hi N'T, J. H- I'nrchasing .\gi'nt

He.m.ey, E. B Snpt. Land Dept.

Jones, E. C Engr. Gras Dept.

Downing, P. M...Engr. O. A M. Hyd.-Elec. Sec.

Varney, F. H Engr. 0. & M. Steam &Gas Eng. Sec.

AViSE, J. H Civil and Hydraulic Engr.

Adams, C. F Engr. of Elec. Construction

Hoi.bertox,Geo. C.Engr. of Elec. Distrib"n (Sec. 1)

LisHERGEK, S. J Engr. of Elec. Distrib'n(Sec. 2)

RoBB, Geo. C" Supt. of Supplies

BosTwicK, H., Secretary to President

MANAGERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS

Leach, F. A., Jk Berkeley Dist

Heryford, H. B Chico

Henderson, AV. M Cohisa

Florence, E. AV Fresno

AVerry, John Grass A"al ley

PoiNGDESTRE, J. F. . . .^lurysvillc

Foster, AV. H Marin

Clark, 0. E Napa

AVerry, John Nevada

Leach, F. A., Jr Oakland

AA'^EBER, H Petaluma

Newbert, L. H Red wood City

McKiLLip, C. AV Sacramento

Kuster, j. D San Jose

Petch, Thos. D Santa Rosa

Stephe.ns, a. j A'allejo

Osborx, AV. E AVoodland

Arthur, AV. R Aubtirn AVater District

ScARFE, Geo Nevada

EsKEw, AV. E Standard

Hall, J. W Stockton

.A.DAMS, I. B Colgate Power Division

Young, D. M De SabJa

EsKEW, AV. E Electra

Y'ouNG, C. E Marysville

ScARFE, Geo Nevada

Clark, C. D North Tower •■

Hughes, AV Oakland "

Finely, AA^. C Sacramento "

Hansen, J. O San Jose "

Burxett, a. H .'-^outh TowlT

lis

Vol. I

Contents for September

No. 4

FRONTISPIECE, Illustration for "The Company's

A TRIP TO A BONANZA MINING CAMP .

HISTORY OF GAS LIGHTING IN OAKLAND

THE OAKLAND UNDERGROUND SYSTEM ...

THE FIRST ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE

LIGHTING AND POWER AT IDORA PARK

THE COMPANY'S NEW HOME

WHAT THE EMPLOYES GAVE MR. BRITTON .

WHISPERING AT LONG RANGE

KEEPING HIGH-TENSION APPARATUS OUTDOORS .
ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION . . .
IRRIGATING 14,000 ACRES OF HILLSIDE ORCHARDS
NATURAL HISTORY POLE-LINE TROUBLES
JOHN ALEXANDER BRITTON (Biographical)
PORIRAIT OF JOHN A. BRITTON ....

INDU.STRIES SUPPLIED BY HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANTS
A CITY WATER SUPPLY FROM DEEP WELLS .

JOHN, O JOHN— AN ACROSTIC

A TURBINE LOAD-LIMITING DEVICE

BECAUSE SHE WAS WELL THOUGHT OF

PUTTING ALL ACCOUNTING ON A STANDARD BASIS

ELECTRICAL CO-OPERATORS CREED

THE DRAUGHTING ROOM'S FILING SYSTEM .

WHERE ELECTRICITY PLAYED LEAPFROG

WHEN THE CHIEFS PLAYED BALL

PERSONALS

SHORT CUTS

QUESTION BOX ....

EDITORIAL

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS

New Home
George Scarfe
E. C. Jones
Geo. C. Holberton

C. J. Wilson
Archie Rice

Sidney P. Skoog
C. H. Bragg
S. J. Lisbergcr
W. E. Lininser

E. C. Jone

J. W. Hall

Facing

J. P. Jollyman

M. H. Bridges .
Electrical Times "
Miss Rosa E. Lamont
Will T. Jones

121

125
130
133
134
137
140
141
144
145
146
149
150
150
152
153
155
156
157
158
159
160
162
163
164
165
167
168
170

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY'S NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING IN SAN FRANCISCO

— See arlkle page 137

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

SEPTEMBER, 1909

No.

cA Trip to a Bonanza Mining Camp

B^ GEORGE SCARFE, Superintendent Nevada Power Division.

WHEN it was reported in Nevada City
last April that E. H. Wilson, who
had a bond on the 1 6-to- 1 mine in the Alle-
ghany district, had at one blast exposed gold

Nevada City in the Winter Time

ore to the value of $100,000, was taking ore
out of the mine at the rate of $40,000 every
day, and had already cached about $4,000,-
000 in ore in bank vaults in town, even the
people of Nevada City were thrilled and their
interest jumped to a regular gold fever.

For more than half a century Nevada City
has been the chief town of the banner gold-
producing county of the Golden State. The
sight of golden riches in the clean-ups at the
mines and virgin rock and nuggets all the
while brought into town from the placer dig-
gings had been such a common occurrence
that nobody took much notice unless the prod-

uct happened to come from some property in
which he was personally interested.

Following this news about the 1 6-to- 1
mine came recurring reports of other rich
strikes in that same Alleghany camp, which
IS over in Sierra county about thirty-five miles
from Nevada City, and reached only by a
difficult mountain road.

Such were the conditions when, one morn-
ing, the writer suddenly met E. H. Wilson
himself coming into town with a four-horse
team loaded with ore sacks to the value of
$125,000 from the I 6-to- 1 mine.

That won me. I had made up my mind
that I would visit that camp at the earliest

Where Water Does the Digging

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

still Prospecting !

opportunity. Later ! met E. H. Wilson on along were the old hydraulic diggings of
the street and suggested going to his mine French Corral, Sweetland, and San Juan,
with him in an automobile. He agreed. mines that produced great quantities of gold
Many protested that it would be dangerous up to the time they were closed down by law
to make such a trip in a twenty-horsepower because the torrents of mud from the wash-
machine, ings were fiUing up the river channels of the

But in the morning of the 3d of June we valleys below. Here and there like ancient

started from Nevada City — E. H. Wilson cannons abandoned at the foot of unconquer-

of the 16-to-l and M. B. Kerr, manager of able fortified cliffs were seen the rusty relics

the Pittsburg Gold Flat mines — with the of the powerful hydraulic giants that had

writer at the wheel. been used to tear hillsides asunder. Scarred

Through Newton, down the Bridgeport precipices, tree-rimmed at the top, suggested

grade, over the old covered bridge across the what had been the sylvian appearance of the

South Yuba river, up the hill past the gate scene before man came and harnessed a

leading to the Colgate powerhouse — that was river's power and tore away everything down

the route we took. to the bedrock of prehistoric river beds that

Eight miles out a punctured tire stopped ran almost at right-angles to the streams that

us thirty minutes and gave us a chance to get flow today.

acquainted while doing a little team work on
the job.

But we were soon churning ahead on the
San Juan road. In plain sight as we passed

Passing San Juan, we soon crossed the
Middle Yuba and started up the grade on a
low gear. In many places the steady slope
is 1 0 to 12 per cent., and this angle is em-

A Trip to a Bonanza Mining Camp

The Main and Only Street, Alleghany

hours of actual running
time. The town looked
tame. Its one street was
deserted. There was
nothmg to indicate that
under that street and
the hotel were the tun-
nels of the Tightner
and the I 6-to- 1 mines.
1 he town is on the side
of a steep canon, and
the mining is done in
tunnels running back
into the side of the
mountain. But after a
good dinner we called
on Superintendent
Johnson of the Tight-
bellished with a rough and sandy surface that ner, and while we were there enjoying cigars
makes a machine snort at its work. he told us of his strikes and brought out some

About eight miles from the river-crossing candle boxes containing some of the real yel-
the road look us over into Yuba county, so low pebbles. Two of the party happened to be
that we really traversed parts of three coun-
ties on the trip. We came to the Alaska mine
pole line. We were in the pipe clay and
lava formation. If lava come from volcanoes
and volcanoes spout from the lower regions,
these roads then were all that the lava would
suggest. We worked on the roads and we
worked on the machine till finally we got to
the top of the ridge. There, at an elevation
of 5,500 feet, we were 3,000 feet above
Nevada City. But we were on a tableland,
and the little car was sent at speed to cele-
brate the event.

Then we commenced the descent to Alle-
ghany. We were on a toboggan. It was all
we could do to hold back the car with all
brakes set and the spark off. We were in
such an uncontrollable hurry that we could
not stop to kill a rattlesnake, but ran over it
with both wheels and left it in the road with-
out having a chance to get the rattles to prove
the story.

We reached Alleghany in four hours from
Nevada City, and on just three and a half Rockribbed Entrance to Oriental Mine, Alleghany

123

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

using these boxes as footstools, and the query in the canon. Long before we reached the
was raised as to how much the stools were face of the drift, where the miners were at
worth. Then it was that we learned that work far in the tunnel, we were shown a large

vein of white quartz from which the day
before some fine gold-bearing rock had been
taken, and we saw a great quantity of this
rock in pans and boxes down in the mine.

When we got ready to leave Alleghany in
the afternoon it looked as though the depths
of the earth had suddenly yielded up a future
generation of miners that had never seen an
automobile. The youngsters came at us from
all sides and climbed all over the machine
and stuck to it like a small swarm of bees as
we cautiously moved down the main street.

At the end of a twelve-mile climb and
descent we reached the Alaska mine and, as
the guests of Mr. and Mrs. St. John, we
there spent the night. Down in the mine
they were regularly pumping out about 900
gallons of water with power from Pacific Gas
and Electric Company lines, which were also
called upon to operate the air-compressors and
run all the other machinery about the place.
Next morning we were off for Nevada

Tunnel Entrance, Morning Glory Mine, Alleghany City, where we arrived about noon. It was

each box contained about $9,000. But none
of it stuck to my feet.

Toward evening we saw the reason for its
being such a lonesome town. Prospectors
from the surrounding hills, men loaded with
picks, pans, rock, here and there an engineer
with his transit — such was the stream that
came home to the town, until by supper-time
the one street was like the approach to an
ant's nest, and when the bell went clatter-de-
gland, clatter-de-glang the press for places at
table was so great that half the crowd had to
wait outside for its turn.

The big event of the day was the arrival of
the stage from Nevada City with more pros-
pectors. It was dark when the stage rumbled
in, although it had started from Nevada City
three hours ahead of us that morning.

After breakfast next morning we went
down into the famous El Dorado mine, lower

Entrance to 16-to-l Mine, Alleghany

all a pleasurable experience, but of course the
main purpose of the writer was business, and
he returned with a contract to furnish 1 ,000
horsepower to a company that will operate in
the Alleghany district, where they so much
need power, and will use current from the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

124

The History of Gas Lighting in Oakland

Bp E. C. JONES, Er.gineEr Gas Department.

ALT HOUGH San Francisco as early
as 1854 was furnished with illuminat-
ing gas through the energies of Peter Dona-
hue and others, it was not until 1 867 that
Oakland, then the second largest city in Cali-
fornia, was supplied with this useful com-
modity.

The overflow population of San Francisco
had not up to that time discovered the attrac-
tions of suburban life, and transportation
across San Francisco bay was, at best,
hazardous. Oakland's wonderful climate, its
miles of oak-covered lands, and its contiguity
to San Francisco, began to prove inviting to
the tired business men of the metropolis. By
1 864 Oakland commenced to take on the
aspect of metropolitanism. Attention was
called to its great harbor possibilities existing
in the estuary of San Antonio, which divides
Oakland from Alameda. As a land-locked
harbor it attracted, even at that time, the
attention of the government, which com-
menced taking measures to improve it by
erecting a training wall and deepening it by
dredging. This work made available on
each side of the estuary large tracts of hither-
to submerged lands, and they became con-
venient sites for manufacturies. The origina-
tors and promoters of the Central Pacific
Railroad, recognizing the value of this land
as a terminus for the proposed transcontinental
railroad, soon became a large owner of the
property bordering on the bay on the west
and the estuary on the south.

December 9th, 1865, a franchise was
granted by the Oakland city council to
Joseph G. Eastland, at that time secretary of
the San Francisco Gas Light Company, and
William W. Beggs, the San Francisco com-
pany's engineer. This franchise gave the
privilege of laying gas mains in the city of

Oakland, and fixed the gas rate at $7.50 a
thousand cubic feet.

Following the granting of this franchise,
the Oakland Gas Light Company was in-
corporated June 1 2th, 1 866, and the fran-
chise was transferred to it by Joseph G. East-
land and William W. Beggs.

1 he first directors of this Oakland com-
pany were William W. Beggs, Joseph G.
Eastland, and Anthony Chabot, a well-
known citizen of Oakland, interested in the
city's water supply. Anthony Chabot was
elected the first president, and Joseph G.
Eastland, the first secretary, of the company.

It was impossible at that time to locate
a gas works upon the estuary lands. There
obviously would have been the proper place
for them, but the purchases made by the Cen-
tral Pacific Railroad Company and the
peculiar water-front grants given to others by
the city of Oakland rendered the estuary
lands unavailable then. So a lot on the north-
east corner of First and Washington streets,
within a half block of the waterfront, was
purchased as a site for the gas works, and
Tyler Sabbaton, at that time one of the en-
gineers of the San Francisco Gas Light Com-
pany, was employed to prepare plans and
specifications for the building of the gas
works. Henry Adams was elected superin-
tendent of these works. He was a resident
of Sacramento. Later he was superintendent
of the Napa Gas Works, and thereafter,
until his death, was superintendent and
manager of the Stockton Gas Company.
When the Oakland company was reorganized
in April of 1867, H. H. Haight, who had
been governor of the state of California, was
elected president.

The first installation of the works con-
sisted of a holder having a capacity of 5,000

125

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Office Building of Oakland Gas Light and Heat Company, Thirteenth and Clay Streets

cubic feet, and one bench of three iron retorts
housed in a brick building approximately
20x30 feet. The purifying house contained
four purifiers, each 8x10x3 feet. It is re-
corded that in I 866, the first night that gas
was turned on in the city of Oakland, the
consumption for the night was 3,000 cubic
feet. In I 866 Van Leer Eastland succeeded
Henry Adams as superintendent, and he con-
tinued in that office until his death, September
8th, 1894. In 1870 a second holder, having
a capacity of 25,000 cubic feet, was erected.
The maximum consumption had reached
20,000 cubic feet a day. From 1 870 until
1874 very rapid progress was made in the
laying of mains and the obtaining of cus-
tomers. In 1873 it became necessary to en-
large not only the retort house capacity but
also the capacity of the purifiers and the stor-
age tanks. Iron retorts had long since been
discarded for those of clay. These clay re-
torts were imported from the east in benches

of fives and were substituted for benches of
threes.

Holder number 3 was built in the fall of
1873, and it had a capacity of 150,000
cubic feet. It remained in use until 1904,
when it was discarded only by reason of the
removal of the gas works from its original
location.

The first dividend of the company was de-
clared in January of 1 874. From that day.

□ □ □ a □ □ E3 a
n p B B B s 0 a
p n □ 0 p B s

Front Effect with Two Additional Stories now being
Constructed

The History of Gas Lighting in Oakland

Interior of the

until the consolidation with the California
Gas and Electric Corporation in January of
1903, the Oakland company continuously
paid dividends of twenty-five cents a share on
the capital stock, with the exception of a
period of eighteen months in 1884-5, when
expenses of new construction caused the sus-
pension of dividends.

Having faith in the future growth of Oak-
land and foreseeing the needs of the enlarge-
ment of its plant, the company bought, in
1875, what is known as city block number
3, which is bounded by Jefferson, Grove, and
Second streets. This was the site of the
palatial home of Domingo Ghirardelli, the
well-known chocolate manufacturer. His was
a place noted for a wonderful display of
magnificent statuary, which he had collected
during his frequent visits to Europe.

In 1875, also, J. West Martin, a promi-
nent Oaklander, was elected president to
succeed Ex-Governor Haight, who had died
in the early part of that year.

Oakland Office

In 1877 it became necessary largely to im-
crease the capacity of the plant, and to use
the old Ghirardelli home block. A bonded
indebtedness was therefore incurred m the
sum of $250,000 to provide money for the
improvements. Holder number 4, having a
capacity of 450,000 cubic feet, was erected,
together with a purifying house having four
purifiers 20x24 feet each. The capacity
limit of the plant as enlarged became fixed
at 500,000 cubic feet. The output at that
time was approximately 1 50,000 cubic feet
a day. It was supposed then that the ulti-
mate requirements of the plant had been
reached, but the future determined otherwise.

During all of the ten years following the
establishment of the Oakland company, both
the city of Alameda and the town of Berke-
ley, which had become the state university
centre, had been growing. Therefore in
1877 the directors of the Oakland company
determined to extend the service of gas to
both these neighboring communities. In that

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

same year, anticipating future necessities, a
part of the waterfront lying between Jeffer-
son and Castro streets, was purchased.

During the first month of the operation of
the Oakland company the records show that
there were only twenty-three consumers con-
nected with the mains. But in 1878, after
eleven years' development, the total number
had grown to 1 ,80 1 .

In 1879 a gas holder was erected in
Alameda. A pipe connection from the Oak-
land works at First and Washington streets
was made across the estuary and into Alame-
da over the company's own drawbridge,
which had been built on Webster street.
The year 1879 marks the first installation in
the United States of high-pressure gas serv-
ice, as a pressure approximating eight pounds
was carried upon the mains that ran from the
works in Oakland over to the holder in
Alameda. This high-pressure system was
subsequently extended to include the distri-
bution to customers, and was produced by
means of a Connelly governor, which, until
recently, continued in daily use.

The year 1 879 also marks the introduction
into California of gas stoves. Joseph G.
Eastland, then the secretary of the Oakland
company, had purchased, during a visit to
Europe, a large invoice of Fletcher stoves.
These stoves, after some difficulty and per-
suasive arguments, were put in various Oak-
land homes.

In 1 880 the Lowe process was installed,
Oakland being the second city in California
to make use of this method of manufacturing
gas. The oil for the manufacture of the gas
was purchased from the Pacific Coast Oil
Company at the rate of $2 a barrel.

In 1881 the town of Berkeley was first
lighted by gas. But about that time the
attention of the entire world had been called
to the introduction of electric lighting. Fore-
seeing possible annihilation in competition with
this new form of lighting, the Oakland com-
pany, with its usual progressive spirit, deter-

mined to secure such rights as it could to the
ownership of electric service. In 1 883 it
secured from the Thompson-Houston Com-
pany exclusive rights to use in the cities of
Oakland and Alameda and the town of
Berkeley that company's apparatus, and in
1 885 completed a building and installed two
25-arc machines.

In 1 886 Oakland got her first cable-car
line. Prior to that time transportation about
the town had been by means of the now
obsolete horse-car, which still survives as a
California relic only in San Francisco and
San Buenaventura.

In 1 887, the Edison light having been per-
fected for general purposes, the Oakland
company purchased the right to use the
Westinghouse alternating system, and in Jan-
uary of the following year installed a 50-
ampere machine having initial voltage of
1,000.

In May of 1 888 the company decided to
erect an electric lighting station on waterfront
property at First and Grove streets. And in
September of that year it purchased from the
Westinghouse company two 1 ,000-volt alter-
nating current generators of 50-ampere capa- ,
city. This was the first instelllation of incan- j
descent electric lighting in Oakland.

During 1 889 Welsh anthracite coal was
first used in the making of Oakland's water
gas. Then holder number 2 was erected
in Alameda. In 1892 holder number 7, !

having a capacity of 700,000 cubic feet, was
built on block number 3 by the Stacey
Manufacturing Company.

The Oakland company, in July of 1892, ,

moved into its new office building, then just
completed, at Thirteenth and Clay streets.

In 1893 the Station B electric light works |

was erected. It contained two Fitchburg en- '

gines, each of 400 horsepower with boiler
equipment, all installed by the Risdon Iron
Works. i

In December of 1 894 the company im- j

ported bituminous coal from Japan for the ]

The History of Gas Lighting in Oakland

manufacture of coal gas. Earlier in the year
a branch office had been estabhshed in
Alameda.

Durmg all the years following May of
1874, when he first entered the employ of
the Oakland Gas Light Company, John A.
Britton was mtimately associated with the
success of the concern, occupying successively
various positions of trust prior to his election
to the secretaryship in August of 1883.

In September of I 894, following the death
of Van Leer Eastland, who had for many
years been superintendent of the company,
John A. Britton was elected superintendent
and engineer in addition to his old position as
secretary.

In 1895 the Berkeley Electric Lighting
Company was purchased and absorbed.
November 23d, 1895, Joseph G. Eastland,
the secretary of the Oakland company, died,
and January 2d, 1 896, John W. Coleman,
the president, also passed away.

In August of 1898 John A. Britton was
elected president and engineer of the Oakland
Gas Light and Heat Company.

During the spring and summer of 1902
the California Gas and Electric Corporation
entered into a contract with the Oakland Gas
Light and Heat Company to supply the Oak-
land company with oil gas. Station B at
First and Market streets was therefore
selected for the manufacture of the oil gas.
This station had originally been erected as a
gas works by the Equitable Gas Company in
opposition to the Oakland Gas Light and
Heat Company.

The first oil gas ever manufactured in
Oakland was made at Station B, September
1st, 1902. Oil gas proved so successful that
several additions had to be made to the plant.
By September 11th, 1904, all of the gas
supplied to the city of Oakland was what is
known as crude oil water gas, and it was
manufactured at Station B.

The gas business in Oakland increased nor-
mally until the earthquake of 1906. Then

the enormous influx to Oakland of popula-
tion from San Francisco created such a de-
mand for gas that the gas delivery was in-
creased from 563,000,000 cubic feet in
1905 to 970,000,000 cubic feet m 1906.
1 his was at first considered a gain in business
due to feverish conditions that would later
shrink, but the increased sent-out of gas was
sustained and even augumented during the
two subsequent years. Oakland reached its
maximum output of gas December 2 1 st,
1908, when that one day 6,835,000 cubic
feet was furnished.

In 1907 the company constructed, at First
and Grove streets, a 2,000,000-cubic-foot
gas holder resting in a steel tank. During
that same year additions were also made to
the generating capacity of Station B to pro-
vide for the increased demand for gas.

Oakland is now provided with modern
gas-generating machinery and ample storage
capacity to meet the demands of a city of its
continued rapid growth.

Liquid Gas

Liquid gas is made by compressing and
freezing the gas obtained from the dry dis-
tillation of crude oil. The first plant for its
commercial manufacture was established at
Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1904, under the Blau
process. In 1907 a plant was established at
Bassensdolf, near Zurich, to use the Wolf
process. After manufacture the gas is placed
in steel tubes holding 20, 40, 60, and 80
pounds, which are accepted by the railways
with no restrictions, as the gas is claimed to
be non-poisonous and much less explosive
than ordinary gas. It is used for heating,
lighting,. cooking, and soldering and welding.
More than 1 00 installations have been made in
Switzerland, and one is being built in Paris
and one in Boston. — "Journal of Electricity,
Power, and Gas."

Buying the bartender a drink is about as
sensible as paying the conductor's fare.

The Oakland Underground System

B\) GEORGE C. HOLBERTON, Engineer Eleclrlc Distribution Department.

IN electrical magazines and before various
technical associations many articles have
been presented upon the general subject of
underground conduits for electric service
wires, but this article deals specifically with a
recent California experience in putting wires
underground in the city of Oakland.

About seven years ago a strong agitation
was started in Oakland for the removal of
poles and overhead wires from the business
streets. San Francisco had had underground
conduits in its business section for a long
time, but, so far as the writer knows, that
was the only place in California that had
such conduits. Later San Francisco materi-
ally extended its underground districts, and,
in addition to the work in that city, the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company con-
structed underground districts in both Oak-
land and San Jose. An ordinance has also
been passed declaring underground districts
for Sacramento.

Formerly ordinances outlined a district, set
a time limit for the final removal of overhead
wires, and fixed a penalty for failure to com-
ply. But the Sacramento ordinance goes
further than this. It specifies in detail the
method of constructing the underground sys-
tem. This tends to limit a company in the
selection of the most desirable materials or
methods, and it handicaps the city by depriv-
ing it of the benefits of later and more im-
proved practice. Where there is an agitation
for underground conduits the city's officials
should be shown the practical general advant-
age of leaving the details of construction to
the companies themselves, as it is the com-
pany's property that must be protected in the
ground and preserved in the most effective
manner.

In Oakland the conditions were m many
ways ideal for the construction of an under-

ground system. There was very little existing'
underground service, and there were very few
pipes, because the Oakland Gas Light and
Heat Company had practically had a mon-
opoly of the field. Oakland's streets were
not filled with a miscellaneous assortment of
many sorts and conditions of pipes, as was

Conduits in Course of Construction

the case in San Francisco. And that part of
Oakland effected by the underground ordin-
ance was built on high ground, so that in
most places the system could be connected
with the sewers.

The field being clear, the next considera-
tion was the choice of that type of under-
ground system best adapted to the require-
ments of the locality. There are two distinct
types of underground electrical construction.
In one the conductor and its container is one
and the same structure. In the other the con-

The Oakland Underground System

A Mass of Poles and Wires on Broadway at Eleventh Street

ductor with its insulator and the protector for
its insulator are held separate from the under-
ground system. The first mentioned type is
known as the "solid" system and the second
as the "draw-in" system. The commonest
example of the "solid" class is the Edison
tube system, which is so largely used in
England.

In the "solid" system the conductor is
laid in a metal or wooden container and then
surrounded by insul-
ating material. The
objection to this
method lies in the fact
that in the case of a
burn-out the street
must be opened at the
point of the burn-out
so that the repairs may
be made. With the
"draw-in" system,
should a cable burn
out, it IS only necessary
to withdraw the faulty
length from the ducts
and replace it with a
length of new cable.
In the United States

the "draw-in" system
has become standard,
and all underground
systems in this country
are built on that prin-
ciple. The "draw-in"
type was therefore sel-
ected for Oakland.

The only remaining
feature to be decided
was the selection of
the types of conduit
and manholes to be
used. There are many
types of conduits,
varying slightly in de-
tail, but essentially
they may be divided
into four classes — those of vitrified clay, fibre,
wooden ducts, and iron pipe.

The wooden duct as installed by the
Mutual Electric Light Company of San
Francisco was extremely satisfactory in the
item of first cost, but since its installation it
has been found almost impossible to withdraw
a cable from the duct because of a burn-out
or for any other reason. So the wooden duct
mav be eliminated.

The Same Scene, after the Underground Conduit Took the Wires

i:!l

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

AiSSi^y

The iron pipe has certain advantages in of single ducts, or a combination of both,
that it is flexible, can be bent round obstruc- Multiple duct, up to a four-way duct, is
tions, and is not very expensive. But it has cheaper to lay, but in laying multiple duct it

certain disadvantages: it is subject to elec-
trolysis, it rusts out, and it is sometimes diffi-
cult to keep the interior surface smooth enough
to avoid breaking or injuring the sheath of the
cable which has to be drawn through it.
Therefore the use of iron pipe has been con-
fined to special cases. It is used almost
entirely for service pipes leading into build-
ings, for pole risers, and occasionally for con-
nections between manholes on opposite sides

is impossible to stagger all of the joints. For
instance, take a case of laying two two-way
multiple ducts. Although two-way ducts can
be staggered there will always be a point
exposed between the two holes in each piece
of two-way duct. If four-way ducts were
used there would be four holes where the
joints were not staggered.

The principle necessity of not having joints
opposite each other is to prevent a cable

of streets where there is a railroad track or burn-out from affecting adjacent cables. At

other obstruction to the laying of a vitrified
duct.

A choice is consequently limited to the so-
called paper conduits and the vitrified ducts.
The paper conduit as made today is very
much better than the conduit available at the

the same time it would be very expensive to
have all single ducts. For these reasons single
duct, with staggered joints embedded in con-
crete, was laid in Oakland for all primary
cables, and for the secondary cables two two-
way multiple ducts. Laying two two-way

time that the Oakland underground was con- multiple ducts in place of one four-way mul-

structed. Paper conduits are now being used tiple duct permitted a division of the ducts

very extensively in eastern cities for under- as they approached the manhole, allowing

ground systems. They are light, easily the cables to be laid neatly as they enter the

handled, and can be laid cheaply. But they manhole.

are not so permanent as vitrified clay ducts. The underground district in Oakland as

and at the present time on the Pacific coast described by the ordinance takes in Washing-

they are not even as cheap, because the dif- ton street and Broadway, and^all of the east-

ference in price by the foot between the paper west streets lying between Washington street

duct and the clay duct is more than offset by and also San Pablo avenue, Broadway, and

the cost of transcontinental transportation. Franklin street from Seventh to Fourteenth,

Clay ducts are easily available because they and also San Pablo avenue, Broadway, and

are manufactured in California. All vitrified Telegraph avenue as far north as Seventeenth

clay duct used for the Oakland work was street. This ordinance became effective in

made in this state.

For manholes and service holes the choice
lay between brick and concrete. Some of the
Oakland manholes are built of brick, and

1 906, and allowed three years for removing
the poles and wires from the several districts.
This period expired in July of the present
year. But all of the company's work was

some of concrete. In general the concrete completed within the time limit, as was the

manholes will be found the better, but under case in other work in former years. In fact,

certain conditions it is sometimes easier to the company has installed more underground

construct a manhole with brick walls. system than the ordinance required. It has

A vitrified clay duct line, with reinforced built its duct lines as far north as Twentieth

concrete manholes, was considered best for street and has recently installed duct lines on

Oakland purposes. The next problem was Franklin street from Seventh to Fourteenth

whether to lay multiple duct, or a number streets, and on Sixteenth and Eighteenth

132

The First Electric Locomotive

streets from San Pablo avenue to Telegraph

avenue. And it is completing the installation
of duct lines on Tenth street from Washing-
ton street to Clay street.

Unquestionably the placmg of wires under-
ground is to be desired, both for the city and
the company, the only handicap being the
enormous expense.

The underground ordinances are generally
made under the police power of the govern-
ing body. They usually start with the dec-
laration that the overhead wires are danger-
ous and a menace to life and property. As a
matter of fact this is not a fair statement of
conditions. Statistics show that there is very
little loss of life or property caused by over-
head wires. But there is an objection to over-
head wires on account of their interference
with firemen when fighting fires. The main
consideration is generally only that of appear-
ance. Unquestionably a city and its build-
ings look better without the presence of poles
and overhead wires.

Fortunately some of the photographs taken
in the business district of Oakland prior to
the removal of the poles and wires were saved

from the San Francisco fire. These and
some photographs taken since the poles andl
wires were removed are reproduced in illus-
trating this article, and show the improved
appearance of the streets.

An illustration is also included showing
the method of constructing a duct line. In
this picture it will be noted that great care is
taken to open the trench from manhole to
manhole so that the proper grade may be
established. •«

This subject of underground work draws
very forcibly to the attention the fact that the
placing of poles in business districts should
originally be avoided as much as possible.
Where it is absolutely necessary to place them
great care should be taken to have them neat
in appearance, well painted, and with as few
service drops therefrom as possible.

Those who care to go into the details of
underground construction may profitably read
Louis A. Ferguson's article on the subject
(May 22, 1899), and also Mr. Hancock's
article (May 24, 1904), which were pre-
sented before the National Electric Light
Association.

The First Electric Locomotive

The first electric locomotive, according to
a description published in the London Times
of December 1 0th, 1 842, was sixteen feet
long, seven feet wide, and propelled by eight
powerful electro-magnets. The battery used
for supplying the power was composed of iron
and zinc plates immersed in dilute sulphuric
acid. These plates were fluted to expose
greater surface in a small receptacle. The
weight of the entire locomotive was about six
tons, including the four wheels on which it
moved. On each of the two axles was a
wooden cylinder to which were fastened three
bars of iron at equal distances from one
another and extending from end to end of the

cylinder. On each side of the cylinder and
resting on the carriage were two powerful
electro-magnets. When the first bar on the
cylinder had passed the faces of two of the
magnets the current of galvanism was then
let on to the other two magnets. By alter-
nately cutting off and turning on the current
one bar after another would be attracted, and
this making and breaking of the circuit was
simply accomplished by a part wood and
part copper cylinder device at each end
of the axles. This first electric locomotive
attained a trial speed of a little more than
four miles an hour and ran a whole mile
and a half.

Lighting and Power Installation at
Idora Park, Oakland

B\) C. J. WILSON, Superintendent Electrical Distribution, Oakland District.

^^u,:

View of Idora Park Transformer House and Terminal Pole

AT the opening of Idora Park, May
3, 1903, the Oakland Gas Light and
Heat Company installed a primary 2,300-
volt single-phase circuit from the Temescal
substation, to supply approximately a 1 00-
kilowatt lighting load. The power load was
taken care of by tapping a 500-volt trolley
feeder, which supplied about 75 to 100 horse-
power direct current. Owing to increase of
the Idora load due to added concessions, the
single-phase primary and trolley tap became
inadequate, and it was necessary to string a
three-phase 4,000-volt primary from the
Temescal substation to Idora ; also a separate
500-volt metallic circuit feeder. This was
done in July, 1907. The diversity of load
required 1 1 0 and 220 volts alternating cur-
rent single-phase for incandescent and multiple
arc lamps, and 220 volts for three-phase and

500 volts direct current for motors. Emer-
gency lighting was provided for by using series
of incandescent lamps and arc lights on the
500-volt direct current service.

The primary circuit consits of four No. 4
weatherproof wires connected for 4,000-volt,
three-phase, four-wire star from the Temescal
substation to the terminal pole near the trans-
former house. The transformer house is
located at the rear of the theatre building,
near the centre of electric distribution in the
park. A plan of the transformer house is
shown in detail. The inside dimensions are 30
feet 2 inches x 1 5 feet 3 inches, with a I 6-
mch reinforced concrete wall 1 0 feet 6 inches
in the clear. A large skylight gives excellent
illumination. Floor space is provided for twelve
50-kilowatt pole-type transformers without
crowding. Six transformers are now in use.

134

Lighting and Po\A/er Installation at Idora Park, Oakland

From the terminal pole to the transformer Referring to the drawing, it will be noted

house, a three-conductor. No. 1 , 4,000-volt, one bank of transformers supplies a 240-volt,

leaded cable was installed in a three-mch three-phase delta bus for induction motors

pipe, together with a No. 4 weatherproof and 220-volt lamps. The other bank supplies

Reinforced Concrvte IVo//s.

izoV 3ip-£s.*soiiM. Secondary Bus ^'Ur i/ 301 A *'4-/o

Me/er- /soA Service Jw// -h
a r~| g'l and fuses.

"--r'-.?

TfiANSrORMER HOUSL.

'%^^

men

coi

isists

-mc

h X

54-

inch

mch

neutral. This cable was potheaded at the a 1 20-volt, three-phase delta bus used for

pole and m the transformer house. G. E. 1 20-volt lighting. The secondary distribu-

expulsion type primary cutouts were placed on tion is over three-phase circuits and accurately

the pole and an oil switch on the panel inside. balanced. The installed capacity at Idora is

Panel equip- Pothead sufficient to sup-

of i ^ n r~"^^^^ — rl — piy 10,000 in-

To Bus candescent lamps,
seventy arc lamps
and sixteen flaming
arc lamps on a motor
load of 280 horsepower, with
motors ranging from one to
six horsepower. Additional
transformers are installed for
special occasions. The supple-
consists of two No. 4 0 \veatherproof mentary State Fair at Idora Park in Septem-
wires from the Temescal substation to ber and October of this year will require
the terminal pole, thence under-ground to about 300 kilowatt additional capacity,
the transformer house, with a No. 4 0 Recording voltmeter charts taken at trans-

R. C. flexible cable in a three-inch pipe. formers show a maximum of 235 and mini-
Disconnecting copper-fuse-links are on the mum of 230 volts, or about 2.2'"; voltage
pole, and standard 600-volt cartridge fuses regulation. Distributing circuits were de-
and 200-ampere switch are inside. The signed for about 2', drop from the trans-
meter is I 50 ampere 1 RW Type C6. former to the most distant lamp.

marble panel, with oil
switch, polyphase integra-
ting wattmeter and indica-
ting voltmeter. A diagram
of the meter wiring is
shown herewith.

The direct current feeder

Met LP. Wiring Diagham

13.1

Pacific GsLS and Electric Magazine

Franciscans was, probably, the origin of the
company ; but be it what it may, the fact that
it will be of vast benefit to the citizens of this
city can not be doubted, for the healthy com-
petition which will result from the struggle of
the two companies to furnish light must have
the effect of materially reducing the price.

The play was bum without a doubt.
And for applause got jeers.

Then gas and 'lectric lights went out, —
Left empty seats m tiers.

San Francisco News as Published
in 1866

Citizen's Gas Company

The legislature of 1 862, on the second
of May, granted to Eugene L. Sullivan, Na-
thaniel Holland, and John Benson, a fran-
chise to lay pipes through the streets of
the city of San Francisco, for the purpose
of supplying the citizens with gas; the fran-
chise extending over a period of fifty years.
Shortly after the granting of this franchise,
the company was organized by the filing of
articles of incorporation with the county
clerk and the secretary of state. The articles
of incorporation were signed by Eugene
L. Sullivan, Nathaniel Holland, John Ben-
son, R. E. Brewster, John Bensley, E. R.
Sprague, John A. McGiynn, James Bren-
nan, T. Maguire, Wm. Sherman, A. C.
Whitcomb, D. Northrope, W. F. Williamson,
and Alfred Barstow. They placed the capital
stock at $2,000,000, divided into shares of
one hundred dollars each. As soon as the
company was completely organized an agent
was dispatched east for the purpose of pur-
chasing pipe and material for the erection of
the works. An arrangement was soon ef-
fected with John P. Kennedy, a well-
known erector of gas works in New York,
to furnish the plans and take the superinten-
dency of the erection of the works. The
company having purchased between two and
three I 00-varas of land fronting on the bay
at the junction of Townsend and Second
streets, work was begun early in the fall of

1863, and has been vigorously pushed to Under the law in New \ ork when a con-

completion. B. P. Brunner has been elected sumer complains of his gas meter and wants
the permanent superintendent of the works. it tested, the commission has the test made.

It is thought that the company will begin The gas company must pay the expense and
to furnish gas about the first of January next. install a new one if the meter be found run-
One of the provisions of the company's charter ning fast; while the consumer must pay the
makes it imperative that gas be furnished at a cost if the meter be found correct or running
cost of not more than six dollars the 1,000 slow. Of 3,460 meters thus tested in t^v•o
feet. The outcry made against the San years the company had to pay $752 and the
Francisco Gas Company in 1862 by San consumers $1 , 1 29.

"What does this mean? Why all these
blankets up at the windows and the gas burn-
ing in the daytime? "

"Sh! it's a scheme of mine."

"What's the scheme?"

"Why, my wife 's in the country. I wrote
her I stayed home every night and read. I *ve
got to use up enough gas to make a showing
on the bill."

A water tower consisting of scaffolding
1 00 feet high surmounted by a tank twenty
feet in diameter and sixteen, feet deep re-
cently buckled up and thriUingly collapsed at
Vermilion, South Dakota. The weakness
lay in the fact that the foot-square timbers
used for the uprights were all spliced about
fifty feet from the ground, a decided joint
being thus formed in the construction.

136

The Company's New Home

B^ ARCHIE RICE

AFTER a family gets established in a
fine new house there is nothing then to
indicate how humble may have been the
abode to which it was accustomed. And the
children, if they have snobbish social aspira-
tions, make no mention of the old shack and
its missing bathroom.

Although the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company is a sort of big family of several

First Week After the Fire — Residence of C. W. Conlish, Oak and
Broderick Streets

thousand employees there is none of that sen-
sitiveness about the humble appearance of
some of the places it has called home. When
it moved up from "south-of-Market" and en-
tered its stylish new building on Post street,
just above Powell, it went through the old
form of getting into a more fashion-
able neighborhood and away from
the smell of the gas works. Then
pride and the building had a terrible
fall, because the earthquake and fire
left not even the conventional cross
to mark the spot where that palatial
Post-street home had stood.

When the fire was finally stopped
at Van Ness avenue, after it had
seared off the face of the earth
nearly three thousand acres of build-

ings and more than $400,000,000's worth
of property, social and financial planes in
San Francisco had suddenly ceased to exist,
and refugees from the blackened desert were
glad enough to get any kind of shelter in the
zone of standing buildings that the flames had
not reached.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company
was a refugee, and it took whatever it could
get as a temporary home, and
moved from place to place till
it finally secured a convent as
a highly appropriate and com-
modious abode for a large
family that was ever but
silently expounding the scrip-
tural dictum "Let there be
light." The houses that were
homes to the company during
those first few months of con-
fusion and crowding are shown
in small photographic views
illustrating this article. And
the convent where the company spent three
years of its life is displayed in larger style.
In the spacious inner garden of that rented
place were unconsciously formed noon-hour
habits of recreation in the fresh outdoor air.
That accidental experience prompted some of

Second Week After the Fire — Old Haight-street Branch
Office of San Francisco Gas and Electric Company

137

l/wyV-J,

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

KJsSts^h

Fourth Week After the Fire — Southeast Corner
O'Farrell and Franklin Streets

the pleasant features incorporated in the plans that night can not detract from the whiteness

and equipment of the new home, which this of its walls. On first appearance this room

luminous family, after being accustomed to suggests a big bank. It is the main business

a religious environment m the convent, erected

downtown on Sutter street, directly opposite

the largest synagogue on the western side of

tthe continent.

The new office building, as the illustration

indicates, is six stories high, and it has a big

basement and an equally large flat roof,

neither of which the picture shows. Down in

that basement is a bathroom with a porcelain

tub, hot and cold water, and other conven-
iences for the special use of engineers as they
come in dusty or

travel-stained from office of the local gas and electric company,
their trips to out- where the public goes to pay its bill,
side stations. And On up through the building, floor by floor,

up on that great flat are located the various departments and the
roof, which is pro- private offices of their chiefs, until on the sixth
tected all around floor at the back are the real "higher-ups" of
by a breast-high the corporation, the little group of men who
wall, there is to be direct the forces and consider the plans that
a sun garden and must keep in prosperous operation this combi-
open-air observatory nation of many gas and electric companies
where the women and water companies scattered over the whole
employees may middle third of California, from the snow-
spend part of their crested evergreen Sierras down to the sunset
noon hour in the sea, and from centre to centre of the two
fresh air but shel- great inland valleys of the golden state,
tered from the brisk In this building are the personal forces that

control the water power of the distant moun-

Third Week After the Fire
— Residence of William
Ham Hall, Haight St.,
Near Wehster

sea breezes by walls of glass. There will be
no obstruction of the panoramic view of near-
by Union Square, the St. Francis Hotel, and
the traffic of Powell and Sutter streets, and
the sweeping outlook to such conspicuous
points of interest as Twin Peaks, the Sutro
forest. Nob Hill, Yerba Buena island, and
the Oakland mole. Between the broadside
effects of downtown skyscrapers glimpses will
be caught of the bay and its shipping.

The whole ground floor of this new build-
ing is one huge room, so well lighted by many
windows that it is lighter than day itself, and
so studded with hundreds of powerful incan-
descent globes along its lofty beamed ceiling

Second Month After the Fire — Loughborough Resi-
dence, Northwest Corner O'Farrell and Franklin
Streets

138

The Company s Me\/v Home

The Convent at Franklin and Eddy Streets, the Company's Home for Three Years, from the Second
Month After the Fire until the Removal to its Own New Building

tains and augment or lessen the flow that
shall be turned to produce electric energy to
be conveyed on down the slopes and across
the valleys by great power lines extending
more than 200 miles and serving current to
upward of three score of industries in big and
little communities from the coast back into
the mining camps of the far-distant moun-
tains. The gushing waters from melting snows
on the mountain summits is made finally to
contribute its force to operate man-made
machinery and help dig the hidden yellow
riches from the base of the mountain itself.
Every new device planned to save time
and confusion in the operation of a great
business enterprise has been installed in this
new building. It has its own telephone sys-
tem, with scores of special lines to outside
stations. It has machines for rapidly print-
ing the name and address on bill envelopes

to go to 90,000 local addresses every month.
It has its own postoffice, where all letters in-
tended for any of the subordmate companies
first come unstamped and then are made up
into bunches and sent out for much less post-
age than a stamp on each envelope would
have cost. This one feature saves at least
$100 a month in postage. There are many
machines like phonographs, and into the
mouthpiece a man may talk his dictation for
letters. Later a stenographer will receive the
wax-like cylinder, put it on another machine
in a room apart, and, listening to the repeated
talk, rapidly reproduce the words in type-
written letters or memoranda. There are
several sets of a vn mderful new device called
the dictograph, really a further development
of the telephone to permit all sounds in one
room to be heard distinctly in another at a
distance, thus making possible easy, natural

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

conversation between persons in different
private offices of the big building.

Every floor has its roomy fire-proof vault
for the protection of valuable papers: the fire
taught its lesson. And every floor is fairly
flooded with daylight that streams in through
so many outside windows that it is the com-
pany's boast that it has the best naturally
lighted office building in San Francisco.

At the back of the third floor is a large
assembly room for meetings, for stereopticon
lectures, and for the periodical sessions of the
gas and electric associations of the west.
In this room will be located a collection
of books on gas and electricity, said to
comprise the finest technical library of the
kind in the world. Next to the library
is the editorial room of the magazine that

the company publishes for all its em-
ployees.

A rest-room and a lunch-room have also
been provided on this third floor, for the use
of the women employees and the telephone
girls. These leisure rooms have some of the
comforts of a home, with the conveniences of
little gas ranges and handy smks. On the
different floors are coat and hat rooms, with
individual metal lockers.

Such is the new home of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, the executive head-
quarters of a corporation made up of many
companies and employing several thousand
men and women in the operation of water
and gas and electrical properties representing
a total investment of the enormous sum of
$90,000,000.

What the Employees Gave Mr. Britton

THE afternoon before John A. Britton started for the orient he summoned the heads
of departments to his office for a conference, and then simply bade them good-by,
wished them good luck, assured them of his confidence in their work, and suggested that
every one in the company learn to act more on his own initiative. In return he was
probably as agreeably surprised. Some one handed him a little pamphlet bound in limp
brown leather and containing the autograph endorsement that day of between 200 and 300
persons to the following expression:

San Francisco, August 23, 1909

To JOHN A. BRITTON

PreslJenI of the San Francisco Cas and Electric Company
Vice-preiiJenl ami General Manager of the Pacific Cas and Electric Company

On the eve of your departure for a recreation trip to Japan, we, at the San Francisco headquarters, of
the widely scattered army of several thousand people in the great corporation that you direct,
wish you a most healthful, enjoyable, and thoroughly care-free vacation. And to help make it so and
that you may leave all business anxieties behind, we want you to know that each of us will do his duty
just as conscientiously as though you were still here, and in addition will put forth a little extra effort
toward co-operation to compensate somewhat for the temporary loss of your effective executive supervision
and leadership.

140

Whispering at Long Range

The Dictogjaph and Its Uses

By SIDNEY P. SKOOG, Electric Service Department.

THE word "dictograph" gives a wrong
impression of the purpose of the won-
derful new device that bears that name. The
title suggests some sort of a dictating machine
or phonograph, possibily to facilitate letter-
writing. But the dictograph is really a mar-
velous improvement upon the telephone. It
is a little contrivance having telephonic wires
running to different rooms in the same
or in neighboring buildings, so that any per-
son in one of the rooms may carry on almost
a whispered conversation with one or many
of the other rooms without having to talk into
or listen at the machine. When the circuits
are opened voices and other sounds are so
intensified and magnified that a person in
using the dictograph may go on about his
work in his room or pace the floor and still
carry on a conversation, even with his back
to the inconspicuous little machine. As he
talks he can hear his own voice just as it is
sounding in the distant room. The whole
system is intended for instant and confidential
dialogue, especially between the heads of
departments in great corporations, where
privacy and time-saving are so desirable.

The whole contrivance is simply the de-
velopment and adaptation of the principle of
a familiar little device worn by deaf people.
Some theatres have these sound-magnifying
instruments near the stage, with wires to
certain seats where there are tiny ear-pieces
for the use of deaf patrons.

Several sets of dictograph instruments are
installed and regularly in daily use in the new
office building of the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company on Sutter street in San Francisco.
Some of them were latterly used in the old
convent building temporarily occupied as the

company's executive headquarters down to
the time of the completion recently of the
new building in the burnt district of the city.
Their service was so valuable in providing
instant conversational intercourse between the
heads of departments that the system was
greatly expanded in the equipment of the new
building. In an instant, by a slight touch on
different httle levers, a department chief hav-
ing in his room a master station may open up
private conversational channels with as many
as twenty of his subordinates and talk to all
of them and have all of them hear one
another's remarks at the same time, thus gain-
ing all the advantages of a conference with-
out the delays of personal visiting.

A dictograph system consists of one master
station and any number of substations.
Ordinarily a master station is provided with
connections for ten substations. The master
station is a small box-like object only about
a foot long and half a foot square, and may
be left lying on a table or kept inside a roll-
top desk. The master station is provided
with tiny press-levers that open the line to
and instantly ring a summons at any particu-
lar one of the substations. A substation in-
strument is a much smaller and simplier
device, somewhat resembling the little tele-
phone boxes used in hotel rooms. From a
substation instrument communication can be
had only to the master station and no further,
unless the person using the master station in-
strument choose to open some other substation
channel and permit the conversation to reach
there also. If a room have two or more sub-
station instruments each naturally wired to
its own master station then it becomes possible
to open up communication to as many

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

branches as may be desired. This is done
simply by the perso-n at a master station m-
strument pressing down such keys as may be
necessary to let any or all of the other sub-
stations get in on the conversation. In this
way each group of substations can be in-
stantly connected up as a whole or in part
with another master station or any of that
other master station's branches. The num-
ber of persons that can thus be brought into
the conversation or made listeners to the
dialogue of any two or more talkers could be
almost indefinitely expanded. By placing an
ordinary telephone near one of the dictograph
instruments and leaving it off the hook, a lis-
tener miles away might be added to the list.
The Pacific Gas and Electric building has
seven master-station and more than sixty sub-
station instruments. Four master stations
with ten keys each are located on the ground
floor, or business office. These are for the
bill clerks and those at the complaint counter
to talk with any bookkeeper on the second
floor of the building and instantly verify some
item. One master station with twenty keys
is installed in the office of the vice-president
and general manager on the sixth
floor, his substation instruments
being in the offices of the heads of
the various departments. And an- ^,
other twenty-key instrument is in- \
stalled in the adjoining office of the
assistant general manager, with
direct lines to substation instruments
in the offices of all the department
managers and in the engineering de-
partment. A master station with
ten keys is in the private office of
the treasurer and comptroller. The
two twenty-key master stations in
the offices of the general manager
and the assistant general manager
and the ten-key master station in the treas-
urer's office are all so arranged as to permit
intercommunication whenever desired.

To be exact the size of a master-station

instrument is 12x9Jx64 inches, and one of
the ordinary little substation instruments is
only 4:]x3]x2'| inches. The instruments are
mounted after the manner of desk tele-
phones. The battery strength required for
each master station and its set of substations
IS produced for the talking circuit by two dry-
cell batteries connected in series measuring
three volts, and for the ringing or calling-up
circuit by four dry-cell batteries measuring six
volts.

As a delicate instrument of extreme sensi-
tiveness the dictograph is free from all the
objections generally associated with any de-
vice for electrical intercommunication. The
one master-station and its substation instru-
ments installed at the convent building before
the removal to the company's new home were
operated successfully without interruption or
repairs during the entire period of nine months.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the
appearance of the outside of a master- and of
a substation instrument. The tiny projections
shown along the front of the master station,
the ten little levers between D and E, are the
keys that must be pressed down to open com-

MASTER -STATION

munication with any desired substation. It
will be noted that the fifth key is down, show-
ing that the circuit is cpen to that room. The
room number or the name of the department

142

Whispering at Long Range

or person may be put in the little space under
each key.

The sound enters an orifice. A, in the
master station instrument and is reproduced

absolutely and in exactly the same tone and
intensity at the other end of the line. The
transmitter diaphram inside that orifice is as
sensitive as the human ear in its detection and
recording of sounds. The instrument has the
power of magnifying sound to four times its
original volume. As soon as the circuit has
been opened to a substation by the depression
of one of those little keys, the circuit is
opened up, and any sounds that are being
made in the room where that substation in-
strument is located are then distinctly heard
by any person within a few yards of the mas-
ter-station mstrument. These sounds issue
from another orifice, marked B in the dia-
gram. This part of the instrument is called
the loud speaker, and in some cases it is con-
tained in a small separate box. A person
anywhere within twelve feet of the master-
station instrument may hear the voice or any
other sound in that room coming right back
from the distant room. He may also hear
a clock ticking in the distant room or
some one moving about just as clearly as
though he were there too. A buzzer an-

nounces that the master station is calling for
a conversation, and the sound of the buzzer
buzzing in the distant room comes back
clearly. If it be desired to keep the conversa-
tion so private that only two persons
may hear the whispered discourse, the
person near the master station has only
to remove a small side disc, indicated
as C in the diagram, and also shown on
the smaller instrument, and then he and
the person at the substation may stay
close to their instruments and whisper
to each other in so low a tone that lis-
teners a yard from them could not even
hear the whispers. There is no possi-
bility of any one's coming in on the
line and listening, as the person at the
master station absolutely controls the
channels of communication.

This verbal explanation does not
adequately present the wonderful use-
fulness and mystifying mechanism of the
dictograph. To be appreciated the instrument
must be seen and tried.

The separate wires carried in conduits
under the streets of New York city would
reach twenty times around the earth. There
is more than $1 2,000, OOO's worth of copp>er
wire in New York's underground systems,
and some of the big single cables carry 1 ,000
wires. That is not all: through similar under-
ground passages rush daily about 480,000,-
000 gallons of sparkling water for domestic
uses, one part of this enormous supply con-
sisting of 325,000,000 gallons a day brought
from a clear mountain lake m two aqueducts,
one of them bored through rock and earth for
tvventy-eight miles. New Yorkers pay $11,-
000,000 a year for their drinking water. But
then New York is some city. It has 3,200
miles of streets, $1 ,500,000,000's worth of
public parks, nearly 10,000 policemen, and
more than i 6,000 school teachers.

143

Keeping High-Tension Apparatus Outdoors

Bp C. H. BRAGG, Operating and Maintenance Department.

VERY experienced high-tension engineer a station — so many, in fact, that an axiom of
I has, no doubt, had experiences which the profession might be written, "Put as httle

have caused him to decide that the best
place for high tension switches and wires is
out of doors, where walls, ceilings, and bar-
riers offer no obstruction to the arcing current.
A brief review of the development of con-

high-tension wire in the building as possible."
That the out-door practice is being gradu-
ally approached is indicated by the switch-
house recently erected at Santa Rosa. It
consists of an angle iron frame supporting air

struction methods for the past ten years calls switches and an oil switch, housed in, the en-
to mind wooden buildings, housing high-ten- tire structure and apparatus being self-con-
sion apparatus and wires, supported on tamed and capable of being erected any-
wooden crossarms and brackets. This did where.

An inspection of the accompanying illus-
tration shows that the tendency is not only to

very well until something "went wrong" and
burned up apparatus and building, and in-
cidentally caused a serious interruption to the
service. An object lesson or two in this kind
of workmanship called for attempts at fire-
proofing by making the buildings of non-com-
bustible material, such as brick or corrugated
iron, but still there was considerable wood-
work adjacent to the high-tension wires. This
was not satisfactory. Then it was demon-
strated that nothing but non-combustible
material should be used throughout, and so
a radical change was made. Terra cotta
hollow tile, and, later, reinforced concrete
were introduced to make bus-bar compart-
ments and barriers to group in sections the
high-tension apparatus. This proved to be an
effective means of preventing the spreading of
arcs, but presented a sorry sight after the arc
had been suppressed. In spite of this excel-
lent fire-proof construction and in spite of the separate the apparatus but to place it out of
rugged design of the switches and apparatus, doors, as much as its design will permit, in
the handling of large quantities of energy ex- order that trouble on one section may not
ceeds the "elastic limit" of something or other be communicated to another. The damage
at times, and the aftermath is a heap of mol- resulting from an arc can be easily repaired
ten copper, glass, and broken porcelain. The and painted.

station which was yesterday trim and neat. Another indication that the present trend

even spotless in its white paint, is today black, is toward out-door construction is evidenced
shattered, and scarred from burning oil and by the fact that already some companies have
intense heat. This has been the fate of many undertaken this step and are actually operat-

»»

{

The Ontdoor Switchhouse at Santa Kosa

144

Electric Distribution

ing the high-tension oil switches out of doors.
From all reports it is quite as satisfactory as
the present indoor and semi-outdoor construc-
tion, both from operating efficiency and orig-
inal cost. So far, as near as can be ascer-
tained, the cost of the out-door construction is
somewhat less than the latest indoor construc-
tion— although in this connection it should be
emphasized that the question of first cost
should not enter into this portion of the equip-
ment with too much mfluence. The final step

in placing the high-tension part of the elec-
trical equipment out of doors hinges on the
development primarily of the high-tension oil
switch and of the current transformer. These
must be so constructed that they will operate
out of doors in rain, sleet, and snow in winter
and in dust and fog in summer, without a
single failure from any cause.

When this is accomplished the troubles of
the engineer will be somewhat lessened with
the resultant improvement to the service.

Electric Distribution

B\) S. J. LISBERGER, Engineer of Electrical Distribution.

The distribution departments have been
very busy in revising the standard specifica-
tions for overhead light and power work
that were first adopted and put into effect
May 1 , 1 908. These specifications have been
thoroughly revised, and many suggestions
made by the various operating forces have
been embodied in the new specifications.
1 hese new specifications will be ready for
distribution before October.

The distribution system in San Jose is under-
going radical changes. More than 30,000
duct feet of clay tile has been recently in-
stalled for the new underground system. This
will allow the removal of all overhead wires
in the most important business sections of the
city, and will greatly improve the appearance
of the streets. The overhead system is also
being given a general overhauling, which is
resulting in a great improvement in the service.

Many managers, in looking for new busi-
ness, will be glad to note the following clip-
ping from a German newspaper:

"The Saxon authorities have discovered
what would seem to be an excellent way to
put an end to the caterpiller plague. They
have discovered a method to catch the brown
moths that lay the eggs from which the cater-
pillers come in enormous quantities.

"They make use of what they call the
'Electric Light Trap.' This consists of two
large and pov/erful reflectors placed over a
deep receptacle and powerful exhaust fans.
This 'trap' has been erected on top of the
electric lighting plant. At night two great
streams of light are thrown from the reflectors
on the wooded mountain sides, half a mile
distant. The results have been astonishing.
I he moths, drawn by the brilliancy, come
fluttering in thousands along the broad rays
of light. When they get near to the reflectors
the exhaust fans take up their work, and,
with powerful currents of air, swirl them
down into the receptacle. During the first
night not less than three Ions of moths were
caught."

I o those who have no caterpillars in their
district it would seem that the same method
might be applied to some other insect pests.

U."

Irrigating Fourteen Thousand Acres of
Hillside Orchards

B\) W. E. LININGER, Auburn Water District.

THE irrigation system of the South Yuba
Water Company is largely the result
of the passing of the mining industry.

In the early 50's the Bear River Ditch
Company constructed a canal about 50 miles
in length from a point on Bear River about
three miles above Colfax to a point near
Newcastle, and from that point constructed
several smaller distributing ditches for the pur-
pose of supplying water for mining purposes.
The control of this company passed through
several different stages before, in 1876, it
was purchased by E. Birdsall.

Up to that time irrigating had not been
considered a factor in the water business. A
few of the people, however, irrigated small
garden patches and a few trees and vines, the
product of which was marketed prmcipally
among the miners in adjacent towns.

Those pioneers in the fruit business
demonstrated two facts: first, that the climate
was ideal, and second, that with water for
irrigation deciduous fruits could be grown to
perfection and at a profit.

The gradual working out of the placer
mines about that time rendered it necessary
for many people to seek other means of liveli-
hood and, the cities on the Comstock lode and
other mining towns in the State of Nevada
affording good markets, a large number turned
their attention to horticulture. The demand
thus created for water soon became greater
than the Birdsall company was able to supply
during July, August, and September, as it
had no storage and was entirely dependent
upon the natural flow in Bear River, which
was very low during these dry months.

The South Yuba Water Company, which

Lake Arthur Dam During Construction
146

Irrigating Fourteen Thousand Acres of Hillside Orchards

"£

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

up to that time had been operating only in
Nevada county, and, prior to Judge Sawyer's
decision in the debris cases, had derived a
large part of its income from the sale of
water to the hydraulic mmes, had built or
acquired a number of storage reservoirs.
Among them were Lakes Fordyce, Meadow,
Sterling, Cascade, and others, to provide an
ample water supply during the whole of the
year. The effect of the Sawyer decision,
closing nearly all the hydraulic mines, left the
South Yuba company with a bountiful supply
of water for which there was no sale, and also
cut off the greater part of the company's
revenue. During the last few years of the
Birdsall ownership of the Bear River Ditch
considerable quantities of water were there-
fore easily purchased by the Birdsall com-
pany from the South Yuba company during
the later months of the dry season.

This state of affairs did not prove satis-
factory, and in the year 1 890 the South
Yuba Water Company bought the Bear
River Ditch properties and began a systematic
development of the irrigating system.

The constantly increasing demand for water,
necessitating an increase in ditch capacity and
storage, resulted in the reconstruction of the
Boardman Ditch from Bear Valley to Gold
Run; thence in the building of a new system
into the fruit district, a distance, by way of
the ditch, or 60 miles; also in the building of
Lake Spaulding and Lake Van Norden and
the acquiring of the Towle water system, in-
cluding Valley Lake. Now the company has
in operation for use in the fruit district of
Placer County about 265 miles of ditches,
pipes, and flumes and a storage capacity of
1 ,036,000,000 cubic feet, by means of which
it distributes to the growers about 1 ,800
miner's inches of water each day of twenty-
four hours from May I st to September 1 st.
This water irrigates approximately 1 3,500
acres, the consumption being one inch for 5
to 1 0 acres and averaging about one inch to
7 J/2 acres. The annual product of this irri-
gated land amounts to about 2,500 carloads
of 24,000 lbs. each, 80 per cent, of which
is shipped east and north and sold in the fresh
state, the balance being either sold for canning

Lake Theodore in the Summertime

mSSm I

Natural History Pole-Line Troubles

or dried. About one acre in three in the dis-
trict covered by this system is now under
cultivation.

The conditions are materially different from
nearly, if not all, the other irrigation systems
of California, in that the hilly nature of the
ground to be irrigated and the distance the
water has to be conveyed from the source of
supply to the point of distribution renders
flooding or the use of large heads impracti-
cable and makes it necessary for each con-
sumer to run a smaller head and use it con-
tinuously, shifting it from one part of the
orchard to the other as occasion requires.

Taking into consideration the fact that any
variation, at the source or along the line of
ditch, by reason of leakage in pipes, flumes,
or ditch, produces a proportionate variation at
the ends of the distributing ditches, it is
obvious that it requires the greatest watchful-
ness and care upon the part of the employees,
from the greatest to the least, to the end that

each consumer may receive his regular supply
from May I st to September 30th without
wasting a considerable quantity of water in
the process.

To'overcome this, and also variation caused
from evaporation arising from differences in
temperature, the company has from time to
time constructed reservoirs at or near the lower
ends of the distributing ditches to act as regu-
lators. These, together with Lake Theodore
on the Boardman Ditch and Lake Arthur
(just completed) on the Fiddler-Green Ditch
enable them to give a very efficient service.

Only once since the writer entered the em-
ploy of the company, in 1 894, has there been
any serious interruption of service. That once
was in August, 1905, when a break and slide
in the bank of the Bear River Ditch rendered
it necessary to transport the material I 3 miles
and build 450 feet of flume, 5 feet wide and
5 feet deep. This was done and the water
turned in again in ten days' time.

Natural Histor}^ Pole-Line Troubles

A big gray tree-squirrel ran up an electric- an hour. The rabbit got roasted to a turn,

power pole at Spencerville, several miles be- The owl may be a wise old bird, but this one

low Grass Valley, Nevada county, August has been a dead one ever since that shocking

22d, and stepped on two wires at once. The experience with the bunny,

little animal's body short-circuited the line. In parts of Texas, Arizona, California,

There was a flare that burned the wire in two. Tennessee, old Mexico, and other sections of

One end fell sputtering to the ground and the southwest woodpeckers have done great

started a forest fire, but fortunately the blaze damage to telephone and telegraph poles by

was early discovered and subdued. That boring innumerable small holes and a good

squirrel will never climb another pole: he is many nest-size large ones in the wood, in some

dead. localities as high as forty per cent, of the tim-

Not to be out-done, a big owl, carrying a bers being weakened by this honeycomb work,

rabbit in its talons, flew against an electric- Various preventatives have been tried, but

power wire near Kennet, Shasta county, the thus far the most effective is creosote, in which

night of August 23th, short-circuited the line, the pole is immersed and soaked. This stops

and put about 200 miles of electric lighting the attacks of the woodpeckers and also pre-

service out of commission for a quarter of serves the wood from moisture and decay.

149

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

JOHN ALEXANDER BRITTON

Vice-President and General Manager Pacific Gas and Electric Company

AN APPRECIATION

By E. C. JONES.

IT IS a pleasure to write of a successful man
who has advanced from early boyhood to
splendid manhood, and has reached by his
own unaided efforts the highest position in the
gift of his chosen profession.

His busy life of 54 years has been an open
book, on every page of which is written a
worthy ambition and its realization.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, October
9th, 1855, of good stock, his father having
served his country with honor in the Army of
the Potomac in those dark days from 1861
to 1865, John A. Britton attended the public
schools in the town of Roxbury, Massachu-
setts, until he was 1 3 years of age. In those
days he was always bright and energetic, and
he evinced a remarkable musical talent, both
vocal and instrumental. And in everything
the foundation of the present man was early
established in strength and substance.

With the family he left Boston for San
Francisco by way of the Isthmus of Panama,
March 7th, 1 868, and arrived April 2d of
the same year. He attended the old Lincoln
school in San Francisco, and in May of 1871
entered the law office of O. P. Evans and
John Curry, who was later Justice of the Su-
preme Court. He remained with them three
years.

His career as a gas man was begun in May
of 1874 when, at the age of 19, he entered
the employ of the Oakland Gas Light Com-
pany. He began at the bottom rung of the
ladder, and mastered every detail of the busi-
ness in his ascent to the very top. His thirty-

five years of activity in the gas business cover
a period of great strides in the advancement
of the science of gas making. In every one
of these advances he took a prominent and
helpful part.

John A. Britton has become an honor to
his profession by his untiring devotion to its
betterment. We in the gas business can all
remember when the name of the Oakland Gas
Light and Heat Company and prosperity were
coupled together by reason of John A. Brit-
ton's management and experience. He was
elected secretary of the Oakland Gas Light
Company in August of 1 883, and in August
of 1 889 he was made president and engineer
of the Oakland Gas Light and Heat Com-
pany. In November of 1902 he became
general manager of the California Gas and
Electric Corporation; in October of 1905,
vice-president and general manager of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company ; and in
January of 1906, president of the San Fran-
cisco Gas and Electric Company. In the
position of vice-president and general mana-
ger of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, he has entire charge of all the industries
that go to make up that great corporation from
the time the rivers are harnessed in the moun-
tains until the electric current is unbridled into
light and power in all the cities and towns of
central California. His hand controls the
operation of the gas, steam, electric, water,
and railroad interests of the company.

John A. Britton is gifted with a remarkably
retentive memory. This gift was first displayed

150

^^X^z2^;7^

Biographical Sketch — John Alexander Britton

when as a young boy he essayed the part of
Cassius and other Shakespenan characters,
and later it was further evidenced in his ex-
perience as a public speaker and a toast-
master.

His connection with fraternal organizations
is both broad and creditable. He has been
elected to the following offices:

July 5th. 1881— Noble Grand of Oak-
land Lodge of Odd Fellows; August 10th,
1896— T. I. M. of Oakland Council No.
12, R. & S. M.; December 1st. 1900—
Master of Oakland Lodge No. 188. F. &
A. M. ; July 1st, 1901 — Commander of
Oakland Commandery No. 11, K. T. ;
April 18th, 1902— Grand Warden of the
Grand Commandery of California, K. T.

He is also a member of Oakland Consis-
tory No. 2, A. A. S. R., 32d degree, and
of Islam Temple of the Mystic Shrine.

Some of his best work has been in unsel-
fishly adding to the pleasure and happiness of
others. The development of his musical talent
fitted him to serve as organist and tenor to St.
John's Episcopal Church in Oakland from
1877 to 1887.

The course of the Pacific Coast Gas Asso-
ciation, of which he was a charter member,
has been guided by him from 1893 until the
present time. He has served it almost un-
remittingly as its secretary, and during the

year 1 898 he was its president. From 1 896
until 1902 he was president of the Athenian
Club of Oakland. He is a member of nearly
all the prominent clubs in San Francisco, Oak-
land, and Sacramento, and is also a member
of the Elks and of the Sons of Veterans.

His affiliation with technical societies in-
cludes a charter membership in the American
Gas Institute and membership in the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers and in the
American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

He was appointed a regent of the Univer-
sity of California by Governor George C.
Pardee. March 16th, 1903.

In his family life John A. Britton has been
particularly happy. He married, July 23d,
1879, Florence Mitchell, and their children
are Van Leer Eastland Britton, Mrs. Florence
Britton Kellogg, Mrs. Alice Britton Keefe,
John A. Britton, Jr., and Emmet Nicholson
Britton.

Happy is the man who can call him friend,
and fortunate is the boy who reads the lesson
of his career and emulates his splendid ex-
ample, and, best of all, is the love and respect
in which he is held by hundreds of employees.
He is always fair and considerate, and in his
prosperity he never forgets his less fortunate
comrades who toiled with him through the
early struggles in the gas business.

-^6

151

Industries Supplied from Hydro-Electric

Plants

FROM eleven great sources of power back
toward the Sierras comes the electric
energy that forms a saleable commodity m
which the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
deals. This power is supplied to more than
sixty different kinds of commercial enterprises.
Where it is generated, in what quantities, and

its most immediate application are shown in
the accompanying diagram, which also indi-
cates how some of the sources are combined
from the start but only suggests how the entire
scheme is united to distribute power on along
the line to scores of industries in and about
the big cities.

[g/ ec/yz-jj I OriJjjrT^ \ arr\j^„r3 \ \ fTl in 1 3 \ \ Or^cijtrj\ [

I I

|j/<vTrtt,.„.^ I A7//Tfj

Amusement parks
Breweries
Brick plants
Boiler shops
Can factories
Chemical plants
City sewerage plants
City water works
Coffee mills
Cooking devices
Cold storage plants
Creameries
Cracker factories
Dental motors
Elevators
Elevator factories
Fans

Feed mills
Flat irons
Flour mills
Foundries
Fruit canneries
Fruit packing plants
Fruit pre-cooling plants
Gas engine factories
Gas works
Glove factories
Gram elevators
Heating devices
Iced cream plants
Ice making plants
Incubator factories
Iron works

Jute mills
Knitting factories
Machine shops
Mattress factories
Meat cutters
Navy Yard
Oil-pumping plants
Oil-refining plants
Paint factories
Paper mills
Planing mills
Printing presses
Publishing houses
Pump factories
Rock crushers
Rubber factories

Safe factories

Salt-refining plants

Saw mills

Sewing machines

Shoe factories

Slaughter houses

Smelters'

Steam engine factories

Sugar refineries

Tanneries

Terra cotta works

Washing machines

Wineries

Woolen mills

Wood-working plants

X-ray machines

Yeast and vinegar works

"Ah, brother, these be barren days for A torch has recently been perfected to

those of us who court the muse." burn oxygen and acetylene gases together and

"Even so: I've just been forced to accept produce a flame of such intense heat that it

a position scanning meters for the gas com- can be conveniently used in cutting off or

pany." — Life. welding iron.

152

aA City Water-Supply From Deep ^A/'ells

By J. W. HALL, Manager Stockton Water District.

THE growth of the Stockton waterworks,
now owned by the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, forms an interesting record
of an increasing water supply gained from the
sinking and operation of a large number of
deep wells to keep pace with the development
of a city now having a population of 25,000.
When primitive man abandoned the
nomadic habit, which is still manifest in some
Asiatic tribes and in the life of gypsies, he
naturally settled down close to a water supply;
and near to streams grew the earliest com-
munities. As towns arose and covered a
wider area immediate access to the stream
became more difficult for the distant house-
holders, and out of this condition grew the
necessity for and the development of systems
for delivering water through ditches. The
drying up of the closest streams after long
seasons of drought, the increase of population,
and the constantly growing demands for more
water for other than ordinary domestic uses
produced conditions that, in time, brought
about the splendid stone reservoirs, aqueducts,
and surface-delivery systems that reached a
wonderful condition even 2,000 years ago for
the city of Rome, where many of the original
constructions are still extant. With the de-
velopment of civilization and the growth of
modern cities more and more water has been
required for the industries, for fire protection,
for irrigation, and for domestic purposes. And
wherever there is a natural demand for any-
thing, that thing becomes worth something
and salable, and inventive and ingenious man
arises with projects for furnishing a supply
and reaping the financial reward. Thus it is
that man and corporations and cities them-
selves have gone far afield in search of a
water source for growing communities that

promised to require much more than was im-
mediately available.

In California, owing to its peculiar climatic
conditions and the cessation of rain during
practically the whole summer period from the
first of April to the first of October, the con-
servation of water has become a paramount
principle governing the growth of the state.
At times it has been impossible to supply
enough water to the inhabitants of some con-
gested centres of population. During a pro-
tracted dry season following a period of com-
paratively light snows on the mountains many
of the streams have almost entirely dis-
appeared, but generally below the beds of
some of them have percolated water at a great
depth. In some places wells sunk deep enough
to tap these subterranean supplies have found
water with sufficient pressure to bring it bub-
bling up and overflowing above the surface of
the earth. These are artesian wells.

Stockton, although situated on the San
Joaquin, one of the two great rivers of the
state, can not use river water for household
purposes because it is brackish from the back-
ing up of the high tides of San Francisco bay.
When Stockton became the centre of distri-
bution for supplies to the great mines along
the mother lode then the necessity arose for
obtaining a large supply of water for domestic
purposes and for fire protection, because the
future of the town was assured. Deep wells
were sunk and an artesian flow was secured,
and the expansion of this principle is the basis
of Stockton's supply.

The history of the Stockton Water Com-
pany covers a period of just half a century.
In 1859, ten years after the first wild rush of
goldseekers into California, P. E. Connor
made a contract with the town of Stockton

153

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

and the county of San Joaquin whereby for
a period of twenty years he was to have the
use of wells owned by the town on a certain
lot, was to pay $ i 0 a month rental on the
lot with the privilege of purchase, and was to
supply the town and county's needs of water
for a consideration of $700 a year. This
arrangement was the beginning of the water
company that gave Stockton a supply that its
citizens could obtain as regular customers of
the company. But it was not until August of
1 867 that the company was incorporated, and
then its capital stock appeared as $100,000,
and it had a franchise that would run fifty
years. Evidently O'Connor bought the lot
from the city, because the records show that a
few days after the incorporation papers were
filed he deeded the lot to the Stockton Water
Works Company, which was practically
owned by L. L. Bradbury and wife of Los
Angeles. The Bradburys retained possession
until I 89 1 , when they sold everything but the
lot to the present Stockton Water Company.
This Stockton Water Company was organized
in October of 1 890, with W. S. McMurtry
of Los Gatos, W. S. McMurtry, Jr., of
San Francisco, John Flournoy of San Fran-
cisco, C. T. Ryland of San Jose and
R. D. Murphy of San Jose as its incor-
porators. A twenty-five-year franchise was
obtained, and it will expire November 25,
1915. In 1 895 the Blue Lakes Water Com-
pany secured a controlling interest in the
stock, and in 1908 legal title to the system.
In 1 904 the property was absorbed by the
California Gas and Electric Corporation, and
in 1908 it was transferred to the title of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

In 1 884, during the Bradbury ownership,
pumping from the city lot was abandoned,
because in 1 882 and 1 884 some lots had
been bought east of Stockton, and deeper and
better wells were sunk on them. The first of
these deep wells flowed originally 1 0,000
gallons an hour and the second 5,000 gallons
an hour, and they continued thus to flow into

a surface reservoir in lessening volume until

1 889, when they ceased altogether. Since
1 889 there has been no flowing water from
any of the wells. Pumps have been necessary.

In 1 89 1 the Stockton Water Company
issued $350,000 in bonds, running twenty
years and bearing 6 per cent, interest, and
with this capital started a system of cast-iron
mains. Shortly before this the city of Stock-
ton had bonded itself and laid four miles of
mains for fire-protection purposes and with
the intention of getting its own water supply.
But the water company leased the city's new
mains, and in consideration of the use of them
agreed to supply free water for fire-protection.

The company paid dividends from I 89 1
to 1 898, and then, because the city council,
voicing the hostility of the people, had cut
down the rate schedule about 35 per cent.,
there was so little revenue that no dividends
were possible, and for a time there was not
sufficient for the payment of the interest on
the bonds. But since that period of depres-
sion the rates, after strenuous efl-orts annually
applied, have been raised slightly four dif-
ferent times until now in 1 909 by close
economy and the help of the natural increase
in business a fair earning capacity is attained.
But ever since 1 898 all surplus earnings have
been put back into improvements of the
system.

When, in I 89 I , the Stockton Water Com-
pany took control there were approximately
800 consumers' accounts. In July of 1 909
there were 4,181 individual accounts of con-
sumers, 229 fire hydrants, 309 sewer flushers,
and forty-five miles of street mains from
twenty-inch down to four-inch diameter.

The daily output of water in July and
August is now about 4,500,000 gallons, and
in December and January, about 1 ,800,000
gallons. The average per capita consumption
for the 25,000 population the year round is
I 09 gallons a day.

Because domestic water is easily obtain-
able in Stockton at a depth of seventy feet the

154

John, O John — An Acrostic

company has had an uphill fight against the
competition of private wells and windmills
over a scattered community. An inadequate
company service in earlier years created
public resentment. But under the present cor-
porate control and its adequate financial
backing it has been possible to produce a first
class service and a capacity that has antici-
pated the future needs of the city. This
good service, coupled with reasonable rates,
has abated and removed the old antagonisms
and made the company's service so popular
that no new windmills have been constructed
within the area of the company's system and
the old ones are rapidly becoming disused.

The wells furnishing Stockton's supply of
water, their depth, when they were bored, and

the size of the casing are all shown in the
accompanying table:

At Pumping Station No. I.

Deep

Well.

1st

2d
3d
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th

1 0th

llth

12th

13th

I St

2d
3d
4th

Bored.

1882

1884

1885

1891

1895

1900

1902

1906

1907

1908-9

At P
1903
1904
1909
1909

Depth
in feel.
1,100

960
1.040

560

218

300

577

770

223

950
1,002
1,050

Size of Piping in Incba.
8(be!ow800ft., 7-in.)
6 (below 650 ft., 5-ln.)
8

12
20
12

14 (below 268 ft., 12-in.)
14 (be!ow250ft., 12-in.)
UMPING Station No. 2.

667 12(below632ft., lO-in.)
807 12 (below594ft., lO-in.)

960 14 (below 260 ft., 12-in.)

(boring) 14

John, O John — An Acrostic

(B\) a Cas Man Who Can '/ Scan Meiers)

J ust afore time fer closin wouldent yer bunch yer fist,

0 n Saturday noon or later, wid baseball on the list, —
H undreds uv reckissishons. an all ter get filled ter once,

N one but marked "rush" or somethm, an every guy gone ter lunch?

H aint yer never tumbled ter the surenuf mix uv things
U nder that bluff uv innercence a wad uv them blue blanks brings?
N Ipples an T's an pencils, pens, an, whatter yer thmk? yep hay!
T ons uv straw fer the gas works ter make night the color uv day.

P ush through them H transformers on a "req" that s been a week
U nder some feller's paper pile on a desk right clos ter his beak.
Rush, rush em out this minnit, with a barrel uv globes fer light:
Consider the fight at Colma; it's gotter be bright ternight.
H urry along with them stove legs what was put on a 21-R,
An how about them shovels an the order fer Mike's crowbar?
Some tacks an a carpel-sweeper, some "Sweetheart" soap ("Is it fun?

1 nclosin a list uv prices — "Must be bought uv Michaelson. "
N ow wouldent that sort uv ruffle an make yer kinder sore?

Get back ter yer work! Yer got ter: here comes a whole lot more.

A n now fer the bunch uv "locals" what's gotter go on the file.
Gee whiz! One's marked "emergency." How did it pass? 1 smile
E asieren a pug what's losin an aint got no wollop or style.
N ow here 's how genel orders gets stretchin out moren a mile
T er "give the service wanted an regerly wear a smile. "

155

aA Turbine Load-Limiting Device

Bp J. P. JOLLYMAN. Construction Department.

THE most important unit in the Centerville which it is connected by lever I 9 and connect-
plant of the Pacific Gas and Electric ing link 20. The bell crank comes down on
Company consists of a 5,000-kilowatt, the collar 21 on the regulating valve stem
2,400-volt, three-phase, 400-revolution Stan- when the main piston reaches the desired limit
ley alternator, coupled direct to a Francis- of its upward stroke. By depressing the regu-
type hydraulic turbine of 1 0,000 horse lating valve to its centre position the motion of
power. the main piston is stopped. Connecting rod

Regulation of this unit is effected by rotat- I 7 is made adjustable in length by means of
ing the guide vanes in the stationary casing of nut 22, which may be turned by hand. By
the turbine. This opens or closes the ports
between the guide vanes and thereby varies
the amount of water used. The guide vanes
are controlled by a Lombard Type-N gov-
ernor through a system of bell cranks and
gears.

For two reasons it was necessary to pro-
vide a means by which the maximum amount
of water taken by the turbine could be given
a variable limit. First, the supply varied;
second, it was found that the turbine had been
liberally designed with respect to overload
capacity and could take more than the avail-
able amount of water. The water is taken
direct from the ditch, there being only a small
concrete reservoir at the head of the penstock.
To accomplish the desired result the stroke of
the governor and, consequently, the port open-
ing of the turbine had to be limited and the
limit made easily adjustable.

It was seen that any device to limit the
governor's stroke must be applied to the this means the main piston may be allowed to
governor itself. So it was decided to apply make any desired portion of its upward stroke,
the stop to the origin of the governor's motion ; The governor is so connected to the turbine
that is, to the small regulating valve which is that the ports between the guide vanes are
controlled by the fly balls. closed when the main piston is down. Hence

The stroke-limiting device, as indicated in the device limits the travel of the main piston,
the accompanying drawing, consists of a small and thus becomes a load-limiting device on
bell crank, 14, pivoted at 15, which is con- the unit.

nected to crank 16 by connecting rod 17. The device has proved reliable and easily-

Crank I 6 is attached to shaft 1 8, which is adjustable. Its operation does not throw any
rotated by the motion of the main piston to strains on any part of the mechanism or gov-

Diagram of Lombard Type "N" Governor with
Stroke-Limiting Device

12. Displacement jiisiiui

13. Yoke

14. BeM crank

15. Pivot for bell crank

16. Crank

17. Connecting rod

18. Shaft

19. Lever

20. Connecting link

21. Collar on regulatini:-
valve stem

22. Regulatin? tnrn
buckle

1. Flvballs

2. Klvball spi-in-s

3. Flyball spring pivoi

4. Regulating valve

stem
.3. Regulating valve
(i. Pressure oil inlet

7. Larger differential

piston

8. Relay valve

9. Smaller differential

piston
0. Jlain piston

sure (lil inlet

Because She Was Well I bought Of

ernor. Neither does it interfere with the
regular operation of the governor within the
desired hmit. The attendant who regulates
this device can increase or decrease the load
by the turning of a nut, to meet any condition
of water flow reported by the ditch overseer.

The governor is also provided with an auto-
matic electric trip to protect the generator from
overload in case of continued short circuit.
This mechanism is operated by means of an
iron-clad solenoid directly connected to a
mechanical trip, which, in operating, permits
the governor to close the turbine vanes. The

solenoid is actuated by direct current supplied
by means of standard time-element relays.
These relays are operated by current trans-
formers included in the armature circuit of the
generator. The generator is thus protected
from destructive overloads whether the short
circuit occur on the high-tension line or within
the station.

These two attachments to the governor of
this machine have proved of great value, and
the service from this unit has been free from
accident or trouble either hydraulic or elec-
trical.

Because She Was Well Thought Of

Because San Francisco
bay was first discovered
November 4th, I 769,
by Gasper Portola, a
Spaniard who was jour-
neying up overland in
command of a party that
missed its bearings on its
way to Monterey bay,
San Francisco decided
to celebrate that histori-
cal discovery and at the same time show
the world how much the dauntless city has
accomplished since the fire. So a Portola
Carnival was decided upon for the five-day
period from October 1 9th to 23d of this
year.

Incidentally a contest was inaugurated to
determine the twelve best-lhought-of salaried
young women in the corporations, business
concerns, hotels, and larger stores of the city.
Thirty-one acceptable candidates were per-
mitted to enter the contest. The votes cost
one cent each. In the aggregate a total of

about $1 7,500 was in this manner raised for
the carnival fund. The prizes for the twelve
successful girls were free trips to the Seattle
fair, to Victoria, and the scenic cities of the
northwest, with certain cash funds added for
spending money on an eleven-day steamer and
and private-car tour.

Miss Genevieve Wells, head of the
addressograph department of the San Fran-
cisco Gas and Electric Company, was one
of the successful twelve and ranked seventh
with a total of 73,075 votes. This result
was remarkable because of the handicap that
attached to her candidacy. She was not
nominated by the company until late. Then
nearly a week's good time was practically lost
in the confusion and extra work for every-
body incident to moving into the new build-
ing, and her ballot-box was installed for use
only five days before the contest closed. The
highest vote polled was by the St. Francis
Hotel's candidate, a young woman who has
long had charge of the Postal Telegraph
Company's branch office in the hotel..

Putting All Accounting on a Standard Basis

B\, M. H. BRIDGES, Traveling Auditor.

THE desirability of having uniform ac-
counts as a basis for uniform reports
upon the same classes of operations or mdus-
tries has been recognized by an ever-increas-
ing number of accountants, economists, gov-
ernment officials, and public writers. But
experience has demonstrated that if this uni-
formity is ever to be attained there must first
be an adoption of a common language of
accounts, or the use by all of terms having
the same significance to all. This adoption
of common terms with the same significance
is becoming imperative owing to federal and
state legislation that is being enacted to regu-
late rates charged and service rendered and
to tax revenues derived.

In the last few years considerable has been
done toward making standard the accounts
of public service corporations. Massachusetts
pioneered this movement about fifteen years
ago by organizing a commission to deal with
gas, electric, and street railway companies.
The New York Public Service Commission
was organized, and its scheme of accounts for
gas, electric, and street railway companies has
gone into effect. The enlargement of the
power of the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion caused the reorganization of the account-
ing of railways, steamship lines, and other
industries doing an interstate business. The
various schemes and schedules of accounts
that were thus made necessary have shown a
carefully developed nomenclature, and these
schemes are being freely copied throughout
the country, wherever changes in accounting
methods are being made.

The benefits to be derived from using
standard methods of accounting are of almost
inestimable value to the economical adminis-
tration of corporations covering a large terri-
tory. A comparison of unit costs will bring

out the most economical methods and proc-
esses. The results of individual effort and
experience will be shown, and will enable the
application of the most economical methods to
the "high spots" that exist in all corporations
of any magnitude.

In making this comparison between divi-
sions and districts cognizance must be taken
of the physical conditions even though the
operations are the same. It will cost more by
consumer to take statements and make collec-
tions in a sparsely settled district than in one
thickly populated. In such cases a comparison
of prior months and years will show if the
expense have increased through decreased
efficiency of the present operations. One
familiar with that class of operations will be
able to judge if the increased cost over the
thickly populated district be equitable. Except-
ing increased cost of labor and material and
the physical condition of the territory covered,
there should be an equitable comparison of all
unit costs for the same classes of operations.

The information given by an analytical
report taken from a correctly organized sys-
tem of accounting is far-reaching in the in-
formation it furnishes. If the account "Sets,
Outs, and Complaints" were divided and
shown as "Sets and Outs" and "Complaints"
a comparison of the cost by "Set" and "Out"
in several districts would, when based on
same wages and similar territory, show the
lowest efficiency of work performed. Com-
plaints segregated as "Complaints — Service,"
when compared with other districts would
show if it were economical to look into the
processes of the manufacture or distribution
of gas. In the electric department the ques-
tion raised would be as to the cause of inter-
ruptions or as to the transformer efficiency in
the distribution systems. "Complaints — High

158

Electrical Co- Operator s Creed

,l2jll3Bj^/;

Bills" would show by giving the dates of a
few of the sets if the meters were breaking
down because of inefficient work by the meter
repair shop and testing department. "Com-
plaints— Sundries" would show the number
of unnecessary complaints (some consumers
can not be satisfied any other way) sent out
because of the inexperience or negligence of
the counterman. The expense of boosting
gas pressure will indicate if it would be more
economical to increase the size of the mains,
run trunk lines to the congested districts, or
furnish additional holder capacity.

If the total amount of gas manufactured
and the cost were accurately known a com-
parison of the cost by thousand cubic feet
\vould briiig out the most economical process,
and the accurate loss by mile of main would
indicate that the distribution system needed
attention. In the electric department if the

various lines had meters the line loss could be
shown, so that by line work possibly a station
could be closed down, thereby reducing the
operating costs.

To render accounts standard usually spells
increased reports and detail for the operating
man. But if he be conscientious he then
knows whether or not the best and most
economical work is being returned. The in-
creased detail can be greatly reduced if the
accounts follow the course of operation which
has developed the line of least resistance.
Persons organizing a system of accounts
should make themselves familiar with the pro-
duction and distribution of the commodities
involved. This will insure a system that will
fit in with the operations and be a complete
index of the condition of the business, and it
will be applicable to the largest or the smallest
territory for which reports are made.

Electrical Co-Operator's Creed

I believe in Electric-city, the greatest "city"
on Earth.

Daughter of Science and Mother of Prog-
ress.

Sister of Civilization, Handmaid of In-
dustry, and First Cousin to the Spirit of Peace
en Earth and Good Will to Man.

Lightener of Burdens, Tamer of Wilder-
ness, Annihilator of Distance, and Goddess
of Light..

The most necessary of luxuries.

Who wouldn't believe in Electricity?

I believe in Co-operation.

Pennant-winning "team work," rather than
individual grandstand play.

Constructive and profitable combination as
opposed to destructive unprofitable competi-
tion.

Greater general progress through reduction
of individual friction.

Working together for the Grand Prize

instead of quarreling together over scanty
profits.

Co-operation! — who wouldn't be a co-
operator?

I believe in Electrical Co-operation.

"All together all the time for everything
electrical" — The application of the highest
law of Modern Business to the greatest busi-
ness of Modern Times.

The massing of forces to boost the sale of
current and everything under Heaven that
uses current — the generator of an enlightened
"current opinion."

The step-up transformer of low-efficiency
selfishness to high-voltage helpfulness — the
incandescence of enthusiasm against the re-
sistance of conservatism — and the short cir-
cuit to the final and complete electrification of
the Universe and to that Millenium Age
when what is n't done by electricity will not
be done at all.

— Charles A. Barker in "The Electrical Times."

i.-.o

The Draughting Room's Filing System

B^ MISS ROSA E. LAMONT, Draughting Department.

ONE of the problems confronting every prints that about a year ago it was decided
large concern is the care and handling to substitute numbers, using 0 and ten to sixty
of its records. This company, up to the thousand; the 0 sheet being the standard

8|/2"xl i ", letter size, and the ten to fifty
thousand all multiples of this unit. The
sixty thousand designation is used for all
prints, regardless of dimensions, commg from

present time, has on file four thousand trac-
ings and more than a thousand foreign prints.
After much study and thought the arrange-
ment herewith explained was considered a

lOOOO - MFIRGl/^S - 4

20, JO, ■q'o ■y-^oooo - /vr,^/?g//v.s - j

iixn'

20000 3i3t.

30000 ^/»«.

•SOOOO >5'-3c—

33 'y^/

Title

very feasible one for the care of its blue
prints, tracings, etc.

The original plan for designating tracings
was by letters preceding the numbers : L, rep-
resenting the letter size; A, the sheet 12x18,
used for diagrams, outline drawings, panels.

Plate No. 1

any outside source. For convenience in mail-
ing, the dimensions of the tracings were
altered as indicated in Plate No. 1 .

In order that the subject of the drawing
may be readily noted, the title, name of sta-
tion, designer, tracer, date, scale and number

and switches; B, 18x24, for similar drawings of the drawing are printed on the lower right

and pole-line maps; C, 24x36, D, 30x48, hand corner of the tracing, as shown in Plate

and E, 36x60, for general powerhouse draw- No. 2.

ings; and F, for prints received from other Prints from the tracings are filed in numeri-

companies. cal order in cabinets in the draughting room.

There was so much delay caused by out- but the tracings are kept in a vault. For

siders omitting the letter when writing for general reference the prints only are used.

The Draughting Room's Filing System

The card file is arranged in six divisions:
Hydraulic, Powerhouses, Substations, Pole
Lines, General Drawings, and Maps.

The Hydraulic file is divided according to
the different water systems, giving the reser-
voirs, dams, ditches, flumes, pipe lines, and the

The General Drawing file consists of ac-
cumulators, alternators, generators, motors,
rheostats, transformers, insulators, and switches
used as standards, and for general use in any
or all of the stations. The cross index of
machinery to be used at other stations besides

CO/?/?f:C T/ 0/V3

oesc^if'T.

DAr&

r UU/ViJ/i / lU/v A L//^ /^ T> ^o ^ /<=> z^/\ /
V/^CUU/Y7 /=>U/r7P FOR 9000 X/LO^RTT

ST/JT/ON C' Of)/<L/^ND

Zifl^d^..

r-/^.^.

OR/<Lf1ND PO^y£R D/V/SJON.
PACIFIC GAS Atvo ELECTRIC CO

c.TQ.

BY F£BffOK//^

Tff 3Y

OAT£^ 9-B3-OS
O f<J/^^, /22,

^upe:/?s£0£-s S - 909 or

SUf£I^S£0£O BY

0/1^

23102

£AfG CjOfYT

Plate No. 2

necessary mechanism used in their construc-
tion and operation.

In the second division, the Powerhouses,
representing the steam, gas, and water power
installations, are given, with the building
plans, boilers, engines, water-wheels, gener-
ators, transformers, auxiliaries, and wiring
layout for each plant.

In the Substation file are the building
plans, transformers, regulators, switches, and
all electrical apparatus used in these stations.

The Pole Line file contains the pole con-
struction, maps of lines, and crossings used by
the company.

23102

Station C Oakland

roUf^DATiOt^ FOR /£" dr ^3~ >^ /S' Dry i/ACOUM PuMP

rofi 9000 A tV Turbo GmirRATOR.

DATE a -i-^- OS BY /- f s/?o*v/v SCALE l"-l'-o"

the one they are originally built for is kept in
this division. The underground system plans
also are filed in this section.

The maps of the cities and localities con-
nected with the system are kept under a sep-
arate head for convenience and rapidity of
location.

The standard 4"x6" card is used for
filing. The number of the drawing, name of
detail, and particular location designed for,
name of draughtsman, date, and scale are in-
dicated, as in Plate No. 3.

It is an old adage that "A shovel is not a
spade," and on this suggestion has been based
the filing for this indexed recording system.
Thus, methods and terms which may be ap-
plicable to one may not be advantageous to
another, although apparently similar.

Plate No. 3

With the aid of five stationary engines and
in the space of only eleven minutes, a huge
steel bridge weighing 285 tons was recently
substituted at Jersey City for the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad's old iron bridge over Newark
avenue.

Where Electricity Played Leapfrog

B\) WILL T. JONES, Accountant Electra Power Division.

RUNNING from the Electra powerhouse the hmbs of the tree struck the Hne and short-
to the Lightner mine at Angels Camp circuited two of the wires,
is a 1 7,000-volt transmission line which is At that time the writer of this article was
probably one of the oldest that the com- at the substation at San Andreas, and the first
pany owns. It was built in 1897 and was notice he had of any trouble was when he saw-
originally a two-phase line, extending from an arc on this line about half a mile from
the old plant that was located three miles and traveling toward the station. This arc
below Electra. followed the line for about three poles and

In the construction of this line were used then disappeared. It jumped about three

square redwood poles, thirty-five feet high, poles and then broke out again. It continued

Oregon pine cross-arms, 4x4x26 inches, locust these jumps four or five times before it

pins I J/2 inch long, and five-inch, triple petti- reached the take-off pole, whence it traveled

coat, porcelain insulators. A few years ago to pole II II. There the wires have a

one of the wires was removed and the hne spread of five feet, as that is a dead-end pole

changed from two-phase to three-phase. The from which the wires enter one of the regular

wire used is No. 3 bare copper to the sub- three-pole, double-break, line switches,

station at San Andreas and No. 4 copper Mr. Chapman at once sent word that the

from there on. These wires have a spread of line was shorted out at the mine. After

sixteen inches. having the circuit killed an inspection was

Tapping this line at pole I 110, which is made and in the span at the mine t%vo of the

located at the San Andreas substation, is a wires were found wrapped together, but the

line about one mile and a half long. It runs remainder of the line where so much arcing

out to the Chapman gravel mine. This line had occurred was all right,

is constructed the same as the main Calaveras According to Superintendent Chapman

line except that No. 9 galvanized iron wire there were no fireworks any place along the

is used instead of copper wire. Just before line from the mine back toward the station for

the line reaches the mine there is a span a distance of 1 ,000 yards, not even a sign

probably 600 feet long, the wires having a of an arc where the wires crossed. It was at

spread there of about six feet. least three-fourths of a mile from where the

A few months ago the superintendent of tree hit the line before the wires started to arc.

the mine, Mr. Chapman (now deceased). No damage was done except here and

Tiad a man cut down a large pine tree which there to an insulator that was scorched where

stood alongside this span. In falling, one of the arc had followed.

"Go to my father," she said, when I asked her to wed.
And she knew that I knew that her father was dead.
And she knew that I knew what a life he had led.
And she knew that I knew what she meant when she said,
"Go to my father."

When the Chiefs Played Ball

LONG time go big chief two tribe play
ball.

Much cold. Much wind. Much dust.

Heap young buck, heap squaw, heap pap-
poose watchum.

Much drum, much holler, much noise, all
tmie — all same big medicm dance. Ugh!

Some ole chief, very ole chief, come play
ball.

Two medicin man he come. Say no
fightum, be frien.

One medicin man name Chief Four-eye
Lee. Other medicin man him name Chief
Smokum - Big - Torch Hockenbeamer. Not
know how play ball medicin man, but think
know how; tellum all time this way play.

Some chief too fat. Fallum down. All
same ole squaw. Ugh !

One side gettum Chief Not-Much \X/ise,
Chief Grabbum-and-Losum Henley, Chief
Heap-Sweat Downing, Chief Small-Fox
Walton, Chief Lizzy Lisberger, Chief No-
1 alk Adams, Chief Stand-Still Manchester,
Chief Can-Yell Cantrell, Chief Never-Did
Bragg. Chief Scalp-Lock-Gone Kline. Chief
White-Moccasin Foote, Chief Horse-Kick-in-
the-Arm Lusk, Chief Run-Fast-for-Fat-Man
McDavid. Ugh!

Other side gettum Chief Hittum-Far Var-
ney. Chief Turn-Wrong-Way Cunningham,
Chief Man-Feel-Old Oldis, Chief Throw-
Tco-High Bostwick, Chief Catchum-One-
Fly Barrett, Chief Rip-In-Blanket-Behind
Guswhite, Chief Not-See-Ball Stroh, Chief
Smile-Dont-Care Holberton, Chief Sore-At-
Support Joebutler. Ugh!

Five time big chief Pacific tribe usum club,
hittum ball, runnum. Gettum nine point. Ugh!
Chief Rip - In - Blanket - Behind Guswhite
feelum sick! Go gettum new blanket. Him
tribe no ketchum nothin. Chief-Sore-At-
Support Joebutler gettum big bunch flowers.

but no good luck. Chief Guswhite too much
tired.

Then come bad sign. Chief Can-^ ell
Cantrell ketchum flea in blanket. That all
he ketchum. Pacific tribe chief actum all
same too much fire water. Ugh!

Night time come. Ugh! Heap big eat.
Heap smoke peace pipe. Much talk. Chief
say. "What for no killum medicin man?
Killum umpire?" Chief Four-Eye say, "What
for?" I go now gettum boat go Deadtown.
Makum big sleep. What for no findum pale
face killum him? Young buck findum this on
hill. ^ ou look see. White man sure."
Ugh!

Sho\vum all chief this:

St. Ic.natus Grounds, San Francisco. Saturday,

September 4th,

P. G. & E. Co— AB.

Wise, I b. & p . . . . 5

Henley, 3b 5

Downing, c 5

W alton, s.s 4

Lisberger, 2b 4

.Adams }

Manchester^

CantrelU , ,

D ( c.t 4

tiragg \

^''""( l.f 4

r oote\

Lusk, p. / _,

McDavid lb.\ ■■■

1909.
BH. PO.

r.f

Totals

13 19 3 6

S. F. G. & E. Co.— AB. R. BH. PO. A. E.

Varney. l.f 4 2 2 0 0 0

Cunningham, s.s. .5 2 3 0 0 2

Oldis. lb 3 2 3 8 0 2

Bostwick, 2b 4 0 0 2 2 5

Barrett, c.f 4 0 0 1 0 I

White, c 4 2 2 6 2 0

Stroh, 3b 4 I I 1 0 2

Holberton, r.f 3 2 I I 0 0

Butler, p 3 0 0 0 4 0

Totals 34

Two-base hits — Lisberger. N'arney. First on balls
—Off Lusk. 2. Struck out— Bv Lusk, I I ; bv Butler.
3. Wild Pitches— Butler. 3. Hit by pitcher— Hol-
berton, White. Passed balls — \X'hite, 5.

Umpires — F. V. T. Lee and A. F. Hockenbeamer.

Ki.S

Announcement cards were issued late in
August telling of the marriage way back in
February, — and St. Valentine's Day too, —
of C. H. Warren of the electrical engmeering
department and Miss Ida Isabel Graves of
Berkeley. While marriage is no light matter,
keeping it dark more than half a year may be
considered hardly fair to the groom's pro-
fessional associates, who, like himself, are
really engaged in the great business of furnish-
ing light to dispel darkness everywhere.

stormy or "juice" too hot for him to do his
duty and maintain the reputation for hardi-
hood and fearlessness that characterize the
rugged race of Danes from whom he was
descended.

E. C. Jones, engineer of the gas depart-
ment, was in Woodland about the 1 8th of
August to solve a peculiar problem. The
Pacific Gas and Electric Company's property
there is so situated that petroleum from that
plant seeped down into and contaminated two
large wells used for Woodland's municipal
water supply. The company agreed to bore
a new well, but when water-depth was
reached such continued incaves of sand
occurred that even sand-pumping could not
clear the hole. Then the company under-
took to rebore and clean out the city's oil-
contaminated wells, and that failed. So the
boring of a new well was decided upon, and
Engineer Jones suggested that the city bore
it and send in its bill. But the city council

declared it had enough troubles without going a j • ii u ( tt'

'^ & s And occasionally we hear of a man getting

underground to hunt for more. l- r t ■ i lU u u l J u

on his feet again — just as though he had been

walking on his hands.

When Sam Sorenson, aged 43, died about

the end of July, after a brief illness, the Oak- The Pacific Gas and Electric Company is
land Gas Light and Heat Company lost a contemplating the construction of sixteen miles
faithful employe who had been continuously of 60-kilovolt line for distributing power in
with the company from the very day he Sutter county. The proposed new line would
arrived in California, nearly twelve years ago. extend from Terra Buena to Meridian by
He was latterly a gang foreman, but in all his way of Sutter City and would have a sub-
active service there was never a night too station at Meridian.

The Right Address

A young New York broker of convivial
habits fell in with an old school friend who
had gone on the road.

"Whenever you "re in town come up and
bunk with me," urged his friend as they sep-
arated. "No matter what old time it is. If
I 'm not there just go ahead and make your-
self at home. I '11 be sure to turn up before
daybreak."

Soon after this the salesman arrived in
town about midnight, and, remembering his
friend's invitation, sought out his boarding
house. There was only a dim light flickering
in the hall, but he gave the bell a manful pull.
Presently he found himself face to face with
a landlady of grim and terrible aspect.

"Does Mr. Smith live here?" he faltered.

"He does," snapped the landlady. "You
can bring him right in!"

The man who lives upright is apt to die
in a horizontal position.

164

i nJer this title each month roill be published handy formulae, simple practical methods, and time-saving
Biays for doing things that have to be done in the day's ivorli. Thus may all in the employ of the company
come to benefit someiuhat from the combined ^noip/ec/ge and experience of the individuals.

l\o one Ifnows all the shortest and easiest methods, but each one probably l(nolDs some little scheme to
save time and trouble. Thai little idea is ivanted for this department. Jot doli>n on a bit of paper its salient
features, just as you would tall( of it to some friend, and send it to the magazine. The editor will put it in
proper form for printing and give you the deserved credit.

Aon> which individual, which station, which division can show the most of these practical little ideas?
Cet into the game: co-operate. We can all leach one another something.

Locating- Eddy Currents in a

Damaged Section of

Armatiire

By I. B. ADAMS, Acting Division Superintendent
Colgate Power Division.

After a recent burn-out of a 2,300-volt,
5,500-kilovvatt generator of the closed slot

Design of Detector Device

type at the Colgate station there was con-
siderable trouble with eddy currents, due
to the coils in the damaged section of the
armature melting and filling the air ducts,
and becoming fused with the laminations.
Owing to the closed slot, it was impossible to
remove the melted copper with tools. Nearly
all of it has to be removed with acid. After
all the visible copper had
been removed the arma-
ture bars were replaced
and the generator started
up. Before the machine
had built up to half volt-
age the insulation on the
bars in the damaged sec-
tion began to smoke. The
armature bars were re-
moved and the slots filled
with wooden dummy ar-
mature bars. This was
done to get an exact
record of the hot spots,
which charred the wood
bars, thereby locating and
recording themselves. The
wooden dummy armature
bars gave a sure and ac-
curate test, but, owing to
the amount of labor in-
volved in moving the ar-
mature after each test, it
was not considered a prac-
tical course to pursue. In
order to ascertain the pro-

10.3

[^S^i

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

gress being made in removing the fused
copper a device was designed and built to
detect and locate the eddy currents. The
print shows the design of the detector and
the method of using. The detector is very
simple and was used at Colgate with marked
success. E. O. Klipphahn suggested making
the device, and it was made at the station's
shop at a cost of $5.

Oil Output Exceeds Gold in
California

According to State Mineralogist Aubry,
eight counties of California produced 48,-
306,910 barrels of petroleum in 1908.
Kern county led with 18,777,871 barrels,
valued at $9,388,935. He also shows that
the total value of the oil output in 1 908 was
$26,566,181.

"The striking feature of this is that the
petroleum output is not only great in itself,
but it actually outstrips the year's production
of gold by $6,000,000," says Aubry.

He also asserts that the annual output of
petroleum has increased practically twenty-
fold in the last ten years.

Freaks of Electricity Alarm
People of Los Angeles

Two freaky electrical disturbances, one of
which engineers have been unable to account
for, occurred at Los Angeles recently. The
first was the stopping of all the cars on the
streets and all machinery drawing electricity
from the Kern River power plant. The
trouble was located on the Newhall division,
and men sent out found that a forest fire had
swept under the transmission line, but had not
destroyed their poles or wires. The explana-
tion is that fire is a conductor of electricity
and the high flames led the current to the
ground, "shorting" the line until the blaze
subsided. Then everything moved as usual.

But the unexplained happening was the
sudden burning in two of a large Sunset tele-
phone cable. Both ends continued to spurt
sheets of green and orange flame that made
the sunlight seem dim. When one end fell
to the street there was a roar like the dis-
charge of a cannon, dirt flew in all directions
and the heavy wire leaped in the air, dancing
several minutes. Each time it touched the
ground there was another roar. Seven line-
men two miles away had a narrow escape
from death at the same time, when a guy
wire came in contact with the mysteriously
charged telephone cable and performed simi-
larly. Two vvere severely shocked. Hun-
dreds of telephones were disabled.

Electrocuted by Flying Kite

Stanley Klovberg, of Tacoma, Wash.,
the sixteen-year-old son of Nicholas Klov-
berg, former member of the city council, was
electrocuted recently by a wire, attached to a
kite he was flying, coming in contact with a
high-tension electric power wire.

Consistency is a jewel, but many people
do not wear jewelry. .

The following telephonic message was re-
cently received at the Berkeley office :

"Mr. is dying at Ben Lomond.

Expects to be back before long and %\ill settle
all bills."

So live that, when thy summons comes to
join that innumerable caravan which moves
to that mysterious realm where each shall
take his chamber in the silent halls of Death,
thou goest not like the quarry slave, scourged
to his dungeon at nightfall ; but, soothed and
sustained by an unfailing hope, approach thy
grave like one who wraps the draperies of his
couch about him and lies down to pleasant
dreams. — Bryant's "Thanantopsis."

Asl( queslions. Any one of the several thousand men and momen in the Pacific Cas and Electric Com-
pany Tvho vishes information pertaining to any phase of the company's wort( or concerning matters of common
interest to residents of any section reached by the company's lines, is urged to use this department frcelv.
Send your questions to the magazine. There will he no charge.

Query: — How should a billiard table best
be lighted — say, where there is one table and
where there are several? SACRAMENTO.

Answer: — The usual method of hghting a billiard
table is by means of incandescent lamps hung directly
over the table and equipped with Dolier reflectors.
Where there are several tables, if the ceiling be not
of too high pitch, a white metal ceiling is used, with
lamps set in the ceiling. This gives a very good
light. S. J. LiSBERGER.

Query: — Will an incandescent lamp, me-
chanically perfect, and not connected in cir-
cuit, deteriorate with age? If it deteriorate,
what is the nature of the deterioration, and
what is the cause? Fresno.

Answer: — There is no deterioration in the life of
the carbon filament. The only deterioration is from
handling. S. J. LiSBERGER.

Query: — Are any consumers operating
moving picture machines reporting any diffi-
culty in operating machines supplied by alter-
nating current. SaN FrANCISCO.

.Answer: — The picture machine usually causes a
fluctuation of the lighting circuit when the machine is
supplied directly therefrom. The best results are
obtained by use of a special transformer, or even
better results are obtained by the use of the recent
Mercury Arc Rectifier, as developed specially for
picture-machine work. S. J. LiSBERGER.

Query: — What form of an induction motor
:s best adapted for operating a pump that must
start under full load? STOCKTON.

Answer: — Any style of induction motor that has
an internal starting resistance, or any style motor that
has a resistance cut into the rotor by means of an
external drum or other type of controller,

S. J. LiSBERGER.

Query: — Are the so-called "flaming arc"
lamps successful? B. K.

Answer: — Flaming arcs are rapidly gaining prom-
inence, particularly in the east, where many have
been installed. But, as with all new apparatus, time
is required to develop various conditions that may
show its defects. The foreign-made flaming arcs
were in favor for a time, but now those of American
make are gaining in popularity. The greatest trouble
with a flaming arc lamp is the difficulty of obtaining
a proper carbon and to have it trimmed properly.
The average flaming arc lamp burns only about
seventeen hours on one trim XYZ.

Query : — Why is No. 6 B. & S. copper
wire the smallest size used for primary work
on this company's system when there are
other smaller sizes that have ample carrying
capacity? Charles BarrETT.

Answer: — The practice specifies the minimum size
to be No. .6 B. & S. copper, because a smaller size
would have a breaking strength of less than 1,200
lbs., and therefore be apt to break by the combined
action of wind, cold, and ice, when supported on
pole? out of doors on the ordinary spans of the
pole line. P. M. DowHING.

Simply Exchange Souvenir
Postals

In Bankok, the great capital city of Siam,
they have electric-lighting developed to such
a high state of efficiency that all a customer
now has to do is to follow the company's
printed order, which reads :

Sir: For the case that your electric light
should fail we beg to send you inclosed a post
card, which please send us at once when you
find your light out. The company will then
send you another post card. \'ours truly.
Manager. Siam Electricity Company, Ltd.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

rrF.I,ISHEI> IN TlIK INTEKKsr OF Al.l. TH K E.MPl.ciVKKS
OF THE I'ACIFIC <iAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

ARCHIE RICE.

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER

Editor
HisiNEss Manager

Issued the middle of eiifli month

Year's subscription 'lO i-ei

Single copy m cei

Matter for publication or business communiciitions
should he a<lilressed

Pacific (Jas and Ei.ecthic Magazine
445 (Sutter Street, San Erancisco

Vol. I

SEPTEMBER, 1909

No. 4

EDITORIAL

When a man knows an attractive woman
but slightly he is courteous. He strives to
please and is agreeable. He gets better ac-
quainted, married. In the consciousness of
permanent possession he comes more and
more to omit those little courtesies that helped
to make life so pleasant. Domestic existence
for them sinks to a humdrum level of in-
difference to each other or is periodically in-
terrupted by arcs of anger and resentment,
flashing invidious comparisons or references "The public be damned!" This feeling gets
to what used to be. There is repeated short- a good start. May be it is augumented by
circuiting of the line that carried love vibra- enmity aroused in others by that same em-
tions. With variations, of course, this is the ployee. A suit for damages, due to some
experience in tens of thousands of homes. accident in the company's service, comes to
Courtesy continued as a domestic habit would trial. One of these personally offended citi-
prevent a lot of domestic woe. zens or one of his informed acquaintances is

From the home the man goes forth daily on the jury. The award costs the company
to his vocation, pre-impressed with a grouch more than it otherwise would by an amount
or a feeling of kindliness and courtesy. What possibly as large as the whole year's salary
he does not practice at home he usually em- of the employee that helped produce that

public, and probably is. That kind of a man

is a handicap to a business.

Here is a large store. A clerk, perhaps by
a word, possibly only by attitude, incurs the
ill-will of a chance customer. That cus-
tomer may say nothing then, but he goes
away and never returns. Enough such ex-
periences in a month will cost that store in
missed financial opportunities more than the
price of that clerk's salary. Courtesy is a
business asset.

Here is a public-service corporation. Per-
haps it has a monopoly of the local field.
Some employee needlessly offends a customer
by his attitude. That customer goes away
cherishing a grievance and developing what
may grow to be enmity for the whole con-
cern. He tells his associates. Perhaps they
have had similar experiences. The corpora-
tion is referred to as a big, soulless, grasping,
grafting impersonal machine intent only on
making money and going on about it on the
principle of the dictum attributed to one of
the older Vanderbilts when he exclaimed

ploys only on special occasions where he seeks
to please. When not on his guard that man's
indifference, his curtness, his brusqueness, his
irritability, are impressed upon others.

A man growls back through the telephone,
"Watter-yer-want, Who-is-it?" and, discov-
ering it is "the boss," instantly changes to
dulcet tones and obsequeous phrases. He ex-

enmity. It is too expensive to keep such a
man.

The personal causes may be numerous but
small and thus unknown to the corporation's
officials. But public displeasure finally
assumes the form of an insistent desire either
to put upon that corporation a punishing re-
duction in its rates or to have competition en-

poses two traits — one that he can grovel to ter the field and reduce that corporation's
those that control his job, and the other that revenues and its arrogance. What brought
he can be gruff to subordinates or the poor about this feeling? An employee was dis-

16S

Editorial

courteous. A man like that costs more than
his salary, because his attitude is contagious
and lis effects are far-reaching and not im-
mediately discernable. The corporation be-
comes unpopular: the public refers to it as
a robber. It is an object of suspicion, a
proper mark for retaliation or revenge. AH
along the line the work of the other employees
is rendered a little more trying, a little less
pleasant.

Take two persons of equal capabilities and
efficiency — the one that is always courteous
and pleasant, without, of course, being servile,
IS worth half again as much to the business of
a public-service corporation, twice again as
much to the happiness of a home.

Courtesy counts, but the only safe way is
to get the habit and use it at home and in
business all the time.

No OTHER QUALITY is SO diffusive of joy,
both to him who possesses it and to those with
whom he comes in contact, as cheerfulness. It
is the phase of a soul sitting in its own sun-
light. There are celestial bodies that are seen
through the aid of their own light; others that

show only with the light from those before
them. So it is with individuals. There are
some who possess an inexhaustible amount of
cheerfulness that renders them not only self-
illuminating but capable of brightening the
spirits of those about them. Some are cheer-
ful when prosperity surrounds them or appears
gorgeously in prospect. But few are cheerful
when adversity casts her gloomy shadow
over them, when sorrow and disappointment
dry up the fountains of pleasure and wither
the hopes. In such trying crises cheerfulness
IS an independent virtue, at other times it is an
accidental mood.

In this number of the magazine appears
an article entitled "Putting All Accounting
on a Standard Basis." It is the first of a
series of three related subjects presented by
M. H. Bridges of the auditing department
having to do with the auditing and economics
of business enterprises and the presentation of
the necessary records by methods that shall be
part of a system rendered generally intelligible
and uniform throughout the various branches
of the company.

Out With His Wife

She — "Bloom does not pay his wife much
attention."

He — ^"No; the only time I ever knew of
his going out with her was once when the gas
exploded."

"Look at the funny long ulster on that
gentleman over on the corner."
"That's no gentleman."
"Why, yes."
"No. That's my husband."

Bless Her!

All Life as a rule

Is a great old school

Of WO, O MAH, and a MAN, —

Expressed in brief as WO-MAN

And commonly written WOMAN.

\ et lawyers, you "11 see,
Divide LIFE in three:
A LI and an IF and a FE.
But the total is still.
As you '11 learn by the bill.
Another sad case of WO-MAN,
Generally traced back to WOMAN.

109

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

DIRECTORS

F, 1!. AnIikRsoN
IIkni:v K. Hothix
.John .\. Kritton
\\. II. Chock KK
K. .1. 1)E Saiu.a, .11!.

V. G. Dkim
.lOHN S. Drum
D. H. KooTE

A F. HOCKENI'.K.\MKli

.John Martin

LOIIS MONTKACWK

(■vRi> Pierce
Leon Sj.oss
.Joseph S. Tobin

(iEORflE K. Wj-.EKS

OP^FICERS

V. li. IIKIM

..loHN .\. liRrniiN.
F. W T. I.E1-.

ici-Pro. anil G.-n. Mf,'r.
...\ssi. GeniTiil Maiiairer
K. KfKAI'.T

.\. F. Ilcil liENHKAVK

CHARI.K- L. Harkhii

Cou^villiii!,' Fiisii

Hid CniiiptroUer

Secretary

-Asst. Secretary

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

\\'. Ii. 111. -I. I,

1,1 1 \i-

\\. H. Kl.INK

R. .7 Cantri-.i.i
S. V. Wai.tiin

.1. P. (III. HI. AN

.1. H. Hint,
E. 11. 1[i:ni,i-,v.

Utoniey

.Midilor

Tax Agent

Property .\gen t

Cnnnnercial .Vgent

Claims .\gent

Purchasing Agent

Manager Land Oept.
II. Ilii^r\llrl<

E. c. .loNEs Engr. <ias I)e|)t.

P. M. DowNiNi; Kngr. O. & M. Hyd.-Elec. Sect.

F. H. Vahnev Engr. (). i VI. Steam & Gas Eng. Sect.

J. II. Wise Civil and Hydraulic Engr.

C. F. Ada.ms Engr. of Elec. Cotistructinn ,<

GKoKiiE C. Hoi.liERTiiS Engr. of Elec. Distrib'n (Sect. 1 )

S. .1. LiSBKRCEK ICngr. of Elec. Distrib'n (Sect. 21 \

Georce G. Komi Snpt. of Snpplie> ,

Secretary to PresiilenI

CHlin..
Col.is.v
Fresno
Grass Vai.i.i:\
Marysvii.i.i

Marin

NaI'a

Xi-.VAPA Cl•r^

I', A, l.K.MH. .Ml.

A. K. pAi;i:iiTr. Asst. Mgr
H. H. Heuyfiiuh
\V. M. II en person
F. \V. Fl.oRENri,
...ImiN Werry

...I. F. PnlNliI>EsTl;E

W. II. iMisTEI:
1 1, F Clark

■ InHN WERRY

WOIIPI.ANP

DISTRICT MANAGERS

()AKr..\M>

PETAI.1 >l.\

Repwoop City

SArRAMENTII. . .

\'ai.i,e.ii>

W. F. (K|;,,k-

I'. .\. I.ICAIH. .iR.

G. Ii. FlRNEss. Asst. Mgr.

11. Weeer

l. ii. n'ewbert
.c. \V. MrKiLi.ip
C. R. Giu., Asst. Mgr.
.1. D. KrsTER

(iKORliE POLI.ARP. Asst. Mgr.

.Thomas D. Fetch

...\. .1. .'^TEl'HE.NS

MANAGERS OF WATER DISTRICTS

.\l HIRN

Neva P.

W . U. AlMTH u Vi.M m: 1ii\ i-iiin

Georue Scaree .STANPART)

Stockton .1. W. IIai.i.

II. W. CnOIM-.R. Snpt.
W. F. Eskew

SUPERINTENDENTS OF POWER DIVISIONS

•CoUiATE

De SABI.A

Electra.,

Marysvii.i.e. .

N'EVAIlA (^ITV

...I. M- .\PA>i> lactingi

.1). M. VoiNi.

..\V. E. Eskew

..C. E. YorxG ( acting »

.'iEORGE SCARFE

North To» i.k.

( iakhnp

Sacramento...

San Jose

Sopth Tower

C. D. Ci.AUK
WlI.I.IAM HlOHES

W. c. Finely
..T. O. Hansen
A. H, Kirnett (actingi

SUPERINTENDENTS OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

.c. .1. Wilson

TIA.MENTO C. K. GILL

170

Pacific Gas and Electric cTVIagazine

Vol. I

Contents for October

FRONTISPIECE, Map of Company's Power System

WATER-POWER DEVELOPMENTS IN CALIFORNIA , John Martm 173

THE HISTORY OF THE FOLSOM POWER PLANT . . Archie Rice 180

THEY SAY 192

SOME THINGS ABOUT STEAM W. F. Durand 193

MEETING OF THE PACIFIC COAST GAS ASSOCIATION Henry Bosiwick 197

THE PUBLICS COMPLAINTS Chas. L. Barrett 199

HISTORY OF GAS LIGHTING IN MARYSVILLE . . E.C.Jones 202

TROUBLESOME SMALL ANIMALS ON THE POLE LINE . C.E.Young 206

RIGHT OF ELECTRIC COMPANIES TO CONDEMN LANDS Leo H. Susman 207

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH— ZACHEAUS FLOYD . . C.L. B. . 210

CARE OF HIGH-VOLTAGE INSULATORS .... J.O.Hansen 212

WHY DOES A DOG BITE A GAS MAN? .... FredB. Langtry 214

AN AUTOMATIC GOVERNOR PUMP CONTROL . . I.B.Adams 216

MEETINGS OF MANAGERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS . . . 217

"PRACTICAL MATHEMATICS" . . . . . . F. V. T. L. 218

OAKLAND GAS MEN ON PARADE 220

RECLAIMING THE SAN JOAQUIN DELTA LANDS . S. V. Walton 222

SHORT CUTS 227

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS . S. J. Lisberger 228

NEW CONTRACTS FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT . . . S. V. Walton 230

PERSONALS 232

EDITORIAL 234

QUESTION BOX 236

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS Facing 236

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

^^c^ra 1

r
]

.J — [ — 1 J

-- ££"55 7-/fl/V «Wi3l> VOLT3.

MAP OF POWER PLANTS AND POWER LINES OWNED BY THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

OCTOBER, 1909

No. 5

Water-Power Developments in California^

The Public Benefits Derived and the Government's Attitude

By JOHN MARTIN, of the Board of Directors.

In the early days of Cali-
fornia mining the streams were
utilized very generally to aid in
the extraction of gold by ground
sluicing, hydraulicking, and for
power purposes in the develop-

oonn .Harlin

ment of quartz mmes.
Owing to California's well-known wet and
dry seasons, it became necessary for the mine
owners to insure a contmuous supply of water
during the dry season. This resulted in the
construction of a large number of reservoirs.

EFFECT OF HYDRAULIC MINING

The result of hydraulic mining, particu-
larly in the northern part of California, was
the filling of the river beds with debris to
such an extent as to threaten agricultural in-
terests throughout the great Sacramento and
San Joaquin valleys. As the beds of these
streams rose the construction of levees became
necessary. This involved the expenditure of
many millions of dollars to protect the agri-
cultural lands from inundation, and it finally
resulted in national legislation that practically
prohibited hydraulic mining, except under

the most severe restrictions, involving the im-
pounding of the debris. As a result, hydraulic
mining ceased to be a factor in California's
production of wealth, and many hydraulic
properties with their expensive investment were
left almost valueless.

IRRIGATION FOLLOWED

After the cessation of hydraulic mining
the companies owning the reservoirs, flumes,
and ditches were able to obtain a small reve-
nue from a limited use of some of the water
for irrigation purposes. In time this use be-
came more general, particularly in the irriga-
tion of deciduous and citrus fruit trees.

Soon after hydraulic mining ceased the
development of electric energy to be trans-
mitted long distances was taken up very earn-
estly. In some instances water systems of old
hydraulic mines became available for this
new enterprise. An impetus was also given
to the hydro-electric industry in sections
where large volumes of water were available
under low heads or where small amounts of
water were available continuously under high
heads.

*This article, before condensation to its present size for publication here, was read af the seventeenth
annual meeting of the Pacific Coast Gas Association, held in San Francisco from September 21st to 23d,
1909, and was awarded the association's gold medal for the most interesting paper presented.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

EARLY HYDRO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENT

August 18th, 1892, the very first alternat-
ing current power-transmission plant began
operation. It was for the Standard Consoli-
dated Mine of Bodie, California, and oper-
ated one I 20-kilowatt single-phase generator,
transmitting the current thirteen miles to the
mine, where a motor of similar voltage re-
ceived the electricity to propel the mining
machinery. That plant near Bodie was the
pioneer electric power transmission installation
in California, and, I believe, in the United
States.

PRESENT DEVELOPMENT

The hydro-electric industry has grown until
now in September of I 909 more than 380,-
000 horsepower has been developed and is
in regular operation in California.

Numerous difficulties had to be overcome
and problems solved in the development and
perfection of long-distance transmission. The
particular handicaps were lack of proper in-
sulators, transformers, and motors.

NECESSITY FOR HIGH VOLTAGES

High voltage In long-distance transmission
is necessary to keep down the total plant cost
to such a basis as will make the enterprise
financially possible.

In the development and construction of
hydro-electric plants there has been a large
variance in the cost of the hydraulic develop-
ment. Sometimes the installation has been un-
profitable. The great initial incentive to the
rapid development of hydro-electric power
plants in California was the high fuel cost
existing at that time. Practically all coal for
power purposes was imported from Australia
and British Columbia. This meant not only
marine transportation, but an import duty.

The production of oil in California was
then very limited, and its true value and use-
fulness were not yet known. The selling
price of fuel oil in Los Angeles was as low
as 25 cents a barrel, which is equivalent to

$1 a ton for the very best grade of bituminous
coal. As long as fuel prices remained so
low there was little incentive to hydro-electric
development. This price meant loss to oil
producers, so the rate was increased, until
now the approximate selling price in Los An-
geles is 75 cents a barrel, and in San Fran-
cisco $1 a barrel.

NATIONAL CONSERVATION

During the last few years the government
has reserved immense tracts of timber land
for the purpose of conserving the timber for
future generations and protecting the waters
in the streams, upon the theory that the forests
and streams belong to the people, and that
national restriction alone can secure beneficial
results.

So much publicity has been given to this
matter during the past few months that the
average citizen would infer that some terrible
injury has been inflicted upon the American
people by developments in hydro-electric
transmission.

These natural gifts of forest and stream
can never be of service to the people until
developed, and the development is practically
dependent upon private enterprise. If this
development depended upon governmental
action it would take twenty or more years
to obtain the first results.

Such was the experience with the irrigation
projects. Not until the last term of Presi-
dent Roosevelt had they begun to show de-
velopment.

The national government has apparently
reached the limit beyond which our statesmen
will not go in making appropriations for the
irrigation of arid lands, forest reserve, and re-
forestation. Unless private capital and enter-
prise take hold the extension of this grand
work will necessarily be limited.

RAINFALL NO GUARANTY OF SUMMER FLOW

After years of investigation of the climato-
logical, geological, and forestry conditions

174

Water-Power Developments in California

effecting the conservation of water in the
mountainous sections of California, I submit
that the season's quantity of rainfall is no
guide to what will be the minimum flow of
the streams during the summer months.

The geological formations m the various
watersheds are solely responsible for the mini-
mum flow, except where augmented by artifi-
cial conservation.

In watersheds where numerous old river
channels or lava cappings exist, the minimum
flow will be very uniform each summer,
irrespective of the amount of rainfall during
the preceding season.

EFFECT OF HIGH TEMPERATURES

The water stored in the ancient river chan-
nels of the North Yuba river watershed is of
approximately the same volume annually, and
when the surplus run-off ceases, this under-
ground storage gives forth its normal quantity,
except when restricted by the heating of the
earth's surface during the summer, which re-
sults in evaporation to a greater or less de-
gree. Summer temperature is what affects
the minimum flow in these underground stor-
age watersheds, but only to a minor degree.
Where there are few or no ancient river
channels because of the massive rock forma-
tions, the opportunities for underground stor-
age are very restricted and the run-off is
almost immediate, save for the saturation of
the thin soils which cover these rock forma-
tions.

Generally the streams reach maximum
flow shortly after the commencement of rain-
fall, except where there is frozen storage due
to low temperatures following the rains. The
low periods come shordy after the melting of
the frozen storage.

This frozen storage is sometimes eliminated
in April, May, and June by high tempera-
tures and warm rains. Such watersheds are
of little value for minimum flow during the
summer months.

RELATION OF TIMBERED LAND TO MINIMUM FLOW

No timbered lands in any of these water-
sheds afford water storage available during
the very dry summer months, particularly
July and August, and timbered lands furnish
less opportunity for the accumulation of
frozen storage in the winter.

The experience of mountaineers demon-
strates that snowfall does not accumulate as
rapidly in growing timber as upon open bare
ground. The only advantage of timber and
vegetation is to delay the gravitation of water
by preventing a quick run-off. Snow formed
into ice on barren soil will melt much more
slowly and furnish a run-off for a much
longer period. On many California streams
it is necessary to provide from 1 80 to 210
days of conservation to insure a uniform daily
supply to the hydro-electric plant and provide
for evaporation and leakage in transit.

As a result of the hydro-electric plant's
necessity for continuous flow throughout the
year the water it conserves becomes available
for and is used by the agriculturists for irri-
gation during the dry season, when most
needed.

The many early financial failures of Cali-
fornia irrigation districts and companies, due
to the fact that the price which the agricult-
urist could afford, did not produce revenue
enough to pay the costs of operation, main-
tenance, interest on the cost of installation,
and depreciation, have demonstrated that con-
servation of the waters for irrigation purposes,
except in a few isolated cases, would not be
a profitable venture. • But where the conser-
vation is made for hydro-electric power and
the uniform flow is afterward made available
for agricultural purposes, then an irrigation
system can pay.

MOTIVES PROMPTING DEVELOPMENT

The motives which prompt these hydro-
electric developments are not always simply
for financial gain. Many of the pioneers

175

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

in these enterprises have felt greater reward in
the fact that they were doing something
toward the upbuilding of California, in mak-
ing two blades of grass grow where none or
one grew before, than in the sense of financial
gain and the comforts and pleasures that
would result. Numerous are the financial
sacrifices that have been made for the bene-
fit of the communities in which these develop-
ments were started in order to assist various
new enterprises to become factors in the pro-
duction of wealth. Had these developers of
hydro-electric power left the work to some
one else and, since 1 892, invested the same
amount of energy, brains, and capital in real
estate in the larger cities of the Pacific coast
and taken their profits in increased values,
due to industrial growth and population, they
would have made ten times as much money.

COMPETING FUELS

Power can be and is produced alike from
wood, peat, coal, and oil. The owners of
hydro-electric transmission plants have no
monopoly. They meet competition with these
fuels in their respective sections. The selling
price of the fuel commodities, particularly
wood and coal, is regulated by the value of
labor necessary to produce them. But many
fluctuations are caused by the law of supply
and demand. The great redeeming feature
in hydro-electric development is that when
the plants are wisely and judiciously con-
structed with relation to the maximum output
in connection with the minimum supply of
water, the installation can be considered re-
liable enough to warrant the making of very
long term contracts at uniform prices. This
enables industries using electricity to bring
about a permanent cost for fuel or power.
This assurance does not apply to any of the
fuels which heretofore have been used.

RESTRICTIONS BY FORESTRY DEPARTMENT

The only control which the national gov-
ernment can exercise upon the waters with;n

California is due to the government's right
of ownership of land upon which and over
which the water travels in its downward
course to the ocean. By putting restrictions
and financial burdens upon the proposed use
of such water the government is thereby in-
creasing the cost of the power that would
be produced and is placing the development
of that water at a serious financial disadvan-
tage in competition with plants already in
operation.

The most economical sites available in
California have already been developed or
are in possession of the existing companies.
This condition will tend to retard the develop-
ment of other available sources that would
compete with the established plants. The
profits from these new installations must nec-
essarily be less when entering into competi-
tion with those that chose the best places and
were not restricted.

WOULD ENCOURAGE MONOPOLY

All water rights in California, except on
public lands, are state property, and laws over
which the national government has no control
govern their appropriation and use.

If the conservation of the \vaters on govern-
ment lands shall prevent future development
by private enterprise, the result may be the
possible encouragement toward a monopoly
of the existing interests.

The forestry department has apparently
lost sight of the value resulting from private
development. Water that is being used by
the various power plants today is not absorbed
or consumed, but continues, uncontaminated
and undiminished, to flow on for man's uses
as if developed specifically for those purposes.

PUBLIC BENEFITS

There are many industries in California
now producing and materially assisting in
the state's wealth production which would not
be a factor but for the developments which
have been made in hydro-electric transmission.

17G

Water-Power Developments in California

A notable example is the cement industry,
entirely new in California within the past ten
years. Owing to the conditions existing with
hydro-electric plants, these companies are able
to make and have made very long term con-
tracts at uniformly low prices for all their
electric power. In most cases these contracts
were made when oil was selling from 25
cents to 40 cents a barrel in the districts con-
cerned, and it was in competition with oil at
those prices that the rate for electric current
was figured.

The price of oil today is more than double
what it was when those contracts were mitially
made. But if they could not have made
long-term contracts for current at a uniformly
low cost the industry would not have been
financed, through fear of possible mcreased
costs that would force it into idleness in com-
petition with foreign production, which previ-
ously supplied the entire market.

Another very large industry promoted by
hydro-electric power is the recovery of gold
bv the use of dredgers in lands adjacent to
the streams of northern California. Material
is elevated from a depth in some cases of
sixty to seventy feet below the surface of
the ground and is then washed and passed
over riffles to obtain the gold before retuming
the material upon the ground excavated.
More than one-third of the total yield of gold
in California in the year 1908 was produced
by these dredgers.

The use of hydro-electric transmission is
particularly valuable in agricultural sections,
where thousands of motors are now in use
pumping water to the surface for irrigation
that otherwise would not have been possible.

The sources of water supply available for
hydro-electric development in California are
in the mountains. Where possible this water
is obtained under as high a head or pressure
as physical conditions will permit. This
usually lessens the cost of development.
These supplies of water are available from
the ordinary flow in the streams for many

months of the year, but, owing to California's
wet and dry seasons, many of the hydro-
electric plants must depend also upon the
conservation of water in supplementary reser-
voirs that can be drawn from during the
summer months. These waters are impounded
during the rainy season at a time when the
conservation of this surplus water is of no dis-
advantage to any users below. By the
additional flow from these reservoirs
streams, particularly the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers, have had their summer flow
so augmented as to make river transportation
possible to many points that would otherwise
not be reached by steamer during the dry
months.

Without this added flow at low water the
area of agricultural production in many of
the rich bottom-lands of California would be
curtailed by the restriction of transportation
and irrigation facilities.

ARE PROTECTING THE FORESTS

The hydro-electric companies operating in
the forests and mountains of California have
a large number of employees whose duties
are to patrol, repair, and protect its properties.
Those men put out many incipient fires that
might otherwise result in the devastation of
large areas of timber lands. And this is done
without cost to the state or its people.

In many sections of California prior to
the development of hydro-electric plants the
entire country had been denuded, particularly
in mming sections. As soon as a second
growth of timber would be large enough it
would also be destroyed for fuel purposes.
During the last fifteen years some of these
districts are becoming covered again with a
new growth, and in time will produce suitable
timber for lumber purposes because of the
protection given by the hydro-electric com-
panies.

All through the mountains the patrol is
continued day by day, and the surrounding
country is being protected by this patrol to

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

a much greater extent and more reliably than
is being done by any other interests.

The hydro-electric companies now supply-
ing the markets have their greatest demand
during what are known as the "peak" hours,
beginning approximately at sunset and con-
tinuing through the succeeding four or five
hours. The minimum consumption is between
the hours of midnight and 6 a. m. The con-
sumption during the daylight hours is mate-
rially less than during the peak hours. The
average output, or load factor, of the ma-
jority of the plants will not exceed 60 per
cent, of the maximum, or peak, load. There-
fore, these plants have idle capacity ranging
from nothing for a few minutes a day to 60
or 70 per cent, of the total installation, with
an average of 40 per cent, of the installation
available and for sale, but untaken, unless
patrons be obtained to use it during the hours
when there is no heavy general demand for
current.

NEW USES FOR POWER

There are some purposes for which this
idle power can 'be utilized. It is now being
used in the furtherance of developments simi-
lar in purpose and value to that to which the
government had given its aid through its
reclamation service. In the San Joaquin and
Sacramento valleys there are numerous pump-
ing plants where electric power is used for
three or four months of each year to pump
water from the rivers to reservoirs on the up-
lands, whence irrigation ditches distribute the
flow to lands that formerly produced nothing.
This class of customer could use electric
power during the daily low periods of con-
sumption, and, by means of the governing
reservoirs, be able to pump from fifteen to
eighteen hours a day and at the same time
keep off the peak demands of the power
plant. Such customers are able to contract
for power at much lower prices than can be
obtained by those who use current on the
peak hours.

As this pumping service requires power
only for three or four months in the year the
installation of steam plants and their opera-
tion becomes prohibitive, because the interest
and depreciation charges are so great for the
limited period of use.

In some of the sections adjacent to the
rivers where levees have been built to pro-
tect the surrounding country from inundation,
large acreages have become flooded each
spring with the run-off from the watershed
above them, because there was no outflow.

PUMPING OUT LEVEED LANDS

In order to utilize these lands for agri-
cultural purposes it becomes necessary to re-
move this water by pumping into the river dur-
ing a period of time ranging from two to four
months prior to the planting season. This
work has been accomplished very success-
fully and profitably to the landowner by the-
use of hydro-electric power available during
the eighteen hours of low load and at prices
with which no other form of power could
compete, and also at prices below the average
obtained by the power companies. In fact,
all power companies make inducements to
patrons where possible to keep off the period
of maximum demand each day. By so doing
the power company gets from the same invest-
ment increased revenue which otherwise
would be lost.

THE FUNCTION OF NATIONAL CONTROL

The function of control of any project or
measure by the national government has been
and should be limited in its exercise to the
projects that are not permissible of develop-
ment by private enterprise. If it is to be the
policy of the United States government to
control all public service there are so many
more vital and important problems to be con-
sidered before this question of benefit or injury
to a small section of the United States and
a smaller percentage of its people.

178

Water'Power Developments in California

WATER POWER COMPARED WITH OIL PRODUCTION

If all the water power available on govern-
ment land in California be developed it would
not produce an amount of power equal in
value to one-fourth of the annual production
of the oil wells of California.

The injuries or benefits that might affect
the people of California because of any action
of the government in the conservation of water
upon forest reserves must of necessity be very
small and less worthy of time, attention, and
expenditure of money than many of the

larger and more important problems that
affect the public throughout the whole
country.

It IS incontrovertible that the existing de-
velopments of hydro-electric power in Cali-
fornia are responsible for a very large in-
crease in assessable property and for the em-
ployment of many thousand people in mines,
mills, quarries, farms, railroads, and other
industries, and that without these develop-
ments California's progress would have been
very materially restricted.

The baby arrived; they had no scales. The
iceman came. Happy thought. The father
borrowed the iceman's scales. Ah ! the baby
weighed 26 pounds! Just think of it!

In I 900 the government reported 1 0,460,-
000 foreign-born people in the United States,
or I 3.7 per cent, of the country's population;
ten years earlier the percentage of foreign-
born was 14.8 per cent.

Curious effects of lightning strokes have
been authentically recorded. Persons have
been found regaining consciousness but with
every vestige of clothing torn from their bodies
by the force of the electric bolt. In other
cases victims have been found rigid in death
and remaining in the very poses they happened
to have assumed the instant they were struck.
In one instance a group of farm laborers
having luncheon under an oak was found
seated and in all the varied postures of eating,
but stiff in sudden death; at another time a
woman was found struck and left standing
just as she had plucked a poppy. The greater
the current the more apt it is to induce in-
stantaneous rigor of death.

The accidental crossing of a current wire
with a dead circuit upon which he was work-
ing at the top of a pole near Oroville Sep-
tember 15th sent 4,000 volts through the
body of and instantly killed Lee Stark, aged
27 and popular as the superintendent of the
Oro Water Light and Power Company.

Thomas A. Edison has suggested that
East river, separating Manhattan Island from
Long Island, be stopped up and a canal be
cut through Long Island, the object being
to make New York and Brooklyn one city
area and avoid ferrying, bridges, and the
dangerous Hell Gate. And the idea is de-
clared to be within the bounds of possibility.

A dirigible airship was starting to make
an exhibition at Ottawa, Canada, September
I 6th, when the anchor caught in electric light
wires, scraped off some of the insulating, and
threatened to spill the aeronaut. Spectators
rushed forward and, in grabbing the metal
rail of the balloon cage, were promptly
knocked down one after another, till twenty-
four were dropped by the unexpected shock
from the anchor's connection with the electric
line.

179

The History of the Folsom Power Plant

By ARCHIE RICE.

At the little town of Folsom,
on the American river to the east-
ward of Sacramento, is the oldest
of the eleven hydro-electric power
plants now owned by the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company.
While not the first installation
in America for long-distance transmission of
electric energy, Folsom was among the
pioneers. It was preceded only by the sixteen-
mile power system installed in the latter part
of I 892 for a mine at Bodie, California, and
by a very few similar plants established
after Bodie and before Folsom began, in
July of 1895, sending electric energy through
a twenty-two-mile power line to the city of
Sacramento. There the current was to
furnish light, operate machinery, and propel
street cars.

Circumstances often change the purpose of
a man's life. An isolated farmer may be
disturbed by the advent of a railroad and the
creation of a townsite on his property. A few-
years later these circumstances may have
changed the quiet rustic into a bank president,
a hotel proprietor with a diamond stud, a man
of affairs in his own community.

Unexpected developments in local and
business conditions helped to bring about the
establishment of that power plant at Folsom.
It was a creature of circumstances, plus.
And the plus was the personal energy of a
few men — Horatio Livermore, Charles Liver-
more, and Albert Gallatin, Sr.

Back to the beginning of Folsom's advent
as a producer of electricity there is a series of
developing events covering a period of forty
years and involving an old Spanish ranch.

trpstream Face of Folsom Dam, Showing Prison Watch Towers on Hill

ISO

The History of the Folsom Power Plant

View of Wing Dam and Its Four Sandgates, with Headgates to the Eight

placer mining, a logging industry, stale politics
over the selection of a prison site, transfers of
property ownership, six years of convict labor
on the Folsom dam and power canal, disputes
with state officials as to water privileges, and
years of litigation, which was perpetuated in
a case taken before the supreme court of
California to determine the relative rights of
the power company and the state prison in
the use of the water flow, and that case was
not satisfactorily settled until the 29th of
September, 1909.

In pioneer mining days the American river
was a mint, where a great army of argonauts
worked with shovel and rocker. Up the
granite-ribbed bed of that stream, miles above
Folsom, the middle and south forks of the
river come together from two sides of the
famous Georgetown Divide in El Dorado
County. There James Marshall, in February
of I 848, made the first discovery of gold in
California. He happened upon it while re-
pairing a water ditch at Sutter's mill. That
Georgetown Divide district is mountainous.

Half a century ago it was heavily timbered
with sugar pine and yellow pine of exception-
ally good quality.

Things were booming in the mines, and
Sacramento was the commercial centre of the
mining industry. Lumber became a necessity,
and its production a profitable enterprise. By
1855 the Sacramento Valley Railroad, from
Sacramento to Folsom, was completed. It
was the earliest steam road on the western
slope of the continent. "Uncle George"
Bromley, the well-known, jovial, nonagen-
arian member of the Bohemian Club, was its
first passenger conductor. The day the first
train ran was the most notable in Folsom's
history. Men whose names loom big in the
annals of California were there to celebrate
the event. Five or six years later Stanford
and Huntington and Crocker and Hopkins
started the idea of a transcontinental railroad,
and Stanford, as war-time governor, lawyer,
ard personal friend of Lincoln, got the
government land concessions that made possi-
ble the financing of the amazing undertaking.

181

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Albert Gallatin, Sr.

That little railroad to Folsom became in
1863 the initial part of the Central Pacific's
transcontinental line.

These facts are not necessary to the story
of the Folsom power plant, but they have a
historical connection with it, because the very
bricks of which the power house is made were
part of the first railroad shops built at Folsom
in 1855, upcn the spot where the Folsom
passenger station now stands. And just up-
stream from the power house is one of the
original granite masonry abutments upon
which rested the first bridge built for
America's first transcontinental railroad.

In 1 85 1 the Natoma Water and Mining
Company had acquired some rights along the
American river, and in 1857 it purchased
from Charles W. Nystrom lands on the east
bank, and also bought river-channel lands.

Horatio P. Livermore and his brother,
Charles E. Livermore, were interested in the
lumber business. They wanted to market a
lot of that timber from the Georgetown Di-
vide, and they had to have river rights that

would permit them to float the logs down
stream. So they had bought river land
and acquired the "Rancho Rio de los
Americanos," which suggests that the
original Spanish name of that stream was
"River of the Americans," probably called
from the Americans like Sutter and others
who settled along its course before gold
was discovered.

In 1858 the California legislature de-
cided to establish a branch prison to sup-
plement the original penitentiary at San
Quentin, and a choice of location was re-
stricted to the granite-quarrying district at
Rocklin or the granite district near Folsom.
^ ear after year no selection of a site was
made by the prison directors, and the mat-
ter was allowed to drag.

The Livermores needed a still-water

basin somewhere near Folsom to catch the

logs as they came down stream. So, in

1 866, Horatio Livermore, as president of

the Natoma Water and Mining Company,

laid the foundations of the present Folsom

dam, abcut two miles up the stream from the

Charles E. Livermore. who was President of the
Company when the Folsom Plant was Started

The History of the Folsom Power Plant

Folsora Power House and Granite Forebay

narrow little town that now claims 1,500
people but does not look the part.

In 1 868 the legislature a\vakened from its
Rip Van Winkle sleep of ten years and
pushed through a resolution requiring that a
choice betw-een Rocklin and Folsom be made
by the prison directors before July of that
year. The Livermores' dam was only partly
built, and there was an immense amount of
work ahead to complete it and the outflow
canal that was to float the logs down to a pro-
posed sa\vmill near the present site of the
power plant. The Livermores met the prison
directors and offered big inducements to get
the prison at Folscm. Their proposition was
accepted.

The Livermores were to give the state 350
acres of quarrying and agricultural land on
the east side of the river adjacent to the dam.
They were to include with the land a per-
petual and exclusive right on the part of the
prison to waterpower produced by a fall of
five feet. This was to be provided at the end
of the first 1 ,000 feet of canal just before it

left state property and resumed its course
down to Folsom. In exchange for the land
and the waterpower the Livermores, as soon
as the prison should be finished, were to get
$1 5,000's worth of convict labor to complete
their dam and part of their canal.

In May of 1872 the Livermores filed a
claim to a flow of 1 00,000 miner's inches
of water.

The state decided, in 1874, that it would
be desirable for the new prison to have some
other lands adjoining the original tract, and
an additional 1 34 acres was secured from
the Livermores, making a total area of
approximately 484 acres.

The prison was not completed till July of
I 880. No convict labor could be available
until the prison was built.

The water company had gone on working
and had expended an aggregate of $1 19,-
000 in constructing its two-mile railroad from
Folsom up to the dam and in laying the
foundation of the dam itself. But it had not
yet received one dollar in money or an hour

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

in labor from the state in payment for that
tract of 484 acres upon which the new
prison was standing. For twelve years the
company had been waiting for that promised
pay in convict labor.

In September of 1881 the Natoma Water
and Mining Company became the Folsom
Water Power Company, a change of name
but not of men chiefly mterested. The com-

clmed to accept the labor with its implied
payment of only $15,000.

The company had stopped work on the
dam. The state brought suit to compel the
company to accept the convict labor and go
on with the construction of the dam and the
canal. But the superior court decided that
the company did not have to accept the labor
unless it so desired. Thus matters dragged

Detail Plan of Folsom Dam

pany then demanded the prison labor due.
But in August of I 892 a controversy arose.
The company insisted that it was not giving
all that land and those waterpower rights for
the originally designated $15,000's worth of
prison labor. No; there was $30,000's
worth of convict labor coming to it. The
warden of the prison continued to offer eighty
convicts who would be put to work on the
job, and the company just as regularly de-

along until 1 888, \v hen
Governor Stoneman came
into office. Then the Fol-
som Water Power Com-
pany made a new proposi-
tion to th^ state the 5th of
May, I 888. The proposi-
tion was this: the state
should furnish the convict
labor necessary to complete
the dam and build the canal
as far as the mud sink at
Robber's Ravine, a distance
of about 2,000 feet below
the dam, and in consideration
of that labor the company would then give
the state additional water power produced
by a fall in the prison yard of 7.33 feet, in-
stead of the originally designated 5-foot fall;
would give the state the right to use the com-
pany's railroad line from Folsom up to the
prison, provided the state kept the road in
repair; would permit the taking or pumping
from the canal of all water desired on the
prison property for irrigation and domestic

The History of the Folsom Power Plant

County Bridge Across American River; Also Old Stone
Abutment That Supported First Transcontinental
Railroad Bridge

purposes; would permit the taking of gravel
from the adjacent river bed, which was all
owned by the company; would permit ingress
and egress over the company's lands on the
river side of the prison, and the passage over
the company's land of a prison sewer to flow
into the river. These rights, aside from the
water power, were considered by the prison
warden to be worth more than the value of
the convict labor desired. He reported to
the governor that the water power alone
would produce 800 horsepower, which, at
the existing price of fuel, would otherwise
cost $64,000 a year to produce and would
mean to the state the equivalent of a million-
dollar power investment.

The company's new proposition was readily
accepted by the state, and the first day of
July, 1882, convicts were put to work on the
dam and the canal.

H. T. Knight was the company's engineer
of construction. Later he started the power
plant as its superintendent, a position in which
he was succeeded by his son. He had all
along been supervising the work on the dam.
He continued doing so. The understanding
was that the company should supply the
granite, the materials, and the engineering
plans, and that the state should simply furnish

the manual labor. For exactly six years the
convicts worked on the dam and the canal.
During that time they did an aggregate of
520,349 days' labor, which, valued at 50
cents a day, was equivalent to the payment
of $260,174 to the company. In addition
to this convict labor, the state provided free
labor for which it paid $24,508. This made
the total price paid by the state equivalent to
$284,682, but the labor was worth to the
company many times 50 cents a day.

The water was first turned into the Folsom
canal and allowed to flow through the prison
yard in January of 1893. The prison had
built a power house of its own to use the
seven-foot fall. The water company had
meanwhile completed at its own expense the
remainder of the canal.

The original intention had been to have
the canal bring logs down to a sawmill at
Folsom, and thence to convey the water on
for irrigating purposes. This idea had evolved
into a plan for having an electric power plant
at Folsom that would supply energy to manu-
facturing enterprises which it was hoped
would be established there. But before the
dam and the canal were completed long-dis-
tance transmission of electric energy became
a practical fact. So all those dreams about
factories at Folsom went glimmering, and

Folsom Dam Across American River, With Outflow to
Canal in Foreground

IS.-)

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Downstream Face of Canal Headgates, Showing Massive
Granite Bluff at Eight

plans were changed to give Folsom a hydro-
electric plant, its prime object then being the
transmission of energy down to Sacramento.
Late in 1 892 Horatio Livermore and Albert
Gallatin secured a street-car franchise m
Sacramento, and November 1 st of that year
they conveyed the franchise to the Sacramento
Electric Power and Light Company, which
later took current from Folsom.

The Livermore brothers were natives of
Boston and came to California in the later
50's. Horatio Livermore was the financial
manager of their enterprises, and was married.
Charles never married, but always made his
home with his brother. He embarked in the
wholesale drug business in Nevada in the
palmy days of the Comstock, and later en-
gaged in quicksilver mining with Horatio.
But their chief concern was the development
of water power at Folsom. Charles Liver-
more was at the head of the company when
the Folsom plant began operations. He was
an ardent lover of athletic sports, established
the first rowing club on California waters,
and was one of the fourteen original incor-
porators of the Olympic Club of San Fran-
cisco. While not educated for engineering or
art, he developed natural talents for these
subjects, and was an original member of the
San Francisco Art Association. The names

of Horatio Livermore and Albert Gallatin
are intimately associated with the Folsom en-
terprise and with the business life of Sacra-
mento more than a generation ago.

When the Folsom dam was constructed,
water power under high head was not yet a
practical engineering development. By using
a very gradual fall of about one foot in every
1 ,000 feet of canal the promoters found they
could deliver an enormous flow of water to
Folsom at a point about eighty feet above the
river bed. From the forebay at the lower
end of the canal they could easily secure a
sudden fall of fifty-five feet, and that would
give them what was then considered consider-
able power.

They figured that the American river could
always be relied upon for an unusually large
flow during the dry season. Its numerous
branches all have their rise in the Sierra Ne-
vada mountains within a few miles of Lake
Tahoe. The heavy snowfall on the ridges
there and the late melting of this snow would
furnish abundant water late in the season
when the effect of the rains had long since
waned in other districts. The theory was all
right, but the practice did not work out just
that way.

The Folsom plant started July 1 3th,
1895. But its real public inaugural was the

Looking Up Canal Toward Headgates — Folsom Prison
Quarry on Right

186

The History of the Folsom Power Plant

^=-

— -

■ ^

^*ifk-»i<rB

^ ^~^- r^ = .

^^;

Further Down the Canal, Looking Back Toward Prison
Rock Crusher and Watch Towers

day it sent power through to Sacramento for
the Native Son's electrical carnival, the 8th
of September, celebrating the forty-fifth an-
niversary of the admission of California into
the sisterhood of states.

During the summer of the following year
the waterflow in the American river became
surprisingly low. Larger demands had come
upon the Folsom plant for electricity in Sacra-
mento. What is now the Sacramento Electric
Gas and Railway Company had m December
of 1 895 secured the street lighting contract
by underbidding the old Capital Gas Com-
pany for a general reduction of twenty-five
per cent., and much other electric business was
obtained. Accordingly it became necessary to
install a supplementary plant at Folsom, and
it was established early in 1897, to develop
an additional 750 kilowatts by using the
twenty-six-foct fall after the water left the
power house on its way back to the river.

In 1896, also, a sawmill was established
adjacent to the canal and about a quarter of
a mile above the Folsom power house. Logs
were floated down the river and then through
the canal. Here again trouble arose with the
prison authorities. Up to that time the head-
gates of the canal had been operated from
the prison power house. Now the prison re-
fused to raise the gates a little higher to permit

the passage of logs. Then arose the questions.
Whose dam is that, any way? and who has
the right to open the headgates?

In the summer of 1897 the American river
got still lower. There was not sufficient
waterflow to produce the desired power. It
became necessary at Sacramento, from Sep-
tember 22d to October 3d, to shut ofl^ current
from such large consumers as the Phoenix
Mill, the Buffalo Brewery, and the Southern
Pacific Railroad shops.

In I 898 the American river dropped still
further, and so suddenly that an auxiliary
steam plant that was being built at the sub-
station in Sacramento for just such an emer-
gency had to be rushed to completion. Even
then it was not quite quick enough, because
July I 7th, the night before it started, the
water fell below the top of the penstocks, and
the Folsom plant had to be shut down for
that evening.

In I 899 a contract was made with the Bay
Counties Power Company to secure auxil-
iary energy the next year from that com-
pany's plant, then being built at Colgate on
the Yuba river. Meanwhile the series arc
lighting system of Sacramento was switched
on to the Capital Gas Company's plant, and
the steam engine at the substation was left to
provide the energy for the street railway and

The Folsom Power House. With Outflow C-
Thiough Solid G-aiiite

187

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Four Penstocks, Through Which the Water Plunges
From the Forebay to the Power Wheels of the Fol-
som Plant

such alternating current as its capacity could
furnish. With the perfection of the trans-
mission system from the Colgate plant the
problem of water storage for Folsom became
less alarming, and in June of 1 902 John
Martin and Eugene de Sabla, Jr., the men
behind the Colgate enterprise, secured a con-
trolling interest in the Sacramento company
and the Folsom plant, though the active man-
agement did not change till May of 1904.
The control of both the Folsom plant and the
Sacramento company became, late in 1902, a
part of the system of the California Gas and
Electric Corporation, and in January of
1906 it was conveyed to the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.

While Folsom receives an enormous flow
of water through its canal, the impounding
area provided by the dam is not sufficient to
maintain that great flow all through the dry
season. The fall at the power house is com-
paratively low, and a tremendous volume of
water is required to produce the power.

Carefully made surveys of the catchment
area of the American river have indicated that
it would be possible to construct in the moun-
tains impounding reservoirs that would per-
manently increase the flow at Folsom until
that flow during the season of least water
would be as great as the maximum canal flow
now known at the Folsom plant. And the
construction of such a system of storage reser-
voirs would perhaps make constantly available
at Folsom 5,000 horsepower, where now it
is producing from 800 to 1 ,000 horsepower
during the lowest flow cf the American river.

Where the Folsom dam is located the
American river narrows naturally between
blackened granite bluffs that taper off down-
stream into a river bed that for nearly two
miles suggests a confusion of solidly made
stcne walls between which flows the surplus
water from the dam.

The dam itself is 81 feet high, 854 feet
long, and 1 6 feet thick at the base.

The elevation of the dam is 2 1 0 feet above
sea level and I 75 feet above the level of the
city of Sacramento. It is of solid granite
masonry, as may be seen by the accompany-
ing photographs and the detail drawing. The
first intention was to have a canal on each side
of the river, but only the east-side canal was
built. This canal consists of three sections.

Secondary Plant at Folsom Power Station, Run by
Outflow From First

188

The History of the Folsom Power Plant

\,jj§gg^l

The first is 2,000 feet long, and is cut into in the illustration, with four sandgates or
solid granite cliffs and walled up on its river sluices to carry off sand and prevent its being
side with the granite cut from the cliffs. At taken down canal to interfere with the water-
the end of this section is the prison power wheels in the prison plant. And supplement-
house, a granite structure through which all ing these sandgates there is a ledge across the
the water of the canal flows, when it is not canal itself to catch the sand that may come
purposely diverted to avoid the power house through the headgates. Below the prison
and continue right along down to Folsom. power house are four other sandgates.

. A. Rose. Foreman Frank O. Hutton, and George
Ferguson. Who Has Been at the Plant From the
Start.

The second section is 4,000 feet long, and has
its inner side faced with a masonry wall and
the outer side pro-
tected against the
river by heavy rip-
rap work. The first
two sections were
built by convicts.
The third section is
3,500 feet long,
and was built by
the company. It
cuts through earth
and rock formation,
and has an earth
and rock fill on the
outer edge, which is
also protected in
places by riprap-
ping. The total length of the canal is 9,500 ing water from the other,
feet, or almost exactly 1 .8 mile. A standard The forebay is 150 feet long, 100 feet

gauge railroad track runs along the canal wide, and 1 2 feet deep, and the fall to the
bank next to the river. turbines is fifty-five feet through four pen-

The canal is generally forty feet wide on stocks eight feet in diameter and made of five-
the bottom, its banks sloping up to give it a eighths-inch steel. Each pair of turbine wheels
width of fifty feet at the top, and the depth is ten feet in diameter. At the time of its
IS eight feet. At full flow the canal is capable installation the hydraulic equipment at the
of carrying a constant run of 70,000 miner's Folsom plant, weighing upward of 400,000
inches, or 1,750 second-feet, and the plant pounds, was considered the most massive and
takes 40,000 miner's inches, or 1 ,000 powerful in the world, excepting only the
second-feet at full load. plant at Niagara Falls.

Four enormous headgates, each sixteen by The equipment of the original plant con-

fourteen feet in the clear, are situated at the sisted of four S. Morgan Smith turbines, four
entrance to the canal at the end of the wing Lombard governors, and four 3-phase, revolv-
dam, and these huge headgates are operated ing-armature type, 800-volt, 750-kilowatt
by hydraulic rams, a system which is possible generators of General Electric make. There
here where there is never snow or ice to in- are four transformers, one held in reserve, and
terfere. The wing dam is provided, as seen their combined capacity is 5,000 kilowatts.

Twice convicts have unsuccessfully tried
to escape by dropping into the canal, on the
theory that a man
could just keep his
nose above water
and float down to
safety without be-
ing discovered.

The canal ends
in a large granite
forebay that is made
double by having a
granite partition
wall dividing it in-
to two sections.
This permits one to
be cleaned of ac-
cumulated silt while
the plant is still tak-

189

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

or 6,600 horsepower. The only change from each side of the county road. From the

the initial installation is in the transformers, power house to the railroad station at Folsom

which have been altered to deliver 60,000 the distance is 1 ,056 feet, from the Folsom

volts in addition to the original voltage of railroad station to the city limits of Sacra-

10,000. mento is 19.4 miles, and from the edge of

The supplementary, or lower, station at the city in to the Sacramento substation is

Folsom takes advantage of a twenty-six-foot 1 .9 mile, making a total transmission distance

fall of the water after it leaves the old power of practically twenty-one and a half miles,

house, and there an additional 750-kilowatt A change was made in the transmission

unit is installed. It is of the 3-
phase, revolving-field type, 1 I ,-
500-volt, General Electric pat-
tern.

The turbines at the upper
power house, under a fifty-five-
foot head, run at the rate of 300
revolutions a minute, and are
directly connected to the arma-
ture shafts of the generators by
insulated flexible couplings. Each
pair of wheels is supplied with

Jacob C. Kearns

Who has been at the
Folsom Plant ever
since the maehiii-

line early in 1905, when the
pole line on the south side of
the county road was supplied
with larger insulators, its wires
were given a greater spread, and
the potential carried was raised
from I 0,000 to 60,000 volts.

In the preparation of this
sketch the writer acknowledges
information obtained from an
article published in I 895 by the
late George P. Low in the "Jour-

a steel flywheel ten feet in diameter, weighing nal of Electricity" ; from C. W. Hutton, an

1 0,000 pounds, and having a speed at the old employee of the company but now with

outer edge of 9,425 feet a minute. Heavy steel the Great Western Power Company; from

rims are shrunk on the wheels to provide for the report made to the state board of prison

the great strain such speed produces. directors in 1 900 by Warden Aull at the

The transformers are on the second story Folsom penitentiary; from some data kindly

of the building. The high-tension leads are supplied by United States District Attorney

led from the transformers to the double pole Devlin, who was formerly a prison director

lines out through a hood-protected opening in and a Sacramento lawyer; and from various

the end of the station. The pole line consists employees of the company who have personal

of forty-foot, round, cedar poles extending to knowledge of some of the events as they

Sacramento in two parrallel lines, one on occurred.

Enthusiasm is a lubricant to business; a
grouch is sand in the bearings. Smile!

She had light hair. In fact, it might be
termed electric-light hair ; among the coils
there was a switch.

"Married or single?" was asked of one
of the talesmen.

"Married 4th of July, 1906."

"Have you formed or expressed any
opinion?"

"Not for three years."

190

Regulation of Cycles

By OTTO A. KNOPP. Oakland District.

Many opportunities have
come to the writer, by reason of
some experience in aeronautics
and meteorology in Europe and
America, that have suggested
methods of applying directly to
the electrical field several prin-
ciples mvolving the use of precision instru-
ments and recording devices.

The importance and the difficulties of
maintaining the proper frequency in an elec-
trical transmission system have therefore sug-
gested the prospect of creating some device
that will preserve uniform frequency.

The measurement of the frequency of an
alternating current induced by an alternator
is purely and simply a time measurement.
This can be easily demonstrated by connect-
ing the hands of a clock with the alternator
shaft and using a gear that will give the clock
hands the same speed they would have if
moved by the clock's works. Then, if the
speed of the alternator could be maintained
constant, we would have a clock keeping per-
fect time, run, not by clockwork, but by the
alternator.

The problem is how to maintain the speed
constant so that the attached clock hands will
not run too fast or too slow. This could be
done by using a regular clock in conjunction
with the clock hands run by the alternator.
The hand of the alternator clock could be
set exactly in time with the hand of the
standard clock, so they could run in synchro-
nism, moving at exactly the same speed. To
insure an absolute equality of speed the
standard clock and the alternator clock hand
could be connected concentric, so that every
time the alternator tended to go faster than
the hand of the standard clock an electric
contact would be closed and operate a relay

upon the governor of the prime mover, reduc-
ing the speed of the alternator and keeping it
down to the speed of the standard clock. In
case the alternator should tend to run below
standard speed then another contact would
be closed, keeping it revolving at the same
rate as the hand of the clock. Therefore, by
means of the electric contacts the frequency
would be kept in exact synchronism with the
standard clock and would be constant to the
highest possible degree.

As all the alternators of an electric power
system run in parallel the entire system
could be kept in synchronism with this alter-
nator clock. Then every alternator in the
whole system would be a perfect time
element, and there would be standard time
throughout the system. It would also be
interesting to assume the possibility of furnish-
ing correct time to every lighting customer by
having his clock operated by a small synchro-
nous motor.

The man with more knowledge than judg-
ment will always be working for someone
else and not for himself.

"He Did His Best" was the inscription
on the gravestone, till a man who knew came
along and printed after it the word "Friend."

In the industrial application of water
power New York state ranks first with a
regular production of 885,862 horsepower,
California second with the production of
406,774 horsepower, Maine third with 343,-
096, and then follow Oregon, Idaho, Ne-
vada, and Washington with a combined
product of 472,165 horsepower, where there
are possibilities of the enormous amount of
12,979,700 horsepower.

They Say

From the "Pacific Telephone Magazine,"
August number:

The Pacific Gas and Eleclnc Company has begun
the pubhcation of a monthly magazine for the benefit
of its employees. We welcome the advent of the
"Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine" in the field
of public service publications and extend our best
wishes for its success and prosperity.

From
number :

the magazine "Light," August

A copy of the new "Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine" has found its way to our editorial desk,
and, after a careful perusal, we wish to compliment
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company on the com-
pleteness of the company's house "organ." Its excuse
for being is well stated in an editorial.

From a citizen of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
to E. C. Jones:

It is a pleasure to see that you have first achieved
the "nineteenth meridian" in gas company literature
as well as in engineering. Your periodicals are more
than creditable; they are remarkable. I know of
no other company m the United States that has got-
ten out so finished a product.

From the manager of the Stockton Water
Company :

The September edition of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Magazine has just been received by us.
The employees of this company hail the magazine
as "the greatest ever."

From F. V. T. Lee, as chairman address-
ing the Association of District Managers, at
San Rafael, August 28th:

The third number of the magazine was gotten out
yesterday, and we are justly proud of it. It is a
great improvement over the first two issues. It is
a very good publication, and is being very favorably
received by the employees. It Is your magazine,
gentlemen, and it is "up to you to help put it ahead.

From the "Grass Valley Union," issue of
September 24th:

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company has com-
menced the publication of a monthly magazine which
is to be circulated among the employees of the com-

pany. The September number Is the fourth Issued.
It is handsomely printed and illustrated, and will be
the means of conveying many valuable ideas and
much information to the employees of the big com-
pany. The articles are contributed by the heads
of the various departments and those connected with
the company whose experience enables them to pre-
sent thoughtful and interesting articles both of a tech-
nical and a general nature. The leading article in
the September number is a description of the Alle-
ghany district from the pen of George Scarfe, mana-
ger of the Nevada division, and is well written and
profusely illustrated. In the August number Herbert
Cooper had an article concerning the water conserva-
tion in the Auburn district. The October [Novem-
ber] number is to contain a description of the Rome
power house, and will be illustrated with views of
the works and vicinity. The magazine fills a unique
place in the organization of the big corporation, and
each succeeding number will be eagerly looked for
by those Interested.

From editorial in Alameda Argus, Octo-
ber 4th:

We are in receipt of the September number of
the Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine. It is a
very neat and clean-cut publication, having attained
lis fourth number. It contains much of Interest to
the general reader. The article that will most direct-
ly interest people on this side of the bay is a history
of gas lighting in Oakland. As Alameda's gas sup-
ply comes from the same source as Oakland s, this
article will constitute good reading for the people
of this town. With that idea uppermost, we reprint
it. Older Alamedans will have their memories re-
freshed thereby, and later comers will gain knowl-
edge of the earlier and more primitive times.

From W. T. Keskeys, Chalk Bluff reser-
voir, Nevada water district.

As for the magazine, I find it interesting, and
many articles are very instructive. I shall willingly
lend a hand in filling out wilh anything that I
think of interest.

The "Clow Bulletin," a monthly trade
magazine published by Clow & Sons of Chi-
cago, used as an outside cover feature for its
September number a photogravure picture of
the new San Francisco headquarters building
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Companv.

192

Some Things About Steam

Bj) W. F. DURAND, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University*

Steam is known to the engineer
through its properties or charac-
teristics. Of these there are five
of chief importance, and to these
the discussion of the present
brief article will be restricted.
1 hese characteristics are press-
ure, temperament, volume, quality, and
energy.

PRESSURE

Steam in common with all vapors and
gases exerts a pressure on the walls of any
containing chamber, such as a boiler drum
or steam cylinder. According to the mole-
cular theory of matter, this pressure is the
result of a bombardment to which the walls
of the chamber are subjected by the flying
molecules of the vapor or gas. If we could
imagine, say, one hundred men throwing a
stream of baseballs at an average rate of one
a second for each man, and suppose these
baseballs to land on a target, say, three feet
square, then such a series of impacts would
develop a very considerable force acting on
the target in the way of a pressure. In a
somewhat similar manner the walls of a cham-
ber containing a gas or vapor are supposed
to be bombarded in all directions and in
every direction equally, and thus is developed
the characteristic we call pressure. The
pressure is reduced to numerical measure by
taking the total force thus acting on a unit
area and calling this the intensity of the
pressure, or, more briefly, the pressure. The
actual units employed are the inch and pound
or the foot and pound, the former giving us
the latter the pressure in pounds the square
the pressure in pounds the square inch and

*Professor Durand has been retained by the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company in consultation incident to
the installation at Station C, Oakland.

foot. In all ordinary specifications and for
all purposes of every-day use the square-inch
unit is employed.

On the surface of the earth we live, move,
and have our being in an atmosphere which
IS itself a gas having an average pressure
measured at sea level of about 14.7 pounds
the square inch. All operations of the engi-
neer are carried on surrounded by this atmos-
phere. It is present everywhere, except when
specially and carefully excluded. In particu-
lar, all ordinary pressure gauges and instru-
ments for measurinj pressure are surrounded
by the atmosphere and exposed to its pressure.
This means that the ordinary pressure gauge
which is used for measuring steam pressure
is in reality exposed to the pressure of the
steam on one side of the elastic tube or dia-
phram, and to the atmosphere on the other.
It follows that the steam on its side must pro-
duce a pressure of 14.7 pounds the square
inch in order to balance the pressure of the
atmosphere, and m order to put the gauge
in the condition in which it was made in the
shop, with, of course, the atmospheric pres-
sure on both sides. Hence the movement of
the gauge pointer upward will not begin until
this pressure of I 4.7 pounds has been reached
by the steam, and what the gauge pointer
measures is really the excess of the actual
pressure over the atmospheric pressure or
starting value of 14.7 pounds.

The pressure as read from a gauge is
called gauge pressure. The total or real
pressure of the steam is then greater than this
by the pressure of the atmosphere or by 14.7
pounds. 1 his total or actual pressure is
called absolute pressure. Absolute pressure
is therefore found by adding 14.7 pounds (in
round numbers 15 pounds is often employed)
to the value of the gauge reading.

]f);?

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

TEMPERATURE

When water is heated under any constant
condition as regards pressure it is found that
vapor is not formed until the temperature of
the water rises to a certain value dependmg on
the pressure, and that when such value is
reached, then the further addition of heat
results simply in the formation of water
vapor or steam, without further rise of tem-
perature so long as any water remains in the
liquid state. Conversely, in any such con-
dition the abstraction of heat will result in
a partial condensation of vapor back into
liquid, the temperature meanwhile remaining
unchanged. The temperature at which water
may thus pass back and forth between the
condition of vapor and liquid by the addition
or removal of heat, the temperature and pres-
sure remaining constant meanwhile, is called
the temperature of the steam. It results that
for each value of the pressure there is a par-
ticular corresponding value of the tempera-
ture or for each value of the temperature
there is a particular corresponding value of
the pressure.

This relation between pressure and tem-
perature is not one which can be satisfactorily
expressed in algebraic form, though various
attempts at such expression have been made.
Every engineer should, however, have in
mind the general character of the relation.
Thus at very low pressures the rise in tem-
perature by pound increase in pressure is very
rapid. Between one pound and fifteen
pounds absolute the temperature rises from
102 to 213°, or through a range of 111°,
an average of about 8" a pound. At the
upper end of this range, or about atmospheric
pressure, the rise in temperature is about 3.5
a pound. At 28 pounds absolute it has
dropped to 2° a pound, at 66 pounds abso-
lute to I ° a pound, at 1 60 pounds absolute
to .5° a pound, and at 2 I 2 pounds absolute
pressure to .4° a pound. It results that a
few pounds change at such pressures as are

met with in modern steam plants results in
a much slower rate of change in temperature.
On the other hand, a change of very many
degrees temperature at the lower end is re-
quired in order to produce a change of a
single pound in pressure. Thus from 2
pounds absolute to I pound the drop is about
25 . These facts have an important bearing
on the diiTiculty of increasing the vacuum
from the values of 25 or 26 inches which
prevailed some years ago up to the 28 and
29 inches demanded by the best practice with
steam turbines at the present day. From 26
inches vacuum to 28 inches means about the
same in cooling effect as from no vacuum to
I 8 inches.

VOLUME

By the volume of steam we mean the
volume occupied by one pound. This is
always measured m cubic feet, and is found
to decrease continuously with the increase of
pressure and temperature. The relation be-
tween pressure and volume is likewise too
complex for expression in algebraic form,
at least with any high degree of accuracy.
A very crude thumb rule relation is the fol-
lowing: The product of the pressure in
pounds the square inch absolute by the vol-
ume in cubic feet equals 440. Between
pressure of 50 pounds and 200 pounds the
error in this will not exceed 5 per cent. It
is sometimes convenient to have in mind a
roughly approximate rule of this character.

At low pressures the volume of a pound
of steam enormously increases. Thus at I 00
pounds absolute it is 4.4 cubic feet, at 1 5
pounds absolute it is about 26 cubic feet,
at I 0 pounds it is about 38 cubic feet, and
at I pound 335 cubic feet. This fact has
an important bearing on the difficulty of
realizing expansion to low values of the
terminal pressures in the cylinders of a re-
ciprocating engine, and furnishes the basis
of one of the relative advantages of the tur-
bine, by reason of the comparative ease with

194

Some Things About Steam

which such large volumes are handled and
the corresponding low terminal pressures
realized with the turbine form of prime
mover.

QUALITY

Steam as actually generated in all boilers
is liable to carry with it in the form of a fine
mist or spray a certain amount of water in
the liquid condition. When steam escapes
into the air it is the mist or finely divided
spray thus formed by partial liquefaction that
renders the steam visible. Water vapor with-
out liquid admixture is as colorless and in-
visible as air, and the visible part of steam,
so-called, is not vapor but water in the form
of a finely divided mist. The proportion of
water which the steam may thus carry deter-
mines the so-called quality of the steam. It
is usually measured as a percentage, the
figure denoting the fraction of the total which
is in the form of actual pure vapor. Thus
94 per cent, quality means moist steam in
which 94 per cent, by weight consists of
actual vapor and 6 per cent, by weight is
water in a more or less finely divided state.
Pure water vapor without admixture of mist
or liquid water and at the same temperature
as moist steam of equal pressure, is known as
dry saturated steam. This condition evident-
ly corresponds to 1 00 per cent, quality.
Good steam boilers should furnish steam with
not more than I to 3 per cent, moisture; that
is, with a quality of .97 to .99, and under
the best conditions these values may be im-
proved somewhat. But it is practically im-
possible to obtain steam without some moist-
ure when drawn directly from a boiler drum
containing in its lower part a body of water
in more or less active agitation and liberating
steam at its surface.

If steam of ordinary quality be taken away
from contact with the water from which it
was formed and at the same constant pres-
sure be subjected to still further contact with
a heating surface, then it will absorb addi-
tional heat, the last remnants of moisture will

be vaporized, and from the instant this con-
dition is realized the temperature will begin
to rise and the steam will pass into what is
known as the superheated condition. Super-
heated steam is therefore steam with a tem-
perature higher than that corresponding to
the formation of saturated steam of the same
pressure. The amount of superheat is meas-
ured by the number of degrees excess of tem-
perature thus contained. In modern steam
turbine practice the amount of superheat may
vary from 1 00 to 150° or higher.

The energy possessed by steam is usually
measured from the temperature of melting ice
as a convenient datum. Steam possesses
energy as a result of the input of heat in the
process of its formation. The input of heat
required to transform one pound of water at
32" F. into dry saturated steam at any tem-
perature is not, however, quite the same as
the change of energy between the same two
conditions. This is because the heat which
is required to produce such a change of con-
dition really does three sorts of things or is
divided into three kinds of energy before it
IS finally stored away. One part makes the
body hotter. This represents an increase in
molecular kinetic energy and remains within
the body as a part of the increased store of
energy. A second part overcomes external
pressure during the process of vaporization
and while the temperature remains constant.
This external pressure is represented by the
pressure required to control and contain the
steam as formed. This work or its equivalent
energy is not stored up within the steam at all.
It is work performed against a resistance ex-
ternal to the steam itself, and as such produces
an external result, and its equivalent energy
or result, whatever it may be, is not manifest
within the steam. This portion of the heat
is not therefore stored within the steam and
does not represent any part of its increase of
energy.

10^-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

A third part of the heat during the process
of vaporization is used in performing work
against an internal resistance. The water
molecules are pulled or forced apart against
a force many times greater than that repre-
sented by the external pressure, and the heat
energy required to perform this internal
work is stored up within the steam as its
potential energy. The total energy of steam
is therefore in part kinetic, corresponding to
the increase in temperature, and in part po-
tential, corresponding to the work performed
against internal molecular forces.

Thus at 200 pounds pressure absolute
these three amounts of heat are

Required for raising temperature

from 32° to 382 354.1 B.T. U.

Required for doing external work. . . . 84.4 B. T. U.
Required for doing internal work. ... 759.2 B. T. U.

The first and third items constitute the
energy content of the body and aggregate
1,11 3.3 thermal units.

The second and third items constitute the
so-called latent heat of the substance and
aggregate 843.6 thermal units.

As the pressure of steam is carried higher
and higher the kinetic energy continuously
increases, the potential energy slowly de-
creases, and the total energy undergoes a
slow increase.

The so-called total heat of steam is not
properly speaking a characteristic. It is the
heat flow into the body which is necessary in
order to transform one pound of water at
32 into steam at the stated pressure and
temperature, and supposing that the water
is carried along a definite path of change
consisting first of a rise of temperature and
pressure without vaporization until the tem-
perature and pressure corresponding to the
stated condition is reached, and then a
change of state from liquid into vapor at
constant temperature and pressure until the
liquid is completely transformed into dry satu-
rated vapor. This is a particular path of
change and the heat input along this path
is called the total heat of the steam. Such
a program corresponds closely to that actually
followed in a steam boiler, and hence such
values of the total heat are of use in dealing
with the usual run of power-plant problems.
It may be of interest to note, however, that
by varying the path of change the heat input
required to form one pound of steam from
water at 32° may be made to vary between
wide limits, so that the expression "heat of
steam" has no meaning aside from the par-
ticular path along which the substance is
supposed to be carried in passing from the
initial to the final condition.

He came home with a black eye, a broken
nose, and a contused face.

"Ooo!" observed his wife sympathetically.
"Who was it, Mike?"

"That Dutchman, Schneider."

"Shame on you, then! To let a little,
bloated, toad of a Dutchman like that "

"Stop; do n't speak disrespectful of the
dead."

A wireless telegraph operator at Marys-
ville had an interesting experience September
28th, when he got electric notice early
enough in advance to give him time to step
to the window and then see toward the moun-
tains a lightning bolt that told of a storm. He
found the wireless instrument would indicate
a coming storm in time for him to disconnect
the instruments and avoid danger to himself.

19(3

Meeting of the Pacific Coast Gas Association

By HENRY BOSTWICK, Secretary to President.

One hundred and twenty-five
of the 300 members of the Pa-
cific Coast Gas Association at-
tended the two-day business ses-
sions held September 2 1 st and
2 2d in the assembly room of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany's San Francisco office building, 1 00
attended the banquet at the St. Francis Hotel
the night of September 22d, and a party of
150 went on the social outing September
23d to Muir Woods, a beautiful public park
of giant redwoods at the western base of Mt.
Tamalpais in Marin county, and there had
luncheon, followed by open-air dancing to
the music of the city orchestra that was a
feature of the excursion.

Such, in brief, was the seventeenth annual
convention of the association. Nine of the
eighteen addresses made before the conven-
tion were by officers of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, the association's gold
medal was awarded to John Martin, a
director of the company, for the most interest-
ing paper of all those presented, and four of
the eight officers elected by the association
were chosen from among the men identified
with this company: Frank A. Leach, Jr.,
of Oakland being newly elected vice-presi-
dent, John A. Britton of San Francisco being
re-elected secretary-treasurer, Henry Bost-
wick of San Francisco being re-elected assist-
ant secretary-treasurer, and F. V. T. Lee of
San Francisco being newly elected a director.
The other officers elected were: W. B.
Cline of Los Angeles, president; Christian
Froelich of San Francisco and C. S. Vance
and C. A. Luckenbach of Los Angeles, di-
rectors.

For the first time in all the seventeen years
John A. Britton was not present when the

roll was called, but a letter was read from
him with greetings from the orient and his
wish expressed that "May all the days of
all the members be days of gladness and good
cheer." Back to the other side of the world
went this cablegram: "Britton, steamship
Siberia, Hongkong: In convention assembled.
Gas Association sends greetings beloved sec-
retary."

From London came a cabled greeting from
C. O. G. Miller, president in 1908. And
from his sickbed in St. Francis Hospital in
San Francisco came a cheery note from
George C. Colquhoun, ill during almost the
entire period of his year's presidency just
closed. To him was sent a tender expression
of sympathy and the declaration that "We
look back upon your efforts with a feeling
of satisfaction and pride, and realize that the
work you have done is a record of which
any one of us should be justly proud. "

Four members came several thousand miles
to attend the meeting. They were H. L.
Strange of Honolulu, Herman J. Trenkamp
of Cleveland, O. ; J. F. Parker of Rockford,
111., and W. P. Hutchinson of Marion, la.
Twenty-three new active and five new asso-
ciate members were unanimously elected to
the association.

The president's address, by Vice-president
W. B. Cline, dealt with gas manufacture,
distribution, rates, legislation, and litigation,
and received the highest possible formal en-
dorsement from a committee consisting of
John Martin, John Clements, and E. C.
Jones. The other addresses were: "Public
Benefits Derived From Water-power De-
velopment in California" by John Martin,
"The Emergency Service of the Los Ange-
les Gas and Electric Corporation" by C. S.
Vance, "The Gas Exposition as a Means of

197

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Advertising" by John D. Kuster, "Some Re-
sults of Personal Interviews With the Dis-
satisfied Consumer" by John Clements, "The
Public and Its Complaints" by C. L. Bar-
rett, "Underground Electric Construction"
by S. J. Lisberger, "Damage Claims — a
Modern View" by John P. Coghlan, "A
Word About Gas Collections" by Homer F.
Keyes, "Gas Distribution in San Francisco"
by W. R. Morgan, "Some Notes on Naph-
thalene Conditions m California" by Sher-
wood Grover, "Effective Gas Lighting" by
R. J. Thompson, "New Business Methods"
by T. D. Petch, "Oil Gas Residual and

How to Handle It" by R. P. Valentine,
"Wrinkles" by R. L. Clarke, and "Experi-
ences" by R. P. Valentine.

The speakers at the banquet were F. V.
T. Lee, John Martin, E. C. Jones, F. A.
Leach, Jr., and John Werry of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company, and J. F. Par-
ker of Rockford, Illinois, H. L. Strange of
Honolulu, and L. P. Lowe, president in
1905. President-elect W. B. Cline was
toastmaster.

By unanimous vote the eighteenth annual
meeting of the association will be held in
Los Angeles next year.

On the Old Scrap- Heap

AM taking the liberty of sending you
an anonymous communication received
from an unknown source. I have some mis-
givings as to whose scrap-pile is meant, and
I am therefore sending it to you to get it as far
away from Philadelphia as possible." Such
is the explanation sent by W. H. Gartley of
Philadelphia when submitting the following
suggestive verses to this magazine:

THE SONG OF THE SCRAP-PILE
In the yard of a gas house that 's not far away
You can see in a big pile, if you go that way,
A lot of old rubbish, a sight worth your while.
There are wonderful things in this old scrap-pile.

Inventions of genius, lights that have failed,
Machines that went wrong (their coming we hailed).
Old gas apparatus now gone out of date.
Huge bars of cast iron for some new patent grate.

Mechanical stokers that cost a large sum,
(Used but a short lime and now on the bum)
Are resting and rusting ; for sale they are cheap.
An interesting sight is this old scrap-heap.

Steam engines, exhausters that were wonders when

bought ;
Great things now have come of the lessons they

taught.
On the scrap-heap they re cheaper than the day

when they ran.
You "II see humor and pathos if this jungle you scan.

John Smith made a boiler, the greatest thing out;
It would steam without fuel, of this he d no doubt.
Like others before him, poor John got it wrong;
It s now on the scrap-pile and part of the song.

Tom Brown was the next man to get something up.
Some overflow system on a gas-holder cup.
Way back in a corner, behind a big pipe,
Rests the scheme that Tom Brown pulled before it
was ripe.

Bill Jones made a thing, which I yish to report;

It leveled the charge in a coal gas retort.

It did its last duty a short time ago;

Now it "s out with the others, and part of the show.

You could stand by the hour

And gaze on the waste
Of contraptions most costly

Purchased in haste.

Sleepless nights represented;

Calculations most deep
Tell their sorrowful tale

On the old scrap-heap.

There's an acre of ground left;

Can t you think something out.
Some brand new idea.

You know nothing about?

T would add to the splendor.

Get up something, do.
The scrap-pile is waiting

To have one on you.

198

The Public's Complaints'

A Recital of Some of the Troubles of Being a Gas Man

B\) CHARLES L. BARRETT, Secretary San Francisco Gas and Electric Company.

Whatever may be the public's sorting, the reasonable, and the meter-reading

attitude toward the lighting com- classes, never visit the gas company's office

pany concerning the fairness of except at the commencement and termination

its methods, the personnel of the of their supply. High-bill complaints are

company, from its president to its almost invariably traceable to carelessness in

most humble employee, rests secure use of gas.

in the knowledge that the correct The meter test made with the standard

measurement of the product sold to the con- prover and preferably in the presence of the

sumer is as absolute as can be determined by customer is the ultimate remedy. The visit

human means. In this fact lies the keynote should be made by a trained inspector, who

of the uniformly successful argument of the
company's adjuster of supposed overcharges.
There is no business so paternally cared for
at the present moment by state and municipal
authorities as the sale of gas. There is no
business so censored in the sale of its goods

should be a good mechanic and a man of
pleasing personality, who understands himself
and the situation thoroughly. As the whole
matter is really one of fancied error rather
than real the action of this man more often
determines the mind of the consumer for sat-

as the gas industry. This is eminently proper isfaction than even the meter-test method,
and is nowhere welcomed more warmly than Should the investigation findings warrant,

by the gas company's officers who have to a new meter is set and a shop test made of

discuss with the public the vagaries of bill the old one. A report of its condition is

fluctuation. Dishonest dealers in almost any always sent to the consumer. Meters prov-

of the daily necessities and commodities of ing by test to be fast are so rare, the

life can, with little fear of detection, adjust
their measures and adulterate their products
or change the price by unit of quantity sold.
Not so with the lighting company.

percentage so small, and the satisfaction to
the consumer at learning of a fast meter so
great that the company in making rebates for
over-registration does not stand upon its legal

Of all the recurring monthly household rights for a computation upon the bills of the

expenses that for gas seems to the careless,
the improvident, and the unreasonable, to
be a perennial enigma, and their class repre-
sents about 40 per cent, of the people. The
momentary daily use of trifling quantities of
a commodity, so intimately connected with
domestic life that it becomes absolutely un-
noticed or forgotten, produces a bill that
causes such people much genuine surprise.
The other 60 per cent, of the community, the
careful, the watchful, the provident, the rea-

three months immediately prior to the test,
but includes bills for any reasonable period,
occasionally covering eight or nine months.

There was an unusual public clamor of
gas and electric consumers in San Francisco
during the winter of I 908 against what was
thought to be poor quality of gas, low pres-
sure, and exorbitant charges. The discussion
culminated, after great hostility upon the part
of the daily press, in a muchly advertised pub-
lic hearing before the artificial lights com-

*Dioest of paper presented before the seventeenth annual convention of the Pacific Coast Gas Asso-
ciation at its meeting held m San Francisco during the latter part of September.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

mittee of the San Francisco board of super-
visors. This hearing was in itself an absurd-
ity, for of the company's 80,000 consumers,
just sixteen appeared before the committee to
complain, their statements being mere general-
izations based solely upon their personal
ideas.

The published report of this investigating
committee, which was the opinion of two of
the state's foremost engineers versed in gas
and electric matters, was so thorough and fair
and educational in its nature that the company
ordered some 30,000 reprints from the origi-
nal type and mailed them to that number of
its consumers, with most gratifying results.
The investigation was of the most beneficial
nature to the company. The more rigid and
searching an investigation may be as to false
or exorbitant charges, if made by honest, in-
telligent mvestigators, the more the gas com-
panies will court it.

One of the most interesting thmgs devel-
oped in this investigation was the contradic-
tion of the popular fallacy that in using gas
for heating at low pressure several times the
quantity would have to be used to produce
the same result as gas supplied at higher
pressures. Even one of the engineers who
was afterward engaged in the examination,
in discussing the matter at the original hear-
ing, so gave it as his opinion. By experiment
it was found to take 1 8^ per cent, less gas to
develop a given amount of heat at i 'i of
an inch water pressure than to attain the same
result at 6. 1 inches of water pressure. In
other words, the consumers in the outlying dis-
tricts of the city who had been complaining
of little or no pressure had really been saving
money in their gas usage.

Adjustments for leakage where the com-
pany is really at fault are rare, but when the
fact that the company is responsible is deter-
mined, generous allowances are always made,
this being one of the few instances where a
basis for allowance is patent, and it enables
the adjuster to carry out the company's

policy of solving all doubts in favor of the
consumer.

Probably the most difficult complaint to
adjust is that arismg from the transposition
of consumers' meters, this being occasionally
done madvertently by the company's own
men or by outside gasfitters, in locations where
a number of meters set together. If there is
a wide discrepancy in the amounts used, the
transposition is quickly detected, but where
the usage of the consumers interested is fairly
equal it may be a long time before the matter
is discovered. When the consumers do ascer-
tain the true state of affairs those who have
paid more than the correct charge insist right-
ly upon reimbursement, but the ones under-
charged never can be made to see the justice
of a bill for the difference, and almost in-
variably decline payment upon the ground of
supposed legal rights in having receipts
covering the period involved.

There are two classes of dissatisfied con-
sumers that are oddities, but they become
nuisances. One of these is the fire-eating,
anarchistic, letter-writing, anti-corporation
crank whose screed regarding his bill, be it
large or small, shows up at regular periods,
indicating that he can not stand the mental
pressure a moment longer and not explode.
The other is the violent monthly kicker
against his bills, which are as a rule of ridicu-
lously small amount. These types when pos-
sible air their grievances in the daily papers
and are absolutely impossible to satisfy by
any treatment whatever.

Another type of complainant, who is to
be pitied, is the poor, struggling landlady
who ekes out a living by renting rooms with
gas for stove and lighting use furnished either
gratis or at a flat rate of small amount so
as to attract or hold the sub-tenant. This
bad business judgment is always taken advan-
tage of by careless or unprincipled renters,
and its effect is visited upon the gas com-
pany's adjusting office at more or less regu-
lar intervals.

The Public's Complaints

San Francisco's foggy weather in summer
is the bane of the gas engineer. In its im-
mense temperature difference between mid-
night and mid-day seems to He the cause of
the formation of the feathery naphthalene
crystal which builds upon the slight protuber-
ances m service mams and meters and which
in a short time causes the flow of gas to fail
and finally cease altogether. This one cause,
together with cases of condensation and leak-
age, approximates from fifty complaints a
day in the four or five rainy months to from
200 to 600 a day during the other months
of the year. While the largest number is
less than one per cent, of the San Francisco
company's consumers, it makes up a trouble-
some complaint condition, interferes with
shop management because of its variability,
and gives an impression of poor service be-
cause it is so generally distributed throughout
the mains system. Although the San Fran-
cisco company is blessed with the most
capable gas engineer in the country, and of
whom it is said that he can even "make light
of the truth," this pressure question gets upon
his nerves at times.

After all, the poor pressure complaint is
a blessing in disguise, for it is the best known
local indicator of an outgrown distributing
system. Upon this indication the engineering
department can by enlargement of mains and
services in the locality of the trouble remedy
the defect of chronic low pressure, and naph-
thaline stoppage at that, for a long period.
In making complaints, both oral and written,
there is often displayed by the consumer
much unconscious good nature, curious ex-
pression, ridiculous assertion, and errors in
spelling and diction. Herewith are a few
verbatim quotations from letters which are at
hand or have been received by the San Fran-
cisco Gas and Electric Company:

I wish that you would send a gas leak al your
meter.

Respectfully,

MRS. P. C.

(From a Chinaman) —

Your man must please come fix, have bad gas
reath.

(Another from a Chinaman) —

Please you call fix metter, heap stmk.

My gas meter is out of order also ray neighbor Mr
Schmidt — Will you please sent somebody to fij
them?

(Another from a Chinaman) —

Please you call make more gas m meetle, al
out.

(From some old gentleman with time to
burn) —

Gentlemen: — Did you ever read Kipling's "The
Light that Failed?" Well, it's not in it with the
story of the lights that fail at Whitten's every night.
We have eastern company and they make odious
comparisons between what they have and what we
get. For the honor of our noble city and state please
make a showing and send a man down to pump up
our gas.

I will remember you in my prayers
them.

I say

It is too bad, alack, alas.

The trouble we re having with the gas.

You can not see to read or eat.

In fact, I never saw the beat.

I scarcely know just what to do.
But took a chance at writing you.
In hopes that you would surely try
To make our gas blaze way up high.

Now. Mr. Gasman, bring your pump
And cause our light to blaze up high.
And perhaps our bill may lake a jump,
But that will never make us cry.

(Another from a Chinaman) —

Gentlemen: — We have been burning your gas for
so many years and that usually to pay the bill from
three dollars to five dollars a month with no excessive.
How ever the bill claims so much in the future two
months. It is hardly to satisfactory. We will mail
those receipt to you kindly compare it at once whether
its righteous. Answer.

From these few quoted extracts it will be
seen that the usual tragedy of the gas trouble
man's life is sometimes relieved by a little
comedy, bringing out a normal, natural cheer-
fulness which is, after all, the greatest allevi-
ator of the complaint condition.

201

History of Gas Lighting in Marysville

By E. C. JONES, Engineer Gas Department.

Marysville, named in honor of came the storm centre of that historic legal

Mary Murphy, one of the few struggle between the hydraulic miners in the

survivors of the ill-fated Donner foothills and the farmers in the valleys, where

Party, was the third place in the navigable streams were being slowly but

California to introduce illumi- surely made shallower and shallower by tor-

nating gas. During the pioneer rents of mud from the hydraulic mines,

mining days Marysville was one Marysville found herself in the middle of a

of the most important towns in California. rich, level, agricultural area of vast propor-

It is situated almost at the geographical centre tlons.

of the Sacramento valley, on the east bank of The farmers were becoming more numer-

the Sacramento river, near the confluence of ous than the miners, and they were doubly

the Yuba and Feather rivers. Because of interested In preserving the depth of the river

its location It was the natural source of supply channels, because of the commercial advan-

for the miners early operating along the Yuba
and Feather rivers. The large population

tage of having water transportation to com-
pete with railroad rates and because of the

and the richness of
its tributary mining
district established
Marysville as a town
of importance.

When red-shirted
miners by the thous-
ands were working in
the placer diggings
in the foothills to the
eastward, Marys-
ville was a big place
with a population as
great half a century
ago as its 5,000 of
today.

It is a flat town,
protected along its
river side by a 20-
foot embankment to
ward off the menace
of high water during the rainy season. necessity of maintaining a channel of suffi-

First Marysville was all for the miners, cient depth to avoid the certainty of ruinous
but when mining began settling to a system inundation by high waters and the covering
of fewer Individuals and more machinery, and of the adjacent farming lands with a deposit
agriculture grew to be a greater and greater of "sllckens" from the mining regions,
prospect in California, then Marysville be- Today Marysville is an old to\vn still

Original Gas Works Building, Second and B Streets, Showing One of Old Cast-
iron Retorts at Corner, Between Men

History of Gas Lighting in Marysville

young. The buildings in its business section
and some of its sidewalk signs proclaim an
origin dating back half a century, and the
styles, created when miners' money was domi-
nant, have not been changed much, though
Marysville has become a commercial centre
of farms and orchards, and has within its

H._ V«. V»

May 22d. 1858, the Marysville Coal
Gas Company was incorporated by David
Edgar Knight, Charles H. Simpkins, and
Adoniram Pierce, with a capital stock of
$50,000. This was subsequently increased
to $ I 00,000. May I 0th, 1 858, the right to
lay pipes through the streets of Marysville for
the purpose of dis-
tributing gas was
granted to D. E.
Knight & Co. In
exchange for the
privilege the com-
pany agreed to fur-
nish free gas for
lighting public build-
ings so long as no
franchise was grant-
ed to any other gas
company. Thus was
the original company
safe-guarded against
competition. The
work of constructing
the gas plants was
personally supervised

Gas Works and Electric Substation, View Taken from Levee

own limits machine shops, founderies, sasti
and door factories, flour mills, woolen mills,
and canneries.

In 1857, the success of gas making in

by Knight, Simpkins,

and Pierce.

Gas was first manufactured in Marysville

August 18th, 1858, and sold for $12.50 a

thousand cubic feet. The works consisted of

two benches of 3's, iron retorts in what was

San Francisco and Sacramento having been known as the H setting. The retort house

assured, proposals were made to the common was a small, brick, flat-roofed warehouse,

council of Marysville relative to lighting the and the capacity of the works was 18,000

city with gas. Charles H. Simpkins, a prom- cubic feet in twenty-four hours. The flat

inent citizen of the place, and A. F. Wil- roof of the retort house was found conven-

liams, who had been well and favorably ient as a scaffold while cleaning out stopped

known in connection with water ditches in stand pipes through holes in the roof. The

northern California, made a proposal to fur- condenser consisted of a 3-inch, cast-iron, re-

nish Marysville with gas and water. Pro- turn pipe located in the coal shed. Two

posals were also made by Tiffany and wooden casks, one above the other, served

Wethered of San Francisco, and by Dr. the purpose of the washer and scrubber. The

Teegarden of Marysville and David E. purifiers were made of wood, and hydrate of

Knight, who was then connected with the lime was used on perforated, sheet-iron trays,

gas works in Sacramento. A 3-foot station motor completed the se-

20.3

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

quence of apparatus up to a 20,000-cubic- ber the names of Boghead, Ince Hall, Les-

foot gas holder. mahoga, and Albertite, as well as Australian

In 1 860 the distributing system consisted shale. The price of this coal ranged from

of 14,550 feet of mains, from which were $25 to $50 a ton. Excessive freights did

served 200 consumers. The average output not warrant the use of low-grade coal in the

of gas was 200,000 cubic feet a month. The interior towns of California, as the rate from

first reduction in price was made December San Francisco to Marysville, together with

I 6th, 1 860, in response to a public petition. drayage, was in excess of the rate by ship

A system of discounts was established, 1 0 round Cape Horn. Castor beans, rosin, wool

per cent, being allowed on consumption of waste, and pitch pme were also used from

more than 200 and less than 1 ,000 cubic time to time to assist in making gas. Lime

feet a week, and 1 5 per cent, discount on all was hauled in half-barrel rawhide baskets

gas consumed amounting to more than 1 ,000
cubic feet a week.

In 1 862 a uniform price was established
of $10.50 a thousand. In the spring of
1867 the works was reconstructed on the
origmal location.

from Cave City, and delivered in Marysville
at $2 a basket.

The fire brick used in the construction of
the benches were shipped from the east,
packed in straw in crates, and cost $125 a
thousand. But there were some consoling

The iron work, including the gas holder features in the business, as coke sold for one
for reconstructing the gas works, was shipped cent a pound (unscreened) and tar brought
from Philadelphia on
the clipper ship "Old
Hickory" some time
during 1 866. The
ship was 356 days
on the voyage, and
was given up by the
underwriters as lost.
The owners did not
lose their ship, but
the captain lost his
commission as her
master.

During 1867 a
voluntary reduction
to $9 a thousand
was made in the
price of gas. From
the beginning of this
industry in Marys-
ville gas was made

entirely from Cannel coal from Scotland, $7.50 a barrel, the purchaser furnishing the
Ireland, New Brunswick, and Australia, barrel.

sacked in gunny bags in San Francisco and There was no competition until 1 886,

reshipped by river steamer to Marysville. when an electric light plant was established.
Old timers in the gas business will remem- But it was not until late in 1 898 that a rival

Original 20,000-Foot Gas Holder, with Glimpse of Knight Eesidence

204

History of Gas Lighting in Marysville

gas company came into the field, with a water dent of the company ; he owned the race

gas plant having a capacity of 3,000 cubic
feet an hour. March I st, 1 899, after com-
petition lasting just four months, the two gas
companies became merged under the new title
of the Marysville Gas and Electric Com-

track; he started the first steam laundry,
situated where the old Columbia Hotel now
stands; he was one of the three owners of the
Marysville Foundry ; he was president and
manager of the Marysville Woolen Mills;

pany. The consolidation of the companies and was president and manager of the Marys-
marked the begmning of a new era in selling ville Gas and Electric Company. The Sacra-

gas in Marysville.

A further reduction in rates and persistent
missionary work resulted in placing Marys-
ville in the front rank as a gas-consuming
town. In 1 896 there were only
six places in Marysville using gas
for fuel. In less than six years
more than 300 gas stoves were in-
stalled in Marysville homes. To-
day gas is generally used there as
a kitchen fuel and for heating.

The water gas sets installed in
1 898 were displaced September
1st, 1901, by a Lowe, crude-oil.

David E. Knight

mento river boats "Knight No. I " and
"Knight No. 2" were named after him.
When he died, January 5th, 1900, the
board of supervisors, of which he was a mem-
ber, published in memoriam an
expression declaring: "He was a
pioneer citizen of our state, and
one of that sturdy type of men
who have builded so truly, so per-
manently, and so splendidly the
social and industrial structure of
California statehood. As a citi-
zen he was enterprising, progres-
sive, and judicious. His life was

water-gas set, having a capacity of 90,000 full of substantial accomplishments marked

cubic feet every twenty-four hours.

Since the consolidation of the rival gas
companies, ten years ago, all the gas used in
Marysville has been made at the works near
the levee, adjoining the electric substation of
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. At

by uniform justice during its course and by a
beautiful charity at its close. As a member
of this board he was constant in his attention
to duty, liberal in his policy, and wise and
just in his counsel. His loss to us can not well
be replaced, and we deem it a privilege to

this works there is a 20,000-cubic-foot stor- make here this acknowledgment of his worth

age holder, installed in 1898, and a 20,000- and to pay this tribute to his memory."
cubic-foot relief holder. There has also been Such was the man who established the

recently installed a I 75,000 - cubic - foot, Marysville gas business now owned by the

crude-oil gas set. Pipes to the original gas Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
works connect with and make use of the old There is a little, old, one-story, brick

20,000-cubic-foot holder that came "round building at the corner of Second and B streets

the horn." in Marysville. That was the original gas

Nearly every new enterprise is stamped at works. The front end of it is now used as

the beginning with the personality of some one the Marysville office of the Pacific Gas and

man. Marysville's gas business was the crea- Electric Company. At the corner of the

tion of David E. Knight. He was a remark-
able man in his town. He had been a
plumber, a copper worker, a cobbler. Then
began his time of bigger undertakings. He
established the first horse-car line between

curb on two sides of the street, half buried in
the earth, are two of the original cast-iron re-
torts used in the first manufacture of gas in
Marysville. They serve now to protect the
sidewalk from the encroachment of wheels

Marysville and Yuba City, and was presi- of passing vehicles. Just back of this old

20.5

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

building, looming big and red amid shade sketch entitled "Auld Lang Syne" by T. R.

trees and huge old fig trees, is the former Parker of Napa, who was an associate and

home of David E. Knight. warm friend of David E. Knight, and was

The writer in preparing this article has superintendent of the Marysville Gas Works

drawn freely from an excellent historical from 1862 to 1867.

Troublesome Small Animals on the Pole Line

B^ C. E. YOUNG, Acting Superintendent Marysville Power Division.

IN the Marysville power division of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a
tree squirrel climbed a pole of the 60-kilovolt
line near the Dairy Farm Mine, August 1 8th,
shorted the line, and caused the current to be
shut down for about twelve hours. A fire
was started when the live wire struck the
ground, but was soon extinguished by ranchers
in the neighborhood.

September 7th, about ten miles south of
Lincoln on the same line, a coyote frightened
a flock of turkeys, and one of them flew into
the line, causing it to short and burn down.
Ihe turkey was found by its owner a few
minutes after the accident. It had one leg
and one wing broken, and was badly burned,
but was still alive and kicking.

September I 8th a large Tom cat climbed
a pole of the same hne, about thirteen miles
south of Lincoln, and shorted the line, causing
it to burn down. That cat has but eight lives
left. It forfeited one by trying to be a pole
cat. A grass fire was started when the line
went down, and completely destroyed a five-
foot culvert on the county road. The culvert
was promptly replaced by the company.

Again, September 26th, a tree squirrel
shorted the line near Smartsville, causing it to
burn down. At the same time an insulator
broke and was shattered to pieces about ten
miles south of Lincoln, causing the line to
burn in two. This insulator trouble was the
cause of twenty-four sheep, of a flock of seven
hundred, being killed by electrocution.

A picked team, forming a combination of
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and
the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company
nines, played the formidable Presidio post
team of United States soldiers on the
Presidio reservation grounds Saturday, Octo-
ber 9th, and the civilians won — 1 2 to 6.

The towns of Alta and Towle in Placer
county were busy during the forepart of Octo-
ber harvesting and shipping an unusually fine
season's yield of approximately 30,000 boxes
of apples. Many of the trees, according to
H. M. Cooper, yielded from thirty to thirty-
five boxes, and some as many as forty boxes.

20(3

Right of Electric Companies to Condemn

Lands

Bl) LEO H. SL'SMAN, Law Department.

To what extent private prop-
erty may be taken by electric
light and power companies when
it IS required to enable them to
generate or transmit electricity is
an interesting problem. It is a
question of great practical im-
portance to a concern like the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, with its miles of
transmission lines, flumes, and ditches extend-
ing over more than a score of counties.

The power of eminent domain, or as it
is more popularly called, of condemnation,
has been defined as the right of a sovereign
state to appropriate private property to par-
ticular uses for the promotion of the general
welfare. This power is inherent in and an
attribute of every independent state or govern-
ment by virtue of its sovereignty.

The constitutions of the various states of
the union contain provisions relating to the
power of eminent domain. They differ some-
what in the language employed, but practi-
cally all of them limit the right to such cases
only as involve a public use. The constitu-
tion of California provides that "private
property shall not be taken or damaged for
public use without just compensation having
been first made to, or paid into court for, the
owner." (Article I, Section 14.) No
definition of public use is given in the Cali-
fornia constitution, and it therefore becomes
of prime importance to determine what is a
public use in each particular instance. If
the use in question be public, there can be
no constitutional objection to a statute per-
mitting the taking. But if the use be pri-
vate, the taking is impliedly forbidden by the
constitution of California.

The California law provides that the
right of eminent domain may be exercised in
behalf of the following public uses: "12.
Canals, reservoirs, dams, ditches, flumes,
aqueducts, and pipes and outlets, natural or
otherwise, for supplying, storing, and dis-
charging water for the operation of machinery
for the purpose of generating and transmit-
ting electricity for the supply of mines, quar-
ries, railroads, tramways, mills, and factories
with electric power; also for the applying
of electricity to light or heat mines, quarries,
mills, factories, incorporated cities and coun-
ties, villages, and towns; and also for fur-
nishing electricity for lighting, heating, or
power purposes to individuals or corporations,
together with lands, buildings, and all other
improvements in or upon which to erect, in-
stall, place, use, or operate machinery for
the purpose of generating and transmitting
electricity for any of the purposes above set
forth. 1 3. Electric power lines, electric
heat lines, and electric light, heat, and power
lines." (Code of Civil Procedure, section
1238.)

The California legislature has declared by
statute that private property may be con-
demned for certain designated uses. At first
glance this may appear to be conclusive that
property may be taken for any of such uses.
But the fact that private property may be
taken does not imply that it may be taken
for private use. To illustrate: If one man
own a city lot and another desire that lot
for the purpose of erecting thereon and con-
ducting an office building, the prospective
builder can not force the owner of the lot to
sell the land to him, as the erecting and con-
ducting of an office building are essentially

207

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

a private use, one in which the pubhc has
no concern. Suppose that the Cahfornia
legislature should enact a law providing that
the erecting and conducting of an office build-
ing constitute a public use and that private
property may be condemned therefor. Can
the mere declaration by the legislature that
a private use is a public use make it so? The
California supreme court, in consonance with
the views of many other authorities, has de-
nied the California legislature this power,
holding that the legislature can not, in the
exercise of the power of eminent domain, per-
mit the taking of private property for a purely
private industry and that when it appears
plain that property is sought to be taken for
a purely private use, courts are not bound by
the legislative declaration that a certain busi-
ness is a public use. In a recent case Judge
Gilbert, speaking for the United States cir-
cuit court of appeals, said: "The legislature
can not by its enactments make that a public
use which is essentially a private use, and
the question whether the use is public in its
nature is a judicial question to be determined
by the courts. But it is the general rule that
where it is uncertain and doubtful whether
the use to which the property is proposed to
be devoted is of a public or a private charac-
ter, the legislative determination of the ques-
tion is of persuasive force, and the courts
will not undertake to disturb the same."
(Walker vs. Shasta Power Company, I 60
Fed. Rep. 856.)

The mere fact that the public is interested
incidentally in the operation of a business and
that the use may benefit the public in some
collateral way does not make it a public use.
In a recent case, decided by the supreme
court of Minnesota, it was held that a use
is not public unless the person or corporation
seeking to condemn property can be com-
pelled, under proper police regulations, to
supply the public with the service or use for
which the property is sought to be acquired.

In this case the plaintiff company sought
to condemn lands for the construction of
canals and for the creation of a water-
power plant that would generate and dis-
tribute electricity for light, heat, and power
purposes and supply water power. The court
held that while the generation of electric
power for sale to the general public on equal
terms is a public enterprise and the property
so used is devoted to a public use, the creation
of a water-power plant to supply water
power from its wheels is not for a public use
for the reason that only a few persons can
purchase water power from the wheels. The
court declared: "Water power from the
wheels must be used at the wheels, and the
actual result necessarily is that a very few
individuals will use that power for manu-
facturing purposes to the exclusion of all
other persons. The effect is the creation of
a power plant to create water power to
sell to a few manufacturers for use in their
private business. Under such conditions, the
willingness of the power company to sell
power from the wheels to the general public
has only a theoretical value."

The difficulty in determining whether or
not a given electric power or lighting busi-
ness is for a public use is not so much over
the legal principles involved as over the
proper application of those principles to the
facts of each particular case.

In some states the generation and sale of
electricity under certain circumstances have
been held not to be a public use. But in the
majority of jurisdictions where the question
has arisen the generation and sale of elec-
tricity have been held to be a public use
wherever the company proposing to exercise
the power of eminent domain must serve
the public fairly and without discrimination.

In the case of Rockingham County Light
and Power Company versus Hobbs ( 12.
N. H. 531) the supreme court of New
Hampshire said: "The knowledge recently

208

P\ight of Electric Companies to Condemn Lands

A^wy\ /

acquired concerning electricity has made it
possible to divide power into any desired
portions and freely to transmit the same to
almost any point for use. This has created
a demand for power, which, though not so
general as the demand for water, is neverthe-
less of a public character. Like water, elec-
tricity exists in nature m some form or state,
and becomes useful as an agency of man's
industry only when collected and controlled.
It requires a large capital to collect, store,
and distribute it for general use. The cost
depends largely upon the location of the
power plant. A water power or a location
upon tide water reduces the cost materially.
It may happen that the business can not be
inaugurated without the aid of the power of
eminent domain for the acquisition of neces-
sary land or rights in land. All these con-
siderations tend to show that the use of land
for collecting, storing, and distributing elec-
tricity for the purpose of supplying power
and heat to all who may desire it is a public
use, similar in character to the use of land
for collecting, storing, and distributing water
for public needs, a use that is so manifestly
public that it has been seldom questioned and
never denied."

In some instances the electric company,
seeking to condemn, has been incorporated
for the purpose of generating and seUing
electricity to the public generally, and also
for private purposes. The right to exercise
the power of eminent domain has been denied
to such companies where they sought to con-

demn indiscriminately for both public and
private uses. But the fact that such a com-
pany was, by its articles of incorporation,
authorized to engage in a private enterprise
as well as to serve the public, will not prevent
it from exercising the power of eminent do-
main for the public use. In determining
whether an electric company is exercising a
public use the court is not limited solely by
the description of the objects and purposes
set forth in the articles of incorporation, but
may consider evidence outside of such
articles, showing the actual purpose in view.

In the case already mentioned of Walker
against the Shasta Power Company the
United States circuit court of appeals upheld
the validity of the subdivision of section I 238
of the California code of civil procedure re-
lating to the condemnation of ditches for sup-
plying water to hydro-electric machinery.
Although the question has not been directly
passed upon by the supreme court of Cali-
fornia, this decision of the United States
circuit court of appeals would be of per-
suasive force. Both reason and authority
being in favor of the validity of this statute
it may be taken to be the law in California
that a corporation, such as the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, generating and selling
electricity to municipalities and their inhabi-
tants for light, for the operation of railways,
and for general commercial enterprises, uni-
formly and without discrimination, is en-
gaged in a public use for which it may exer-
cise the power of eminent domain.

"Stand with anybody that stands right. Whispered the tactful toastmaster to the

Stand with him while he is right, and part great orator: "Shall we let them enjoy

with him when he goes wrong." — Abraham themselves a bit longer, or shall I introduce

Lincoln. you now?"

209

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

ZACHEAUS FLOYD

Who Has Served the Company More Than Two Score Years
in the Gas Meter Department

FORI Y-ONE years and two months con-
tinuously in the service of the gas com-
pany in San Francisco is the remarkable and
unequaled record of Zacheaus Floyd, an ex-
cellent likeness of whom illustrates this page.
Such length of service is rarely
equaled in any industry in any
country. It tends to show not
only unusual perseverance and
loyalty on the part of the man,
but also contmued satisfaction
on the part of the company.

At the time of the birth of
Zacheaus Floyd, July 19th,
1838, his father, Captam
John Floyd, a mining engineer
by profession, was chief en-
gineer and superintendent of
the Westminster lead and sil-
ver mmes at Llanarmon in
Yale, Derbyshire, North
Wales. In 1854, when 16,
Zacheaus Floyd, immediately
after graduation from Floater's
grammar school at Wrexham,
took a position under his father
as an assistant timekeeper at
the Westminster mines, where
about 600 men were em-
ployed. Three years later,
seeking to better his position,
he entered the employ of the Herrington Gas
Company at Liverpool, and two years after-
ward, becoming affected by the emigration
wave that passed over Europe in 1859, he
sailed for New York and was there immed-
iately given employment by the Manhattan
Gas Light Company as inspector and tester of
meters. This New York position he retained

about three years, until in 1 862, because of
unsettled business conditions following the out-
break of the civil war. He started for Cali-
fornia, going in the steamer Champion to the
isthmus of Panama and from the Pacific side

Zacheaus Ployd
in the steamer Orizaba. That trip up the
coast was made historically memorable by
the succor lent by the Orizaba to the ship-
wrecked passengers from the celebrated old
steamer Golden Gate, which had been
wrecked near Manzanillo, Mexico.

Zacheaus Floyd arrived in San Francisco
in AuRust of 1862. He was then 24. He

210

Biographical Sketch — Zacheaus Floyd

recalls interviewing at that time J. Mora
Moss, the president, and Joseph G. Eastland,
the secretary, of the San Francisco Gas
Company at the old office, which was then
at the corner of First and Natoma streets.
Floyd was given a position in the meter de-
partment by the company's engineer, William
Beggs, whose brother, James Beggs, was
then meter department foreman but later the
company's engineer. Floyd's first gas work
in San Francisco was in statement reading.
Two old employees had done all the state-
ment reading, and as they had been with the
company from the first they knew the where-
abouts of all the consumers without bothering
with addresses. One of them, John Carroll,
taught young Floyd the routes, but even
then Floyd was greatly puzzled at times
to locate some of the consumers, as he was
a stranger to the city.

It occurred to him as a rational idea to
supply his statement book with the house
numbers grouped by streets. When Secretary
Eastland came to review Floyd's statement
book he noticed the innovation, and promptly
ordered the use of house numbers throughout
the book system. That was after the com-
pany had been doing business for more than
seven years without the necessity of recording
meter locations by house number.

It was not long before Floyd was given
charge of the work and the employees con-
nected with the installing and removal of
meters, together with the handhng of all the

minor physical complaints of the distribution
system. And he has held that same position
or similar positions down to the present time,
serving in sequence under the following com-
pany engineers: William Beggs, J. Sabatton,
James R. Smedberg, James Beggs, J. B.
Crockett, and E. C. Jones.

In February of 1865, when he was 26,
Zacheaus Floyd married Mary Kelleher, a
native of Australia. From their union have
come nine children, eight of them boys. Two
sons, Edward T., and Charles L. Floyd, are
in the employ of the gas company and partake
in a marked degree of the zeal and conscien-
tious efficiency of their good father.

Zacheaus Floyd is a member of Yerba
Buena Lodge of the American Order of
United Workmen, the only fraternal affilia-
tion he has.

He has no known hobbies, unless it be the
giving of considerable goodly advice in a
medical way to those who request it and know
the experience he has had in the raising of a
large family.

He is highly respected by the men under
his charge and they, through his just but
firm treatment, render excellent service to
the company.

No better tribute to business loyalty can
be given than to record that a man's life and
interests have become absolutely merged and
identified with those of the company employ-
ing him, and this tribute can certainly be paid
to Zacheaus Flovd. C. L. B.

Many are called, but few deliver the Do n't kick a man when he s down ; same

goods. advice applies to a live wire.

A man of honest dignity is never ashamed If you have palpitation of the heart bend

to lay aside his dignity to perform his honest down low and let more blood flow into the
duty. heart; exit palpitation.

211

Care of High- Voltage Insulators

B\) J. O. HANSEN, Superintendent San Jose Power Division.

The large insulators, support-
ing the wires and insulating the
high-voltage currents on the
—^ transmission lines, while ordin-

|g^ arily performing their peaceful
alloted duty, are at the same
time doing strenuous work, and.
if not properly cared for become over-
burdened. Then there is at the best a
momentary distur-
bance. It is noticed
on the lights as a
blink or on the
motors as a groan.
On the system of
the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company
there are more than
100,000 high-volt-
age insulators. Their
efficiency must be
great to avoid an
average of one
breakdown a week,
and even that is too
frequent. But at this
rate the average life
of an insulator
would be nearly
1, 000 years. This,
of course, is not
reckoning on breaks
due to mechanical
causes. The small
boy with a stone is often the most frequent cause
for a mechanic on the job, and the small boy is
closely seconded by the unsuccessful hunter
who must use his ammunition on something.

A few hundred insulators put under test
will undoubtedly make a satisfactory show-
ing. But there must be very general great
reliability for all climatic conditions. In the

Insulators on the Double-Throw Switches Near
South San Francisco

intensely foggy and windy climate about
San Francisco bay insulators are things that
require careful watching and attention. In-
sulators made to stand a rain or wet test will
render good service in fog and wind when
they are clean, but, when dirty, their insulat-
ing quality becomes much impaired.

The heavy winter rains keep the insulators
clean a part of the year. During a dry spell
of from one to two
months so much dirt
\\i\\ have collected
on the insulators
that when they be-
come wet there will
be enough current
leak over to fire the
pole. The soft red-
wood or cedar pole
itself catches fire
much more easily
than the pine cross-
arms. \^ hen iron
pins are used, and
are s*hortened by
wire, the leakage
current may be en-
tirely bet\veen the
wires over the in-
sulators, or the leak
may be between a
wire and the ground,
and then fire the
pole. But by run-
ning the shorting wire to the ground, the pole
is thoroughly protected from such burning.
Still the leakage current is present, and, if
allowed to become large, enough, through the
wetting of the accumulated dirt by fogs or
light rains, an arc forms which either shatters
the insulator or burns the transmission wire in
hvo. In the majority of cases either of these

212

Care of High' Voltage Insulators

accidents is easier to repair than a burned First dry cloths were used in cleaning the

pole. With the iron insulator pins shorted insulators. Later it was found more effective
and grounded more current and consequently to apply gasohne on the cloths to cut the dirt
a greater accumulation of dirt and dampness and grease. But because gasoline evaporates

so quickly kerosene is now being
used with good results. The
best cleaning is with clear water
applied with a hose. All

parts are then washed off with-
out any residue being left on the
surface.

An insulator made to hold
up under all of the dirt that
will accumulate on it during a
season and have its surface so
exposed that the winter rains will
thoroughly clean it, should give
satisfactory results. The prob-
lem then presented is whether
cheaper to use small insulators

On the Pole Line Between Berkeley and Elmhurst

ill be

are required to start trouble, so that more time it wi

can be allowed between cleanings of the and pay to keep them clean or use large

insulators. The dirt accumulates

over all parts of the insulator in

an even layer. But an insulator

that has been on the line through

the winter has more dirt left on

the protected parts than on the

exposed parts where the rain has

washed some of it off.

For this reason the suspension
type of insulator is better than
the pin insulators, because in the
suspension type a larger per-
centage of the entire surface may
be washed off by the rains. The
method of supporting by a large
clamp is also probably better than by a small
tie wire on the pin insulators, because of the
difference in corona discharges from small and
large diameter surfaces.

Insulators on Switches at Petalnma

insulators which will withstand the dirt and
fogs through the summer and be automatic-
ally cleaned by the winter rains washing
them.

213

Why Does a Dog Bite a Gas Man?

By FRED B. LANGTRY, Meter Reader, Oakland District.

The Oakland Fraternity of

Honest Meter Readers was in
Saturday-night session. Every
member was bristling with im-
portance and a week-end beard.
But no one was thinking of his
own scrape; if was the piteous
phght of Brother McCrudden, who had suf-
fered a rear attack from an East Oakland
bull-pup while faced to his duty scanning
meters under a bay window.

Because of the nature of the injury the
lodge went into a committee of the whole
and extracted resolutions of condolence for
the stricken brother and cash subscriptions for
a pair of new trousers, as the punctured pants
could not be replaced with the dog's pants.

Jimmy O'Brien, "Kittie" Maddocks, and
J. Cycle Gallagher were plucked as the most
select trio to compose the Oakland Chapter
Committee for the Investigation of Wanton
Cruelty to Sincere Meter Readers. This
committee was instructed to enlist the co-oper-
ation of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children and also to appeal to
Poundmaster Zabel through the Board of
Public Works.

Brother Jerry O'Brien protested, until sub-
dued with a chair, that the pound did not
come under the Board of Public Works, as
dogs were not public works but public nuis-
ances. J. Motoritis Gallagher took the floor,
there being nothing else handy for him to
take, and declared that much depends upon
the dog; he himself had a dog he would n't
sell for ten dollars.

"I do n't care," interrupted O'Brien,
"whether the gentleman would sell his pup for
a corned beef sandwich; what I contend is
that if we do n't stop these assaults and
protect meter readers from rear attacks the

house lighting of Oakland will be seriously
handicapped. Excuse the Irish bull if I say
we meter readers are facing a stern necessity
these dog days."

Brother "Lily" Langtry suggested the use
of a hand mirror, so that meter readers might
sit down, face to the dog, back to the meter,
and read the figures while simply appearing
to be enjoying a beauty show.

"I dinna care whut ye doo," exclaimed
Brother Jack McNeil, "s'lang's the dog's
lut me alane, but I ken 't would be a gud
thing to use amooney goons."

Brother Archie Donaldson arose like a
Salvation lassie to give his testimony. He
had found music very successful as a coaxer
with savage dogs. By playing the piano at
houses where they had a comely lassie and a
cranky canine, he had been able to produce a
pleasing influence upon both the beauty and
the beast, and where there was no piano he
always used a harmonica, which he carried
in his back pocket. A dog had once bitten
him on the harmonica before he could pull
the music on it.

Brother Hennings arose to ask Brother
Donaldson if his music frightened the dogs.

"I scorn the insinuation," replied Donald-
son. "While I do n't claim to be a Paw-
derski, I may say that every dog that has
heard me play has invariably wagged his tail,
a sure sign, as even Dr. Cook and Com-
mander Peary would agree, that a dog is
pleased."

Brother Jack Colgate cited a sad instance
of the dense ignorance of the gas-consuming
masses. When he called he found an old
lady, and where should he meet her but sit-
ting in front of her meter! She declared he
need n't read it. He asked her why. She
said she had been sitting there for the past

Why Does a Dog Bite a Gas Man ?

three days watching the 10,000-foot dial,
and the hand had n't moved ; that the same
thing happened last month; and still the com-
pany had the nerve to send her a bill for
$1.35 for gas. Brother Colgate then sug-
gested that possibly some unfriendly neigh-
bor had been using her gas while she was
out in front watching the meter. This seemed
to relieve her, and instantly she declared that
Mrs. Hooligan, who lived down in the next
block, was mean enough to do anything, and
it would n't be beyond her to use the gas.
She would pay the bill this time and have
Mrs. Hooligan arrested.

This experience recital was followed by
loud and appreciative laughter — from
Brother Colgate.

Brother Billy Chocik, the "Poet Meter
Reader," then recited the following "pome":

Dogs delight lo bark and bite,

For t IS their nature to.
We do n't object to hear them bark,

But we can t endure their chew.
Now it s up to them to "cut it out,"

Or we'll notify Mulgrew!
So, all you back-yard dogs, beware

Of Colgate, Hennings, too,
Of Langtry, Donaldson, and Mc,

And when you see us, "screw! "

Or it 's Zabel with his trusty scouts

And the whizzing, sure lassoo;
And following that t will sadly be

"Amonia guns for you ! "

The Mother Goose Division reported
progress along many lines, principally street-
car lines, and submitted a quatrain for the
free kindergarten, running behind time like
this:

Hogarty, Hogarty sat on a rafter.

The plaster fell through and both feet came after!
'My! quoth the owner when the legs did appear,
"I wonder who ordered that bum chandelier! "

The fraternity then sang its business-col-
lege hymn, while the janitor stood impatiently
waiting to turn out the lights:

A bunch of gassy sports are we.

We re wise ones on the lights.
In social circles we are known

As the Meter-reader-ites.
We roam the town both up and down,

Through valley and on hill.
With dainty little pencils we

Lightly compose your bill.
So treat us nice, and chain your dogs

When we are on your street,
And then we 11 not re-tal-i-ale

With thirty-thousand feet!

What '11 I do? I can 't get that station
by wireless.

Easy; tell him, "Air 's busy."

The employee who is willing to steal for
his employer would steal from his employer.
The man who would be tricky for you would
be tricky with you when he got a good
chance.

The power of amber to attract hair, straw,
and dry leaves was first noted by the Greeks
2,230 years ago, and from the Greek word
for amber came the word electricity. But
it remained for Dr. Gilbert of Colchester,
England, physician to Queen Elizabeth, prac-
tically to found the science of electricity about
320 years ago. Old Dr. Gilbert would n't
recognize it now.

215

cAn Automatic Governor Pump Control

B\) I. B. ADAMS, Acting Superintendent Colgate Power Division.

The device illustrated here-
with and described is an auto-
matic governor pump control that
has been working successfully for
the past three months on a 4-inch
by 6-inch Lombard triplex pump

I n, A.iaiiis 1 /^ I 1

at the Colgate power house.
The mechanism is operated from the
pressure tank of the governor system. It con-
sists of a pressure gauge and a primary bat-
tery. The battery operates a relay trip coil,
which actuates the main switch on the gov-

ernor pump motor circuit, either starting up
or shutting down the motor.

One lead of this primary battery is
grounded to the frame of the pressure gauge.
The other lead is connected to two insulated
contacts on the dial of the pressure gauge.
The insulated contacts are placed at 145°
and 185°, thus giving the needle a range of
40°.

I Editorial Note: — This device was designed by
I. B. Adams.]

To prevent the primary battery from run-
ning down, an automatic circuit breaker is
provided on the main switch, and it opens the

circuit closed by the pointer of the pressure
gauge.

If the relay trip coils become stuck and
do not operate the signal lamps light up, call-
ing the operator's attention to the trouble.

The object in creating this device was
to reduce the wear on the pump. Whenever
the plant is not governing the governor stays

urt To^J^ t,f eo^ Sy*

216

Meetings of Managers and Superintendents

in one position for hours at a time, and the fully 65 per cent, of the time. It would

pump goes on running contmuously. But therefore appear that the lifetime of a pump

since this device has been installed on the might be more than doubled by the contmuous

governing system the pump remains shut down use of such a device.

Meetings of Managers and Superintendents

THE fifth regular meetmg of the associa-
tion of district managers of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company was held at the
Hotel Rafael in San Rafael the 28th of
August, and included a forenoon and an
afternoon session, separated by a luncheon
at a long table in the hotel and followed late
in the afternoon by an impromptu baseball
game on a vacant lot near the railway station
while waiting for a train. The business dis-
cussions were interesting, instructive, and
diversified. Thirty managers and company
officers were present and seven absent.

The sixth regular meeting was held in the
assembly room of the San Francisco head-
quarters building September 24th, a day in
advance of the original plan, in order to take
advantage of the fact that many of the dis-
trict managers had come to town earlier for
the sessions of the Pacific Coast Gas Asso-
ciation. The unfinished business of the San
Rafael meeting was concluded, and the sev-
enth regular meeting of the district managers
was set for Chico, Saturday, the 1 3th of
November.

The fourth regular meeting of the com-
pany's division superintendents was held at
Marysville the night of the I I th of Septem-
ber, all being present. The session, in
the office of the Marysville power division.

was a coatless affair, but, despite the warm
weather, was not concluded till near mid-
night, although Chairman P. M. Downing
and Superintendent Finely of the Sacramento
division and Wescott of the Sacramento sup-
ply station had hurried away about 1 0
o'clock by the first train going to Sacramento
after they received warning of some trouble
at the Sacramento substation.

The division superintendents left Marys-
ville early Sunday morning, accompanied by
Fred George, chief load dispatcher, G. H.
Bragg of the operation and maintenance engi-
neering department, and the editor of the
magazine, and went by electric train to Oro-
ville and thence by special train on the West-
ern Pacific's new line as far as Big Bend,
the site on the Feather river of the large
hydro-electric plant of the Great Western
Power Company, from which the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company buys a large
amount of supplementary power. The trip
was instructive, the weather was hot, and
there was nothing to eat from early breakfast
at Marysville till late supper after the return
to Marysville.

The superintendents declared themselves in
favor of challenging the division managers to
a baseball match at the earliest joint meeting
of the two associations.

217

" Practical Mathematics

ALL who have studied mathematics in
the conventional way will appreciate
the truth of the following quotations, which
are from the pen of that pioneer of engineer-
ing mathematics. Professor John Perry, whose
little book, herewith discussed, covers the
essential mathematics that the average engi-
neer will use in his daily work.

"The average boy is taught many sub-
jects in water-tight compartments, whereas he
ought to learn all subjects as if they were one.

"When calculating from observed quanti-
ties, it is dishonest to use more figures than
we are sure of.

"Mathematical symbols are merely a very
easy form of shorthand; they usually instruct
us to perform certain arithmetical operations.

"Elementary algebra is made difficult by
the mere statement of rules. Why should
any fuss be made over addition, subtraction,
and multiplication? Why, anybody who has
used a formula with brackets knows these
things already.

"Tell a boy about ghosts, and the simplest
things become complex and mysterious. Tell
a boy that he is sure to find difficulty with
simple algebra, and of course he finds great
difficulty with a problem that would be quite
easy if you told him it was easy.

[A student should] "practice using all
sorts of formulae, so that he shall cease to
be afraid when he sees one. Of course, there
may be some bit of shorthand, some symbol,
which has not yet been explained to him, but
he ought to know that there is nothing magical
or uncanny about it. I might call any one
of them a rule and so create difficulty, but
indeed there is only one way with them all.

"The average man who has worked
through many rules in complex arithmetic, and
algebra, and engineering, very quickly for-
gets them all, except the one or two that he
constantly needs. It is only a teacher who
remembers hundreds of rules. But if at the
beginning a man knows that his rules are all
one rule ; that all his separate rules are mere
examples of one general principle, he never
can forget it, for every common-sense calcu-
lation that he makes only fixes the general
principle firmly in his mind.

"Have you not noticed that a great man
has only a few simple principles, on which to
regulate all his actions? A great engineer
keeps in his head just a few simple methods
of calculation. But note that through con-
stant practice these simple principles or meth-
ods are always ready for use in his mind.
It may be that an expert may be quicker or
neater in working some one kind of problem,
but however clumsy or tedious may be the
great man's method of working the problem,
he gets the right answer, and he has no mis-
giving as he writes it out."

Perry, like most engineering teachers,
found that the majority of his students had
been taught their mathematics by mathemati-
cians who looked upon their subject from the
viewpoint of pure mathematics, rather than
with a view to practical application in engi-
neering. This condition is most noticeable
in the case of the Calculus. The writer has
a vivid recollection of a hard course in dif-
ferential equations rendered necessary by a
single equation in alternating current theory
which was not covered in the regular courses
as usually given in the Calculus. Perry, ap-
preciating the importance of the proper teach-
ing of the calculus, wrote his book "Calculus
for Engineers." It is a book which has made
the subject clear to many who, though they
studied calculus in college, seldom derive
from the collegiate course a working or prac-
tical knowledge. The usual result is that
students early learn that the easiest way to
get over an equation involving the Calculus
is to take it for granted, or get someone else
to solve it for them.

Perry's book on the Calculus approached
the subject from a different viewpoint, and
on the assumption that there was nothing dif-
ficult in the subject. He showed that when
properly handled it was a most valuable tool
for engineers. His book is practical in every
sense, and every principle is illustrated with
practical problems. It eliminates as much

218

Practical Mathematics"

as possible those general theorems which ap-
pear to the student to be introduced simply
for the amount of work they entail, and seem
to have no practical purpose in after life.

Calculus today is taught in many of the
engmeermg schools by engineers rather than
by mathematicians. The result is that the stu-
dents learn the application and necessity of
this very powerful instrument that is placed
at their service; and, having learned its use,
they do not hesitate to use it.

Perry realized that his treatment of the
Calculus could be applied to the more ele-
mentary mathematics. He developed a
course in which the study of mathematics is
treated in a similar way, and without the mys-
tery and catch problems which seem to be so
necessary to the authors of the text-books
now in use.

Following up this work, some ten years
ago Perry delivered a course of lectures to
working men on the subject of "Practical
Mathematics." These lectures were given
under the auspices of the British Board of
Education. They were so successful that
they have been rewritten, and the British
Board of Education has published them in
book form, for sale at a nominal price. The
quotations at the beginning of this article are
from the first few pages of the book. The
six lectures cover an introduction which ex-
plains the slide rule and its principle and other
things, and deals with algebra, the use of
squared [co-ordinate] paper, and vectors.
Three of the lectures are devoted to squared
paper, and include some of the important
principles of the Calculus. With each lecture
there is a number of suggestive examples,
with their answers.

It is not to be imagined, of course, that a
brief exposition of the subject, such as is
given in Professor Perry's lectures, is con-
templated to take the place of a mathematical
education. This book will, however, give to
those who have not had the opportunity to
study mathematics a chance to get a working

knowledge of the essentials that it is very
difficult to obtain otherwise.

The writer feels that it is to the advantage
of any body employed in engineering work,
whether he be an operator or a superintendent,
to obtain a copy of this book and go through
it carefully. To those engineers who have
studied mathematics it will form an interest-
ing review of the work they have done. I
believe it will show them some simple mathe-
matical applications that they have not here-
tofore been familiar with or that they have
forgotten. The writer has read the book
with much interest and benefit to himself, and
feels that he is justified in recommending it
to all employees in the engineering depart-
ments of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany.

.'^ince this view of mathematics was put for-
ward by Professor Perry, it has received the
attention of other writers, and several books
have been published on the subject. It is
now included in the regular curricula of a
number of technical schools in England.

The published price of the book is nomi-
nal. It can be obtained for about 26 cents,
including postage. F. \'. T. L.

"Practical Mathematics, Summary of Six Lectures
Delivered by Professor John Perry, D. Sc."

Published by Wyman & Sons, Fetter Lane, Lon-
don, E. C, 1907. Price, including postage, 26 cents.

He wanted to know how long girls should
be courted, and the reply from the query
editor read thus: "Same as short girls."

A good way to keep flies out of a room is
to saturate small cloths with oil of sassafras
and lay the cloths on the windowsills. The
flies will give you absent treatment right away.

In Korea and India it is not customary for
a woman to see her husband until they are
married ; in a country more familiar to most
of us it is not customary for a woman to
see her husband after they are married.

!1!)

Oakland Gas Men on Parade

GIVEN a beautiful silver loving cup as
third prize, the gas men employed by
the Oakland Gas Light and Heat Company,
a subsidiary branch of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, led the second half of the
first division in Oakland's Labor Day parade
early in September, and received special com-

J. Aldride, H. D. Cahill, C. G. Christian-
son, T. Devine, A. F. Derrick, A. Franco,

F. Gordo, J. Kearney, Chas. Hoffman, F.

G. Gustafson, A. M. Gunnison, E. H. Hal-
nan, T. Kelley, W. J. King, H. Keegan.
J. M. Lowe, S. Lucie, E. Lockwood, N.
Sendice, F. C. Lowe, D. McHugh, M.

Some of the Gas Men and Their Float

mendation from the committee for their gen-
eral appearance.

Following a military band of sixteen
pieces came this gas brigade, forty-one from
the manufacturing department— gas makers,
gas makers' helpers, repair men, repair men's
helpers, and purifying men; then twenty-eight
from the service department — pipe men,
caulkers, yarners, ditch men, and others; then
fifty-six from the meter department — meter
repair men, meter repair men's helpers, meter
setters and helpers, complaint men, and
others ; and finally eight statement men.

Those in the manufacturing department
each carried a small gas balloon; they were:

Marks, P. Marke, A. McGill, M. O'Hara.
V. Polleta, D. Riordan, N. Rossi, V. Razo-
vitch, J. Razovitch, D. Razono, H. Sher-
mantine, C. Scriven, A. J. Sheerin, E. Thie-
man, J. W. Toole, F. Vogelsang, R. H.
Wells, George West, George Warren, H.
Aldridge.

The service department men each carried
a three-quarter-inch pipe painted red and hav-
ing two handholds an equal distance apart
and painted white. They were: Jas. Hal-
nan, Jas. Kirk, E. McKinney, M. Augusta,
S. Belford, J. Casey, P. Curley, T. Devine,
A. W. Davidson, T. Davey, R. Green, L.
R. Gilbert, J. Haggerty, J. C. Hitchcock,

220

Oakland Gas Men on Parade

J. Innes, P. Hughes, J. P. Jones, A. J.
Kallstron, P. Kenefick, P. Lucy, C. L.
Lewis, D. F. McCarthy, Chas. McCarthy,
M. McSweeny, M. McWiHiams, Jas. Phair,
Elmer McKinney.

Each of the men from the meter depart-
ment carried a three-Hght meter on his back
knapsack-fashion. They were: W. Blakely,
Jas. Bryan, T. Curran, T. Conroy, H. Cum-
iskey, J. DeWitt, S. English, A. Glavin, J.
Glavin, H. Hoffman, W. J. Knapp, T. Le-
Fort, J. J. O'Byrne, R. Richter, Wm. Slat-
tery, Geo. Smith, J. Thompson, Jas. Short,
Jas. Varley, R. Windon, F. Weber, Wm.
Ward, Chas. Schaeffer, W. Slauterback, P.

Edwards, J. Shannon, Geo. Brown, P. Brady,
Wm. Chambers, A. E. Coleman, L. Ellison,
R. Fulton, Thos. Hainan, W. E. Hogarty,

A. Hess, Geo. Hertle, F. Jacobs, J. Lind,
J. J. Long, C. Lasswell, J. McCrudden, L.

B. Marshall, J. Minikello, Jas. A. Martin,
J. J. O'Brien. J. Orbell, Geo. Price, J.
Roche, W. Ramsell, P. C. Smith, H. Sousa,
Wm. Scales, W. Smith. A. Schraeder, H.
Votaw, W. Weeks.

The statement takers each carried a state-
ment book. They were: A. Ballard, A.
donelson, J. Colgate, J. K. Maddocks, M.
N. Hennings, J. McNeil. F. Langtry, D.
P. McCarthy.

Some doctors say the skin of fruit is health-
ful and should always be eaten. Guess they
were n't thinking of pineapples.

Teacher — Construct a sentence using "in-
disposition."

Pupil — The body was found in dis posi-
tion.

He looked sad, and the best man, meaning
to be friendly and keep every one jolly at
the joyful wedding, accosted him. "I say,
have you kissed the bride?" he inquired.
"Not lately," replied the sad one, with a
far-away look.

P. M. Downing was preoccupied with a
terrapin stew when S. J. Lisberger interrupted
him with the query: "About how many
men work in his department?"

'Bout two-thirds of 'em," came the
reply mumbled through a mouthful of small
bones.

Late in September construction was begun
on a six-mile power line of three wires from
the Colgate power house to Indian Ranch to
supply power there for the operation of the
California Mother Lode Mining Company.

The Fresno Republican contained a
lengthy article the 2 1 st of September an-
nouncing that T. W. Patterson, a local bank
president, was back of a project for bringing
electric power into Fresno by having an
eighty-mile extension line built from the near-
est power line of the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.

The contract for lighting the city of Oak-
land was awarded September 1 6th to the
Oakland Gas Light and Heat Company on
its bid of $6.30 a month for each arc light.
One of the city councilmen wanted a rebate
to the city for moonlit nights, but Manager
Leach showed that the company had already
refunded the city $5,000 to prevent a city
deficit, and that this amount was greater than
the rebate asked.

221

Reclaiming the San Joaquin Delta Lands

B\) S. V. WALTON, Manager Commercial Department.

In the early spring of the

year 1905 a representative of the
California Gas and Electric Cor-
poration, who has since resigned,
was traveling on the Santa Fe
railroad from San Francisco to
Stockton. Let him be known as
R. U. Wise. The train stopped at Orwood,
a small station where the track crosses the
old channel of the San Joaquin river. Or-
wood is at the centre of a large area of over-
flowed land which was then just beginning
to be reclaimed.

Four well-dressed and apparently well-to-
do men got on the train. They happened to
take seats across the aisle from R. U. Wise.

nearest him, asked if they had ever considered
operating their pumping plants by electric
power. No ; they had not, because no elec-
tric distributing lines were built in that local-
ity. R. U. Wise volunteered the information
that some company — the name of which he
could not recall — had a transmission line
running from Stockton to San Francisco, and
this line crossed the San Joaquin river, not
far from Stockton, on large steel towers.
Looking out of the window to the south at
that moment they noticed the towers in the
distance.

"Well, that line must run near our prop-
erty," observed the reclamation man. "But
we could n't be supplied from that, as the
power all goes to San Fran-
cisco. Any way, the price
would probably be so high that
we could n't afford to use it."

Wise asked if the fuel oil
for the pumping plant was not
being purchased from the Stand-
ard Oil Company. Yes. He
then remarked that he believed
the oil company operated it?
plant at Point Richmond by
electric power secured from that
very line.

This brought forth a remark
from another of the four recla-
mation men to the effect that
R. U. Wise must be wrongly
advised ; the Standard Oil Com-
AU four were engaged in earnest conversa- pany could not afford to purchase power
tion. The gist of their discourse was that the when it could so cheaply generate it by the
large pumping plants located on the reclaimed use of its own fuel, of which it had an un-
land were closed down owing to the non- limited quantity. Wise replied that the oil
arrival of a barge of fuel oil for the steam company must necessarily value its oil at the
engines. price for which the oil could be sold, and

After a few minutes R. U. Wise leaned would probably adopt any method that would
across the aisle and, speaking to the man secure power at a less rate than the selling

The Orwood 200-Horsepower Pumping Plant

Reclaiming the San Joaquin Delta Lands

price of oil. The four reclamation men as-
sented that this was logical, and asked where
they could see a representative of the electric
company and be properly advised as to the
cost of obtaining electric power.

A few days later two of the four reclama-
tion men, while leaving the old San Francisco
office of the California Gas and
Electric Corporation in the Ri-
alto building, happened to meet
R. U. Wise, and were some-
what surprised to learn that he
was an employee of the power
company. They said that they
had just signed contracts for
electric power for operating their
pumping plants.

During the summer of 1905
that electric transmission line
was extended to the west side
of the Orwood tract. A sub-
station was established, and in
it were installed transformers
for reducing the voltage from
60,000 to 1 0,000. At this de-
creased voltage it was decided
to supply the various pumping
plants. Each pumping plant had
to have transformers for further
reducing the current to 440 volts,
and at that voltage each motor was supplied.

The 1 0,000-volt distributing lines were
extended during the summer and fall of 1905
an aggregate distance of about ten miles, to
supply the pumping plants on the Orwood,
Palms, Woodward, Victoria, Upper Jones,
and Lower Jones tracts. This meant an
additional total of 600 horsepower. During
the four years since electric power was first

plants, with a total of 1 ,000 horsepower in
motor capacity. To supply these the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company began building
this summer about twenty miles more of dis-
tributing line.

The use of electric power for the opera-
tion of pumping plants in reclamation districts

Cheap Transportation on the San Joaquin

has, for two reasons, been a very large factor
in the industry of reclaiming overflowed lands.
First, because of the reliability of electric
power, the consumer never having to await
the arrival of an oil barge and meantime sadly
watch the water rise over his crops while he
figured out what his losses would be; and
second, the cheapness of electric power, both

as to operation and maintenance of the pump-
supplied to these islands the lines have been ing plants. The installation cost is also some-
further extended, until now there is a total what less than that of a gasoline plant and a

of approximately thirty miles of 1 0,000-volt
distributing lines, supplying a total of sixteen
pumping plants, in which there is installed
1,715 horsepower in motors. In addition
to these there are under contract six more

great deal less than that of a steam plant.
First cost is a thing to be considered, but the
fact that electric power is always available
when required is by far the most important
consideration in its favor.

223

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

x^SS&L'j

In addition to the plant required
for the regular pumping several of
the larger tracts are equipped with
emergency plants. These are to
be used only in time of flood or in
case of excessive seepage, due to
long-continued high water in the
river. The surface of the water
in the river during the flood season
is from six to ten feet higher than
the level of these reclaimed lands.
In the district there are two or
three floating steam plants which

Map of San Joaquin Delta Lands

Imindiited Section Indicated by Diagonal Lines

224

Reclaiming the San Joaquin Delta Lands

After the fire is extinguished the levee is
repaired, and the tract is again pumped out.

When a tract has been drained and its
tule burned off it is plowed up and left to
lie fallow for that season. The next year
the ground is worked over and the first crop,
usually potatoes, is planted. In addition to
potatoes the principal crops grown in this
reclaimed district are asparagus, celery, and
barley. Hemp has also been tried during
the past year, and seems to be a paying crop.
Because the various tracts are bounded, at
least on one side, by the San Joaquin river
or one of its branches, the problem of trans-
Inside View of 200-Horsepower Pumping Plant portation is a simple one. It is only neces-

3G inch centrifugal pump driven by a 200 horsepower Sary for the farmer tO haul his Crop tO a land-

induction motor, throwing:
minute

50,000 gallons of watc

ing on the river bank, where it is picked up by
a steamer. There is a large number of
can be moved to any tract where an unusual these river boats going through the districts
amount of pumping is required for a short on their way between Stockton and San
time. These movable plants are complete, Francisco. The Santa Fe railroad also runs
with engine and pumps and pipe of sufficient through the district. A large part of the
length for crossing the levees. products of these river islands is hauled to

There are four stages in the reclamation the nearest tule-land railway station and

of these overflowed lands. First, a dredger
goes around the tract throwing up a levee
to keep the water out. Second, a small
dredger, called a ditcher, cuts the tracts up
into sections, the ditches being so run that
they will drain to one point, where a sump
is dredged out from which the water of the
tract is pumped into the river or into a
slough. Third, the pumping plant is installed
at the sump, and pumping is then started to
drain the main ditches. Fourth, men are
now put to work digging by hand small,
straight drainage ditches emptying into the
various main ditches. By the time this ditch
work is done the land is pretty well drained.
As soon as the top of the ground dries out
then the tule, which grows thickly to a height
of several feet all over the land, is burned off.
It sometimes happens that the peat land itself
gets on fire. It will burn for days unless
put out by flooding. In order to flood the
land it is necessary to cut open the levee.

loaded into freight cars for transportation
to distant markets.

This reclaimed San Joaquin river land is
owned chiefly by large companies and leased

A Dredger Throwing Up a Levee

225

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

out in farms of from one hundred to several
thousand acres to Japanese and Chinese ten-
ants. George Shima, a Japanese known as
the "Potato King," is the largest single ten-
ant; he has leased several thousand acres
from the Rindge and the Empire Navigation
Company. In some cases he pays as high as
$19.50 an acre yearly rental, and the crops
must be profitable, as he is reputed to have
made a fortune and owns a handsome home

A Main Drainage Ditch

in the most fashionable part of Berkeley, near
the state university campus.

The pumping plants on the several tracts
are used for the purpose of irrigation as well
as for reclamation. The irrigation process is
a reverse of the usual method. For the most
part the land is below the level of the water
in the river. So water for irrigation purposes
can be let in by gravity. This is done by
using a large pipe reaching over the levee.
The water is siphoned across the embank-
ment into the ditches, and thence it percolates
through the land, which is very porous, owing
to the peat formation. If allowed to remain,
this water would cause the land to sour and
destroy the crops. So it is necessary to pump

the water off the land almost as fast as it
is siphoned on to it.

The two chief enemies of the farmer of
these reclaimed swamp lands are floods and
fires. The farmer has protected himself
against floods by large levees thrown up at
great expense by big dredgers and by install-
ing powerful pumping plants. Even then the
water sometimes gets the advantage and de-
stroys the crops. The danger from fires is
less, and the fires can always be put out by
flooding the land. But, in flooding, the
"cure IS about as bad as the disease." When
there is a peat fire the ditches surrounding
that particular section are rapidly filled with
water. This usually confines the fire to a
small area where it burns itself out in a few
days. The loss by flooding that section is
less than would be the loss by flooding the
whole tract. But there have been several
instances where the fire could not be stopped
simply by the water in the surrounding ditches,
and it spread, and the crops were ruined on
hundreds of acres. This happened in 1 906
on the Upper Jones tract after the potatoes
had been dug and sacked ; the entire crop
was destroyed.

The attention of the federal government
has been attracted during the past few years
to the reclamation of the San Joaquin and
Sacramento delta lands. Lieutenant-Colonel
Biddle and Captain Jackson are now prepar-
ing a comprehensive report that will imply
government aid in the reclamation of the
entire district. If this government plan be
carried out there will be saved for the people
thousands of acres of the most fertile and pro-
ductive land within the boundaries of the
United States.

A Holey Wsdstl

His nose was red a week or t\vo.
Because it got a tweak or two.
After he tried a peek or two
At lovely spots of pinkish hue
Showing through a "peek-a-boo.

22(1

Under ihis title each month nill he published hand^ formulae, simple practical methods, and time-saving
ways for doing things that have to he done in the day's ivorl(. Thus may all in the employ of the company
come to benefit someivhat from the combined l(nov>ledge and experience of the individuals.

Linear Expansion of Steel

By F. V. T. LEE. Assistant General Manager.

using a maximum and minimum recording
thermometer, such as can be obtained in
almost any town. The metal back was re-
A convenient and closely approximate moved, a string tied to the wooden scale on
rule, and one which may be readily remem- which the glass tube is mounted, and the ther-
bered, for determining the linear expansion of mometer then lowered by the string into the
steel due to change of temperature is that for transformer oil until it was completely sub-
each 100 feet and 100 F. temperature the merged. It was placed close to the coils of
expansion null be .75 inch, approximately). the transformer and left there over night, and

Example: Steam pipe 125 feet long, range of
temperature change 410° F. Required, the linear

expansion.
Answer

l.25X4.10X.75=3.84 inches.

The coefficient of expansion of steel

in some cases a week. When the ther-
mometer was removed the maximum tempera-
ture reached by the oil during the period
could be readily ascertained. This tempera-
ture was a measure of the sustained overload

usually given as .0000065 expressed in feet carried by the transformer, and, in fact, a
for each foot of length and degree (F.) of direct measure of the dangerous overload,
temperature change. Applying this to the for it is the excessive temperature caused by

overload which does the damage in a trans-
former.

The oil is never quite so hot as the coils

example given, we have

125X4I0X.0000065=.333 feet=3.99 inches

From the foregoing it will be noted that
the error introduced by the approximate
method is within 4 per cent, and probably
accurate enough for all ordinary purposes.

Testing Transformers for
Overload

and core of a transformer, so allowance
should be made for this in considering the
temperature of the oil. The writer estimated
that if the temperature of the oil was above
180 F. more transformer capacity was
needed, and he was governed accordingly.

This system of testing worked out so well
that at regular intervals readings were taken
on all the transformers where there was any

By C. E. SEDGWICK, Commercial Department

In operating transformers on poles of a question as to their overload

distributing system it may become desirable

to learn if a transformer is at any time sub
jected to dangerous overload. This informa

tion can be obtained in a variety of ways,

more or less laborious and tedious, provided The headquarters of the San Jose district

the necessary instruments are at hand. were moved October I st to offices in the

The writer, when operating, did not have Alexandria building on South Second street,

these instruments, so he hit upon the idea of a more central location.

Do n't expect to be paid overtime for
dreaming about your work at night.

227

American Institute of Electrical Engineers

Bu S. J. I ISBERGER, Secretary San Francisco Section A. 1. E. E.

The American Institute of

Electrical Engineers is twenty-
five years old, has more than
6,000 members, nearly 5,000
of them m the United States,
about 300 in the rest of North
,is .rj;,.r America, and about 800 m
other foreign countries.

Its San Francisco section is composed of
263 meinbers in California, thirty-six of
whom are in the employ of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company.

This San Francisco section has regular
end-of-the-month meetings, generally the last
Friday, but in September the assemblage was
earlier because of the presence of notable
visitors.

1 he institute had commis-
sioned its veteran secretary,
Ralph W. Pope of New
York, who has held the of-
fice for a quarter of a century,
to journey to the Seattle fair
and there attend the sessions
of the water conservation congress and later
visit the western sections of the electrical insti-
tute. Secretary Pope came to San Francisco
accompanied by Charles F. Scott, a past
president of the institute and chief engineer
of the Westinghouse Company at Pittsburg,
and Paul M. Lincoln, one of the institute's
vice-presidents, and also an engineer of the
Westinghouse Company at Pittsburg.

The night of September 15th these three

San Francisco Section of American Institute of Electrical Engineers
228

American Institute of Electrical Engineers

Less Style but More Appetite

A Colgate flume-repair crew at Rottey's Point, high
above the Yuba river. Under the iioor is the rushing
water of the mammoth flume that clings along the
mountain side for eight miles

official visitors were given a dinner by the
past and present officers of the San Fran-
cisco section, and the next night they were
the guests at a dinner given by the San
Francisco section. Fhe accompanying illus-
tration is from a flashlight photograph taken
at the second dinner, which was attended by
a good many of the members that are in the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Who
the company's members are is shown in the
following alphabetical list:

Henry Bosch, of the construction depart-
ment; George Bragg, of the operation de-
partment; R. C. Bragg, of the Redwood
district; John A. Britten, vice-president and
general manager; A. H. Burnett, superin-
tendent of the South Tower power division;
J. R. Carl, of the Electra power division;
C. D. Clark, superintendent of the North
Tower power division; F. T. Clarke, of the
operation department; Paul M. Downing,
engineer of hydro-electric operation and
maintenance; W. E. Eskew, superintendent
of the Electra power division; W. E. Finely,
superintendent of the Sacramento power di-
vision ; Lester Flagg, of the Electra power

division ; C. R. Gill, superintendent of elec-
tric distribution at Sacramento; John O. Han-
sen, superintendent of the San Jose power
division; A. L. Harris, of the electric distri-
bution department ; George C. Holberton,
engineer of electric distribution; R. J.
Hughes, of the construction department; A.
V. Joslin, of the Oakland power division;
Otto Knopp, of the electric meter depart-
ment; F. V. T. Lee, assistant general mana-
ger; S. J. Lisberger, engineer of electric dis-
tribution; John Martin, a director in the
company; J. H. McDougal, of the electric
meter department; C. E. Sedgewick, of the
commercial department; L. H. Newbert,
manager of the Redwood district; H. C.
Parker, of the President's office; R. C.
Powell, of the electric distribution depart-
ment at Oakland; A. J. Ramstad, of the
electric distribution department; George
Robb, superintendent of supplies; Paul Ship-
ley, of the Sacramento district; A. J. Thies.
of the electric distribution department; J. O.
Toby, of the Sacramento district; F. H.
Varney, engineer of gas engine operation and
maintenance ; Chester Warren, of the oper-
ation and maintenance department; Charles
J. Wilson, superintendent of electric distribu-
tion at Oakland, and C. E. Young, superin-
tendent of the Marysville power division.

0'. Danuer and Bob Treaor, Colgate Power Plant
Operators, Panning Out S-18 in Two Days on the
Yuba Kiver, 300 Feet Above the Power House

New Contracts for Electric Current

By S. V. WALTON, Manager Commercial Department.

A CONTRACT was recently closed swimming tank and amusement park on the
with the Bucket Gravel Mining Com- Riverside Road, just south of Sacramento,
pany for supplying electric service in the on an extension of the Sacramento railway
Oroville district to a new type of gold system, which is owned by the Pacific Gas
dredger invented by Gunn, the mining com- and Electric Company. Light and power
pany's general manager. This new style
dredger is a dry-land affair, moving on skids.
Its cost was only $1 0,000, while gold dredg-
ers operated as huge flatboats cost $100,000
each. This dredger on skids has been in
operation for about two months, and it
promises to be a great success. High aurifer-
ous gravel land that has heretofore been con-
sidered not dredgable, because water could

for this swimming tank and amusement park
are being furnished by the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company. The water for the swim-
ming tank is pumped from wells, and it is
necessary to work the pumps fifteen hours
a day.

A contract has been closed covering ser-
vice to a 1 00-horsepower pumping plant on
the Franks Reclamation Tract in Contra
not flow to it, will become of great value for Costa County. This plant had been oper-

dredging purposes through the use of this
skid-type dredger.

The mining business of the new Alleghany
district in Sierra county has received a great
stimulus from the fact that the Middle Yuba
Hydro-Electric Power Company has entered
that field, and will sell power to the mines.
This power is generated by the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company and is furnished to the
Middle Yuba company under contract, the
initial demand calling for 1 ,000 horsepower.

The California Wine Association, which
lias been operating a steam plant in its Napa
winery, recently contracted with the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company for electric
power to supplant steam. The winery found
electric power would be superior to steam
for its operations, even though steam was
still necessary about the plant for wash-
ing and for antiseptic purposes. But it was
found that the steam so used could be

ated by a steam engine for several years
past. But the trustees of the district became
convinced that electric power was cheaper
than steam and invested several thousand
dollars to make the change.

The trustees of Reclamation District No.
548, known as the Terminus Tract, m San
Joaquin County, have signed, a contract for
300 horsepower. They have been operating
with steam, but have decided that electric
power IS cheaper for their purposes.

The Kennedy Extension Mine, which is
located in the Jackson mining district, adja-
cent to the well-known Argonaut mine, Ama-
dor County, has recently been reopened and
has contracted for electric power for the
operation of the plant. This property is con-
sidered very valuable, and the owners are
introducing a very expensive and up-to-date
installation.

The Gold Bar Dredging Company, which

liandled at a very low pressure and at a very is operating a large gold dredger on Butte
-small cost compared with the high-pressure Creek, about three miles below the Center-
steam required for running engines. ville power house, is meeting with great suc-
The Sacramento Riverside Park and cess in the operation of its dredger. This
Amusement Company has constructed a large Butte-Creek field was prospected several

230

New Contracts for Electric Current

y^^^i

years ago by W. P. Hammond, but, while he
found gold values far greater than those in
the Oroville and Yuba-river districts, he
decided not to install a dredger, owing to the
presence of so many large boulders, which
his type of dredger boat was unable to
handle successfully. The dredger operated
by the Gold Bar company is moving these
boulders satisfactorily, and the amount of
gold being saved is very much greater than
that obtamed in the Oroville and Yuba-river
districts. The Gold Bar company has sev-
eral hundred acres of ground and will prob-
ably soon install other dredgers.

The Standard American Dredging Com-
pany, which has been operatmg at Stockton,
dredging the Stockton channel between the
city of Stockton and the San Joaquin
river, a distance of about two miles, has

moved its large, electrically-operated suction
dredge to Mare Island for the purpose of
dredging the approach to the government's
new million-and-a-half-dollar drydock, which
has just been completed by the Scofield Con-
struction Company. The dredger will also
dredge out the channel between Mare Island
and Vallejo, so that large battleships can
approach the pier at the island navy yard.

The firm of Levi Strauss & Company,
which for a great many years has been oper-
ating its overall and shirt manufacturing
plant in San Francisco, recently equipped a
manufacturing plant in San Jose, all the ma-
chinery being operated by electricity. The
firm is experimenting with the labor problem,
and if it find labor conditions agreeable in
San Jose it will remove all of its manufactur-
ing plants to that city.

A German scientist is privately experiment-
ing with a process for electrifying land by
means of underground wires from a 250,000
volt plant, the idea being, it is claimed, to
induce soil conditions that will do away with
the necessity of fertilizers and will produce
big crop yields.

Secretary Snow of the state board of
health, in inquiring recently into the causes
of typhoid at Lincoln, Placer county, con-
demned the well at the high school and other
wells in that town, indicated what precautions
should be taken, and incidentally declared
the water brought in by ditch from the
mountains much better than the water from
town wells. The water ditch referred to is that
of the South Yuba Water Company, owned
by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

According to careful measurement records
kept at the bridge across the Yuba river at
Marysville since 1873 it now appears that
the Yuba river at that point is really scouring
a deeper channel. In 1873 the low-water
reading was considered as zero. By 1 880
the bed of the river had so filled up that
the low -water reading was up to 6 feet; by
1 890 the channel had slightly washed out,
making the reading only 5 feet and 1 0
inches; by 1900 it had again filled in till
the reading was 7 feet 4 inches; by 1905
it had filled in more, till the reading was 9
feet I inch; but in 1908 it had washed out
again and left the reading only 8 feet 4
inches; and in 1909 the scouring process had
deepened the channel further, till the reading
was only 6 feet 4 inches, showing a deepen-
ing of two feet in one year.

231

H. C. Vensano, a civil engineer in the
construction department, and Miss Teresa
Cassinelli were married August 25th.

George Scarfe, division superintendent at
Nevada City, and reputed to be the most
daring automobile driver in all that mountain
section, is interested with several other men
J. H. Wise, civil and hydraulic engineer at Nevada City in constructing an aeroplane.

for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
building a new home in the Elmwcod Park
tract of Berkeley.

Fred Mason, a lineman in the Yuba river
district, and Miss Alicia Wark, a telephone
operator of Marysville, were married at
Smartsville September I I th.

Alfred N. Warburton of the draughting
department of the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company and Miss Emma D. Smith of the
Pacific States Telephone Company were
married August 1 2th.

But if he runs the flying machine with the
dare-devil speed that characterizes his auto
driving, his friends predict that it will not be
long before they are saying, "Poor George!
He is flymg with the angels now."

S. V. Walton, manager of the commer-
cial department, surrendered the supremacy
of his home October 5th to a younger rival,
who arrived there at I 0 o'clock that morning
and measured and weighed fully up to the steep and waterless hills,
standard for a healthy infant boy.

The Petaluma Argus of September 1 6th
contained an article on the arrival there Sun-
day morning of Joe D. Butler, a veteran
athlete of the San Francisco Gas and Elec-
tric Company, past 55 years of age.

He walked all the way from El Verano to
Petaluma, eighteen miles, before breakfast, to
visit his friend, Flerman Weber, manager of
the Petaluma district, and right after break-
fast started back on foot by the road, sixteen
miles, as his friends dissuaded him from trying
to follow the company's pole line over the

Thomas Stephens, first operator at Marys-
ville substation, became the proud father of
a bouncing boy August 1 4th. He declares
he will make young bouncer president of
the company or break him in as an operator ;
it all depends on whether the boy takes to
ladders or poles.

A. H. Burnett, the giant acting superin-
tendent at the south tower substation at
Richmond, and P. M. Downing, engineer
of hydro-electric operation and maintenance,
were classmates at Stanford and played on
the same varsity football team seventeen years
ago. In their college days they were "Ox"
Burnett and "Phat" Downing.

Frank H. Varney, engineer of steam and
gas engine operation and maintenance, had a
birthday the I 5th of September and was on
that day presented with a very unusual gift.
The present weighed eight and one-tenth
pounds. It is the very latest thing in Varney
type. Class Al, autocratic, self-feeding,
"governor" attachments, and in the Varney
catalogue is styled Frank H. Varney, Jr.
Since the arrival of the new boarder the Var-
neys have commenced the erection of a cozy
home at Green and Leavenworth streets,
where little Frank may have all the advan-
tages of a splendid marine view and early
develop a preference for water and an interest
in water power.

232

Personals

E. C. Jones, engineer of the gas depart-
ment, is to read a paper before the American
Gas Institute at Detroit, Michigan, October
20th, on "The Development of Oil Gas in
California," the first scientific presentation of
oil-gas making ever written. This notable
paper will be published in part in the No-
vember number of this magazine. The
American Gas Institute — and E. C. Jones is
one of its charter members — is the parent gas
association of America, has about 1 ,300
members, and was formed in 1 906 by
absorbing the American Gas Light Associa-
tion, the Western Gas Association, and the
Ohio Gas Association.

The counter men and some of the em-
ployees of the other departments of the San
Francisco Gas and Electric Company had a
banquet the night of the I 8th of September,
With Gus White as toastmaster and C. L.
Barrett as the guest of honor. S. Wardlaw
of the "firing line" in the main office kept
the fun at peak load with stories and recita-
tions, and nearly every one present was called
upon for an extemporaneous speech, a song,
or a story. At the last there was a standing
toast drunk to the good health and safe
return of the company's president, John A.
Britten.

Those present were Charles L. Barrett,
W. R. Morgan, George N. Stroh, Joseph J.
Walsh, Frank E. Oldis, J. J. Cunningham,
Willis J. Egan, W. E. Dawson, Frank J.
Mogan, Walter Webber, R. J. Courtier, D.
A. White, Cyril E. Holt, Charles L. Butler,
S. Wardlaw, W. F. Loughlan, A. E. Flagg,
W. J. Fitzgerald, T. F. Denny, Joseph
Goger, R. B. Bowman, E. H. Miles, Jack
Judge, together with Sam Hamilton, George
H. Farrell, E. V. Daily, and W. Gilchrist
of the Gas and Electric Appliance Company.

uses of gas stoves, were in Woodland last
month showing about 150 interested house-
wives how to cook without getting hot about
it. T heir visit created quite an appetite for
the delicious sponge cakes, devil's food with
nut filling and sugary icing, and the two-inch-
thick, juicy steaks they cooked. Incidentally
W. E. Osborn, manager of the Woodland
district, was so inspired by the angel cake that
he hemstitched the following verses on a type-
writer and dedicated them to Miss Tracy
and Miss Choynski, whereat they soon de-
parted for the next town :

COOK WITH CAS AND CAS WITH COOK

To show and teach our good housewives,

The cooking girls were here in class

To bake and fry, to roast and broil;

And they did il all with gas.

They had a sign above the door.

Where all who shop 'd must pass,

Their slogan was, in fact, 't is ours —

Always "cook with gas."

Good Dr. Cook the north pole reached

Before another man

Could find the way, howe er he tried

The icey space to span.

It matters not what Peary writes

In magazine or book.

The slogan still is "coOK with gas"

And also, "cAS WITH COOK."

If booze interfere with business, cut out the
business.

Miss Suzanne Tracy and Miss Miriam
Choynski, cooking teachers demonstrating the

In Bavaria, during the past four years, a
good deal of attention has been given to the
government proposition of using its abundant
waterpower as a substitute for coal, which
is scarce and costs $5.70 a ton to the govern-
ment railways. Waterpower can be devel-
oped to electric energy, it is thought, at a
cost of one-fourth to one-half cent a kilowatt
hour. Hydro-electric power is wanted for
two principal purposes: One in the manu-
facture by a new process of a substitute for
Chile saltpeter by securing calcium cyanide
by combining the nitrogen of the atmosphere;
two, in the operation of railways.

233

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

jSai

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

I'UBI.lSBEIi IN THE INTEI'.KST OK Al.l. I'H K KMri.l iVEES
OF THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

ARCHIE RICE,

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER -

Editor
Business Manager

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription 50 cents

Single copy 10 cents

Matter for publication or business communications
should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine
44:") Sutter Street, San Francisco

Vol. I

OCTOBER, 1909

No. 5

EDITORIAL

SAN FRANCISCO, Oakland, and San
Jose have adopted ordinances requiring
that in certain districts electric transmission
lines be placed in underground conduits. No
doubt there are advantages in substituting
underground conduits for poles and wires as
means for transmitting electricity in the most
thickly populated parts of the larger cities.
But the removal of the poles and wires from
the streets and the substitution of under-
ground conduits cost a great deal of money.
Who is to pay for these advantages? In the
first instance, the corporations or natural per-
sons engaged in the business of furnishing
electricity for light and power purposes ad-
vance the capital required. But who finally
pays the bill? Unquestionably the consumer.

Each additional burden placed by national,
state, or municipal authority upon corpora-
tions or natural persons engaged in public or
quasi-public service eventually falls upon
those who purchase the products or make
use of the service. It would be unreason-
able for the public to demand service without
making just compensation, and the constitu-
tion of the United States and the constitutions
of the several states afford ample protection
against the enforcement of any such demand.
Just compensation necessarily includes the
entire cost of all service rendered to the public
and a reasonable profit upon capital invested.

Should not the public, therefore, consider
well whenever it is proposed to impose addi-
tional burdens upon those who are engaged
in the public service?

The end to be accomplished by the enact-
ment and enforcement of laws defining the
rights and liabilities, regulating the conduct,
and prescribing the duties of public-service
corporations should be to obtain the safest,
best, and most efficient service for which the
public can afford to pay. If private corpora-
tions or natural persons engaged in serving
the public demand too much for their service,
their charges may be limited or prescribed by
law; if, in rendering service to the public,
they are negligent or make use of unsafe or
dangerous appliances, they may be made to
respond in civil damages or be made liable
to fine and imprisonment.

Public franchises may be granted upon
such terms and conditions as to insure reason-
ably efficient service. But the public can
get no more than it pays for. Street railroad
and other franchises granted for short terms
upon onerous conditions will inevitably result
in cheap construction and poor service. The
owner of such a franchise can not afford, dur-
ing a considerable period of time immediately
preceding the expiration of the franchise, to
keep his plant and equipment in first-class
condition.

The head of the Forest Service is re-
ported in the daily papers as saying: "Cor-
porations should no more be granted the
right in perpetuity to water and power sites
than street railroads should be granted a
franchise in perpetuity." By parity of reason-
ing, railroad corporations owning and operat-
ing transcontinental railroads should not be
granted title in fee to the lands occupied by
their railroads. This doctrine, if followed
to its logical conclusion, leads to state or na-
tional ownership of all land and all natural
resources. Is the public ready for this? Do

234

Editorial

the farmers and miners think that the United
States, instead of granting title in fee to agri-
cuhural and mineral lands, should grant
leasehold estates only, and, in consideration
thereof, exact a rental or share of the
products?

The head of the Forest Service con-
tends that those who, under the authority
of the laws of the United States, appropriate
and develop sources of water supply and sites
for the construction of reservoirs to conserve
flood waters within the forest reserves should
be required to pay to the national government
\vhat he terms a "conservation charge," the
amount of which should be determined from
time to time by executive authority. How
popular would the contention be if it should
be extended so as to apply to miners whose
claims are situate within the national forests?
What prudent business man would seriously
consider making a large investment in any
enterprise if the owner of the land to be
occupied by him reserved the right to change
at his discretion the charge to be made for its
use and occupation? Would not this policy
of the Forester, if adopted by the government
of the United States, result, throughout the
western states and territories, in placing direct-
ly upon the power producers and indirectly,
but no less certainly, upon all power con-
sumers— including miners, farmers, and manu-
facturers— burdens from which persons in
like position in the eastern and middle states
would be free? Is it right or fair at this late
day to put this policy into effect in respect
to the remaining public lands of the United
States?

YOUR attention is called to an article in
this issue entitled "Practical Mathema-
tics." Most of us have grappled with mathe-
matical problems of one kind or another and
found some of them almost baffling. The
trouble seems to be that the subject of mathe-
matics and its principles were never made easy
of comprehension to the average student.
The English government has published a little
book, written by a great engineer and teacher,
who has made the thing so simple that any-
body can grasp all the mathematics needed
by the average engineer. And you can get
one of those little books for twenty-six cents.

Not Edited

"Tickets, 25 cents; children half-price to
be had at the office."

A man was walking slowly along a road
ith a wooden lea.."

"I would like to get copies of your paper
for a week back."

You do n't want a newspaper; you want
a porus plaster."

"The kopardnershipp heretofor resisting
between me and Mose Jenkins is hereby re-
solved. All perrsons owing the firm will
settel with me. All perrsons that the firm
owes to will settel with Mose."

"Any person driving over this bridge a;
a pace faster than a walk, shall if a white
man be fined $5, and if a negro receive
twenty-five lashes, half the penalty to be be-
stcwed on the informer."

"YY^HEN a technical subject is presented "Hereafter, when trains in an opposite

VV m the simple language and style that direction are approaching each other, on

characterize the article in this number on separate lines, conductors and engineers will

"Some Things About Steam," by Professor be requested to bring their respective trains to

Durand of Stanford University, then any a dead halt, and be careful not to proceed till

reader may find the matter interesting. each train has passed the other."

235

Asl( questions. Any one of the several thousand men and rvomen in the Pacific Cas and Electric Corn-
pan]) jvho ivishes information pertaining to an\) phase of the company's nior^ or concerning matters of common
interest to residents of any section reached by ihe company's lines, is urged lo use this department freely.
Send your questions to the magazine. There rvill he no charge.

Query: — How high is North Tower, near
Dillon Point in Solano county, where the
power lines start on the long suspension
across Carquirtez straits? OAKLAND.

Answer: — That lower is 191 feet high.

P. M. Downing.

Answer: — On most of the gold dredgers at Oro-
ville and near Foisom. Also one of twenty-five horse-
power at the Mathoid Roofing Mills in Alameda
county. T. E. F.

Query: — What is the height from the
water level to the lowest wire of the Car-
quinez span? Is there room for the tallest
masted ship to pass under it?

C. L. Barrett.

Answer: — The lowest part of the lowest wire is
206 feet above the surface of the water. Tallest-
masted ships, even when empty, would have twenty
or thirty feet clear space above the mast-tops.

P. M. Downing.

Query: — How great is the strain on the
cables suspended over Carquinez straits?

J. D.

Answer: — Approximately 12 tons. P. M. D.

Query: — What is the altitude of Blue
Lakes in Alpine county? J. W.

Answer: — Approximately 8,000 feet above the
level of the sea. P. M. D.

Query: — Which power house of the Pa-
cific Gas and Electric Company is located at
the greatest distance above sea level? J. W.

Answer: — Deer Creek power house; it is 3,500
feet above the level of the ocean. P. M. D.

Query: — Have variable speed motors
been used in California with any marked
degree of success? If so, where, and what
do they operate? Chico.

Query: — When do accounts become out-
lawed under the laws of California?

A. F. H.

Answer: — Amounts due under contracts executed
and to be paid in California become outlawed four
years after due date ; notes become outlawed four
years from date of maturity; and actions to recover
a balance due upon a mutual, open, and current
account or upon an open book account must be
brought within four years. This last provision was
extended to four years by the adoption in 1907 of
section 337 of the California code of civil pro-
cedure. It IS therefore a correction of the two-year
limit published as an answer to this same query in
the July number of the magazine.

Leo H. Sl'sman.

Query : — By what calculation can the gas
lost from the mams be computed if the
pressure at the point of leakage be known?

S. F.

Answer: — If all the gas unaccounted for were
leakage from the mains, its increased flow through the
various leak apertures, if their elevation and sizes
were known, would be increased above the minimum
pressure flow in a given period of time acording lo
the well-known formula of Pole for the passage of
gases through openings, under pressure. If the ques-
tion implies the total loss of gas from the mains, that
can not be determined by any calculation, a very
large part of the unaccounted-for gas being due lo
non-registering or faulty-registering meters. It is
difficult to determine the leakage loss from the mains
by pressure variation calculation, because of the im-
practicability of getting the varying pressures at the
different openings. This pressure changes momen-
tarily in every case, and, in addition, the leakage at
the minimum pressure is never known.

Chas. L. Barrett.

236

Vol. I

Contents for November

No. 6

FRONTISPIECE, Oil-Gas Works near San Francisco

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OIL-GAS IN CALIFORNIA E. C. Jones
HYDRAULIC PRESSURE GAUGES . . . . W. R. Eckari
WHAT THEY SAY

J. W

c. w

F. W

A. R

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF WATER-WHEEL BUCKET A. N

AN OLD-TIME WATER WHEEL

WATER WHEEL FOR A GRINDSTONE

THE ALTO SUBSTATION

SHOOTING OFF INSULATORS

AN EFFECTIVE STREET SPRINKLER

SKETCHING FOR MECHANICAL DRAWING

EDITORIAL

ROOSEVELT'S AFRICAN VENTURE
LORD KELVIN. THE GREAT ENGINEER

A BOYS LETTER

BUTLER MADE A HIT ....
ARMATURE INSULATION AND POLARITY
KEEPING THE FLUMES IN REPAIR
OVER THE SAN FRANCISCO COUNTER
AMERICAN GAS INSTITUTE'S MEETING
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH— W. R. ECKART
A BUST OF PEl ER DONAHUE
STOCKTON'S "RUSH OF '49"
HOW TO MAKE OUT REQUISITIONS
THE DEER THAT PHOTOGRAPHED ITSELF
THE ICEMAN AT COLGATE

PERSONALS

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS

TESTING

Warburton

McKlllip
Brown

Weldy S. Yeage

W. E. Meservey

Ecklin Williams

Henry Boslwick

A. R.

J. W. Hail
John H. Hunt

239
253
258
259
261
261
262
264
265
266
268
269
270
271
271
272
273
276
277
278
280
28!
282
283
283
284
286

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

NOVEMBER, 1909

No. 6

The Development of Oil-Gas in California'

By E. C. JONES, Engineer Gas Department.

The various methods of dis-
tilling oil into gas in externally
heated vessels date back to the
discovery of petroleum. In
nearly all of these processes the

deferred the invention and use of oil-gas
apparatus. But the discovery of vast quan-
tities of oil in California made it an economic
necessity. The full extent of this necessity
and the reasons for completely changing the
oil was subjected to a compara- method of making gas in California and the
tively low temperature in either abandoning of all other generating apparatus

iron or clay retorts, with unsatisfactory re-
sults attended by much trouble. Not until
the introduction of generators and super-
heaters for water-gas making was it at-
tempted to decompose oil in contact with
highly heated surfaces of refractory material
in internally heated vessels. Then the oil
was looked upon as an enricher of other
gases, and subservient to these dilutent gases,
which took the name of water-gas. The
name of oil-gas with its unctuous suggestion
is apt to awaken unpleasant memories in the
minds of the older generation of gas men,
who experimented with the many ways of
stewing oil in iron retorts. For this reason
oil-gas as well as water-gas is badly named.
The oil-gas of California is so much like
enriched coal-gas that no chemist could
identify it as having been made from oil.

HIGH PRICE OF OIL ELSEWHERE

The high price and scarcity of petroleum
in the populous and large gas-producing
districts of the United States have probably

*Read at the fourth annual meeting of the American G
October 20lh, 21st, and 22d, 1909.

239

will be better understood by referring to the
following table, showing the quantity and value
of petroleum produced in the state during
the past twenty-one years, and to a chart,
showing the relation of quantity to value.

PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM IN CALIFORNIA

Quantity,

Value

Year

bbls.

Value

abbl.

1887

678,572

$1,357,144

$2.00

1888

690,333

1,380,666

2.00

1889

303,220

368,048

1.21

1890

307,360

384,200

1.25

1891

323,600

401,264

1.24

1892

385,049

561,333

1.45

1893

470,179

608,092

1.29

1894

783,078

1,064,521

1.35

1895

1,245,339

1.000,235

.803

1896

1,257,780

1,180,793

.90

1897

1,911,569

1.918,269

1.00

1898

2,249.088

2,376,420

1.05

1899

2,677,875

2,660,793

.99

1900

4,329,950

4,152,928

.95

1901

7,710,315

2,961,102

.38

1902

14.356,910

4,692,189

.32

1903

24.340,839

7.313,271

.30

1904

29,736,003

8,317.809

.27

1905

34,275,701

9,007.820

.26

1906

32,624,000

9,238,020

.28

1907

40.311,171

16,783,943

.41

1908

48,306,910

26,566,181

.54

an Gas

Institute, held at Detroit.

Mich.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Until 1 884 coal-gas was made in Califor-
nia exclusively from coals brought from Aus-
tralia as ballast for English wheat-carrying
ships, and coals from the state of Washing-

VEARLY PRODUCTION AND VALUE OF PETROLEUM IN
CALIFORNIA

2 «

i— 1

— 1

r-1

r-i

-1

— r-

-p-i

— r-

■t— T— 1

j" r 1

— p

> -

—

--/-

— -

--/-

1 —

1^-

_ _

-I

- ,

_. _

t — '

- '

! —

- /

- '

1 /

ton and from Vancouver Island. The find-
ing of oil in considerable quantities encour-
aged the making of water-gas as an auxiliary
to coal-gas, so that in 1 899 there were in
California : —

I Crude Oil Water-Gas Works,
10 (Lowe) Carburelted Water-Gas Works,
18 Coal -Gas Works,
5 Oil- and Air-Gas Works.

This was the beginning of oil-gas making,
and during the year of 1899 there were 2,-
677,875 barrels of petroleum produced in
California. For some years after this the
production of oil doubled each succeeding
year, and the difficulty of finding a profit-
able market for this enormous increase
caused a corresponding drop in the price of
oil. This was the incentive for having oil
displace all other crude materials for gas
making.

Today there are in California fifty-six oil-
gas works, and in connection with these are
three plants for manufacturing water-gas
from lampblack residual of oil-gas making,
one small coal-gas works, and one oil and air
gas plant.

L. p. LOWE DISCOVERED METHOD

The cedit for discovering this new method
of making gas and the invention of suitable
apparatus for use in making it belongs to L. P.
Lowe of San Francisco, who anticipated the
eventual use of oil-gas long before the plenti-
ful supply of cheap oil warranted its com-
mercial use on a large scale. He constructed
several small plants in different parts of Cali-
fornia, and September 1, 1902, completed
the erection of and started an oil-gas plant in
the works of the California Gas and Electric
Corporation in Oakland. This was the first
adaption of the new process to the suppiy of
gas to a large city, and was the basis of ex-
periments from which the present oil-gas ap-
paratus has developed. Improvements made
it possible by September I I, 1904, to supply
the entire output of Oakland.

EARLY TYPE OF APPARATUS

The first type of oil-gas apparatus was con-
structed with the idea that extremely high
heats for decomposing the oil produced the
best results. It is, of course, understood that
a generating apparatus consists of two or more
shells filled with checker brick, and as there
is no solid fuel used, there is an absence of
boxes and grate bars found in the ordinary
water-gas generators. The checker brick are
heated by oil injected under pressure with
steam in company with a blast of air for com-
bustion. No secondary air was used in the
first types of apparatus, and it was quite im-
possible to control the heat in different parts
of the machine. The oil for heating was
usually injected at the bottom of the genera-
tor under an arch or series of arches.

There is a temptation to use arches in oil-
gas generators over the combustion chambers

240

The Development' [of Oil-Gas in California

for supporting checker brick, but is was soon of regulating the heat, without wasting it.

discovered that no arch can be constructed This gas, burned through an open tip, had

that will withstand the blow-pipe effect of every appearance of coal-gas of the same

the oil flames, and the most carefully con- candle-power, the flame being of the same

structed arches made of the best material ob- size, but of apparently greater brilliancy than

tainable lasted but a few days or weeks. coal-gas. The small percentage of carbonic

It was first supposed that burning oil in a oxide is good evidence that little or none of

primary shell and passing the products of the steam admitted with the oil was decom-

combustion over checker brick in a second posed. This is borne out by the fact that

shell without the use of secondary air coated carbonic acid gas was 0.2 per cent., and as

the checker brick in the second shell with the gas was purified by oxide of iron none of

particles of lampblack deposited from the de- the carbonic acid was removed by purilica-

composed oil, and that durmg the succeeding tion.

run the steam admitted with the oil for gas The low specific gravity .303 is, of course,

making was converted into carbonic oxide due to the large percentage of hydrogen, and

and hydrogen in contact with these lamp- it is undesirable for the reason that there is a

black-coated surfaces. greater waste in use by consumers, and the m-

crease in street-main leakage is noticeable.

HIGH TEMPERATURES DESTROYED OIL

The high temperatures at first employed Relationship of specific gravity to hydrogen
destroyed a large quantity of oil, resulting in The specific gravity and hydrogen content

a diminishing yield of gas at but low candle- bear so close relationship to each other that

power, and in the production of a large all oil-gas containing 50 per cent, or more of

amount of lampblack. The yield of lamp- hydrogen is of specific gravity .4 or less,

black amounted to more than thirty pounds and oil-gas containing less than 50 per cent,

for each thousand cubic feet of gas made. of hydrogen has a specific gravity of .4 or

As this lampblack was the result of decom- more.

posed hydrocarbons, the hydrogen which had The high temperature in the generators

been linked to this carbon remained in the created troubles of about the same character

gas as free hydrogen. and disagreeable qualities as those encoun-

Following is an analysis of early oil-gas: — tered where extreme high temperatures are

used in regenerative coal-gas benches.
Composition Percentages ... .,

LI , J 1 /- 9 1 ar, which under other conditions would

Heavy hydrocarbons o.Z

Marsfv gas 25.6 have passed over to the scrubbers and been

Hydrogen . condensed in the ordinary way, was made

Carbonic oxide J.U ^ «

Carbonic acid gas 0.2 into pitch. The pitch mingled with the

d'''^j^"i •. ->'■) particles of lampblack and formed solid stop-

Kesidual nitrogen i.i '^ '^

pages in the wash-box, so that it was no un-

Total 0. common experience to make gas twenty hours

Specific gravity, .303. i i ■ r i 1 ■ iL

Net British Thermal Units, 624 the one day. devoting lour hours to cleaning the

cubic foot. Wash-box and down-take pipe, while on the fol-
The candlepower was 18.6. This gas lowing day twenty hours would be devoted to
was made in Oakland, California, in Septem- cleaning the wash-box, with four hours' time
ber, 1902, and is a fair sample of the oil- remaining for gas making. The lampblack
gas of those days, which was produced in recovered as a by-product was made in such
very highly heated generators with no means large quantities that after a generous amount

241

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

of it had been used for firing boilers about
the works there remained a sufficient quan-
tity to become a nuisance.

The lampblack as it is removed from the
separators contains from 50 to 60 per cent,
of water, and it is necessary to drain off
the water until the water content is reduced
to about 30 per cent, before the material is
fit to be used as boiler fuel. The large
amount of water in the lampblack prohibits
the use of any of the briquetting presses that
are successfully used for briquetting other
dry materials, or materials containing a small
amount of binder.

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED

To add to the discomforts of making gas
in this way, the wash-box was so constructed
that it retained a large amount of lampblack
within itself, while the lampblack separator
permitted large quantities of lampblack to

overflow and be wasted. This waste was
not deplored so much on account of the loss
in money as from the fact that the drainage
from the gas works was usually emptied into
a river or bay, and the State Fish Commis-
sion complained of the pollution of the water.
With these discouragements and the meager
amount of knowledge of the work actually
being done, the construction of oil-gas ap-
paratus in large units for the supply of gas
to cities to the exclusion of all other kinds
of gas seemed dangerous, and the task was
unattractive.

Oil-gas machinery had been constructed
of all kinds and sizes with hardly t\\o alike,
and it was first necessary to design an ap-
paratus applicable to both large and small
works, and make standard every detail of
it, thus accomplishing in three years the same
results that have required thirty years of hard
work with water-gas apparatus.

The Apparatus for Generating Oil-Gas

The illustration shows the Hrrangement of the primary and secondary generators connecting at the
bottom with a throat piece large enough not to constrict the passage for gas; .shows the wash-bo-\,

which acts also as a liydraulic seal: and shows two ordinary steel scrubbers provided with woodci\
trays. Ample scrubbing of oil-gas is very important.

242

2!r

The Development of Oil-Gas in California

Showing a Vertical Section of the Generators with Their Linings

IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS MADE bv placing the Oil bumcrs in a circle around!

The first important improvement was the t^e side of the generator near the bottom of

eliminating of brick arches over the combus- the corbel work, thus injecting the oil at

tion chamber, and the substitution of corbel several points around the circle at right angles

work at the top of both generators in place
of arches. To provide a combustion cham-
ber without arches it was necessary to con-
struct a pair of generators in the shape of a
letter U, one leg of the U being much
longer than the other. The shorter of the
two shells is used as a primary generator and
the air blast is admitted downward through
the centre of the top of this generator.

At first the oil was fed through burners
pointing downward through the top of the
primary in the same direction as the air. But
it was found that better results were obtained making gas, after the brickwork has been

243

to the direction of the air. The top of the
primary thus becomes a combustion chamber,
and there is no sharp impact of oil flame
against any part of the brickwork. To as-
sist a proper understanding of the apparatus,
a few illustrations have been prepared ; these
were photographed from working drawings
of a modern and satisfactory oil-gas set, as
well as from apparatus now in operation.

SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS

The sequence of operations in blasting and

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

brought to a temperature that will ignite pe-^
troleum, begins with the opening of the stack
valve at the top of the secondary generator
and IS followed by the opening of the air blast
at the top of the primary generator and the
admitting of oil and steam through the heating
burners at the top of the primary generators.

The set is entirely operated from the floor,
the gas-maker and helper working m unison
handling the stack-valve, the primary and
secondary blast valves, and turning on the oil
and steam at the "oil table." The oil and
steam for heating are admitted through a
specially arranged burner shown in one of the
illustrations. Separate coils of pipe encircle
the generator, one being for oil, and the other
for steam, that for the oil always being at a
lower level than the steam coil. This is a
precaution to avoid a possible leakage of oil
-lownward into the burners when the ap-

t paratus is not in use. Experience has proven
that the straight pipe burner with open end
gives better results in large sets than any
other kind of burner. Much care, however,
has been devoted to the selection of an in-
jector, which will force the oil through the
burner into the generator, using steam in the
most economical manner. This injector is
made of brass, carefully finished, and the
oil and steam openings are nicely centred.
The straight pipe burner is connected to the
shell of the generator through a flange, and
on the outside end of the burner is placed a
Y fitting. The injector is attached to this Y
fitting, connecting it with the steam and oil
pipes. This arrangement does not interfere
with the workings of the injector, and has
the advantage of leaving a straight way for
cleaning the burner with a small rod through
the plugged end, C, without disturbing the
rest of the burner mechanism.

A regulating service cock is placed on the
oil inlet and a standard globe valve, B, on the
steam inlet to insure good regulation at the
burner. These controlling valves require
nice adjustment for the exact proportion of oil
and steam, so that when once set the amount
of oil and steam used for heating and making
is controlled from the oil table.

A glance at the illustration of the oil table
shows an oil meter for the heating oil and
one for the oil used for making gas. Gauges
are provided for showing the steam pressure
at the boiler, and the oil pressure at the outlet
of the oil heater. In addition to this there are
six nozzle gauges used in connection with
each set. Three are for steam, and three for
oil. These gauges are connected to the oil
and steam pipe between their respective
throttle valves and the machine, so that these
gauges practically become steam and oil
meters for the guidance of the gas-maker.

The oil table is also provided with ther-
mometers, a jet photometer, and a test light.
The oil is heated to about 1 50 degrees F.
in a tubular oil heater of well-known design.

The Development of Oil'Gas in California

The Operating Table Between Two 16-Foot Sets, Showing the Convenience and Simplicity of Operation

There are nine burners for heating at the top
of the primary generator. Assume that the
machme has been making gas and a blast is
about to begin. The stack valve has been
opened and the air is turned on at the blast
valve. No oil is admitted to the machine
during the first three minutes of the blast,
and the steam on the burners is turned on to
a sufficient pressure to keep them clean and
protect them against overheating. The blast
pressure inside of the primary generator is
nine inches. At the end of the third minute
oil is turned into the primary generator at a
pressure of eight pounds inside of the ma-
chine, while the steam pressure is retained at
thirty-five pounds, and the blast pressure is
reduced to seven inches also within the ma-
chine.

The accompanying table shows the prog-
ress of the blast on the sixteen-foot set at
Generator No. 2 Jones, Monday, July 26,
1909:—

PROGRESS OF BLAST

3
C

a
E

a. S

o °

ii
o s.

Da 3

1st

blow

4th

150°

i3.25
^3.25

5ih

150°

^3.50
/3.50

6ih

150°

\3.25
/3.25

7th

150°

S3.50
^3.50

8th

150°

\3.25
/3.25

9th

150°

^3.50
^3.50

lOth

150°

i3.25
/3.25

llth

150°

i3.25
^3.25

I2ih

150°

S3.25
^3.25

60.00

245

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The duration of the blast in the large ma-
chines is twelve minutes; three minutes with-
out and nine minutes with oil.

At the end of the heat the blast valve is
closed, and a quick-opening valve at the out-
let of the first scrubber is opened by means
of a winch attached to the generator and by
a wire rope running over pulleys to the valve
stem. This valve is opened during runs and
closed during heats, for the purpose of isolat-
ing the set from the rest of the works during
the heating process and to permit the use of
high blast pressure without breaking the seal
in the wash-box, thus sending oil producer
gas through the wash-box and scrubbers. As
the man on the floor turns off the blast, opens

the scrubber valve, and closes the stack valve,
the gas-maker does not shut off the heating
oil. He first turns on the oil and steam to
the gas-making burners, which are separate
and distinct from the heating burners. Then
he shuts off the oil and steam from the heat-
ing burners, so that there is no interruption in
the making of gas. The heating oil serves for
this purpose during the moment necessary for
changing the valves. The temperature of the
primary and secondary generators is observed
by means of sight cocks, the gas-maker be-
coming very skillful in detecting changes of
color in the checker brick and turning on se-
condary air when the outgoing stack gas has
the appearance of containing combustible gas.

The Arrangement of Checker Brick in the Generators

Xote that the clliows for the nflinission nf air and the outlet of gas are lined with fire brick to
protect them from excessive heat.

246

The Development of Oil-Gas in California

SKILL OF GAS-MAKER IMPORTANT FACTOR

In this connection the personal factor rep-
resented by the skill of the gas-maker enters
more largely into the equation of good results
than in either coal- or water-gas making. For
making gas the oil and steam are first turned
mto the top of the primary. The oil is de-
composed by passmg downward through the
checker brick in the primary generator, thence
through the connecting throat piece and up
into the secondary generator. Should the gas
thus made be permitted to traverse the entire
length of the secondary generator to the top,
the illuminants would be partly decomposed
by breaking down into marsh gas, hydrogen,
and lampblack. To prevent this overheating
and to protect the gas the outlet of the ma-
chine is placed at or near the middle of the
secondary generator. Above this point there
is a large amount of heat stored in checker
brick placed upon a number of arches, sprung
across the generator. These arches are dur-
able, because there is no direct combustion of
oil in proximity to them. To make use of the
heat in the top of the secondary generator
coils of steam and oil pipes are connected
with eighteen burners in the corbie work at the
top of the secondary. Fifteen of these
burners are used for making gas, while three
are steam pipes for purging. The gas thus
made passes downward and through the side
outlet into the wash-box. It will thus be seen
that gas is made in two directions, leaving the
machine through a common outlet. The rea-
sons for this are obvious.

Sometimes during the process of heating,
it is difficult so to regulate the temperature in
the primary and secondary generators, even
if the checker brick in both generators are in
equally good condition for breaking up the
oil. If the gas were taken off at the top of
the secondary it would be impossible so to
regulate the heat that no oil would be wasted,
no gas overheated, or the yield of gas the
minute not reduced. By adopting the side
outlet all heat is conserved. If the top of the

secondary be overheated more oil is used in
that part of the machine, and if the primary
be at too low a temperature less oil is used in
the primary. In this way all heat is used for
gas making and practically none is wasted.
At the same time a uniform quality of gas
is maintained.

INDICATORS OF CAS QUALITY

One of the best indicators of the quality
of gas being made is the condition of the
overflow water from the wash-box and from
the first scrubber. The presence of tar in the
wash-box seal sho\v's that the heat is too low,
and lampblack in the overflow from the first
scrubber shows that the heat is too high.

The table following shows the amount of
oil used in gallons, in different parts of the set,
together with the steam and oil pressures, all
pressures being on the inner side of the throttle
valves and within the machine. These figures
were taken from the run after the foregoing
heat. The duration of the run was ten minutes.
Oil is admitted to the top of the primary, be-
ginning with twenty-six gallons a minute and
reduced to nine gallons during the eighth min-
ute. Oil is admitted to the top of the second-
ary, beginning with thirty-nine gallons during
the first and ending with twelve gallons dur-
ing the eighth minute. The steam pressure
remains constant during eight minutes of the
run. At the end of the eighth minute the oil
is shut off from the primary and secondary ;
and the steam pressure on the primary and
secondary is raised to 1 I 0 pounds, and is al-
lowed to remain at this pressure for the last
two minutes of the run for the purpose of
purging the machine. For purging the ma-
chine during the last two minutes of the run
three special open steam pipes are used at
the top of the secondary. Steam is main-
tained on the burners at the top of the pri-
mary and secondary. A one-inch steam pipe
admits steam to the bottom of the primary di-
rectly opposite the throat piece; this is also
for the purpose of clearing the machine.

,l/wiiy4l

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

MAKE OF CAS, JULY 26, 1909

b'-^

-T3 O

" _s

gu.

1 s

■:: o

D. ~

c
0 _2

3 —

Li ^

Z ^

D. 6

w S

— t

7= -2;

- >^-^

V a >,

2 "

0 3>

o 5 e

6 5.

(75 s !;

o ^

Ji g

D3 a

1st

150

110

150

4th

150

5th

145

6th

145

7th

145

8th

145

9ih

140

purge

110

1 0th

140

purge

110

Following are two analyses of gases taken
at the stack valve at the middle of the heat-
ing period: —

JONES SET NO. 2

Composition Percentages

Carbonic acid 13.1

Oxygen 1 .9

Nitrogen 85.0

JONES SET NO. 1

Carbonic acid 1 5.3

Oxygen 0.2

Nitrogen 84.5

These analyses are frequently taken to
determine the ratio of air to heating oil.

According to experiments at Munich in
1880 (Stillman's Engineering Chemistry)
6 per cent, of carbonic acid indicates three
times the theoretical amount of air required ;
9 per cent, of carbonic acid indicates two

times the theoretical amount of air required;
I 7 per cent, of carbonic acid indicates one
time the theoretical amount of air required.
The following table gives the make of
gas a minute for a series of five runs.
These tests were of necessity on different days
so that the gas could be carefully measured
in a relief holder isolated for the purpose and
careful corrections for temperature be made
to avoid error in measurement. The amount
of oil used for heating and making and also
the total oil used by the thousand feet of
gas are given in this table. The make of gas
a minute during a ten-minute run is a good
indication of the application of the heat con-
tained in the checker brick in the making of
gas, and is an index to the proper length of
run.

TEST RUNS ON NO. 2 JONES SET

Min.

July 9lh

July lOlh

July 10th

July 12th

Average

1st

7,080

6,664

5,206

8,538

7,497

6,997

6,247

7,705

6,872

6,664

9,371

7,372

6,039

7,080

7,082

8,333

7.497

7,206

4th

5,831

6,664

6,247

8,225

7.393

6,872

5th

5,623

6.248

6,248

6,664

6,206

6th

5,623

6,248

6,247

6,351

5,831

6,060

7th

5,415

6,664

6,248

6,559

6,768

6,331

8th

4,790

2,915

4,165

3,748

3,540

3,832

9th

2,707

2,290

2,082

1,978

2,291

2,270

10th

2,082

1,042

2,082

1,874

833

1,583

Totals .

. 51,437

53,520

52,479

58,515

57,685

54.729

Oil for

Gals.

Heat ..

Make .

370

373

370

400

377

Total .

440

443

440

470

447

1,000 cu. ft.

8.55

8.28

8.38

7.53

8.13

8.17

248

The Development of Oil'Gas in California

Following is a table giving the analyses of
the gas made during a run July 19, 1909,
on Jones Set No. 2. Samples of gas were
taken from the wash-box at the end of
the second, fifth, and seventh minutes, and
analyzed: —

End of End of End of
Composition 2d min. 5th min. 7th min.

Carbonic acid gas 1.6 0.8 0.4

Illuminants 3.4 6.6 9.0

Oxygen 0.2 0.2 0.0

Carbonic oxide 9.4 8.0 6.6

Hydrogen 53.2 50.6 44.8

Marsh gas 28.5 30.9 35.0

Nitrogen 3.7 2.9 4.2

B. T. U. the cu. ft 589.0 665.0 732.0

Specific gravity 382 .391 .423

The results of a typical run at the Potrero
Station, San Francisco, June 4, 1909, giving
the amount of gas made, oil used, and an
analysis of the gas taken at the outlet of the
wash-box during the first minute, when all the
gas was made in the primary generator, and
during the second, fifth, seventh, and tenth
minutes, are shown in the following table,
which gives the analyses of samples taken at
the outlet of the wash-box of the No. 3 Jones
Set.

RESULTS OF TYPICAL RUN

Compo- 1st 2d 5th 7th 1 0th

sition Min. Min. Min. Min. Min.

Car. acid 1.8 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0

llluminanis 8.6 2.1 5.0 5.8 7.8

Oxygen Tr. Tr. Tr. Tr. Tr.

Car. oxide 5.6 20.2 9.4 8.2 14.6

Hydrogen 31.7 44.1 46.6 44.9 47.4

Marsh gas 43.4 26.7 35.7 37.3 25.9

Nitrogen 8.9 5.6 3.3 3.8 4.3

B.T.U.. 765.0 549.0 675.0 698.0 747.0

Spec. grav. .514 .469 .402 .411 .435

Min- Cubic

ute Feet

1st 5,625

2d 5,833 Oil 320 gallons to make,

3J 6!04l 60 g^'s. to heal; 380 gal-

4th 5^625 '°"s '°'al-

5([, 5 416 8.25 gallons for each

6th .......... 5^000 ' .000 cubic feet.

7([^ 4 373 7|/2 mmute primary oil

8th '.'..,'''.'' 4;i66 off. "

g([^ 3 125 8th minute secondary oil

10th '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 833 off-
Total 46,041

249

PERCENTAGES OF CARBONIC OXIDE

The percentage of carbonic oxide in these
analyses would lead to the conclusion that the
carbonic oxide is not formed by contact of
steam and the carbon remaining in the gen-
erators after a heat.

It will be noticed that the gas made in the
primary generator at the beginning of the run
contains 5.6 per cent, of carbonic oxide, while
during the second minute it increases to 20.2
per cent, and then drops to less than half
that amount during the fifth and seventh min-
utes, rising again to I 4.6 per cent, during the
tenth minute. The carbonic oxide is un-
doubtedly produced by the dissociation of
steam in contact with incandescent particles of
lampblack, which have been thrown down by
the breaking down of hydrocarbons.

A fact now well understood is that the
oxygen of steam will not unite with carbon in
combination with hydrogen, so that neither
carbonic acid nor carbonic oxide is generated
directly from the hydrocarbons of the oil in
contact with steam. First it is necessary to
convert the oil into gas or hydrocarbon vapor
and then break down the hydrocarbons into
lampblack and hydrogen. This lampblack,
becoming incandescent, will unite with oxygen
of steam. The high percentage of nitrogen
in the primary gas is probably due to the
presence of a small amount of products of
combustion remaining in the primary generator
after the heat. The nitrogen diminishes to
the fifth minute and then increases to 4.3 per
cent, during the tenth minute.

California petroleum contains more than I
per cent, of nitrogen; usually I.I per cent.
This is twice the amount of nitrogen con-
tained in the petroleum of Pennsylvania and
West Virginia. In distilling California petro-
leum the third fraction, taken off between
200 ' and 250° C, has a strong odor of am-
monia. This ammonia is destroyed in the
gas generators at higher temperatures, and
appears in the gas as nitrogen and hydrogen.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PART PLAYED BY STEAM

Further to determine the part played by
the steam admitted with the oil three runs
were made on a sixteen-foot set, first in the
ordinary way, second with oil injected under
its own pressure without steam, and third
by steam without the use of any oil. In each
case the test was made after the generator
had been heated ready to make gas. And
these are the results: —

Ordinary All All

Composition run oil sleam

Carbonic acid 0.4 0.4 43.8

llluminants 5.2 6.2 0.0

Oxygen 0.1 0.1 0.2

Carbonic oxide 7.0 5.3 10.6

Hydrogen 46.6 47.9 5.0

Marsh gas 30.6 36.7 0.0

Nitrogen 5.1 3.4 40.4

Specific gravity 404 .388 1.168

B. T. U. a cu. ft.... 668.302 700.746 53.55

Ordinary run — Same gauge pressure as combmed
oil and steam runs; 17-inch pressure inside machine,
47 gallons a minute.

All oil run — 18 lbs. to 19 lbs. oil pressure on pri-
mary, 25 lbs. to 27 lbs. oil pressure on secondary; 21-
inch pressure inside machine; 51 gallons a minute.

All steam run — 25 lbs. pressure on heat burners;
26 lbs. pressure on primary make burners ; 32 lbs.
pressure on secondary make burners; 10-inch to 1 1 -
inch pressure inside machine.

The run made with all steam can not be
directly compared with the iwo other runs, as
very little gas was produced; barely enough
to enable the taking off of a sample at the
wash-box. The generator at this period was
at the same temperature as during ordinary
runs. That is, it was at a temperature high
enough to decompose steam in the presence of
incandescent carbon, and only 10.6 per cent,
of carbonic oxide was produced. Had there
been much carbon deposited on the checker
brick this generator would have been in ideal
condition for the manufacture of "blue"
water-gas.

QUALITY OF CALIFORNIA PeTROLEUM USED

As to the California petroleum from which
this gas is made, the crude petroleum from I 2
degrees to 1 7 degrees B. is best adapted to
the purpose of making gas. This oil has an

1\'0

asphaltum base, as has most of the petroleum
produced in California. This makes it in
a measure unattractive to oil refiners. The
California crude petroleum used during the
following experiments was 15.8 degrees B.
at 60 degrees F. Distillation began at 85
degrees C.

Temper- Per- Color of

atures centages fraction

No. 1. ...Below I50 = C. 5.0* yellowish

No.2. ...150°— 200°C. 4.0 yellow

No.3....200°— 250X. 27.5 5'^'"°" ,.,^
/H^Sand NH;

No.4....250°— 300"C. 14.0 lemon

No. 5... .Above 300" C. 39.5 red

No. 6.... Coke 8.0 black

Loss 2.0

Total 100.0 *2I4'/c water

Flash point, 257° F.
Fire test. 293° F.

After the 300 fraction comes off the temperature
rises immediately to above 380° C.

The ultimate analysis of oil taken from
this same field is: —

Carbon 85. per cent.

Nitrogen I. per cent.

Sulphur .8 per cent.

Oxygen 1 .0 per cent.

Hydrogen 12.2 per cent.

Total 100.0 by weight

The exact amount of sulphur in the oil used
for these experiments was 0.93 per cent.

PERCENTAGE OF SULPHUR I.N OIL

Oil containing sulphur in quantity less than
1 per cent, will produce gas which may be
satisfactorily purified by ordinary oxide of
iron. Should the percentage of sulphur ex-
ceed i per cent, purification becomes diffi-
cult, unless there is a large purifying capacity
provided for it. Crude oils in California in
some instances contain as much as 4 per cent,
of sulphur. It is better not to purchase oils
containing so much sulphur as it is necessary
to provide elaborate and expensive means for
purifying the gas. Fortunately the most
available crude oils, produced in greatest
abundance and best adapted to oil-gas mak-
ing, have a small percentage of sulphur.
After these crude oils are distilled and the

The Development of Oil-Gas in California

distillates are sold for gas manufacture the square or circular form and adopt an oval
distillate contains all of the sulphur of the shape, havmg a superficial area of 265 square
crude oil condensed into the lesser quantity of feet, also to depart from the usual custom of

distillate.

It is the opinion of the writer that a crude
petroleum from 14 degrees to 16 degrees B.
is the oil which gives the best results in oil-
gas making. In other words, the more pounds
in weight to the gallon of oil the greater will

connecting the generator to the wash-box and
the wash-box to the scrubbers with pipe of the
same or even smaller diameter than the trunk
mains in the gas works. Allowance is made
for the expanded condition of the hot gas-
leaving the generator. In what is knoWfl S*

be the production of gas, and there will be a twenty-four-inch gas works the inlet and

less waste of oil. This is diametrically op- outlet pipes to the wash-box are forty-eight

posed to good water-gas practice, but the inches in diameter, while the diameter of the

conclusion has been reached after the use in dip pipe in the wash-box flares to sixty-eight

practice and experimentally of crude oils
from 8 degrees B. to 37 degrees B. and dis-
tillates from 20 degrees B. to 42 degrees B.

THE WASH-BOX

inches. This removes one of the chief causes
of back pressure and enables the hot gas
easily to get away from the machine.

In the new form of wash-box there are no
partitions or diaphragms, and the space within
The wash-box serves a double purpose as the box is clear. The gas enters through a

a hydraulic seal and as a piece of apparatus dip pipe at one end, and passes out through

in which nearly all

of the lampblack is

separated from the

gas and held in sus-
pension in the water.

The early forms of

wash - boxes were

comparatively of

small dimensions and

were filled with baffle

plates and partitions,

forming excellent

lodging places for

lampblack, so that

the cleaning of the

wash-boxes was an

important part of the

gas-maker's daily

work. In the develop-
ment of a self-clean-
ing wash-box, to take

care of the amount

of lampblack made

by a sixteen-foot set ^ 1 6 Foot Set -vith a Capacity of 150,000 Cubic Feet an Hour

it became necessary '"''" '" ••""•■'i " .'i.ooo, non-foot set; it will iii-(i.iiii-<' iimt iinioniu of rus cvpi-y

J f , '!"> ill ilic .vein- nnd cnii be foreed to prndm-e 4,0(1(1,11110 iiii lOi'lit siii'li sets,.

to depart trom the ,.■■,. in operation in Sun Franriseo nnd Oakland.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

an outlet pipe from the top of the wash-box
at the other end. Two large overflows on the
side of the wash-box carry away the lamp-
black. The self-cleaning principle of this
wash-box is in the constant agitation of the
water in the box. This agitation is produced
by dividing the main water supply into a num-
ber of one-inch pipes, twelve in all, extending
to withm three inches of the bottom of the
wash-box. The water is thus forced down-
ward to the bottom of the box, and it rises
to the overflow. The lampblack is washed
out of the gas by this turbulent water, and is
carried out of the box before it has an oppor-
tunity to settle. The average temperature of
the water entering the wash-box is 61 degrees
F., and the average temperature of the water
leaving the wash-box is I 29 degrees F. The
temperature of the gas leaving the wash-box
is 142 degrees F., and the amount of water
used in the wash-box is forty-six gallons for
each thousand cubic feet of gas. The lamp-
black and water pass from the wash-box
through open drains to the lampblack sepa-
rator.

[ I J ] IMPORTANCE OF SCRUBBING

Thorough scrubbing of oil-gas is all im-
portant. It has been proven conclusively that
it is better to treat oil-gas directly with a large
quantity of water than to use the methods of
condensing and scrubbing as applied to coal-
gas, where valuable by-products must be re-
moved. Oil-gas requires more water for
scrubbing than any other kind of gas, on ac-
count of the finely divided particles of lamp-
black held in suspension in the gas. These
must be removed, as they would tend to des-
troy the purifying material. Should the lamp-
black pass through the purifiers it would cause
endless trouble by stoppages. One uniform
kind of scrubber and one method of filling it
have been adopted. The old-style cylinder
filled with trays through the top is the best to
be had, but the filling should be carefully
done. The trays are made of one-inch by

six-inch pine lumber surfaced on four sides
and nailed together in sections, with spacing
pieces one inch thick also made of surfaced
lumber. These trays are made in sections
small enough to go through a door on the top
of the scrubber. Each alternate layer of trays
is placed at right angles to the one immedi-
ately under it, and the entire shell is filled
without voids of any kind. As these trays
are made somewhat smaller than the inside
diameter of the steel shell, in order to provide
for easily getting the trays in and out and for
the swelling of the wood, it is essential that
the space between the trays and the shell shall
be caulked with excelsior, so that the gas can
not pass round the trays instead of through
them, or the water flow down the inside of
the shell. In this way the gas is compelled
to pass upward through the trays, meeting
smooth wet surfaces; and the water passes
evenly downward through the trays, thus the
maximum efficiency is obtained by the use of
the smallest amount of water.

SCRUBBER TRAY

A plan of a scrubber tray and the arrange-
ment of the trays in the scrubber are shown in
the accompanying illustration. • In the larger
works there are three scrubbers twelve feet
seven inches in diameter by forty feet high,
and the water is supplied to them through ten
sprays passing through the top head. With
each sixteen-foot apparatus the amount of
water used is approximately fifteen gallons for
each thousand cubic feet of gas for each
scrubber, or forty-five gallons the thousand
cubic feet for the complete scrubbing of the
gas. Salt water is used in the wash-box and in
all the scrubbers. It gives satisfactory results,
having no deteriorating effect upon the gas
or upon the scrubbing apparatus. Salt water
has the further advantage, where gas works
are located on tide water, of being available
in abundance at small cost for pumping, and
it can be wasted after it has been used. In
small plants, where water is scarce or ex-

252

The Development of Oil'Gas in California

Trays for 6-Foot Scrubbers

pensive, it becomes necessary to be more sav-
ing in the use of water and in some cases to
cool the water and use it over again.

THE LAMPBLACK SEPARATOR

The overflow water contammg lampblack
flows from the wash-box through open, ex-
posed drains into the lampblack separator.
In nearly all oil-gas works the overflow water
containing tar from the scrubbers flows into
the same separator. The amount of tar is so
inconsiderable that it is seldom recovered for
sale, but when the tar is mixed with lamp-
black it adds somewhat to the fuel value of
the lampblack and acts as a binder in briquet-
ting.

Separators of small dimensions and con-
taining many partitions have been superseded
by those of much larger dimensions with fewer
partitions. Experience with the separating of
lampblack from water has developed the fact
that the greater the area of the separator, and
consequent slower speed of flow of water,
the more thoroughly is the lampblack sep-
arated from the water.

The lampblack-and-water first empties into
a separator provided with a constantly mov-
ing skimmer, consisting of pieces of 1 x 3 oak
fastened to sprocket chains. The light, fluffy
lampblack, rising to the surface of the water,
is skimmed off by these scraping pieces and
taken through a trough to a height of about
twenty-five feet, and emptied into a settling
tank, the walls of which are made of dry
lampblack in the form of the crater of a vol-
cano. After this skimming process the water
flows into a separator, an illustration of which
is here shown.

This picture is of a separator recently in-
stalled. This separator is capable of sep-
arating lampblack from water used in the
manufacture of 12,000,000 feet of gas a
day. In this separator there is a single par-
tition running longitudinally. The partition
is provided with a skimmer extending below
the surface of the water. The separator is
made in t\vo sections to enable the alternate
cleaning and use of the sections. The water
containing lampblack flows into one of the
large pits, and the separation is accomplished
by the settling of the lampblack particles
through the water. This process is of ne-
cessity slow, because the specific gravity of
the lampblack is so nearly that of water. The
water passes under the skimmer and over the
partitions into the next pit, where further set-
tling takes place. Out of this pit the clarified
water passes through an open flume and is
wasted. When the two pits are filled with

Where the L.impb!.ick Is Separ.ited From the Water

2.53

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

{^SP^Ii

lampblack the water gates are opened into
the next pair of pits, and the water is shut off
from the pits filled with lampblack. The re-
moval of the lampblack is then performed by
means of a locomotive crane with a clam-shell
bucket. The water-soaked lampblack thus
removed is deposited in a pile and allowed to
drain. After it has drained until there is
about 30 per cent, of water remaining in it,
it may be used as boiler fuel. This was the
only use to which lampblack was put in the
early days of oil-gas making. Attempts were
afterward made to make lampblack briquettes
for domestic use. This proved difficult on ac-
count of the large amount of water contained
in what seemed to be comparatively dry lamp-
black. It was found that the only simple and
practical method of briquetting was by the
use of a plunger operated by a crank shaft
to force the lampblack into an open cylin-
drical mold, thus forming an endless briqu-
ette, after the manner of a sausage machine.
These briquettes would break by their own
weight in lengths that were multiples of the
length of a stroke. That is, if the stroke of
the machine were 1 \ inch, the briquettes
would break off in lengths of 3, 4^, or 6
inches. This method was found to be slow
and expensive. So a vertical press was in-
vented which had four plungers arranged on
one shaft. The lampblack was fed through
a trough into four molds and pressed by the
plungers into and through these molds, break-
ing off into pieces in the same manner as de-
scribed of the single horizontal press. This
vertical press produced fifty tons of briquettes
in twenty-four hours. The briquettes were three
inches in diameter, weighed 5.4 ounces the
linear inch, or 8)2 \ pounds the cubic foot.
They were smooth on the outside and pos-
sessed cohesion enough to permit of ordinary
handling. The only binder used in the mak-
ing of these briquettes was the normal amount
of tar flowing from the scrubbers into the
lampblack separator. Apparently the bri-
quettes were dry when made, but they

still contained a considerable quantity of
water.

Here is an analysis of a briquette after it
had been stored for one year in a dry place:

Moisture 8.5 per cent.

Volatile matter 10.8 per cent.

Fixed carbon 79.9 per cent.

Ash 0.8 per cent.

Total 100.0 per cent.

LAMPBLACK BRIQUETTES FOR FUEL

These briquettes are an ideal fuel, par-
ticularly for use in open grates. Owing to
the small percentage of ash, the briquettes
when once ignited remain at a glowing heat
until they are entirely consumed. The only
objection to the use of them is the strong
odor of naphthalene which they possess, and
which does not entirely disappear after stor-
age for a long time.

In order to avoid the inconvenience of deal-
ing in by-products, it was decided to make
the experiment of using lampblack briquettes
as a substitute for anthracite coal m water-gas
generators. In a station contiguous to the
Potrero plant in San Francisco there were six
sets of double, superheater, Lowe water-gas
apparatus, with a rated capacity of 1 ,000,-
000 cubic feet each. Briquettes were used in
these sets with some success, but the capacity
of the sets was reduced 50 per cent, by using
lampblack; that is to say, no more than 500,-
000 cubic feet of gas could be made in a
day with a set rated at 1 .000,000 cubic feet.
But the making of gas in this way had de-
cided advantages: there was an entire absence
of clinker, and very little time was required
to clean the fires. Contrary to expectations,
the air pressure required to blast through
lampblack was extremely low, never exceed-
ing nine inches. The average amount of
lampblack used the thousand cubic feet of gas
covering a period of six months was 39.86
pounds, and the oil used for enriching Nvas
6.8 gallons a thousand. This oil was the
ordinary 14^ to 16° crude oil with asphaltum
base. The candlepower ranged from 28 to

:.j-t

The Development of Oil-Gas in California

33 candles. At that time the gas supplied that the lumps held their shape fairly well in

to San Francisco was 23 candlepower. The the generator, and gave fully as good results

oil-gas, which was made in the large gen- as briquettes. So lump lampblack was substi-

erators, was 19 candlepower. The candle- tuted for briquettes in all the generators, thus

power of the oil-gas was raised by mixing saving the cost of briquetting and considerably

about 24 per cent, of the high candlepower reducing the cost of lampblack water-gas.

Following is a recent analysis of the lamp-
black used m the generators:

Volatile matter, including

moisture 34.15 per cent.

Fixed carbon 65.80 per cent.

Ash 0.05 per cent.

Total. . 100.00 per cent.

The first lampblack water-gas was made
July 14, 1906. This gas has been made
continuously, without the use of other fuel in
the generators, since May 5, 1907.

IMPROVEMENTS HAVE REGULATED LAMPBLACK

The improvements in oil-gas manufacture
described in this paper have made it possible
to regulate the amount of lampblack produced

lampblack water-gas with it.

TYPICAL LAMPBLACK WATER-GAS

Here is a typical analysis of the lampblack
water-gas :

Composition Percentage

Heavy hydrocarbons 16.5

Marsh gas 32.8

Hydrogen 24.6

Carbonic oxide 13.7

Carbonic acid gas 6.2

Oxygen 0.2

Residual nitrogen 6.0

Total lOO.O

Specific gravity .647

Net B. T. U. the cu. ft 814.

Candlepower 28.5

A lampblack fire is apt to flue during the
blast, and it requires some care to keep the so that a combination of oil-gas and a lamp-
fuel bed in condition, as shown by the amount black water-gas plant will produce only
of carbonic acid in the gas produced. enough lampblack for boiler fuel and gener-

In using the lampblack the ordinary round ator fuel, with no product remaining for sale,

grate bars are placed half an inch apart. Great excepting gas. The amount of lampblack

care is necessary not to overheat the super- now produced in the largest oil-gas sets is

heater and thus make lampblack in the water- t\venty pounds the thousand cubic feet of gas.

gas apparatus. During the heavy demand for For the purpose of showing the average

gas during the winter of 1908-9 the use of composition of oil-gas, lampblack water-gas.

lampblack exceeded the capacity of the single and the mixed gas now made and distributed

briquetting press. It became necessary to use in San Francisco, the accompanying series of

lumps of lampblack dug from the side of a ten analyses of each are given. These analyses

pile of dry material. These lumps were of were taken at random during each of the

about the same size as the coarse anthracite dates from June II th to June 22d, inclusive,

coal ordinarily used, and were broken away so the average of these is a good criterion of

from the pile with pick-axes. It was found the composition of the gas.

ANALYSES AND AVERAGES OF TEN SAMPLES OF CRUDE-OIL-CAS

June

CO.

CnHn

o..

CH^

C.P.

B.T.U.

Sp. gr.

llth

2.5

7.1

0.2

9.2

40.5

33.8

6.7

18.4

675.

.479

12th

2.5

7.0

0.2

9.3

37.8

35.8

7.4

22.2

686.

.495

14lh

2.4

8.0

0.2

9.4

40.0

33.3

6.7

21.2

687.

.485

I5lh

2.8

6.2

Tr.

9.4

39.0

35.4

7.2

18.5

670.

.487

16ih

2.2

6.8

0.2

8.8

40.1

35.5

6.4

20.8

685.

.474

17ih

2.4

7.0

0.2

8.4

42.8

34.2

5.0

18.8

683.

.456

18th

2.4

7.0

0.2

9.4

38.7

35.1

7.2

18.7

681.

.489

19th

3.0

7.2

Tr.

9.8

39.1

34.7

6.2

19.7

684.

.490

2lsi

3.0

6.8

0.4

9.4

40.2

33.5

6.7

18.4

665.

.481

22d

3.0

7.0

Tr.

9.0

39.6

35.1

6.3

20.2

683.

.484

Av.

2.62

7.01

0.16

9.21

39.78

34.64

6.58

19.69

679.9

.482

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

^:=i^

^^:==^

ANALYSES AND

AVERAGES OF

TEN SAMPLES OF

CARBURETTED WATER-GAS

June

CO.

CnH.n

O. CO

H. CH,

N. C. P. B.T.U.

Sp. gr.

llth

5.6

17.0

0.2 14.0

26.0 31.6

5.6 32.5 816.

.636

I2lh

5.6

16.8

0.2 13.4

23.8 34.7

5.5 32.2 836.

.643

1 4th

5.4

17.0

Tr. 13.6

27.0 32.0

5.0 33.1 822.

.624

15lh

6.0

17.0

Tr. 13.0

25.6 33.6

4.8 30.5 833.

.633

16th

5.6

16.2

Tr. 13.6

24.4 33.4

6.8 29.1 812.

.643

17th

5.7

16.3

Tr. 13.2

25.2 33.5

6.1 29.5 817.

.635

18th

6.0

16.0

Tr. 13.0

25.3 33.6

6.1 28.3 812.

.636

19th

5.8

16.0

Tr. 14.2

24.9 32.0

7.1 28.8 797.

.645

21st

5.5

15.5

0.2 13.8

25.3 32.5

7.2 30.3 793.

.638

22d

6.0

16.0

Tr. 14.0

23.5 34.1

6.4 30.4 814.

.650

Av.

5.72

16.38

0.06 12.58

25.10 33.10

6.06 30.47 816.2

.638

ANALYSES AND AVERAGES OF TEN SAMPLES OF MIXED CRUDE-OIL CAS AND CARBURETTED

WATER-GAS

June

CO.

CnH.n

CH.

C. P.

B.T.U.

Sp. gr

llth

3.4

9.2

0.4

11.0

37.2

32.9

5.9

21.8

703.

.518

12th

3.5

9.7

0.4

9.8

36.6

33.2

6.8

22.9

710.

.522

14th

3.4

10.2

0.4

10.0

36.3

33.6

6.1

22.9

724.

.523

I5lh

4.0

10.0

0.4

10.6

35.8

32.5

6.7

21.4

708.

.535

16th

3.5

9.3

0.4

10.2

38.3

31.9

6.4

21.6

696.

.512

17th

3.4

9.6

0.2

10.0

36.7

34.6

5.5

20.9

724.

.515

18th

3.6

10.0

0.4

10.0

37.2

32.3

6.5

21.5

709.

.521

19th

4.0

9.6

0.2

10.6

34.5

34.0

7.1

22.1

712.

.540

21st

3.8

9.7

0.2

10.0

35.6

33.7

7.0

21.7

712.

.531

22d

3.7

9.7

0.4

10.2

37.2

32.9

5.9

22.0

710.

.519

Av.

3.63

9.70

0.34

10.24

36.54

33.16

6.39

21.88

710.7

.5236

PERCENTAGE

The amount of gas made and the percent-
age of oil-gas and of water-gas involved in
the immediately preceding analyses are given
in the following table:

Oil-gas
June made M

llth 6,921

12th 7,094

14ih 6,664

15th 6,522

16th 7,054

17th 5,976

18th 6,072

19th 6,718

21si 6,742

22d 5,869

Average.. . 6,563

Water-gas Per cent. Per cent.

madeM
2,095

2,089
2,090
2,090
1,975
2,102
2,102
2,077
2,097
2.060

2,077

oil-gas water-gas

77
77
77
76
78
74
74
77
76
74

23
23
23
24
22
26
26
23
24
26

EARLY DOUBTS

The early days of oil-gas were filled with
doubts as to whether it could ever take the
place of coal-gas or water-gas. Doubters
prophesied that the gas would not be fixed
and that it would be impossible to maintain
uniformity in candlepower. These doubts
and fears have all been allayed. Oil-gas as

now made in California has the same sta-
bility as well-made coal-gas, with the fur-
ther advantages that any desired candle-
power may be maintained and that naphtha-
lene stoppages can be practically controlled
from the station.

Oil-gas has another advantage which is
most important from a humanitarian stand-
point. In the days of coal-gas, deaths from
asphyxiation, either accidental or suicidal,
were infrequent. But after the introduction
of water-gas the number of deaths from gas
asphyxiation materially increased. This in-
crease was attributed to the greater amount
of carbonic oxide contained in water-gas. To
be sure, illuminating gas is not sold to be
inhaled. When properly consumed the prod-
ucts of combustion of carbonic oxide are no
more harmful than those from other gases.
But as the percentage of carbonic oxide was
greatly increased bj' mixing water-gas with
coal-gas, and finally by the use of water-gas
alone, the mortality from gas asphyxiations
correspondingly increased. These facts refer
particularly to San Francisco, which has a

The Development of Oil-Gas in California

cosmopolitan population, and more nearly re-
sembles a foreign city than any other place
in the United States.

LESS SUICIDES FROM CAS

An examination of the coroner's records
shows that nearly all of the deaths from gas
asphyxiation were suicides. This leads to
the thought that when it became known that
illuminating gas containing much carbonic
oxide was a simple and convenient means of
suicide gas became popular with suicides.
The introduction of oil-gas immediately
dropped the percentage of carbonic oxide to
less than 7 per cent., and deaths from gas
asphyxiation became rare. There followed
many unsuccessful attempts at suicide. Per-
sons deliberately turned on the gas in closed
rooms, but, after remaining under its influence
for several hours, were easily resuscitated. A
great many instances of this kind seemed to
discourage the use of gas as a means of sui-
cide. The subsequent improvements in oil-
gas that increased the percentage of carbonic
oxide to 9 per cent, and the addition of lamp-
black water-gas that further increased it to
between 1 0 and I I per cent, have not in-
creased the mortality from gas asphyxiation.
This would seem to prove that very few
deaths from gas asphyxiation are purely acci-
dental.

WHERE OIL-GAS CAN PAY

The question now naturally arises. In
what localities can oil-gas be made a com-
mercial success? This depends primarily on
the cost of oil. As oil-gas can be made in
large or moderate size machines, with nine
gallons of oil or less, the cost of oil the thou-
sand cubic feet may be easily calculated from
the cost of oil the barrel delivered in any given
place. Next is the item of labor. In Cali-
fornia, and particularly in San Francisco,
labor is strongly unionized, and the wages
of the men employed in gas works are much
higher than in other parts of the country. The

hours of labor are invariably eight a
day, so that it requires three shifts of men to
operate any gas-making apparatus. Gas-
makers received $ I i 0 a month, their helpers
$90 a month, and no ordinary laborer is
paid less than $2.50 a day for eight hours'
work. With these high prices for labor pre-
vailing, it is imperative that the largest units
for gas making shall be employed. The large
generators herein described have accomplished
great saving in the cost of labor in gas
making.

During December, 1 908, at the Potrero
station in San Francisco, the amount of gas
made was 267,792,000 cubic feet, and the
cost of labor the thousand was as follows:

Generator labor, including gas-makers,

helpers, and all men on the floor $0.0081 I

Labor handling lampblack by hand 00585

(This was before the installation of the
crane for handling lampblack)
Estimated cost handling lampblack by crane. .00333
All purification labor 00491

During June, 1909, the total make of gas

was 170,776,000 cubic feet.

Labor in the generator room 00994

Handling lampblack .00522

Purification wages 00624

The miscellaneous labor about the works,
including firemen, water tenders, engineers,
helpers, other mechanics, and office help, is
about the same as in any economically oper-
ated water-gas plant where no residuals are
handled. The improvements in labor-saving
apparatus in oil-gas making have thus kep^
pace with the increase in wages and the re-
duction of hours of labor, so that the present
system of gas making is most economical, not-
withstanding the obstacles presented by local
conditions.

The future of oil-gas depends largely upon
the price of oil and the practice of economy
in the manufacture of gas. The price of oil
may be regulated by a gas company owning
its own source of supply of oil, and the prac-
tice of economy rests in the hands of every
conscientious worker in the gas industry.

237

Hydraulic Pressure Gauges

A Few Notes on the Importance of Correct Readings

By W. R. ECKART, Consulting Engineer.

While considerable attention bration. In this union coupling there should
has been given to the care, use, be inserted a thin diaphragm of sheet copper
and handhng of electrical instru- or brass, through which a small hole can be
ments in power houses, and much drilled. For high heads the hole should not
advice has been offered in regard be more than 'I'f inch in diameter, a hole made
to them, hydraulic pressure or with a No. 80 drill often being sufficient.

W I! K.tiiit ...

recording gauges installed in For low heads two or three holes of the same

these buildings have been almost, if not en- size may be required. This diaphragm will

tirely, neglected, although the importance of be found very valuable in protecting gauges

correct readings, records, and their interpre- from being injured by employees opening the

tation may and often does have a vital bear- valve too rapidly when there is no pressure

ing on the "up-keep," or life, of pipe lines on the gauge. Further, it is a protection from

heavy surges, or water rams, that often occur
from different causes in a pipe-hne system.

N«

and water wheels connected with them.

It may be well to suggest that, if possible,
gauges should be located in a convenient place
for observation at all times, with the centre
of the gauges placed about five or five and
one-half feet above the power-house floor, to
avoid parallax in reading. This height should
be of record, so that the floor may become
the datum point for all other elevations.

The connection of pipes from the gauge to
the conduit should be made outside of the
main gate valve, if there be one, the hole being
drilled and tapped at right angles to the axis
in a straight portion of the main pipe, and the
inside diameter at this point should be re-
corded. From W. E. Eskew, superintendent Elec-

All small pipes and fittings when exposed fa power division, October 15th:

to frosty weather should be well protected. We have endeavored to instill interest in the

as freezing will readily occur in the pipe, and magazine in ^he employees here, and believe it w,

it often strains the gauge tube to such an

What They Say

From editor "Progressive Age.,'
York:

We have just received the September issue of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine, in which, along
with other interesting matter, is described your new
offices in San Francisco and the office at Oakland.
We would like, with your kind permission, to
republish these descriptions.

We wish to compliment you on your magazine,
and trust that you will place us upon your mailing

bear fruit. They all seem to appreciate the maga-
zine, and as soon as they see more articles from the
rank and file of the company we believe they will be
more confident and will commence sending in articles.

extent that correct readings can not afterward
be obtained. This may take place without

being observed at the time or without other-

wise injuring the piping or fittings. The October number of the ".Architect

Between the gauge and the first valve (a and Engineer of California" used as one of

valve of the needle type being preferable at its illustrations a photogravure of the new

this point) there should be a union coupling San Francisco headquarters building of the

for readily disconnecting the gauge for cali- Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Important Features of Water- Wheel Bucket

By A. N. WARBURTON, Draughting Deparlmenl.

Various types of water wheels shape. The jet is thereby deflected in two
have been installed at hydro- ways and discharged parallel to its original
electric plants. These water path. With properly designed buckets, when
^f ^^ wheels are used for driving gener- the circumferential velocity of the wheel is
H._^H ators, and they are of two about half that of the jet, the water upon
general classes, the reaction type leaving the buckets will be inert, indicating
and the impulse type. The pur- ' that every bit of the energy in the jet has been
pose of this article is to describe a few of the expended upon the wheel. The efficiency of
features of the impulse type of wheel, a such a wheel will be high,
photogravure illustration of which appears The proper size of the buckets is deter-
herewith, mined from the diameter of the jets. The
This form of water wheel consists of a projected area of the buckets should be kept
plain disc mounted upon a central shaft. To as small as possible to diminish surface friction

the outer edge of
this disc are bolted
curved buckets. They
are so placed that
the propelling jet of
water will strike into
them at a tangent to
the circumference of
the wheel.

This impulse type
of wheel is suitable
for very high heads,
where the jet of
water strikes at great
speed produced by a
high fall. It should
be used only for a
fall exceeding 150
feet. At just what
head the reaction tur-
bine would give place to the impulse wheel angle wide enough so that the water
it is difficult to say. A high-head reaction tur- may clear the following bucket. The
bine has been developed and extensively final velocity of the water as it leaves the edge
used, and it is said to give excellent satisfac- of the buckets can be easily determined by
lion. And an impulse wheel has been oper- the parallelogram of velocities, thus: Draw
ated under a head very much lower than 150 A B, the velocity of the water, and A C,

An Impulse-Type Water Wheel

and windage losses.
But if an attempt be
made to reduce these
losses by reducing
the surface of the
buckets the stream
will be crowded and
will not properly dis-
charge from the sides
of the bucket. This
condition is illustrat-
ed by an accompany-
ing drawing.

In practice the dis-
charge is generally
made anywhere from
1 0 to 17 degrees,
according to the
size of the jet. The
idea is to make the

feet.

The buckets of the impulse-type wheel are
made with a central division lip, or "splitter."
They are curved outward, forming a cup

that of the buckets; then A D is the final
velocity of the water. Therefore the loss of
kinetic energy is proportional to the square of
A D. This shows the angle of discharge.

2.^<)

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

and that angle should be kept small. But
in the designing of a water wheel the
exercise of the most careful judgment is
necessary as to the shape of the buckets. The

following data are particularly required:
I st — The bowl of buckets ; 2d — The bottom
of buckets; 3d — The angle of the cutting
edge of buckets with reference to the edge of
the "splitter;" 4th — The lead circle of
splitter (see drawing) ; 5th — The location of
bolts; 6th — The thickness of the
bucket wall from tip to base.

All of these points should be
carefully studied out, and the
front of the bucket properly v-

shaped, so that the bucket will
not interfere with the stream. In
other words, the entrance angle
should be made to coincide with
the resultant velocity line, as
shown in the accompanying draw-
ing.

Draw a vector diagram; from
O draw a straight line to the
centre of the wheel; lay off O R
to any scale, representing the
spouting velocity; and O P at
right angles to OS equal to the
periphy velocity; and form a '-

parallelogram: O Q is the result-
ant velocity. The entrance angle
should be made about 3 degrees from this
line O Q, since the wheel is rotating about
an axis, and the relative velocity would vary
at different points and naturally take a curved
path. The bottom of the bucket should

therefore be designed to clear this path.
Otherwise the stream moving over the bot-
tom surface and across the rough spots will
imprison the air, and this imprisoned air, sud-
denly becoming released under
high pressure, will produce
chemical erosion of the surface
of the bucket.

What the spacing of the buck-
ets shall be is determined by
drawing a diagram, after finding
the size of the water-wheel to be
used with the known effective
head. The size of water-wheel
is determined from the following equation:

V=v2gh
Diameter of Pitch Circle

/ _— .- - , Specific Sfieed
V 2gh /. »- ,0Q —

Specific speed — percentage of periphery velo-
city to spouting velocity.

0.6 ■ SO% <,/-3/>oufir>y yc/oQ,fy or
Pcrrp/tery H/ocffy ofAp of BucAf/,

A diagram of an impulse wheel is shown
above. In constructing the diagram, first
draw a perpendicular line, a b, equal to arc
1-17, to represent the periphery velocity of
the bucket tip; from the point b lay off the

260

Important Features of Water' Wheel Bucket

horizontal line b c, corresponding lo I 00 per
cent, of the spouting velocity, which, in this
case, will be twice the height of the perpen-
dicular line, a b (theoretically 50 per cent,
of the spouting velocity), and join a c; divide
the line a b and the arc 117 into the same
number of equal parts; take the point at 2 in
the arc, a distance which is equal to 12 on
the perpendicular line a b; lay off 2-2'
parallel to the jet line, d c; and the distance
3-3', and 4-4', etc., to 17 1 7' in the same
manner; thus outlining the velocity line.

Let A B be the actual spacing of the
buckets on the disc. When bucket B travels
from the point 1 -5 the jet will travel twice
the distance, which is equal to 5-5'. Lay
off 5-5' on the jet as If, 2'-g, 3' h, and
4' I; thus developing the length of the jet
cut off by each succeeding bucket.

This shows that eighteen buckets is the
right number for this size of wheel. If seven-
teen buckets were used the amount of water
indicated between cutoff line J and 1 4' would
be wasted.

An Old-Time Water Wheel

The accompanying picture shows an old-
time water-wheel at an abandoned gold

mine, four miles from Colfax, Placer Coun-
ty. It was photographed in June of 1907
by James H. Wise, hydraulic engineer.

Water Wheel for a Grindstone

The ingenuity of some of the men working
in the mountain sections is suggested in the
accompanying illustration, furnished by I. B.
Adams. This is a view taken on top of the
great eight-mile flume that carries water along

the mountain side to furnish power by its final
drop to the Colgate plant. A small impulse
wheel has been made so that it is revolved by
the rush of water down the flume, and the
energy is used to turn a grindstone. There
are several such grindstone wheels at the
stations along this remarkable flume.

A young rancher living near Mesa City in
Arizona was instantly killed, October 3d, by
the current from a high-voltage line. He had
climbed a pole to scan the surrounding
country for some missing horses. Suddenly
he fell in plain sight of his mother and sister,
a lurid ball of fire that nearly burned off his
head and all his clothes.

261

The Alto Substation

By J. W. COONS, Construction Foreman.

The increased demand for

electric energy in Sausalito, Mill
Valley, Belvedere, California
City, and San Quentin made it
necessary to erect a distributing
station nearer the common centre
of these communities. They had
been supplied with current from the San Ra-
fael substation, distant about five miles from
the nearest of these towns.

Alto was chosen as the place for the new
distributing station, for two reasons. One
was that Alto was at the geographical centre
of the load, and the other was that arrange-
ments could be made with the Northwestern
Pacific Railroad for the use there of a part
of the railroad's power station and for the
operation of the substation itself by the rail-
road's employees.

This Alto substation was planned to be
operated conveniently by the operators at the
Northwestern Pacific Railroad's power house.

All the switches, transformers, arc tubs,
regulators, and other devices were located in
what was formerly used as a battery room,
and the switchboard was placed in the engine
room, alongside the railroad company's
board. The equipment consisted of four
500-kilowatt transformers, one of them being
held in reserve and all of them equipped with
regulator heads; and of one 1 00-light arc
tub, one 25-kilowatt induction regulator,
high- and low-tension oil switches, and a five-
panel switchboard. The transformers oper-
ate at 55,000 to 4,000 volts.

All the low-tension oil switches, wiring cur-
rent transformers, and a set of double buses
were mounted on a large pipe frame, about

General View of Alto Substation, near Eichardson's Bay, an Arm of San Francisco Bay.

2G-2

The Alto Substation

Grouud Plan of Alto Substation

thirty feet long by sixteen feet high. This — some of them thirty-five feet long — con-
frame was made of one-and-one-quarter-inch necting the switch handles in the engine room

to the oil switch by means of a series of levers
and cranks. Special links were designed to
open the switch at the switch frame, so that
the friction in the long operating rods would
not have to be overcome. These links are

pipe and rail fittings.

The hvo sets of buses were for feedmg the
various circuits, either from the transformers
direct or from an induction regulator. Pro-
vision was made on this frame for ten, type K.

3, General Electric line switches and one operated by solenoids placed on the switches
transformer switch, one controlled by auto-

^^P"

1-- J

■Ml

■■i^

paralleling switch, and
one switch connecting
with the railroad's
steam-driven sets.
There are also discon-
necting switches to per-
mit the separation of
the oil switches from

matic relays. Signal
lamps were put on the
switchboard to indicate
when the switch had
opened. All the wir-
ing on this switch
board is low-voltage.
The transformers

Pipe Frame and Wiring

the line. The oil were all equipped with

switches were mechan- a small pipe frame for

ically operated by supporting the leads

means of control rods that connect to the

60-kv. Transformers and
Oil Switches

2C3

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

regulator heads. A concrete trench was
built under the transformers for the water
pipes, and a second trench was run in front
of the transformers to carry the low-tension
leads to the ducts in the floor connecting with
the buses.

The problem of bringing the high-tension
lines m from the pole switches and making
a fireproof construction for these wires was
perhaps the most difficult part of the work.
On account of the local conditions the lines
had to be brought into the building through a
louvre in the top of the power house. A re-
inforced concrete tower, consisting of three
ducts or tubes, each thirty-six inches square
inside and about forty feet high, was built
for brmging in the 60-kilovolt lines.

At a distance of about twelve feet from
the floor the regular three-foot glass inlet
windows were put in, and the lines were
brought out to a 60,000-volt, triple-pole,
iron-tank oil switch, mounted on an iron
bracket on the side of the tower.

The cooling water for the transformers
was taken from a large tank, which was a
reservoir for boiler-feed water, and was circu-
lated by means of a small motor-driven centrif-
ugal pump. Because of the large quantity of
water in this tank no cooling tower was needed.

The station is ordinarily operated from
the transmission line, but arrangements exist
whereby the load can be carried from the
lines to the San Rafael substation or by the
railroad's engine-driven alternators.

Shooting Off Insulators

The top wire of the 23,000-volt line be-
tween Aha and Grass Valley was cut in two
September 30th by some one's firing a rifle
bullet at it. Both ends fell to the ground,
and, according to J. E. Calvert, foreman
of the Grass Valley district, they were five
hours in locating the trouble. The only
thing noticeable in the substation \vas that
one ammeter on all the outgoing circuits was
reading ten amperes high. The accident
occurred about eight and a half miles from
Aha.

Another accident from a similar cause
occurred October 1st on the 5,000-volt line
between Rome power house and Nevada
City, according to George Scarfe. It was
found that one of the No. 3 wires had been
shot in two, and that the ends in falling both
struck a telephone wire suspended at a lower
point along the same pole line. One end
looped down so far that it grounded. Pro-
tecting fuses on private telephone lines were
blown out.

Manager Osborn of the Woodland dis-
trict was bothered several times during Octo-
ber by some one's maliciously shooting the big
porcelain insulators off the 60,000-volt power
lines. It was necessary to shut off the power
an hour at a time in order to make repairs.

Pray if you must, but do n't prey.

Both New York and Boston had electric

expositions in October. The object was
A special blast machine to do the etching 1111 1

. . educational and the purpose commercial.

in the photo-engraving industry is one of the

latest applications for electric motors. t- ■ 1 1 r i r 1 ■

1 o avoid the lormer dangers or explosions

from the igniting of dangerous gases in mines

London now has more than 3,400 motor- a device has been introduced \\hereby the

driven vehicles regularly in use, and taxicabs ordinary incandescent electric lamp is placed

have become so popular that it is freely pre- in a glass globe containing pure air. Then

dieted that the day is not far distant when when the electric globe explodes the carbon

horse-drawn hansoms will no longer be seen filament does not directly reach and ignite

on the streets of the world's largest city. the gas of the mine.

264

An Effective Street Sprinkler

By C. W. McKlLLIP, Manager Sacramento District.

The illustrations on this page
are from photographs of a street-
sprinkhng car designed and built
at the shops of the Sacramento
Electric Gas and Railway Com-
pany, a subsidiary branch of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, operating twenty-nine miles of street-
car system in the city of Sacramento.

Each car is equipped with a gravity sprink-
ler for the track space and with a big lateral
spray sprinkler for each side of the street.

On the car are two 80-horsepower motors
of General Electric pattern and one centrif-
ugal pump operated by a ! 0-horsepower
Sprague motor.

The capacity of the water tank is 3,230
gallons. The tanks are filled at city hydrants,
and require from eight to fifteen minutes for
the filling.

I hese sprinkling cars are used daily about
seven months in the year. The city trustees
ask for bids for street sprinkling about April
I St, and the yearly contract is then awarded
to the lowest bidder.

The sprinkling done by these trolley cars
is in the residence district. In the business
section the street sprinkling is done by wagons.

Any one who has seen these electric sprink-
ling cars in operation in Sacramento can testify
as to how thoroughly they wet down the
streets.

According to data compiled by C. W.
McKillip, manager of the Sacramento dis-
trict, the capital city is busy with the con-
struction of or has just completed important
new buildings representing in the aggregate
an expenditure of $2,887,000, as follows:
By Dr. Cox $15,000, by Hale Brothers
$25,000, by Elkus & Co. $45,000, by the
Sacramento Hotel $500,000, on the Turclu
buildmg $65,000, by the People's Bank
$250,000, by August Coolot $20,000, by
the Federated Trades $50,000, by the Sun-
day News $40,000, by John Haub $35.-
000, by the county of Sacramento for a
jail $225,000, for a courthouse $400,000,
for good roads $600,000, for bridges $225,-
000, by the city of Sacramento for a build-
ing for municipal officials $200,000, by the
American Cash Store $125,000, and on the
Oschner building $67,000. This list has
no reference to the numerous private resi-
dences that are being erected.

1 o err is human, but to repeat the error
is inexcusable.

2C.">

Sketching for Mechanical Drawings

By F. W. BROWN, Draughting Department.

A draughtsman is sometimes
called upon to work up rough,
freehand sketches of an existing
or imaginary arrangement, so
that, later on, complete drawings
may be made from them by him-
self or some one else. For in-
stance, a machine may be in use of which the
firm ownmg it has no detail drawings. For
the purpose of duplicating this machine, of
getting complete detail drawings as a matter
of record, or, as is more generally the case,
that a certain alteration may be made upon it,
or a new detail introduced, sketches will have
to be made of the whole or necessary parts of
the machine from which working drawings
may be developed.

A good sketch should embody the prin-
cipal features of a working drawing, except
that it is not drawn to scale, but the relative
proportions should, as far as possible and
practical, be maintained. It must contain the
same dimensions and notes that will appear
on a finished drawing. In fact, in many
cases, sketches are used in the shop to work
from in place of detail drawings, the prin-
cipal difference being that a working drawing
is to scale and very much more elaborate,
while on a sketch many "short cuts" and time
saving methods of the draughtsman are em-
ployed that would not do on a working
drawing.

Sketching should be undertaken systemati-
cally. Possibly the best way is to draw the
object first before taking a single measure-
ment, and then take all necessary dimen-
sions. Much time is lost trying to make
sketches and take measurements simultane-
ously. Drawing the object first also fixes it
firmly in one's mind and assists in determining
the essential and unessential dimensions.

Although it is well to have a system whereby
you can do the most accurate work in a short
time, in taking dimensions one should not be
hasty, as mistakes may result. The import-
ance of accuracy in sketching can not be over-
estimated, as serious results may be caused by
carelessness or an oversight on the draughts-
man's part while engaged in measuring some
machine, building, or any of the innumerable
things that he may be called upon to sketch.

It is well on a sketch not to use any of the
many standard types of cross-sectioning used
in draughting offices to designate different
material, but to write the name of the ma-
terial on the sketch instead. Except in cases
where it is evident that surfaces must be
finished, finish marks should always be put on
a sketch. The principal idea to be followed
in sketching may be briefly expressed as seek-
ing to include everything that is necessary and
omitting all that is unnecessary.

Another good point is to see that every
measurement is written on the sketch as soon
as it is taken. Never take several measure-
ments and attempt to keep them in your head
with the intention of writing them all down
at once. Mistakes are very likely to result from
such practices and will later cause trouble for
whoever may have to work up the sketch.

In taking measurements the draughtsman
often has to use considerable ingenuity to
ascertain how to go about it, and sometimes
original methods can be used which could
not be described as they may be different for
every different job. At times, also, the
draughtsman has to be somewhat of a gym-
nast. At other times it is difficult to keep the
sketches clean enough to be read afterward.
For instance, to cite a personal experience,
the writer found this difficulty while sketch-
ing the interior of one of the steam drums of

266

Sketching for Mechanical Drawings

a water tube boiler, where the grease in places
was as thick as the boiler plate itself.

Sketches should preferably be made in
sketch books, so that all the sketches may be
together and handy for reference any time
that the draughtsman or others may wish
to refer to them. The largest size book that
can be carried in one's pocket is probably the
most convenient. Cross-section paper is well
adapted for sketching as the squares are of
great assistance in speedily getting the correct
proportions.

Instruments used in sketching depend on
the nature of the object to be sketched and
the amount of exactness required. For in-
stance, suppose it be proposed to couple a
motor and a generator together, the generator
shaft couphng being on hand, but the part of
the coupling that must go on the motor shaft
bemg absent or not connectable with the
generator coupling, due to the machines being
of different makes or for other causes. It is
then necessary to make a sketch of the part
of the coupling on the generator shaft in
order to get one out for the motor shaft. As
the bolts must be fitted the greatest accuracy
is required in measuring their diameter and
the bolt circle. This is only a simple case
but serves as an example of where extreme
care should be taken. On the other hand,
suppose an entire machine or device is to be
rebuilt from a present one, and drawings are
to be made from it. which will be standard in
the future. In this case it is not essential that
all of the dimensions of the new machine
should be exactly the same as the first as
long as the various pieces fit as they should.
Curved outlines, such as occur in engine
frames, sometimes cause considerable difficulty
in measuring, but luckily they belong to that
class which does not require all reproductions
to exact measurements.

Ordinarily a rule and inside and outside
calipers are sufficient to use, but in some cases
a square, a straight edge, a plumb bob, or a

surface gauge are also required. A surface
gauge consists simply of a vertical rod which
is secured to a cast iron base, with an adjust-
able scriber mounted on a vertical rod. This
gauge is generally used for obtaining vertical
distances where they can not be taken directly
with a rule. Steel tapes are convenient for
measuring distances of any length and some-
times for measuring circumferences where it
is not possible to measure the diameter.

There are times when sketches should not
be made in a sketch book, for instance when
it is necessary to get a curved outline exact,
which sometimes though rarely happens. A
cam is a good example of this type. In
such cases it is necessary to take a piece of
paper large enough, lay the object on it, and
trace its outline. Sometimes this method can
not or should not be resorted to, and a tem-
plate should be made.

A good check upon a sketch where the
object is measured in successive steps, as, for
instance, the centre to centre distance of bear-
ings on a line shaft, is to measure the over-all
length and note whether the dimensions pre-
viously taken produce this total.

But no matter how systematic a man may
be, how careful, or how clever at freehand
sketching, unless he have had a certain amount
of experience, he is apt to waste much valu-
able time, thinking over what to do, or doing
the wrong thmg. With experience, however,
he will be able to size up the job and know
just how to undertake it, and will also have
confidence, which counts in everything.

The printing concern that publishes this
magazine makes a practice of letting all its
employees off at a quarter before 1 2 noon
and a quarter before 5. Why? Just a Httle
kindly thoughtfulness on the part of the em-
ployer, to give them a good chance to get
seats at restaurants for luncheon and seats in
the street cars to their homes at the end of the
day's work.

267

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

I'llJLISHEIl IN THR INTKKFST OK Al.l, TH K KM I'l.DYEE?
OF THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. BRITTON Editiip.

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER - - - BusinessManager

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription •'fO cents

Single copy 10 cents

Matter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street. San Francisco

Vol. I NOVEMBER, 1909 No. 0

EDITORIAL

■Why Are
Typo-
graphical
Errors?

there is always the possibility of error, of the
selection of the wrong character, or getting it
upside down, or omitting a letter or a punct-
uation mark or a space, or puttmg a line in
the wrong place when arrangmg all the lines
in sequence. A slightly abraised or worn
type, making a G look like a C; getting an
upside-down u for an n; making "of farm
read "off arm," by putting the space in the
wrong place, — all such and a hundred other
little things must be detected by the proof-
reader and be guarded against by the editor.
By the old hand-set process it was only neces-
sary to remove the wrong type and slip in the
right one; but with the linotype process any

Did you ever wonder at typo-
graphical errors? If a two-
page article in this magazine defect in a line requires the resetting and re-
were translated and put into casting of the whole line. In setting up and
type in Chinese characters the casting a new line to correct some trivial error
oriental compositor would require six hours new errors may be made. Or perhaps some
for the job, and during that time he would one takes the newly cast corrected line and
have to walk a distance of two miles going puts it in the wrong place in the column. Re-
back and forth in the narrow alleyways peated typographical corrections and revisions
among his 550 square feet of type-cases, are not always proof against ultimate error
selecting here and there the right characters. somewhere. After all has been endorsed as
The Chinese were the world's first printers correct a pressman may, in moving the forms,
to use movable type. No less than 1 1 ,000 drop out a few lines and replace them where
different characters are required to express the they seem to him to make connected reading.
Chinese language, but fortunately these char- On page 193 of the October number of
acters are arranged in 2 1 4 groups of related the magazine the last two lines in the first
words or phrases. English ordinarily requires column finally got in in reverse sequence. On
less than fifty characters, including the twenty- page I 84, near the end of the first column of
six letters of the alphabet, ten figures, and the the article on the history of the Folsom power
punctuation marks. The same two-page plant the line reading "But in August of

article in English, if set by the old hand
process of picking one type at a time from
its separate compartment and placing it
properly in a small "stick" held in the com-

I 892 a controversy arose" should have read
1882, and on page 185, near the bottom of
the first column of that same article, the line
reading "July, 1882, convicts were put to

positor's left hand, would take a skillful type- work on the" should have read 1 888. These

setter five hours. With the now almost corrections should be noted for historical

generally used linotype machine, which is run accuracy. And so should the fact be noted

by electric power, operated like a typewriter, that Zacheaus Floyd has served the San

and casts a line of type like a bullet mold, Francisco company continuously for 47 years,

one operator could set the two pages in instead of 4 1 years.

about an hour and a quarter. The October number contained about

But whether it be by the Chinese process 35,000 words, and that opened up a possi-

or the latest labor-saving linotype machine, bility of an aggregate of more than 200,000

268

Editorial

chances of error in individual characters,
spaces, and punctuations in the first long
galley proofs, new chances in the revised
proofs, and additional chances of error in the
page proofs after the resetting of many lines
necessary in narrow-measure columns down
the sides of illustrations. But with all the
monotonous rereading of word after word,
IS it to be wondered that a few errors get past
all the watchers when there are more than a
quarter of a million chances challenging
human vigilance?

Readings
of

Pressure
Gauges

The life success of W. R.
Eckart, consulting engineer for
this company, has grown large-
ly out of the fact of his sys-
tematic thoroughness and mas-
tery of details connected with the engineering
profession. Often small but important addi-
tions to equipments are the effective means
of overcoming real difficulties. But some-
times, because of their seemingly trivial
nature, these things are forgotten or later
overlooked, and when the remedy is needed
it is not available for those who come after.
W. R. Eckart's notes in this issue on the
correct readings of hydraulic pressure gauges
are a good illustration of the importance of
such little things. Other suggestions will be
gladly welcomed from the same prolific
source.

Roosevelt's African Venture

Roosevelt is being paid a dollar a word
for the narrative of his African hunting ex-
periences published in Scribner's Magazine.
His November article contains a little more
than I 3.000 words. That means $1 3,000.
His African articles will run through a year's
issues, and will probably aggregate about
I 50,000 words. The expenses of the trip
will possibly not exceed $30,000. Peary is
to be paid $1.20 a word for his description
of the trip to the north pole. These rates

are unparalleled for long articles; and in ad-
dition the writers will each get royalties from
the matter when it is later published in book
form. Roosevelt got only $50,000 a year as
president, and had to bear heavy personal
expenses. In Africa he has about 300 black
fellows along as carriers, but they are cheap.
In one part of Africa, where wives are bought
by the natives, a good half-dozen prospective
wives can be purchased for about eighty
cents' worth of print cloth! In other parts
of Africa, possibly where "women's rights"
are more recognized, wives come higher, way
up to two and three dollars apiece! Roose-
velt advises that the central highlands of
Africa, under the equator, are a promising
place for white men to settle, develop the
natural resources, and get rich.

William H. Kline, tax agent, was at one
time deputy assessor of San Francisco under
Dr. Washington Dodge.

Little cards are out from Mr. and Mrs.
William K. Cullen announcing the birth,
October 9th, of their daughter Betty Meli-
cent Cullen. The father is connected with
the electric distribution department.

Announcement has been made to close
friends that about the middle of November
John D. Kuster, manager of the San Jose
district, and Miss O'Brien of San Francisco
(formerly of Marysville) would be married.

Cornelius ("Con") Deasy, foreman of
the half hundred men employed upon the
work of maintaining the company's under-
ground electric system in San Francisco, was,
at the city election of November 2d, elected
one of San Francisco's eighteen supervisors.
He was a nominee of the Union Labor party,
and polled a big vote. He has been identi-
fied with the underground electric service for
the past seventeen years.

Lord Kelvin, the Great Engineer

THE picture on this page is of the late
William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), the
greatest electrical engineer of the age.

The photograph was made in 1902,
while he was on a visit to America. Two in-
teresting facts attach to this
particular picture. It was
taken while Lord Kelvin
was holding in his hand
and reading at the moment
an illustrated article on the
Colgate power plant and
transmission system, pub-
lished in the March
(1902) number of "The
Review of Reviews." He
wrote his name on several
of the large photographs of
himself, and he presented
one to F. V. T. Lee, now
assistant general manager
of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company. This
small reproduction was
made from the big framed
original that hangs in the
San Francisco office of the
assistant general manager.

William Thomson is the
man who invented the re-
flecting galvanometer, the
ampere balance, electro-
meters, the syphon record-
er, the marine compass, and
the deep-sea sounding ap-
paratus. His was the expert skill behind
the laying of the early Atlantic cables. He
was electrician for the Atlantic cables in
1857-58, when he was 33 and 34, and
again in 1865-66; he was electrical engineer
for the French Atlantic cable in 1869, for
the Brazilian and Rio Plata cable in 1873,
for the West Indian cables in 1875, and for
the Mackay-Bennett cables in 1 879.

He was born at Belfast, Ireland, June
26th, 1824, and his father was professor of
mathematics in Glasgow University, Scot-
land. The son received his collegiate educa-
tion at Glasgow University and at Cam-

■^pyrisht hy Falk. N V,

l\cU^'^^%\'(OX

bridge University, graduating from St.
Peter's College, Cambridge, with the rank
of second wrangler. From the age of 22
till he was 75 he was a teacher in Glasgow
University, most of the time with the title
of professor of natural philosophy.

His greatest work was done in his maturer
years. He was specially honored by the
governments of France, Belgium, Prussia,

Lord Kelvin, the Great Engineer

Germany, and Japan for his splendid
achievements in science and his wonderfully
practical inventions, and when he was 68 he
was knighted by Great Britian and given the
title of Baron Kelvin.

His genius has been summarized as a rare
combination of pure science and great com-
mon-sense. On the purely scientific side he
was surpassed by Helmhcltz and a few
others, and in the field of actual mechanical
achievement he was surpassed by Edison and
others, but no man ever lived who accom-
plished so much in both fields in mechanics,
heat, electricity, and magnetism. While a
great scholar he was as frank and simple as
a school boy; and so practical and out-
spoken was he that he argued that more good
would accrue to humanity through the con-
version of Niagara's 4,000,000 horsepower
into useful energy than in preserving the
mighty waterfall as a "mere scenic phenom-
enon to delight the eye and impress the
mind." A. R.

A Boy's Letter

From Fair View, a little town near Dur-
ban in the province of Natal, South Africa,
came addressed to the "General Electric
Light Co., San Jose, Cal.," the following
boy's letter:

Fair View M. S.
Jan. 2, 09.
Dear Sirs: — Inclosed please find one shilling for
an inner electric light globe that I broke after
halioween 1907. Some other boys broke the outer
one Halloween and another boy and I were throwing
at the inner and we broke it. Please forgive me. I
would send American money if I had it.
Sincerely,

John Kessel.

The original was sent to the magazine
by John D. Kuster, manager of the San
Jose district.

There are 60,000,000 cells in the human
brain. Each one is a compartment for some
bit of knowledge. How many have you that
are still empty?

Butler Made a Hit

One of the incidental features of the base-
ball game played in San Francisco Septem-
ber 4th by the officials of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company against the officials of the
San Francisco Gas and Electric Company,
was when Joe Butler, the auditor of the San
Francisco company and the oldest and most

enthusiastic player on the field, first came to
bat. The women at the headquarters build-
ing had purchased a huge bouquet. At the
proper moment this was rushed out to the
umpire, and he hurried forward and presented
it to the veteran player. The accompanying
illustration, from a snap shot made by E.
Cady, shows what happened as the grand-
stand was applauding. At the left is P. M.
Downing, engineer of hydro-electric opera-
tion and maintenance of the Pacific company,
in his catcher's uniform, and at the right is
F. V. T. Lee, assistant general manager of
the Pacific company, who was officiating as
one of the umpires. The tank has no personal
significance; it just happened to be there.

A small boy arrived at the San Francisco
home of A. P. Merrick of the gas and elec-
tric records department the 3d of October and
weighed in for the human race at eight
pounds.

271

Armature Insulation and Polarity Testing

By WELDY S. YEAGER. Foreman Colgate Power House.

In the maintenance of power-
house generators it is necessary
occasionally to rewind a part or
all of the armature of the vari-
ous generators. But before cut-
ting a generator in on the bus

iVcldy S Veasci

bars, after rewinding, it is nec-
essary, first, to subject the winding to high
voltage to see if there are any defects in the
insulation, and, second, to make polarity tests
to determine if the connections are proper.

The accompanying drawing shows a con-
venient and flexible arrangement of trans-
formers to make these tests. When mounted
on a portable stand this device serves a very
useful purpose about the power house.

Before using it for high-voltage tests re-
move from their sockets all the lamps indi-
cated on the sketch. The apparatus that is
to be given high voltage should be connected
to terminals A and B2. In order to apply
a maximum of i , 1 00 volts, connect A with
B, and A2 with B2, and throw the DPDT
switch to the "Up," or series, position.
Then gradually cut the resistance out of the
circuit by lowering the plunger in the water
rheostat. This will raise the potential from
zero to a maximum of 1,100 volts. Should
it be desired to apply potentials from zero to
2,200 volts throw the DPDT switch to

the lower, or parrallel, position, and work
the water rheostat as before. To apply
4,400 volts as a maximum, connect A2 with
B and leave the apparatus to be tested con-
nected with A and B2. Gradually raise
the voltage with the water rheostat until the
full 1 I 0 volts have been applied to the sec-
ondaries of the transformers.

To show the potential across terminal A
and B2, multiply the ratio of transformation
by the voltmeter reading.

When using the arrangement for making
polarity tests, open the main switch and the
DPDT switch and insert lamps in each of
the three transformers where shown in the
sketch. With the generator running at nor-
mal speed and under normal excitation but
not connected to bus bars connect through
the switch terminals. A, B, C, to the three
main leads from the generator. Then con-
nect A2, B2, and C2 to the corresponding
three leads on the bus-bar side of the gener-
ator switch. The lamps will then light up
and go out intermittently, *the rapidity of
the "winking" depending on the frequency
of the generator as compared to the bus bar.
If the polarity is correct all the lamps will
light up and go out together. If the polarity
is not right the illumination of the lamps will
appear in rotation.

The trolley car system of Manila carried
nearly 1 1 ,000,000 passengers last year.
The concern took in $530,000 and cleared
$245,000.

They did n't keep chickens, but little Wil-
lie heard his papa at the telephone saying,
"As soon as the old hen has gone into the
country I '11 take you out in the machine."

Keeping the Flumes in Repair

year.

By W. E. MESERVEY, Foreman Nevada Water Dislrict.

Where torrents of water flow undiminished and uncontaminated through
constantly through great wooden more than thirteen miles of ditch to Nevada
flumes along the sides of caiions. City, a place of 8,000 people, and also to
across ravines, and on to power Grass Valley, a city of 1 0,000 population,
plants or to irrigating ditches, re- to be used in the mines and in the homes, and

there and further down for irrigating orchards

and farms.

This article concerns the repair work on

the upper part of this main ditch during the

past four years.

In the summer of 1905 the condition of

the old flume between Bear Valley and the

pair work is an important matter,

IV I, M,.-,.n,y . 1 1 f

costing a great deal or money
and requiring much hurried labor by many
men during a necessarily brief period of each

The main flumes in the Nevada County
water district are commonly four and a half
feet deep by six feet wide, and they are made big tunnel was such that the loss of water by

in sections sixteen feet long. In familiar par-
lance each sixteen-foot section of flume is
called a box, although the casual observer
does not notice the division into these box
lengths.

leakage was estimated as a constant flow of
700 miner's inches, which is equivalent to
the passage of 1 ,050 cubic feet of water each
minute.

Frank G. Baum and James H. Wise,

The South Yuba water system, owned by hydraulic engineers, accompanied the writer
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, con- over the system late in the summer of 1905,
sists of 450 miles of aqueducts, and the so- and they agreed that the old flumes would
called main canal, here mentioned, is one of have to be replaced with new ones as soon
the two main arteries of that system. This as possible. Some of the old flume had been
particular part of the main ditch, with some continuously in use for more than thirty years,

of its bigger branches, is

about thirty-five miles

long. It takes water

from the South Yuba

river at an elevation of

4,500 feet and conveys

it along the mountain

sides to a sudden big

drop through steel pipes

down to the Deer Creek

power house, which is at

an elevation of 3,500 feet

above the sea. There the

torrents of water furnish

the motive power for gen-
erating 5,500 kilowatts.

The water then flows on ^ ^^^ Section of Flume Replacing the Old One, Shown on the Right

273

\ ^'SCS* \ '

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

A Section of High Flume near Steep Hollow. Note Man on Top

and its age had made numerous repairs a
regular necessity.

Most of the fluming was close to the
ground and easily accessible, but at the north
fork of Steep Hollow there was a section 280
feet in length that was more than fifty feet
above the ground.

All the repair work on this flume and ditch
system has to be done in the spring, usually

to supply consumers. At
that time of year there is
from three to six feet of
snow along the line of
the ditch, and conditions
are very disagreeable
for the work. But the
period of sufficient aux-
iliary flow outside the
ditch lasts only about
three weeks, so the
work has to be rushed,
despite the snow and the
cold.

Above Bear Valley
the flume runs along un-
der a high rocky bluff,
to which the flume itself
is bolted with iron rods.
Even With such substan-
tial anchorages there
have been some dis-
astrous snowslides at
that point, with sections
of flume torn away.
Many new iron rods
have been put in as
an additional precaution
against the force of
snowslides.

Just above the big
tunnel there is a place
marked by repeated an-
nual landslides. It has
caused a great deal of
1 here a new flume has been built

trouble.

below the old one, with a span of sixteen feet
above the bed of the creek to give the slid-
ing earth and debris room to pass under with-
out damaging the flume.

During the past four years of work in re-
placing and repairing the out^vorn old flume,
1 ,007 new boxes have been put in. That
means a total length of a little more than three

the latter part of March, when there is other miles of new flume constructed during the few
water below the big tunnel that can be used \s-eeks of each spring when the snow is deep

274

Keeping the Flumes in Repair

on the ground. The Chalk Bluff dftch was reservoirs that supply the Grass Valley

put in the best of condition two years ago so
that it might supply water to the Deer Creek
power house.

The flumes of the Cascade ditch were in
such poor condition in 1 904 that it became
necessary to lease the Sargent ditch and run
part of the water through that as far as

district, and is run down Town Talk ridge
to the city of Grass Valley. Most of this
water is used for domestic purposes, so the
ditch is cleaned every spring. In addition
to the ditches already mentioned there are
many miles of smaller ditches.

Summarizing the improvements and repairs

Quaker Hill, whence it was conveyed again during the past four years, 1,007 new boxes
in the South Yuba ditch. have been built and 850 feet of new ditch

During 1905-06 more than 400 flume has been made on the main ditch line, 588
boxes were put in, so it has
not been necessary during the
past two years to use the Sar-
gent ditch.

At Quaker Hill, which is
below the Deer Creek power
house, a new flume was built
in November of 1908 along-
side the old one, and when
rainy weather began and inter-
rupted operations the new part
was temporarily joined to the
old. The new. section was
960 feet long and thirty feet
above the ground at its high-
est point. Its construction re-
quired more than 50,000 feet
of lumber. The building was
done in a most substantial
manner.

The Snow Mountain ditch
was put in good condition in
1 905 ; it was thoroughly
cleaned, and at the lower end,
usually called the Manzanita,
more than sixty new boxes
were put in. As this ditch
carries the water used for
domestic purposes in .Nevada
City, it is kept in the best of
condition.

The water for the Grass
Valley ditch is taken from the
lower end of the Cascade,
about two miles above the

^^^^nfSr.^^S<i

md A

Wii^y/ ^~

'^ Jr^^^^"^

|^^H|

^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^j

All Repairs Must Be Made When Snow Is Deep Along the Flume

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

^^mkij

new boxes built on the Cascade ditch, and 84
new boxes on the Snow Mountain ditch. In
new flumes that means a total length of a
little more than five miles of flume and trestle
work.

At Lake Spaulding the woodwork along
the top of the spillway was thoroughly re-
paired, and at Lake Stirling an entire new
dam was built, with the exception of the face
planking, which was still good. The new
dam at Lake Stirling is eighteen inches higher
than the old dam and will hold about 75,-
600,000 cubic feet of water, or 8,640,000
cubic feet more than the old one. The pres-
ent capacity of this lake is sufficient to pro-
duce a constant flow of 30,000 miner's inches
every twenty-four hours.

A New York lawyer was recently sus-
pended from practice for one year as punish-
ment for his having been found guilty of em-
ploying agents to pursue ambulances and se-
sure for him as clients persons injured in
accidents. The court declared that in future
such an offence would be punished with per-
manent disbarment.

In the counties about San Francisco bay
there are now about fifteen regular commer-
cial wireless telegraph stations, and, in addi-
tion, there are about fifty stations maintained
by amateurs for their own amusement. Many
of these amateur stations are operated by high
school boys, some of whom are already more
skillful than some of the professional operators
in the district. The air is so full of messages
during the early hours of the evening that the
professionals trying to take long-distance mes-
sages from vessels far at sea repeatedly signal
"interference", "99", "kids", "repeat". But
after about 1 0 o'clock and on till 2 or 3 or 4
in the morning the air is free of the amateurs,
and then the professionals get in their best
work.

Over the San Francisco Counter

By EcKLiN Williams.

"Look 'ere, I wants to find hout wot ails
yer bloomin gawse, any 'ow."

"Why, IS there anything the matter, my
friend? "

"Hanythmg the matter! Well, I should
sye! Me woife 'as a two-'ole stove, and
hevery toime she loights one of 'em, she cawnt
loight the bother, because the first bloody 'ole
goes hout, ye know."

"Ah! probably something in the pipe. I 'II
send you a man who will fix it for you at
once."

"Look 'ere now, do n't be a stnngin' of
me, cause it 's my belief ye cawnt do it, an
ye know ye cawnt. I've quite a moind to
order it taken hout."

"Now, my dear sir, take my advice, and
do n't be in a hurry. The self-same thing
happened in our house about two months ago.
I asked one of our men to attend to it. And
it has worked like a charm ever since. You
see, we have men who are specialists, in fact,
veritable artists in their own individual line;
and a little thing fike that is a mere bagatelle
to them. If you like, I 11 send you the same
man who attended to mine." *

"Young feller, yer all right; shake; and,
I sye, me lad, if the blymin gawse yer gives
awfter this, through yer blawsted poipes, is
one arf as good as the kind ye pawse hover
yer blumin counter, the next time I see ye I '11
treat yer to a bob's worth and tike me bloody
'at hoff t 'ye."

Some men never do anything on lime but
quit when the whistle blows.

Work was begun early in October on the
new reinforced concrete substation building
for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company at
Petaluma. The site of the building occupies
a whole block, bounded by First, D, and C
streets and the river.

276

American Gas Institute's Meeting

By HENRY BOSTWICK, Secretary to President.

The American Gas Institute,

the parent gas association of
America and perhaps the fore-
most concern of its kind in the
world, held its fourth annual
meeting the 20th, the 2 1 st, and
the 22d of October, at Detroit,
Michigan. More than 300 delegates were
in attendance from a body of 1 ,333 mem-
bers, representing the leading gas men of the
country.

Of the nme officers elected for the ensuing
year, one, a trustee, was John A. Britton,
president of the San Francisco Gas and Elec-
tric Company and general manager of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company; and of
the seventeen papers presented one was by
Edward C. Jones, gas engineer of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company. Of this particu-
lar paper the American Gas Light Journal
(New York, October 25th) expressed the
following sentiment: "Mr. E. C. Jones of
San Francisco now and these many years,
but certainly of the east in his earlier days,
then gave a well delivered summary of a most
interesting paper on the 'Development of Oil-
Gas in California.' It was written in excel-
lent vein; his summarizing was perfect; and
its lines well told how the gas men of the
coast turned oil from enmity into comity so
far as the gas business of itself was concerned.
A resonant cheer caused the active coast man
to know that his paper and his personality
were much welcomed."

Seeing Detroit's gas works and factories,
participation in a smoker, theatre parties,
auto rides to the city's parks and the sub-
urban farming country, and a steamer tour
of the lake made up the social features for
the gathering of delegates and the three score
women of the party.

The business sessions were held in the
beautiful, big Elks' hall.

The new officers are: W. H. Bradley of
New York city, president; R. B. Brown of
Milwaukee, first vice-president; John C. D.
Clark of Chicago, second vice-president; A.
B. Beadle of New York city, secretary-
treasurer; and D. McDonald, I. C. Copley,
J. B. Klumpp, John A. Britton, and R. C.
Congdon, members of the board of trustees.

Something of the scope of the subjects
presented is indicated merely in the following
list of papers read:

Technical and Mechanical Progress of the Gas
Industry, by Irvin Butterworth; Sliding Scale Regu-
lation of Prices and Dividends, by Alfred E. For-
stall; Lecture on Illuminating Engineering, by Dr.
Edward P. Hyde; Illuminating Engineering in Its
Practical Applications, by Norman Macbeth; Use
of Tar on Roads, by Arthur D. Little; A Pound
of Coal, by Charles D. Lawson ; Vertical Retorts,
by Walter G. Africa; The Development of Oil-Gas
in California, by Edward C. Jones; Gas in the Mod-
ern Kitchen, by George W. Thomson; Commercial-
ism, by Charles M. Cohn ; The Solicitor, by Karl A.
Schick; Sulphur Compounds in Illuminating Gas, by
Charles J. Ramsburg; Identification of Gas Oils, by
F. E. Park and L. E. Worthing; Power Plants for
Gas Works of Medium Size, by Charles D. Robin-
son; Automatic Oiling Meters, by T. D. Miller;
Booster System at Rochester, by Frank Helten; Ac-
ceptance and Interpretation of Data, by Robert O.
Luqueer.

Cinder in your eye? Roll soft paper up
like lamplighter, and wet tip and touch it to
cinder.

M. L. Barnhart of 2647 Mission street
in San Francisco, a watchman for the com-
pany at Hearst and Grant streets in Berke-
ley, was struck by a Berkeley local train,
while crossing Shattuck avenue early in the
evening of the 26th of October, and so
seriously injured that he died two hours after-
ward. He was a Civil War veteran and a
member of the G. A. R.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

W. R. ECKART

The Company's Consulting Engineer, a Veteran Foremost in His Profession

on the Pacific Coast

OHIO has produced more presidents than
any other state. There may be some-
thmg in the environment or something in the
consciousness of the great achievements of
her famous sons that impels a goodly percent-
age of Ohio-born men to advance to positions
of prominence. The
incentive of close ex-
ample, the germ of
ambition, whatever it
be, the Ohio man at
his best climbs above
the average that start
under like circum-
stances. Who today
are the half-dozen
great engineers on the
Pacific slope? You
can 't name them and
omit W. R. Eckart
from the front rank.
For more than forty
years his life has
been identified inti-
mately and exclusive-
ly with most of the
great engineering
problems and de-
velopments of this
part of the world.

He began life as an Ohian sixty-eight years
ago, for he was born at Chillicothe June 1 7th,
1 84 I . His mother's people had been pioneers
in the settlement of that part of Ohio. His
father was a merchant, with shipping interests
in vessels on the great lakes.

First young Eckart attended private
schools. Then his mother died when he was
1 2. After some public schooling in Chilli-

W. E. Eckart

cothe and Cleveland he took a special mathe-
matical course in an academy at Cleveland in
the hope of becoming a civil engineer, as he
had a relative who was a civil engineer and
president of the Marietta and Cincinnati Rail-
road, which was being somebody in those
days! When the boy
was in his early teens
the father moved to
Zanesville, where he
had a managing in-
terest in a flour mill.
Now it happened
that the power for
this grist mill came
from six water
wheels. New wheels
had to be installed.
Young Eckart was
assisting the mill-
wrigkt. .'Xnd as he
\\orked at setting up
those wheels he was
noticed. A member
of a firm prominent
in those days in gen-
eral mill and steam-
b o a t work offered
him a place as ap-
prentice. The youth
had voyaged a little on Ohio and on Missis-
sippi river steamboats, and marine engineering
had fascinated him. So he accepted the ap-
prenticeship. The firm's junior partner was
manager of the works; he was a master me-
chanic of great ability, and had been appren-
tice and foreman to Sir Joseph Whitworth in
England, when the Whitworth works grew
famous for machine tool construction. The

Biographical Sketch — W. R. Eckart

i^S^j

manager became young Eckart's friend, his
severest and most encouraging critic. No
work was done "good enough"; it had to be
finished as the best possible. That apprentice-
ship and those ideas laid the foundation of
the Eckart thoroughness and efficiency as a
practical engineer.

Participation in steamboat trial trips to test
machinery further interested the apprentice in
marine engineering. July 2d, 1861, he took
the government examinations and passed them
with the rank of No. I of his date. He was
appointed a third assistant engineer and
ordered to join the United States naval fleet
at San Francisco.

During his three years of naval duty, from
the time he was 20 till he was 23, he made
the acquaintance in San Francisco and gained
the lasting friendship of the foremost men
then in the engineering profession in Califor-
nia— Paul Torqua, Joseph Moore, Irving M.
Scott, Wallace Hanscom, Huttner, Specht.
Because of poor health he resigned from the
navy and decided to make his home in San
Francisco. He secured employment in 1 864
in the draughting room of H. J. Booth & Co.,
a concern that manufactured mining machin-
ery and repaired coast steamships. Irving M.
Scott was the company's chief draughtsman
at that time. A year later Eckart, then 24,
was chief draughtsman, and August 30th,
I 865, the Booth & Co. shops turned out from
Eckart's designs and drawings the first loco-
motive manufactured in California. The trial
run was made that day on the railroad from
San Francisco to San Jose, with the governor,
state and city officials, and other notables as
invited passengers.

In 1867 Eckart went east, passed the ex-
aminations that licensed him to be a first-
class chief engineer in the merchant marine,
and then returned to California and continued
his work with Booth & Co. In February of
1 869, after nearly five years with the con-
cern designing mills and mining machinery,
he resigned to accept the appointment as

draughtsman to the steam engineering depart-
ment at the Mare Island Navy Yard. That
was when he was 27. He became foreman
machinist, and was finally promoted to super-
intendent of steam machinery at the navy
yard. He designed steam machinery, pro-
pellers, and dynamometers for the noted ex-
periments made by the government with
"steam launch No. 4."

When he was 30 he left the navy yard to
become a partner in the Marysville foundry
firm of Prescott, Scheidel & Co., later styled
Booth & Eckart. The firm built a great
variety of hydraulic and mining machinery.
Because of his experience in the experiments
with the government launch Eckart guaran-
teed a speed of 2 I miles an hour when taking
the contract to build the little steamer Meteor
for the Carson Lumber Company's use on
Lake Tahoe, and the Meteor made the speed
and was at the time the fastest boat of its size
in the world.

At 3 1 Eckart was appointed consulting
engineer m the sinking of the four air shafts
for the famous Sutro tunnel in Nevada. He
spent months experimenting at Virginia City,
collecting in his minute and methodical way
data necessary to a commanding understand-
ing of the whole situation. It was nasty,
suffocating work, deep down in the mines, in
a steamy, reeking atmosphere, where drops
of subterranean water blistered the skin.

He had already designed the hoisting and
drainage works for the Belcher, Yellow
Jacket, Ophir, C. & C, and other historic
mines.

In 1873 he established his residence in
Virginia City as the consulting engineer for
that remarkable quartette of bonanza kings,
Mackay, Flood, O'Brien, and Fair.

About 1876 it became evident to the big
operators on the Comstock lode that heavy
and powerful pumping and hoisting machinery
would have to be installed to operate at a
depth of 2,000 or 3.000 feet below the
1 , 600-foot level to be tapped by the Sutro

279

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

drainage tunnel, which was then in 15,500
feet and had about 5,000 feet still to go to
reach the lode. Prescott, Scott & Co. and the
Risdon Iron Works were keen competitors for
the contracts to construct the desired ma-
chinery. The firm that could produce an
acceptable design first usually got the job. So
Prescott, Scott & Co. sent Eckart down to
San Francisco to help Irving M. Scott with
the designs. And there was where Eckart's
earlier collection of minute data counted.
While he did not design the great hydraulic
pumps of the Comstock, his experiments in
1880 and 1881, while a member of the
United States Geological Survey preparing
his government report on the "Mechanical
Appliances of the Comstock Lode," became
classics for the information of engineers, as
the problems involved things not before under-
taken in engineering and difficulties of a pecu-
liar nature because of the great depth and the
subterranean hot waters encountered.

About 1 880, when deep mining on the
Comstock began to decline, Eckart, then 39,
moved to San Francisco and opened an office
as a consulting engineer, and for ten years
designed or supervised the construction of
works for many well-known mines in Cali-
fornia, Utah, and old Mexico. He made
the plans for the Anaconda Copper Works
in Montana and the hoisting and reduction
works for Haggin and Tevis. In 1 896 he
solved the problem of getting the water out
of the Alliston Ranch Mine at Grass Valley,
which had lain idle and its lower levels baf-
flingly submerged for thirty years.

When the Union Iron Works entered upon
its great career of warship building Eckart
■was engaged as its consulting engineer, and
as such he assisted in conducting most of the
preliminary and official trial trips and in
rendering the reports.

In 1 899 he was appointed consulting en-
gineer for the Standard Electric Company,
now owned by the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, and then became its resident con-

structing engineer for all its hydraulic works,
reservoirs, pipe lines, ditches, and power
houses. Those were the days of pioneering
in long-distance transmission of electric energy,
and Eckart, who, more than a generation
earlier, had taken so prominent a part in the
work on the Comstock of getting the boiling
water out of the depths of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, was among the first to solve the
problem of getting the melting snows from the
tops of those same mountains down to hydro-
electric plants that would transmit the energy
on 200 miles to the local needs of the coast
cities. Since 1907 he has been consulting
engineer for the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.

His life has been busy but unobtrusive, his
achievements in his profession many, and his
recognition partly expressed by membership
accorded him in the most prominent engineer-
ing societies of America and England.

A. R.

A Bust of Peter Donahue

A life-size, bronze bust of the late Peter
Donahue, founder of the gas business in San
Francisco and builder of the first gas works
ever established on the western slope of
America, has been placed conspicuously in
the main office of the San Francisco head-
quarters building, where thousands of con-
sumers can easily see it when approaching the
"information" counter, above which it makes
an artistic ornament in nice harmony with the
ornamental woodwork. The likeness is said
to be excellent and much more natural than
the old photographic print used on the first
page of the August number of the magazine.
The designing of the bust was the work of
M. Earle Cummings, the well-known Califor-
nia sculptor.

A. L. Trowbridge, field engineer, was
captain and outfielder of the Stanford varsity
nine in the spring of 1905.

280

Stockton's "Rush of '49"

By J. W. HALL, Manager Slocklon Water District.

The sixtieth anniversary of the
"Rush of '49" was celebrated
by the city of Stockton during a
period of five days in the latter
part of October. It was the
week following San Francisco's
splendid festival that commemo-
rated the discovery of San Francisco bay 1 40
years ago by Caspar de Portoia, who missed
Monterey but found the great bay while on
his overland way up the coast from old
Mexico to begin his duties as Spain's first
governor of California. San Francisco's car-
nival amazed; it surpassed every expectation
in size, diversity, artistic attractiveness, and
favorable weather, and had the city so
crowded with approximately 1 ,000,000 peo-
ple that the down-town streets at night were
teeming with humanity good-naturedly scuf-
fing along on sidewalks and pavements liter-
ally snowstormed with confetti.

Stockton, a hundred miles inland and on
one of the two great rivers that debouch into
San Francisco bay, caught the Portoia over-
flow, got San Francisco's huge Chinese
dragon for its parade, and had the greatest
crowds in its history. A population of 30,-
000 was, like San Francisco's, doubled, and
the last Saturday night probably 50,000 peo-
ple were on the streets.

Stockton was one of the first locations of
California's early gold seekers on their way
to the mines, and many of the old timers are
still living here and imbued with the old
spirit. The towns of the southern mines also
contributed largely toward making the cele-
bration a great success.

Stockton's citizens changed themselves for
a period of five days into a motley crowd of
mmers, cowboys, "greasers," and Indians,

and turned themselves loose. There was
something doing all the time.

Roaring Camp was pitched on Hunter
Square, with a background of mountains con-
structed of canvas and paint. There was a
real waterfall, and a considerable stream of
water running through a gravel-strewn chan-
nel for a hundred feet or more, with real
placer mining going on day and night.
There were stockades, beaneries, hotels,
saloons, gambling dens, dance halls, and a
daily paper printed by an ancient small press.
There were bull fights, stage hold-ups, shoot-
ing scrapes, lynchings, and fights with Indians.
There were prairie schooners, ox teams, old
stage coaches, and burro trains packed with
mining outfits. There was a $20,000 mining
exhibit, and a historical collection of ancient
relics.

All the store windows were decorated with
scenes of mming days and pans of nuggets,
and everything was run "wide open," in typi-
cal mining-camp style, with no restrictions as
to gambling.

There is no such thing in the United States
as a national holiday, not even the 4th of
July. The President proclaims Thanksgiving,
but only effectively for the District of Colum-
bia and the territories. Each state makes its
own holidays. In California there are nine
legal holidays: January 1st (New Year's
Day), February 22d (Washington's Birth-
day), May 30th (Decoration Day), July
4th (Independence Day), September, the
first Monday (Labor Day), September 9th
(Admission Day), November, the first Tues-
day (General Election Day), November,
usually the fourth Thursday (Thanksgiving
Day), December 25th (Christmas).

281

Ho^v to Make Out Requisitions

By JOHN H. HUNT, Purchasing Agent.

A great many of the com ' the senders of some of those orders would be
plaints that are constantly coming telephoning in a few days demandmg to know
to the purchasing agent, because why they had not yet received the goods.
of delays in receiving materials, Another very important matter is to give
would, if analyzed, act as a complete and accurate shippmg directions,
boomerang on the manager who Here is a copy of the directions that came in
issued the requisitions. And on an order received from Oakland and ship-
these delays could be avoided by a little care ment on which went astray :
on the part of the person who sent in the g^.p to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Oak-
order, land District, Oakland, Cal., by freight to Berkeley.

If a district manager's experience has been j^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^j^^j j^ Oakland,

that it takes a week or longer to get his sup- ^j^^^ ^ j^ ^.^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^j^ ^^^^j ^^^^

plies, why should he wait till he is ready to ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^j_ j^ ^^^ ^^^^, ^^^ ^^j^^^ ..^l^jp

use the things before he puts in his order? ^^ express," unless you wish express shipment

Why should he delay so long that he then jj^^^j f^^^ ^^^ ^^^^

has to telephone to the purchasing agent to j^^ purchasing department tries to correct

"rush by express," when a little forethought
on his part would have warned him a week
earlier that he would be needing the material?

In making out a requisition care should be
taken to make plain exactly what is wanted.
Very often a switch or some other piece of
electrical apparatus is ordered by catalogue
number, and the description given will call for
something of an entirely different rating.
Then letters have to be sent and received, and
that much delay is caused before it can be
known just what to ship.

Sometimes an order is received with only
part of the dimensions, or with no dimensions
at all, like these:

200 galv. washers.

50 ft. of 5-ply steam hose.

60 ft. of double leather belting.
500 dogs as per sample. [And no sample sent.]

10 ft. No. 4 duplex cable.

All those are actual orders that came in dur-

all evident mistakes before the orders leave
the office. But some days more than a hun-
dred orders are put through, and with so
many it is hard to catch all the errors. Dur-
ing the month of September of 1909 there
were 1,853 orders and 3,285 invoices put
through the purchasing department of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company. That is
an average of 80 orders and 1 40 bills for
each working day. If the district managers
will exercise a litttle more care along the
lines herein suggested and not leave it to
the purchasing department to discover and
correct their errors on requisitions and to
supply missing information, it will help some.
On the orders there is a space which reads

"For Use In " Don't fill that

out by writing "Item C of GM-246." Such
formulae may be perfectly clear to the person
who made out the order, but it is about as
clear as mud to the purchasing agent. Do n't
ing one week in October. The size of be afraid to give a little definite information
washers, the size of hose, the size of belting — as to what it is "For use in.'
such little details were left to the imagination Perhaps the most disagreeable thing to the

of the purchasing agent. And as sure as fate buyer, and certainly the one that causes the

282

How to Make Out Requisitions

The Iceman at Colgate

This is a picture of "Shorty" Walker and

most contusion and mistakes, is the "Rush

Order" that is telephoned in and is to be

covered later by a confirming requisition. . . ...

\/^..„ ^ff»„ ■ \- I ^ •,! "'s ice-wagon at the Colgate powerhouse.

Very often a requisition arrives later without t~l i /- i

k<.;,,rT „,,vl..J 'V C ■ " J 1 •. L 1 he thermometer gets way up at Colgate dur-
being marked confirming, and unless it be o .7 ^ &

recognized in the purchasing department or

by the merchant with whom it is placed a

duplicate shipment is made. This invariably

leads to a lot of correspondence ; the material

has to be returned; and a readjustment of

credits has to be made: all because the man

that telephoned the rush order forgot to write

the little word "confirming" on his written

order.

The Deer that Photographed Itself

This deer picture, sent in by C. E. Young,
superintendent of the Marysville power divi-
sion and himself a great hunter, was secured
on a hunting trip in the mountains of northern
California under remarkable conditions. It
was a flashlight taken late at night, several
miles from camp or any human being, and the
deer itself operated the camera. Three ordi-
nary sewing threads were stretched in parallel
across a little pathway leading to a cattle salt-
lick frequented by deer. When the deer's
feet struck the first thread the camera shutter

^1 «iA.^ irlh ^

iSiH^MuL.

""■■•^ -^^i^^Sihk

.-■•^-

'^_ - ' '

.,-»"'!^^''

y^^.i^

■'H>Mi» II 1 dmB

^^x

was opened ; when it touched the second that
set off the flash, and when it struck the third
thread that closed the shutter. The camera
was set up by Charles Hughes of Red Bluff.

ing the summer, and that rock-ribbed and
forest-covered canon of the Yuba river be-
comes decidedly warm. Ice is a necessity.
It is made in a small machine in the power
house, and "Shorty," who is a general utility
man at the plant, has never been known to
miss a day in the reguality of his rounds with
ice. He is a man with a history ; he served
in the Sixth regulars as an Indian fighter
under Crooks in 1869 and 1870; was a
driver of overland stages before the days of
the railroad; and, according to I. B. Adams,
the superintendent, is personally the most pop-
ular man in the Colgate division.

The most approachable men to interview
are the really big men. Only the near-im-
portant are self-important.

283

ER50NALS

John A. Britton, general manager of the Frank Pancera of the gas department at

company, returned to San Francisco October San Jose served in the Italian army from
28th, after a two-months' voyage to Japan. 1 882 to 1 886, in the Eighteenth Cavalry.

L. J. Lisberger, engineer of electric dis-
tribution, built the street railway lines of San
Antonio, Texas, before he was 25.

S. V. Walton, manager of the commercial
department, was fruit buyer for the J. K.
Armsby Company in the fall of 1 904.

H. E. Cahill of the Colusa district put in
four years on a government snag boat
clearing the channel of the Sacramento river.

John O. Hansen, superintendent of the
San Jose power division, used to be a varsity
football player at the University of Califor-
nia.

D. H. Foote, secretary of the company,
was at one time assistant manager of the
American Beet Sugar Company at Oxnard,
California.

C. J. Pierard of the closing bill depart-
ment, San Francisco, was a first sergeant in
the First Infantry of the Belgian army from
1876 to 1880.

D. A. (Gus) White was a cowboy for a
year on a cattle ranch in Arizona, and a
dozen years ago used to play football with
the Olympic Club.

William E. Osborn, manager of the
Woodland district, was in Guatamala from
1 89 1 to 1895, in charge of the office of
E. J. de Sabla, Sr.

John H. Hunt, purchasing agent, was
assistant purchasing agent for the United
Railroads of San Francisco for nearly two
years preceding the fire.

J. D. Kuster, manager of the San Jose
district, was principal of the Marysville gram-
mar school from 1 900 to 1 902 and also a
member of the county board of education.

W. B. Bosley, head of the law depart-
ment, delivered a course of lectures at the
University of California at Berkeley during
two college years, commencing with the fail
of 1901.

S. P. Babcock of the Oakland district
served three years and four months in the
Civil War in the I52d New York State
Volunteers, in the Second Army Corps under
General Hancock.

Ernest Curtiss, foreman of a gang of line-
men in the Marysville district, and Miss
Myrtle M. Anderson of Gridley, Butte
County, were married in the Presbyterian
church at Marysville October 27th.

John P. Coghlan, manager of the claims O. Bloomfield of the closing bill depart-

department, was, previous to his admission to ment, San Francisco, was a first sergeant in

the bar a few years ago, engaged for several the Thirteenth Infantry of Roumania, and

years in San Francisco journalism as a re- for three years was in the Eighteenth In-

porter on an evening paper. fantry of United States regulars.

2Si

Personals

Lewis p. Price of the mains and service
department in Sacramento served six years
in the British army in India, South Africa,
and elsewhere, and was presented with a
medal for bravery during the Zulu war of
1878 and 1879.

Frank A. Leach, Jr., manager of the
Oakland and Berkeley districts and son of
the former director of the United States
mints, began his career as a printer's devil,
and then learned the trades of bookbinding,
presswork, and photo-engraving.

J. W. Hall, manager of the Stockton
water district, was three years in charge of
the Natoma Water Company's 2,000-acre
vineyard near Folsom, one year in charge of
the Hopkins orange plantation at Pasadena,
and seven years in charge of the Barton vine-
yard at Fresno.

A. B. Maguire, a street inspector for the
San Francisco Gas and Electric Company,
was thrown from a runaway buggy at Polk
and O'Farrell streetts October 15th and sus-
tained lacerations and contusions of the scalp
and forehead, contusions of the chest and hip,
and was somewhat hurt internally.

James H. Wise, the company's hydraulic
engineer, taught mathematics in the California
School of Mechanical Arts (Lick School),
San Francisco, during the year immediately
following his graduation from the University
of California in 1903.

A. F. Hockenbeamer, treasurer and comp-
troller, was with the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad System two years, one year as
assistant chief engineer of maintenance of way
and one year as assistant general superintend-
ent of motive power, and later he was con-
fidential expert on railroad properties for the
New York banking concern of N. W. Hal-
sey & Co.

John Werry, manager of the Grass Val-
ley and Nevada districts, was county recorder
of Nevada County three successive terms,
serving from 1 892 to 1 902 as a republican
nominee; prior to that he had been chief
deputy county assessor for six years and one
year deputy postmaster under a democratic
chief.

George Scarfe, superintendent of the
Nevada power division and manager of the
Nevada water district, has, during his varied
career, been a plumber, a sheet-metal worker,
in the engine room of transatlantic steamships,
chief engineer for an electric light company,
and construction engineer on work in San Sal-
vador, Central America.

F. V. T. Lee, assistant general manager
of the company, is off on a two-months' sea
voyage for a rest. He left Vancouver, B.C.,
November 5th, in the steamship Marawa for
Australasia. On the way, both going and
returning, he will stop at Honolulu, at the
Fiji Islands, at Brisbane, Sydney, and Mel-
bourne, and at Auckland, N. Z. He expects
to be back early in January.

W. R. Arthur, manager of the Auburn
water district, has submitted the following
comparisions on California, clipped from an
article in "The Coast Review:"

California's area is greater than the com-
bined areas of Belgium, Denmark, Greece,
Holland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Scot-
land ; which countries support an aggregate
population exceeding 30,000,000. Its area
is about one-third greater than that of Great
Britain with a population of 42,000,000;
of Italy with a population of 32,500,000,
and three-quarters as great as France or Ger-
many, and more than three-quarters as great
as Spain. San Bernardino County, with its
area of 20,000 square miles, is larger than
Belgium, Denmark, Holland, or Switzer-
land; and the Sacramento and San Joa-
quin valleys contain more arable land than is
contained in Belgium, Denmark, or Holland.

285

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

DIRECTORS

F. H. Andkrson
IIknuy K. Both in
John a, Hritton
\V. H. Crockkk
E. .1. De SAiii.A, .III

1-". i;. Drim
John 8. IJrim

]). II. KOOTE

a f. hockenije.4mer
John Martin

LOIIS MoNTKAIil.K
CVHl'S PiKRCE

Leon .Si.oss
Joseph .«. Tobin
Ge()R<;e K. Weeks

OFFICERS

V. <;. iii'.iM

.loHN A. HRiri'i
K. V. T. Lee

rrcsidi'iit .\. K. HoCKENBEAMEK Treiin. ami Coinptroller

ice-Prcs. and (ii'ii. Mgr. D. H. FooTE Secretary

.Asst. (ieiicral Maiiaser Chari.f..s L. Barrett Asst. . Secretary

K. Kckart Consulting Engineer

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

\V. II. I'.iisi.EY : Attorne.v

J. C. LdVE Anditor

AV. H. Kline Tax Agent

R. J. C'ANTREU, Property Agent

S. V. Walton Manager Commercial Dept.

J. P. ('(KiHLAN Manager Claims Dept.

J. H. Hint Purchasing Agent

K. B. llENi.EY Manager Land Dept.

E. ('. Jones Engr. (Jas Dept.

P. M. Downing Engr. O. & M. Hyd.-Elec. Seit.

F. H. Varney Engr. (). i^: M. Steam & C.as Eng. 8eet.

J. H. Wise Civil and Hydraulic Engr.

C. F. Adams Engr. of Elec. Construction

George C. Holberton Engr. of Elec. Distrib'n (Sect. 1 1

S. J. LisBERGER Engr. of Elec.pistrib'n (Sect. 2)

George C. Robb Snpt. of Supplies.

H. BosTwicK Secretary to Presiilciit

DISTRICT MANAGERS

Bi:i;kki.kv F. A. I,i:.un. .ii:.

Chico H. B. HEUVKonh

Col.nsA W. M. IlKNDERSDN

Fresno E. W. F"lorence

(iHASs Valley John Werrv

Marysville J; E. Poingdestre

Marin W. M. Foster

Nai'A O. E. Clark

WOOIII.AM).

Ni.VAPA City Iohn Wei;i:v

Oakland F. A. Leach. Jr.

Petah.ma H. Weber

Redwood City L. II. JIewbert

Sacra.mento C. W. McKlLLU'

San Jose J. D. Kuster

Santa Rosa Thomas D. Fetch

Vai.le.io A. J. Stephens

W. E. OsiiOBN

MANAGERS OF WATER DISTRICTS

Arm RN.
Nevada.

Colgate

De Sabla

Electra

Marysville...
Nevada City

W. R. Arthlr Placer Division H. W. Cooper. Supt.

George Scarfe Standard W. E. Eskew

Stockton J. W. Hail

SUPERINTENDENTS OF POWER DIVISIONS

I. B. Adams (acting) North Tower C. D. Clark

1). M. YoiNG Oakland William Hughes

W. E. Eskew Sacramento W. C. Finely

C. E. Young (acting) San Jose J. O. Hansen

George Scarfe South Tower A. H. Burnett (acting)

SUPERINTENDENTS OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

,.C. J. Wilson

-ackamentc.

2S6

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Vol. I

Contents for December

No. 7

JUST A WOMAN'S PICTURE

A LOG-DRIVE ON THE AMERICAN RIVER

SIAMESE TWIN OAKS ....

A JAPANESE SWORD CONTEST

DAMAGE CLAIMS— A MODERN VIEW

THE HISTORY OF GAS LIGHTING IN VALLEJO

A DRAUGHTING-ROOM DECISION

FIRE!

CASH PRIZES FOR EMPLOYEES

EDITORIAL

THE HISTORY OF THE NEVADA POWER PLANT
ELECTRICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NEVADA COUNTY
TWO EPOCH-MAKERS IN THE ELECTRIC WORLD

GETTING EXPERIENCE

COLLEGE MEN IN THE COMPANY

THE SOURCE OF SAN FRANCISCO'S ELECTRICITY

THE FUN IN HANDLING KICKERS

HOW TO FIGURE COST OF ELECTRIC POWER

TESTS WITH PITOT TUBE ON SALT-WATER MAIN

A MUDDY-ROAD MAIL WAGON ....

A RAIL-BONDING CAR

THE COMPANY'S DEER

MEN OF THE COMPANY— GEORGE C. HOLBERTON
SAN FRANCISCO'S ELECTRIC PULSE .

A NEW POWER PLANT

TALK ABOUT HORSEPOWER! ....

PERSONALS

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS

J. W. Hall

John P. Coghlan
E. C. Jones

H. .
R. J. C.

Archie Rice
J. E. Calvert

A. R.

Edward Stephenson
S. A. Wardlaw
S. V. Walton
A. L. Trowbridge

C. W

McKillip

Frontispiece

289
294
294
295
298
303
303
303
304
305
316
319
319
320
324
329
330
332
335
336
337
338
341
342
342
343
Facing 344

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

Through sorrow's gloom, or gala da})s,
A lovely Woman's charms and nta^s
Cive warmth and glow io life always.
Her smile io us is halm, or praise.
A ioasl: "To her", these holidays.

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

DECEMBER, 1909

No. 7

A Log-Drive on the American River

By J. W. HALL, Manager Stockton Water District.

One fine morning in April of
1891 the Boss decided that the
time was ripe for starting "the
Drive." For several days the
weather had been getting warm-
er. Far up on the Sierra sum-
mits old Sol had been softenmg
the snow. The water had seeped down
through the white mass and begun to run off
from under the edges in myriads of little rills
that had daily been increasing in volume until
now the gulches, creeks, and caiions had be-
come filled with roaring streams. The river
itself had reached the "driving stage"; had
become a strong, turbulent, irresistable torrent
that would continue to rage through the gorge
as long as there was any snow left to melt.

1 he American, which but a few days be-
fore had been but a purling stream in a
boulder-strewn channel, with inaccessible
cliffs sloping directly from its depths up a
thousand feet or more to the mesas above and
walling in a solitude disturbed only by the
denizens of the wild, was soon to become the
centre of a carnival of action and life, and
its rock-ribbed ramparts to resound with the

boom of the logs and the shouts of the river-
men.

In the dead of winter the axmen had laid
the towering green trees prostrate on the deep
bed of snow. The fallen giants had been cut
into lengths, peeled, sniped, scaled, and
branded, and then the sections snaked out by
the steam donkeys to the landings along the
tracks. There they had been loaded on the
cars, and thence transported on the tortuous
little logging camp railroad to a point over-
looking the river. From a height of 1,1 00
feet above the stream each log was sent down
the 3,500-foot incline chute to make that two-
thirds of a mile dash in thirty seconds and end
it with a spectacular dive and a towering
splash into the retaining basin behind a huge
dam built of log cribs filled in with rock and
encased with planking.

The logs darting down that slippery chute
were of sugar pine and yellow pine and spruce
and fir and cedar.

The course of the river for the forty miles
from Slab Creek to Folsom is one of historic
interest. Here was the scene of the first gold
mining in California in the days of '48 and

[Editorial Note: — The writer has told this story out of a close personal knowledge of the old logging
days on the American river, but there is a special interest attaching to this historical sketch by reason of the
fact that the Pacific Gas and Electric Company now owns the scene of the old log basin and a considerable
stretch of the American river itself, from the company's power plant at Folsom to a point three miles
up-stream and including the Folsom dam and the two miles of canal down which the logs were floated to
the old mill.]

289

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Forest Timber and the Big Peeled Logs

'49. Here were Mosquito, Chile Bar, and
there Coloma valley, where stands Marshall's
monunient near Sutter's old mill ; here Nat-
ural Bridge, Salmon Falls, and there Mor-
mon Island.

The sluice gates in the retammg dam had
been opened the day before. The logs shot
out into the stream. They scattered them-
selves for miles along its banks and bars.
Some kept to the current. Others separated
from the crest of the stream and lodged
against the bars, the shores, the bends, in in-
extricable confusion.

To work these locked logs back into the
current, to keep them moving toward the mill
at Folsom, that was the business of the drive.

The camps had been prepared. The
bateaux had been built, their crews selected.
The logging Jacks had transformed them-
selves into woolen-clad drivers, with high laced

boots havmg soles well studded with short
spikes. The equipment was complete, yet the
simplest possible, for along that inaccessible
canon not a superfluous pound must be car-
ried.

With the first streak of dawn the men are
in motion. They have breakfasted by lantern
light. In gangs of from ten to fifty, every
man with his peevie, they are wrestling with
the logs. The bigger gang attacks the rear,
"sacking" the logs by main strength off the
shores. Other groups work upon those in the
narrow or more obstructed places further
down stream, poling them off as they come,
keeping them from accumulating into jams.

The boat crews are at work on the centres,
where the logs lodge against boulders in mid-
stream, or in the eddies, where they must be
withdrawn one at a time. All the work is
of the most strenuous character. The men

290

A Log' Drive on the American River

are in and out of the
cold water from morn-
ing until night, fre-
quently in danger,
taking the greatest
risks, shouting, heav-
ing, and fighting with
the logs like a lot of
demons.

At 10 o'clock in
the forenoon, in boxes
on the backs of burros,
comes the first lunch,
and with it the first
rest of the day. Half
an hour suffices for
this; and they are all
up and at it again. The
next lunch is at 3
o'clock in the afternoon
fourth meal is served
camp. Then bonfires

; and
upon

are lighted and the

The Foot of the Chute, and the
a Plunging Log

The Logging Camp Railroad

after dusk their drivers change their wet garments for dry
their return to ones and dispose of the wet ones about the
fires. Many do not take the trouble to
change, but tumble in without removing their
half-dried clothing.

The camp is rough and crude, pitched in
a small cove or flat offering room enough for
the cook tent. Rows of saw-buck tables and
rough benches in the open constitute the com-
missary. Sleeping tents, with a bale or two
of straw strewn on the ground where the
blankets are unrolled side by side, suffice for
the dormitories. There will be no such thing
as comfort or Sunday rest for these rivermen
during the next thirty or forty days. But the
grub will be good, for to insure good work
the driver must be well fed; without it, he
would not be able to endure the hardship.

Each day the drive is making progress,
perhaps of a mile or more from the rear of
the night before. Week by week the camp
moves forward.

The sure-footed pack burro in caravans
brings in the lunches, the tools, the powder,
along the narrow trails of the river canon.
When the stream must be crossed the httle
burro is prodded into a bateau. There he

Geyser Raised by

291

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

up the drive for days.
By main strength, one
at a time, the logs are
pulled away until "the
key log" is disclosed.
Then a double charge
of powder sets the logs
in motion ; the backed-
up water behind the
jam and the river drivers
do the rest. It is a
thrilling scene of riot
and confusion. The
rock-bound canon, the
tossing, grinding, groan-
ing, even flying, mass of
logs, the rush of the
drivers, the roar of the
river, are theatric and
spectacular in the ex-
treme. In the excite-
ment the drivers take
great risks. Today a
man was lost. But
what of that? They
are all taking dare-devil
chances. The drive must
go oil just the same,
feverishly on, and on,
squats on his haunches in the bottom. He for every day shortens the time of the snow-
takes all his hard knocks with stoicism and water, and every minute of daylight must be

made the most of that the goal may be

Upper Salmon Falls, with Hancock Ditch on Hillside

gravity.

In the Colonia valley and at Uniontown,
where the channel is wider, horses are used to
snake the logs off the bars, and the men are
reheved of that much of the hard work.

Each successive day brings some thrilling,
perhaps some tragic, experience.

reached while the flood continues. Horses
are disabled, lost. The drive can easier spare
a man than a horse, for horses are harder to
get.

The old River Boss anxiously inquires
each night for his horses. Good horses are

At the great whirlpool in the Horshoe scarce; they cost money. But men are

Bend at Rock Creek the men's energy is plentiful and are easily replaced. In the cold

taxed to the utmost to withdraw the eddying snow-water the body of a drowned man does

logs, gathered by the thousand in that treach- not rise to the surface. Often it remains un-

erous swirl. discovered until the dry season. Then it

At Natural Bridge and at Salmon Falls may be recovered from some brush heap or

the logs are sure to jam. When the jam is drift and with much difficulty be carried out

on then comes the tug-of-war. It may hold of the canon.

292

A Log-Drive on the American River

On one occasion the writer saw a man
drowned in attempting to save a worthless
dog that some thoughtless driver had thrown
into the river. The unfortunate man reached
out for the dog with his peevie from the edge

Lower Salmon Falls
of a gravel bar, overbalanced, went down,
and was swept away in the wallowing flood.
At Salmon Falls the last jam is broken.
Along in June the drive arrives at the boom
m the back water above the Folsom dam.

The boom piers are massive granite towers
from forty to fifty feet in height and the
booms are hung to them with massive chains.
In this haven the logs remain in safety until
ready for the mill, to which they are later
floated down in the canal, along past the
state prison and on to the log basin near the
present site of the Folsom power house.

The saw mill is another story, but "the
drive" is over. The drivers receive their pay,
enter into the delights of dissipation, soon are
separated from their money, and are ready to
return to the woods for the next season's cut.

Since ! 898 there have been no log drives
in the American. The extension of the rail-
road nearer to the timber belt has changed
the situation and discounted the river. The
logs are now sawed into lumber in the woods,
and the product is carried by rail to market.

The old log dam that once held the re-
taining basin at the foot of the spectacular
chute has been replaced by a stone dam for

The Log Basin, near the End of the Canal at Folsom, Showing More than 1,000,000 Feet of Prospective
Lumber — The River Is Down Between This Basin and the Wooded Hillside

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

the diversion of water for the production of
electric power. The picturesque and stirring
scenes of "the drive" in the American are
gone the way of all California's early days
and scenes of vivid life in a glorious new
country now almost completely tamed.

Siamese Twin Oaks

On the mountain road from Nevada City
to the Deer Creek power house in Nevada
County are two remarkable black oak trees
about two miles above the junction of the
You Bet and Deer Creek roads. They
stand close to the roadway and about a foot
apart. About eight feet from the ground a

large branch of one has grown over into and
amalgamated with the trunk of the other tree.
The accompanying picture of this freak of
nature is from a photograph taken in May of
1907 by A. L. Wilcox of the construction
department. These twin trees are a land-
mark on the road.

A Japanese Sword Contest

The accompanying illustration, sent in by
J. W. Hall, manager of the Stockton water
district, is from a photograph made near
Stockton on one of the immense rented delta-

land ranches farmed by the so-called "Potato
King," George Shima, a very wealthy Japa-
nese.

It portrays a sword contest, the ancient but
still the most popular form of fighting in
Japan. The "swords" areTjig, split-bamboo
clubs, and the points scored are on the theory
of blows landed that would split or cut off
the head or cripple the hand. The head,
neck, and wrists are therefore heavily pro-
tected. Any one who has witnessed the fury
with which the little Japanese engage in these
oriental "prize-fights" can testify as to the
need of the protectors. Very frequently one
contestant or the other gets in a terrible smash
on his adversary's arm or shoulder, which
does n't score scientific points but must hurt
a lot, as knockdowns are numerous.

Stupidity? There 's no hope for it.

Why not have the magazine sent to some
friend interested in you or your work?

294

Damage Claims — A Modern View*

By JOHN P. COGHLAN, Manager Claims Department.

Damage claims, no matter in
in what industry they arise, nat-
urally divide themselves into two
classes; those resulting from in-
injuries to property and those re-
sulting from injuries to persons.
Injuries to property are easily
disposed of; they involve only the damage or
destruction of what has been or can be pro-
duced with money, and are satisfied when
the loss mflicted is measured and paid for
according to market standards.

But personal injuries involve all the human
elements — the home, the relation of the in-
dividual to society, often life itself. Their
causes and effects are as complex as our
modern industrial conditions, and, like those
conditions, are constantly in a state of evolu-
tion.

No one, perhaps, is more affected than the
employer, for of all personal injuries, as he
knows them, more than four-fifths occur to
workmen in the line of their employment. Yet
the employer seems to be the last to observe
the change that is going on. Except in rare
instances, he clings to the point of view of
years ago; he still sees the relation between
himself and his employee as those before him
saw it in the days of the stage coach and the
hand press.

This is largely due to the fact that in the
beginning the law circumscribed both the em-
ployer and the employee. It assumed, be-
cause the employer purchased labor and the
employee sold it, that the relationship between
them was one of implied contract. As inci-
dental to that contract it reasoned that, as the
employer selected the place of employment.

it was his duty to make it reasonably safe,
and that as the workman chose to enter the
trade or industry in which the employer was
engaged, he assumed its ordinary risks and
hazards. One of these ordinary risks and
hazards was the negligence of fellow servants.
The idea of the law was that the negligence
of fellow servants was as likely to be known
to the workman as to his employer, and that
if he did not want to assume that and the
other risks of his calling he could leave and
seek employment elsewhere. Moreover, it
was believed that both the ordinary risk of the
employment and the negligence of fellow
servants were perils that could be provided
for in the rate of compensation.

This doctrine was the outgrowth of a time
when the master and servant were close to
each other and when most manufacturing was
done by hand or with simple machinery. At
that, it is not old as time is ordinarily
measured. The first case involving damages
to an employee was decided in England in

1837. It was a case growing out of injuries
received in the overturning of a stage coach.

The principles there laid down were brought
over to this country, and, first in South Caro-
lina, and then in Massachusetts, were applied
to American conditions. In the Massachusetts
case (Farwell versus the Boston and Worces-
ter Railway Company) great stress was laid
upon the rule that the employee assumed the
risk of his employment and the negligence of
his fellow servants. It projected a line of
reasoning that was soon adopted by all the
courts of the United States. As time passed
the doctrine, instead of advancing, was being
continually carried back to the first case. The

*This paper, before being somewhat condensed for nubliration here, was read before the Pacific Coast
Gas Association at San Francisco, September 21st, 1909.

29.')

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

lawyers and judges of the country were look-
ing behind for precedent, rather than ahead
for progress and development.

Meanwhile the status of the employee
changed rapidly. From a condition in which
he worked under the master's eye and often
at his side, he passed into a state in which he
became but a part of a great machine. In-
stead of workmg with a few men, generally
less than a dozen, he found himself one of
many hundreds. For fellow servants he fre-
quently had men he never saw or even heard
of, many of them miles away. He had
nothing to do with their employment, and
knew nothing of their skill or want of it. Yet
when mjury befell him he found that he was
regarded in the same light as when he worked
with his hands and as the personal servant of
his master. He learned that perhaps a
superintendent or manager he had always
considered in another sphere was his fellow
servant, and that the mistake of that superin-
tendent or manager was one of the risks he
had assumed when he accepted employment.
Or, perhaps, he found that he had assumed a
hazard that came from the breaking of an
immense machine, that he neither set up nor
operated.

When the workman came to a realization
of his position, his first effort was to shift
more of the burden to the employer. His
idea was that he would be relieved if he could
put the negligence of his fellow servants and
the risk of the employment upon his master.
With that end in view, he began to influence
legislation, and in a short time succeeded in
England in having the risk of the employ-
ment transferred to the employer and the
fellow-servant rule so altered as to exclude
from it managers and superintendents and
finally all employees engaged in different de-
partments of labor than himself.

From England this modification, like the
original doctrine, traveled to this country. It
was adopted in Alabama in 1885 and in
Massachusetts in 1887. Since then the

modified doctrine has been accepted, with
some minor changes, in twenty-eight states.
Colorado has abolished the fellow-servant
rule entirely. California has excluded from
the fellow-servant rule all agents or officers
superior to the employee injured and all em-
ployees engaged in other departments of
labor.

This change in the relation of the employer
to his employee was quite radical, but it did
not establish any new basis of liability. It
was merely taking the common law as it stood
and declaring that when an injury happened
through the hazards of the employment or the
negligence of fellow servants it was more fair
that the employer should bear the less than
the employee. While the change removed
some of the burden from the workman it did
not give him a new or more humane method
of compensation.

The law-makers of England saw this very
early, and looked about for a better plan.
They found in Germany and other countries
of continental Europe a system which pro-
vided compensation regardless of how the in-
jury occurred. It was a system that differed
essentially from anything England had
known, as it disregarded* entirely the old
common-law principle of liability. It treated
injuries to workmen as an incident to industry.
It kept the burden of those injuries off both
the workman and the employer, and placed
it upon the trade in which both were engaged.

This system England adopted in 1897,
and widely expanded in 1900 and 1906.
As finally put into effect it provided a definite
compensation for injuries of every character.
To the employee temporarily incapacitated it
furnished half pay ; in case of death it allowed
his dependents a sum equal to three times his
annual earnings. The compensation was pro-
vided, no matter how the injury occurred,
whether by the workman's own fault (unless
by his "willful misconduct "), or by the fault
of the employer, or by nobody's fault.

The English act departed from the Ger-

296

Damage Claims — A Modern View

man in one important point. It compelled the
employer to provide the compensation. The
Germans made the compensation payable out
of an insurance fund mamtained about
equally by the employer and the employee.
They reasoned that both would take it out
of the industry in which they were engaged —
the workman by obtaining a wage high
enough to include his premium to the insur-
ance fund, and the employer by adding his
proportion to the cost of production.

So complete is the German system that
each year compensation is awarded to some-
thing like I 50,000 employees injured during
the year, and to some 600,000 injured in
previous years and still totally or partially dis-
abled. In addition, compensation is awarded
yearly in Germany to some 65,000 widows
and I 00,000 children of dead accident-vic-
tims. It is estimated that about I 8,000,000
workmen are protected by this form of com-
pensation against the consequences of indus-
trial accidents in Germany.

The compensation plan has within a few
years passed over all Europe. It has been
adopted by every country in continental
Europe and even in Australia, New Zealand,
British Columbia, and the Cape of Good
Hope. In one form or another it is now in
effect in twenty-one countries. It is only a
matter of a short time, I believe, when it will
be generally accepted in the United States.
In fact, the federal government has already
put it into operation in favor of federal em-
ployees. Massachusetts, Indiana, and other
states are on the verge of adopting it.

It is interesting to note that the develop-
ment of this problem has been along the same
lines in this country as in England. In the
beginning both placed the risk of the em-
ployment and the negligence of the fellow
servant upon the workman. Then both
shifted these burdens to the employer. Then
England adopted the plan of compensating
for injury regardless of the fault or lack of
it on the part of the employee. Now this

country is accepting that policy; in fact, it
has already adopted it in so far as the em-
ployees of the national government are con-
cerned.

Independent of official action, employers
with advanced ideas here and there through-
out the United States are providing compensa-
tion plans on their own account. In some in-
stances a sort of joint insurance has been
adopted to which both the employer and the
employee contribute. In other cases the plan
has taken the form of a fund established by
the employer out of premiums formerly paid
casualty insurance companies. In each in-
stance the effort has been to provide the in-
jured with hospital and medical care ; half or
full pay during disability; often a pension for
total incapacity, and not infrequently in case
of death an allowance to dependents equal to
the earnings of the deceased for one, two, or
three years.

The employers who are doing this are far-
sighted and constructive. They are not only
preparing themselves and the industries in
which they are engaged for a condition that
is rapidly coming upon them, but they are
adopting early the most scientific and humane
plan yet proposed for dealing with this prob-
lem. I

Wherever adopted the plan of compensa-
tion has given general satisfaction. It has
proven the most equitable system that has so
far been devised. It has in it elemental jus-
tice, since it compels each industry to bear its
own cost in human life as well as in the wear
and tear of machinery, a cost which in time
will be so adjusted that it will fall upon the
consumer and not upon the individual worker
and his family or even upon the individual
employer.

Why will a curly-haired man always wear
his hair longer than other men? Ah! from
babyhood up women have admired his curls,
and they have turned his head till he believes
the greater the curl the greater the admiration.

297

The History of Gas Lighting in Vallejo

By E. C. JONES, Chief Engineer Gas Department.

Vallejo was created in the

belief that it was to be the cap-
ital of California. In early days
Santa Barbara and then Mon-
terey had been the old Spanish
and Mexican capitals. Califor-
nia's first legislature had met at
old Monterey in the winter of 1850, and
later, upon urgent solicitation and the ex-
tension of many glowing promises, had moved
the seat of government to the more convenient
town of San Jose, which proved too small to
house the few score legislators that came in
by stages and wagons in the ramy season.

Then came the princely offer of General
M. G. Vallejo. He would give the state
a site for a capital, and he would erect upon
it a state house. For did he not possess an
immense Mexican grant of 250,000 acres of
land, including most of what is now Solano
County and all of Mare Island, the reserve

pasture where he kept his mares? In early
days in California mares were always pas-
tured, never worked. San Jose increased her
bid; she would deed a park area of several
city blocks. Ah! but General Vallejo would
give the state a townsite up at the head of
San Francisco bay, accessible both by land
and by water and on the regular route be-
tween San Francisco and the mines and
nearer to the centre of population in that
pioneer period, when the tributaries of the
Sacramento held their tens of thousands of
gold seekers.

So, in January of 1852 the legislators
converged upon the new state capital at Val-
lejo. They came by river steamers, in the
rain, and they found only a long, wooden,
barn-like building standing dismally at the
edge of the tules that skirted the narrow strait,
across which the city of Vallejo, with some
15,000 people, now looks boldly and un-

A Bit of Vallejo's Waterfront, Looking Across to the Mare Island Navy Yard

298

The History of Gas Lighting in Vallejo

A Kesidence Section of Vallejo, as Viewed From the Waterfront

afraid at the warlike equipment of the Mare
Island Navy Yard. Those early legislators
shivered, they sneered, and perhaps some of
them swore, for the town to be was not there
yet. The wooden state house was about
the only shelter in sight. Financial difficulties
had come to General Vallejo, and he had
not been able to fulfill his expectations. So
the next year near-by Benicia became the
capital, and had San Jose and Sacramento
as hopeful rivals until Sacramento the next
year won out with better promises. Again
the fates had been unkind to the Vallejos.
Here it is of interest to introduce a bit of
little-known California history as related in
San Francisco a few years ago by Mrs.
F. A. Van Winkle of Colusa, who as Miss
Frances Anne Cooper of Howard County,
Missouri, arrived in California with her
father's family in 1846, and the 3d of
October of that pre-pioneer year settled with
the family at what is now Napa. Here is
her story in part: —

"Father had moved to San Francisco,
now called Benicia, and had started a board-

ing house. Dr. Semple, who was a native
of Kentucky, owned nearly all the land
where the town is now. In those days that
was thought to be the coming city. The
present San Francisco was but an insignifi-
cant group of tents occupied by Spanish peo-
ple and bearing the name Yerba Buena.
Governor Vallejo had made Dr. Semple a
present of half of Benicia, believing that he
would build it up.

"I was married in Benicia in the fall of
1847. The ceremony was performed [by
ex-Governor Boggs of Missouri] in the big
dining-room of my father's boarding house.

"My husband. Dr. Semple, owned the
only ferry-boat at Benicia. It was often
said that he made enough money with it to
sink that boat a half dozen times over, but he
was one of the most remarkable speculators
I ever knew, and went right through his
money.

"Our town was San Francisco, but the
people down here took the name away from
us. Dr. Semple opposed them, but it did
no good. They named this place San Fran-
cisco, and dropped the name Yerba Buena.
So Dr. Semple called his town Benicia, after
Mrs. Vallejo, whose maiden name was
Francisca Benicia. We lived in Benicia just
four years, then moved to what is now Co-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

lusa. My [first] husband [Dr. Semple]
owned half of Colusa, old Colonel Hager
owning the other half."

To be a state capital is not always the
best thing for a town ; not always its only
excuse for existence. Vallejo grew any way,
and by 1866 it had become such a good-
sized community that then M. P. Young,
who had been connected with the San Fran-
cisco Gas Company, went up to Vallejo and
started a gas works. It was a good deal on
the style of the Vallejo state house; short
on architecture and stability, but long on

General John B. Fiisbie, the First President

fresh air. In fact, it had no roof, no build-
ing. The apparatus was out in the open, and
there was a 7,000-foot holder floating in a
redwood tank that leaked so copiously that
the fireman had to spend part of his time
pumping water back into it, according to the
story as briefly related by T. R. Parker,
whose article on "Auld Lang Syne" before
the twelfth annual meeting of the Pacific
Coast Gas Association in 1 904 has been
freely borrowed from for this sketch.

Very properly Vallejo celebrated the 4 th
of July in 1 866 by having her first gas light-
ing that night. They needed gas lights in

Vallejo in wmter. It was a mucky job for
pedestrians groping about through deep,
mushy, sticky adobe mud. Other California
towns during the preceding twelve years had
started using gas at the rate of about $10
a thousand, but Vallejo began modestly at
$7.50. And what happened to the man who
began the business on that basis? He dis-
covered John Lee, a hotel proprietor, side-
tracking the gas meter and stealing a supply
direct, and the discovery cost Young his life,
for Lee's vengeful bullet proved fatal a month
after the shooting the 2 I st of August, 1867.

In 1867 H. M. Snow, one of the pro-
gressive business men of Vallejo in those
days, started a new gas company and se-
cured the cooperation of John W. Pearson
of San Francisco and General John B. Fris-
bie, for whom the Vallejo passenger steamer
General Frisbie is named. Their com-
pany erected a new gas works at the foot of
Maine street. The plant consisted of three
benches of 3's and a 20,000-foot holder.
The producing capacity was about 30,000
cubic feet of gas a day. Peter F. Fagan was
this company's first superintendent, and W. J.
Tobin its first secretary. About $8,000 was
expended upon the plant, and pipes were laid
in Santa Clara, Georgia, .Sacramento, and
Marin streets, and twelve street lights were
furnished the town free of charge. But the
receipts from consumers were only about
enough to pay the running expenses. After
a year's operation Frisbie and Snow bought
out Pearson. And the next year Snow be-
came convinced that the business was not a
paying investment, so he sold out his interest
to Frisbie, who thus became sole owner.

John B. Frisbie came across the plains to
California in I 849 as a captain in Stephen-
son's regiment, and when the Society of Cali-
fornia Pioneers was formed in 1850, Frisbie
was number 80 on the roll of its 500 charter
members, among the 1 00,000 people that
had rushed into CaHfornia in I 849 and the
420 other Americans who had been earlier

:!00

The History of Gas Lighting in Vallejo

straggling in, from the first one who arrived
in i 80 1 to the sixty-five who came in 1 848.

In 1870 the gas works was moved to its
present location, down at the waterfront on
Maryland street, between Marin and Sonoma
streets, and there a new works was erected
with a capacity that could, it was thought,
be enlarged to supply a city of 25,000 peo-
ph. There were two benches of three re-
torts each, and these retorts were each nine
feet long. At that time the service, through
a system of 20,000 feet of pipe, supplied
200 consumers, about 800 gas burners, and
fourteen street lights. It cost about $4.64 a
thousand to make gas then, and Vallejo was
being supplied at the comparatively low price
of $6 a thousand.

It was not until 1 87 1 that the transac-
tions of the company began to appear of
record on the minute book. The earliest
entry shows that General John B. Frisbie
was president, and that the capital stock was
then $40,000. November I 0th of that year
the capital was increased to $250,000, and
$75,000 of it was issued.

In 1876 a two-inch gaspipe line was laid
across the bottom of the channel to Mare
Island to supply gas to that place. The lay-
ing of this pipe was accomplished by J. R.
Smedberg, an engineer identified with the
San Francisco company. The advance end
of the pipe was buoyed up by two empty
barrels to keep the pipe from running foul of
obstructions on the bottom or becoming
clogged with mud. After the connection
was completed an Otto gas engine and ex-
hauster were used to force the gas through
the pipe. A small holder was built on the
Mare Island side from which to supply the
consumers rather than subject them to the
direct pulsating pressure of the pump.

November 1 0th, 1877, J. K. Duncan,
who had been one of the early stockholders,
was elected president of the company.

The 2d of June of 1 882 E. J. Wilson,
a prominent citizen of Vallejo. became presi-
dent.

It was not until June 7th of I 883 that the
business had become sufficiently profitable to
warrant a dividend, and then the first one was
declared, sixteen years after the founding of
the company.

June 1 6th, 1 886, the works was leased
for a year to Alexander Badlam, who had
been a well-known early San Franciscan,
and it appears of record that June 3d of the
following year the vote was to let the Badlam
lease go on from month to month; but there
is no entry as to just when it terminated.

At the annual meeting June 7th, 1889,
they were considering the advisability of
going into the electric lighting business, but
it does not appear that they got any further
than considering. At that meeting G. W.
Wilson, now a bank president of Vallejo,
was elected secretary.

At the annual meeting in June of 1 895
S. C. Hilborn was made president.

In October of 1896 a unique and hitherto
unattempted gas engineering feat was accom-
phshed, when a second lift was added to the
original 20,000-foot gas holder while the
holder was still in use.* The old single-lift
holder was changed to a telescopic, two-lift
holder. A new holder would have cost be-
tween $5,000 and $7,000, and would have
required new ground, or the removal of
the old holder, but a double capacity was
given the old holder at a cost of only
about $1,700. The old holder was forty
feet in diameter, sixteen feet high, and
was suspended inside six redwood columns
twelve inches thick and braced with wooden
girders. As it was the only holder in the
city at that time it was necessary to keep it
in use during the change. The wooden col-
umns were extended in height, and a staging
was constructed so that the new holder could

Editorial Note: — The plan of this bit of engineering was conceived by E. C. Jones, though he
modestly omits his connection with it.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

be built. The difficult part of the problem
was to build a cup under the old holder
without interrupting its regular use. The bot-
tom rollers were taken off, wooden rollers
eight inches in diameter were fastened to the

The Old Coal-Gas Works at Vallejo; on the left the
Purifying House, on the right the Ketort House

columns about two feet and a half above the
top of the wall, and some two-inch by four-
inch pieces of wood were fastened vertically
against the side of the holder for the rollers
to run on. Thus the holder was kept from
tilting. The bottom cup was made in six
sections of four-inch channel iron, the out-
side sheet eighteen inches wide, the inside
sheet twenty-four inches wide. Five sections
of the cup were riveted and bolted together
around the old holder before they were con-
nected; the cup was then suspended to the
holder by chains, and a turnbuckle was put
on, and the cup drawn tightly around the
holder, leaving only a section of about three
feet to be put in after the five sections had
been bolted to the old holder. The holes
had been punched in the cup sheet, but those
in the old holder were drilled, and, as rapidly
as drilled, were temporarily plugged with
wood. The bolting of the cup up around the
old holder required the creation of an in-
genious little contrivance designed for the
purpose. It consisted of a U-shaped section
of gaspipe, one end of which was slotted to
hold the head of the bolt and leave the
threaded end projecting toward the other

arm of the U. Then the end holding the
bolt was introduced under the holder, the U
righted to the perpendicular, so that a pointer
fastened in the outside arm of the U exactly
opposite the slot on the inside arm, when ad-
vanced till it touched a wooden plug and then
drawn directly back, would bring the screw
end of the bolt exactly against the inside of
the hole and a further backward pull on the
U would bring the screw on through. The
projecting end of the screw was then gripped,
and the U device withdrawn from the head of
the bolt, and the nut screwed on the outside.
From bolt to bolt this process was continued.
This whole plan of enlarging the holder ca-
pacity of a small gas works became a model
for other comparatively small works that de-
sired to increase their capacity without inter-
fering with the workings of their plant. The
mechanical construction of this work at Val-
lejo was carried through by the late L. F.
Fogg.

June 6th of 1902 F. W. Hall became
the president, and October 14th, 1904, S.
J. McKnight was chosen to head the com-
pany, and November I I th the old minute

The Office, the Meter-room, and the Gas Holder to
Which a Second Lift Was Added While In Use

book records the last meeting of the old com-
pany's trustees.

December 18th, 1905, the Vallejo com-
pany passed to the ownership of the Cali-
fornia Gas and Electric Corporation, and
twelve days later a deed conveyed it to the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

302

Fire I The Cause and the Remedy

Up to the time of the transfer of owner-
ship to the California Corporation Vallejo's
gas had been made from coal. But imme-
diately after the works passed to the new
owners a thoroughly modern equipment was
substituted to manufacture gas from fuel-oil.

For the nineteen years from 1 886 to
1 905 John W. Thomas was superintendent
of the Vallejo Gas Company, and served
it faithfully, and ever since the transfer in
ownership he has continued to be a reliable
figure identified with the gas business at
Vallejo.

As it stands today the works occupies both
sides of Maryland street. The old purifying
house, the retort house, and a fuel-oil tank
are on the water side of the street, and have a
small L-shape pier extendmg mto the channel,
where oil barges come up and discharge
the fuel-oil that is now used in the manufac-
ture of Vallejo's gas. Across the street is
the original 20,000-foot holder, with its ad-
ditional lift that makes its total capacity 40,-
000 cubic feet, and near by is a relief holder
for 20,000 cubic feet.

Fire!

The Cause and the Remedy

The fire loss for the past ten years in the
United States has averaged $250,000,000 a
year. This amount is approximately equal to
the government's revenue from the tariff, and
it is five times as great as the annual fire loss
of any European country. Statistics credit
this tremendous destruction of property in the
United States to two principal causes: one,
carelessness of individuals, and two, ignorance
in the application of proper precautions in the
construction of buildings.

An example of personal carelessness was a
recent fire caused by the storing of a barrel
filled with damp straw. Five days later the
straw ignited from spontaneous combustion.

Two fires have recently occurred because
of faulty construction of wooden roof timbers;
the timbers had been placed too close to smoke
stacks.

The remedy: See that similar conditions
do not exist in any of this company's prop-
erties. R. J. C.

A Draughting-Room Decision

The draughting room decided to put a
slop to the bickering by leaving the case to
"Brick" Johnson, though Brown had been
close enough to see the whole transaction
better than any body else. It seems Pinger
had let Hinton have two two-cent stamps,
and Hinton, without Finger's noticing the
coin, had, in payment, sHpped a nickel down
on the edge of Finger's drawing table. The
question then as to who was a "grafter" was
decided by Johnson, who rendered judgment
thus: "Hinton took Finger's stamps, but is
innocent. Finger, if he took Hinton's nickel,
is also in-a-cent. But if Brown got the scent
he is probably nine times more in-a-cent than
Finger." Then somebody hurled an ink
bottle at the judge, and quiet again reigned in
the draughting room. H.

Cash Prizes for Employees

All employees of the Facific Gas and
Electric Company are hereby invited to tell
briefly "How to Get New Consumers."

Frizes aggregating $50 will be given for
brief articles containing the best suggestions.
For the best article the cash prize will be
$20, and for the three next best the cash
prizes will be $10 each. If you have some
good ideas, this is your chance. "Do it
now."

Following are the conditions:

1. Write plainly, preferably with typewriter.

2. Use only one side of paper.

3. Limit yourself to 400 words or less.

4. Sign your name and address plainly.

5. Get your article in before February I si.

6. Send it addressed — Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, 445 Sutter Street, San Francisco.

303

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PUBLISH Ell IN THK INTEREST OK AM. THE EMPLOYEES
OF THE PACIFIC GAS ANU ELF.CTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. BRITTON Editor

ARCHIE RICE Associate Editor

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER - - - Business Manager

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription 50 cents

Single copy 10 cents

Matter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Vol. I DP:CEMBER, 1909 No. 7

courtesy and confidence in the family circle,
more of what the word meant when it used to
be written a "gentle man," a man in strength,
a woman in tenderness.

"Peace on earth, good will toward men."
And a Happy New Year to all of you.

EDITORIAL

■Wish

You

This:

To you who labor with your
brawn, to you who work with
eye and brain, to each of you
at Christmas dawn, we wish
you joy, a day urbane; we
wish you health, with worries gone; we wish
your wish you may attain; that lov'd ones'
cheeks may not be wan; that sorrow, sad-
ness, gloom, and pain — as dewdrops on a
verdant lawn — may disappear, and then
again show you smiling, braver, drawn on
to be your best, with might and main.

Little

ndlier

Born in a barn, the child of a

humble carpenter, the habitual

gentleness of the Man of Many

Sorrows was forecasted by the

song the startled shepherds
heard as angel voices singing from the
sky, "Peace on earth, good will toward
men." Down through nineteen centuries
the phrase has been applied to the annual
celebration of that man's birth.

"Peace on earth, good will toward men."
What does it mean? Less of war and strife

and bitterness, less of fighting and quarrehng That persons "electrocuted" can be re-

and anger, less of frenzied rivalry and des- stored to hfe is the claim of Dr. Louise G.
tractive competition, less of unfair dealing Rabinovitch, a young Russian woman re-
and hard advantage, less of resentment and cently arrived in New York from Paris,
retaliation; and more of genuine gladness and Her demonstrations in restoring animals have
good cheer, more of kindliness to kindred, amazed watching scientists and opened up a
more of consideration for the aged, more of great hope for electrical workmen.

In these days of kodaks and
sketch artists and quick repro-
ducing processes the printed
page often tells half the story
at a glance.
You may wonder whose is the picture that
makes this month's frontispiece. We do not
know. It is a photographic study that
seemed so pleasing, so appropriate to the
season, that it was chosen as a little inspira-
tion for all of us.

The biographical page has a new illus-
trated heading. It is the work of a San
Franciscan, a Stanford man who won the
Portola poster prize contest in competition
with some two hundred other artists when
he created the rose-garlanded young woman
who tripped lightly down the steps. Quite
appropriately the new heading is a combina-
tion of sketches of the company's gas works
at Sacramento and its electric power plant at
Colgate.

And now, you who have interesting pic-
tures, please remember that some of them
may be useful in these pages; that your con-
tributions of photographs, short items, and
original articles must form the material for
this magazine, which may be considered a
progressive report on the province and the
personnel of the company.

304

The History of the Nevada Power Plant

Bv ARCHIE RICE.

In the heart of mountainous
Nevada County, where the
miners' outlook is upon a green,
corrugated world of Sierra ridges,
tumbling up half a mile from
the depths of windmg canons
that carr\^ the snow-water from
the summits down toward the distant sea,
there is a little hydro-electric plant, hidden
at the bottom of a gorge and clinging just
above the high-water mark of the South
Yuba river.

There it has stood since the pioneering and
experimental period of long-distance trans-
mission of electric energy, and for the past
thirteen years has continued constantly gener-

Y'""

' it

^^M

^c^r !>

/^^

\'^A^f^y^^ — -

^\^

NEVAQi^m^'^l

Y<^:^

—-.s

-^"7$^

S. . .

^ 6RASS VAU.EY

^^S^C

Where the Nevada Power Plant is Located

ating the subtle current and sending it five
miles to the mines and homes of Nevada City
and on three miles further to the mines and
homes of Grass Valley.

Small, as measured by the standard of the
gigantic plants of a later day, and compara-
tively more expensive of operation than those
producing on a larger scale, this early arrival
upon the scene of California's electrical devel-
opment has gone on all these years generating
night and day an average of 800 kilowatts.

or nearly 1,100 horsepower, a product, if
measured at one cent a kilowatt hour, repre-
senting earnings of nearly $1,000,000.

THE NLCLEUS OF A CIG-ANTIC SYSTEM

Apart from the interest attaching to this
installation in connection with the electrical
development of a large number of rich mines
on the mother lode, in the greatest gold-pro-
ducing count>' in the Golden State, this Ne-
vada power plant has a peculiar historical
interest, because it was the nucleus of the
Nevada County Power Company, which was
conceived in 1 89 I and later (September 1 st,
1900) combined with the ^ uba Power Com-
pany to form the beginning of the Bay Coun-
ties Power Company, that grew until (March
1st, 1903) its possessions, with others, were
merged into the California Gas and Electric
Corporation, a great system which (January
2d, 1906) came under the control of a still
more comprehensive concern, the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company of today.

ITS PURPOSE AND FOUNDER

The creation of that earHest plant, based
upon the principle of generating power pro-
duced by water diverted from a river and
then led to a point where it would fall from
a great height, was the idea of Eugene J.
de Sabla, Jr., a name associated intimately
with many of the big hydro-electric enter-
prises of California.

"I owned some mining interests at Ne-
vada City." he explained, "and I started by
trying to get electric power for use in the
mines. The problem was to take water by
ditch from the South ^ uba and. by a gradi-
ent less than the river's, carry it down to
some point where a sufficient fall could be
secured to operate electric generators. Land
and water rights were acquired, plans made

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Eugene J. de Sabla, Jr.

for the undertaking, a site selected for a
dam, and, some three miles further down
stream, a spot chosen for a power house at
a point on the river about 1,500 feet above
the level of the ocean.

"But it 's a joke — the caUing of that little
plant the 'Rome' power house. It is the
Nevada power house. The nickname came
about in this way: Romulus R. Colgate was
associated with me later m establishing the
plant at Colgate, over on the Middle Yuba.
After that big one had been named for him,
some of us got to referring to the little fellow
over on the South Yuba as the 'Rome' power
plant, 'Rome* being the familiar shortening
of Colgate's first name."

THE MAN BEHIND IT

Back of every enterprise there is some
special man, and you can generally forecast
its growth when you know the capabilities and
personality of that individual. Among the
French, it is always "Find the woman" in
the case. But in modern business develop-
ments it is. Find the man!

In September of 1901 the present writer
published an illustrated page article in the

"San Francisco Chronicle," entitled "Having
Many Irons in the Fire: the Busiest Men
in San Francisco." There were six on the
list at that time: James D. Phelan, George
A. Newhall, John Bermingham, Prince Po-
niatowski, John Martin, and Eugene J. de
Sabla, Jr. It happens that the last three
were founders of the hydro-electric plants
now comprising the chief mountain sources of
this company's system. Eugene de Sabla
has since turned his attention to other inter-
ests, but what was written of him then indi-
cates the type of man he had become while
developing some of California's most notable
hydro-electric enterprises. This is what was
published of him more than eight years ago:

Eugene J. de Sabla, Jr., is president and manager
of the Bay Counties Power Company, an $8,177,000
concern, with 550 miles of pole lines in fourteen
counties, about 4,000 miles of wire, and about 500
employees. He is president of the Yuba Electric
Company, president of the Butte Power Company,
a director of the California Central Gas and Electric
Company, a director of a land company m Nevada
County, a director of three gold-mining companies,
two of them in northern California and one of them
in another state, and he is a director of an oil com-
pany operating in the Kern fields. He is also an
active member of the Pacific Union and Olympic
clubs.

A CALIFORNIAN AND A MANAGER

Eugene J. de Sabla, Jr., is<a native of California,
and a tall man of powerful build. Apparently he is
not yet 40, nor is he a college-trained man, but he
has had seventeen years of broad business experience.
It began when he was a partner in the firm of
Eugene de Sabla & Co., importers of coffee from
Central America. He has always been an employer
and never an employee, and has perfected his meth-
ods entirely from experience as a managing director
of affairs, rather than as a man who has worked
up and known the difficulties and details of minor
positions.

Five years ago the Bay Counties Power Company
started as a plant with ten miles of pole line and
1 ,000 horsepower to furnish an electrical supply and
light to Grass Valley and Nevada City, and today
it has 184 miles of transmission, 550 miles of pole
line, and 15,000 horsepower, all of which is prac-
tically being doubled. The concern is furnishing
power and light to railroads, mines, twenty different
towns, flour mills, ice-manufacturing companies, ware-
houses, and the Selby Smelting Company.

Usually de Sabla spends only about seven hours
a day in his office, but he is always the last man to
leave it. When he is out on a trip of inspection
he works all day and travels at night, sleeps when
he can and as little as he can, sometimes on a steamer,
sometimes on a train, often in a buggy.

306

The History of the Nevada Power Plant

BUILDING THE RIVER DAM

The inception of the Nevada plant on the
South Yuba dates back to 1 89 1 , when an
effort was first made by de Sabla's prop)Osed
Nevada County Electric Power Company to

The RJyer Dam and Headgate of the Flume in 1895

put a dam across the river and prepare for a
ditch and flume system. But in the spring of
1 892 this original dam of logs was swept
away by the fury of the flood waters.

With E. J. de Sabla, Jr., as manager of
the company and Alfred Tredgido as its
superintendent another dam was started Au-
gust ist, 1895, and it was completed Novem-
ber 20th. This dam was of logs piled crib-
fashion, and it was bolted firmly down to
bedrock in the river. It was twenty-eight
feet high and measured one hundred and
seven feet across the crest from bank to bank
at that point in the canon. Before the cribs
could be filled with rock and gravel ballast
the river began rapidly rising, and the men
had to abandon the work. Fortunately the
"slickens" washed down from hydraulic min-
ing districts formed so material a part of the
turbid stream that every chink and cranny of
the crib-work was soon packed solid with a
deposit that made the dam more substantial
than if it had been filled by man. Work on
the flume for this dam had been started July
6th, and it was completed November 28th.
The flume itself was made six feet wide and

four and a half feet deep, and its construction

took a force of I 1 0 men working nearly four
months and using 1,250,000 feet of lumber.
The grade was a quarter of an inch to the
rod, equivalent to a drop of 26% feet to the
mile, and the distance traversed was three and
three-tenths miles. Through this flume a con-
stant flow of 5,800 miner's inches of water
was to be delivered into a steel pipe, three
feet in diameter and 298 feet long, down the
final slope for an actual perpendicular fall
of 190 feet to the wheels. That was the
full supply of water to the power house for
the first two years of its operation.

During October of I 896 Alfred Tredgido
was succeeded as superintendent by L. M.
Hancock.

MAKING LAKE VERA

March Ist, 1898, a crib dam fifty-four
feet high and 327 feet across the crest from
bank to bank was started in Rock Creek to
back water up into a partially excavated basin
that had formerly been the scene of hydraulic
diggings. It was completed November 27th.
This reservoir area of about forty-two acres.

Constructing the Flume for the Kiver Dam in 1895

larger than a city district three blocks one
way by four blocks the other, was then named
Lake Vera, for one of E. J. de Sabla's little
daughters. Lake Vera had a storage capac-
ity sufficient to furnish a constant flow of

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Kv H I

The South Yuba and the Mountainside Flume From the Dam Three and One-tenth Miles Up-Eiver

1 ,000 miner's inches for a period of thirty
days. A viaduct was constructed from this
lake to convey water a distance of two and
three-fourths miles through 2,340 feet of
flume and I 1 ,404 feet of ditch (most of it an
old mining ditch) to a small forebay, on the
hillside 1 ,870 feet from the Nevada power
house and 785 feet above it perpendicularly.
From this forebay the water shot down
through a twenty-inch steel pipe to additional
impulse wheels installed in the same building
with those originally established. After the
acquisition of the Lake Vera source the I 90-
foot fall secured through the flume from the
dam on the South Yuba was called the low-
head; and the 785-foot drop produced by the
viaduct from Lake Vera, the high-head.

SOURCES OF THE WATER POWER

While the low-head flume is supplied
chiefly from the river dam, it receives a sup-

plementary flow from another ditch that takes
water out of the South Yuba fifty or sixty
miles further up-stream. The high-head sup-
ply of water by way of Lake Vera comes in-
directly from an enormous watershed catch-
ment area of I 2 I square miles of Sierra slopes
and snow-capped peaks in the region north-
ward of the Southern Pacific railroad between
Emigrant Gap and Summit. A series of
twenty-four storage reservoirs, holding an
aggregate of more than 2,000,000,000 cubic
feet of water, conserves the melting snows and
the mountain rivulets of that vast area and
forms the source of what is known as the
company's South Yuba Water System of 450
miles of viaducts. Part of the product in
these twenty-four reservoirs is conveyed to
the Auburn side of the ridge, and is carried
off down that way as a great irrigating sys-
tem for 1 3,000 acres of hillside orchards.

The History of the Nevada Power Plant

With the creation of the high-head supply
from Lake Vera it was no longer necessary
to maintain the low-head flow at the original
maximum of 5,800 miner's inches, so the
flume capacity from the river dam was re-
duced to 3,800 miner's inches, which is now
its normal flow.

THE FLUME FROM THE LAKE

While the Lake Vera dam was being con-
structed in 1 898 the flume and ditch leading
from it were also made ready. This flume is
three and a half feet deep by four feet wide.

Ccnstructing the Lake Vera Dam in 1898

The other part is conveyed toward Nevada
City and Grass Valley for domestic and irri-
gating purposes in that region. This Grass
Valley water supply comes down from Emi-
grant Gap through Main ditch. Chalk Bluff
ditch. Cascade ditch, and Snow Mountain
ditch, and first forms the motive power for
the company's Deer Creek power plant, which
is at an altitude 3,500 feet above the sea.
After driving the Deer Creek impulse wheels,
part of the flow is carried on several miles by
ditch to form the main source for Lake Vera,
which has a very small natural catchment.

The Ditch Flowing Into Lake Vera, Bringing Water
from the Deer Creek Power House

Lake Vera in the Formative Period, Looking Eastward From the Dam and Showing
John Martin in the Foreground

309

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Elver Dam As It Looks Today with Its Heavy Facing of Granite

and has a gradient so gradual that the water
takes an hour and five minutes to run from
Lake Vera, a distance of two and three-
fourths miles, to the small forebay above the
power house. About two-thirds of the way
from the lake to the lower end of the ditch is
Myer's Ravine, a big gorge, across which the
water is conveyed in an inverted, or U-shape,
syphon, a thirty-six-inch pipe 668 feet long,
that crosses the canon and connects the separ-
ated ends of the flume.

In July of 1 900 George Scarfe succeeded
L. M. Hancock as superintendent of the Ne-
vada power plant, and, excepting one year,
he has been the superintendent of that power
division ever since.

BURSTING OF THE LAKE DAM

April 2d, 1905, a part of the Lake Vera
dam, twenty-nine by thirty feet, gave way
and permitted an outflow that dropped the
water level at the rate of an inch a minute.
When the break occurred the depth of water
in the lake was fifty-two feet. A force of
men was rushed to the work of repair, and
the gap was closed with wood and cement.
The dam is now but forty feet high, and
the storage capacity of the lake is equivalent

So much
sources and <

for the
hannels.

to a constant flow
of 1 ,000 miner's
inches of water for
only ten days in-
stead of thirty.

In 1 908 the
original crib dam
three miles up-
stream on the
South Yuba was
substantially forti-
fied with a granite
wall on the down-
stream face, twelve
feet thick at the
base and tapering
to a thickness of
two feet at the top.
water power and its

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE

As a business proposition the enterprise
started under the name of the Nevada County
Electric Power Company. The contract for
the construction of the dam, flume, and power
house was given to John Martin, a name that
in a few years was also to become widely
identified with mammoth hydro-electric gen-
erating enterprises in California. The great
installations that he and de Sabla created are
all now owned by the Pacific Gas and Elec-
tric Company. The actual supervision of the
construction of the dam and the flume was
left to Alfred Tredgido, who became the

The Little Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad
Across Ridges and Ravines to Nevada City

310

The History of the Nevada Power Plant

Nevada County company's first operating su-
perintendent.

While John Martin was harnessing the
South Yuba for this power, Eugene J. de
Sabla, Jr., was busy in the Nevada City and
Grass Valley mining districts interesting mine
owners for the purpose of securing consumers
for the proposed load. Many of the mine
managers were skeptical as to the efficiency
and practicability of this prospective trans-
mitted river power, and during the first year
of operation, there were but few customers
among the mines. The W. Y. O. D., the
Homeward Bound, and the Gold Hill mines
in the Nevada district were the first to use the
power, and they were followed by the Penn-
sylvania, the Brunswick, the Allison Ranch,

and the North Star in the Grass Valley dis-
trict, and then by the Mountaineer in the Ne-
vada district. But no mine that installed a
motor to take this electric power ever aband-
oned its use unless the mine itself was closed
for some other reason. All that the enthusias-
tic de Sabla had promised came true. Those
earliest installed electric machines are still
doing the work in the mines.

DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSPORTING MACHINERY

The roads of Nevada County climb and
dive and climb and dive again over ridges and
through forests. They were built in the early
mining days on the principle of "get there
quick," without any attention to easy gradi-
ents or future permanence, and the same old

Wbere the Massive Machinery Was Unloaded at the Top of the Ridge to Be Skidded Down Half a Mile

311

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

roads have continued in use with Httle im-
provement in grades.

All the machinery for the Nevada power
plant had to go by rail to Colfax, and thence

Hauling the Machinery to the Power House in 1895

on the little Nevada County Narrow Gauge
Railroad across ridges and ravines to Ne-
vada City. From there the problem was to
gel it to the site selected for the plant. The
old wagon road for a distance of about three
miles had to be widened m places and im-
proved. It was all up grade. A stretch of
nearly two miles of new road had to be built
on up to the top of
a ridge through
underbrush, cactus,
small pines and
scrub oak, and it
was hard work.
Big teams, many
of them twelve-
horse, were used to
haul the heavy
pieces of machinery
up to the top of the
"slide," 1,700 feet
elevation above,
and half a mile
from, the site of
the plant. Each
generator weighed
I 1 ,200 pounds,
and that was some
weight to pull all

that way up to the top of the ridge,
just beyond the crest of which the loads were
deposited. Then began the tug-of-war with
men and heavy hawsers and stout cables cau-
tiously sliding the valuable machinery down
hill on skids mounted on log rollers, while big
tree stumps served as capstans, from round
which slowly to pay out the rope and lower
away the load. The first 400 feet down was
by wagon. Then came the lowering by
cables — 400 feet at an angle of 25 degrees,
600 feet at an angle of 32 degrees, 80 feet
at an angle of 35 degrees, and finally 220
feet at an angle of 39 degrees. In this labori-
ous fashion, the machinery was delivered to
the narrow ledge that had been scooped off
at the edge of the river, down in the bottom
of the V-shaped canon. No plant could have
been crowded into more cramped quarters
than that Nevada power house and its board-
ing house. Each is hugging the river bank
and backed into the wall of the canon so
tightly that they had to be placed on opposite
sides of the stream, with a suspension bridge
connecting them across the river itself. The

The Nevada Power House on the South Yu'ba Biver

At the left is the original building, on the right the larger part added in
1898. The pipe-line on the left is the lower-head from the river flume: the one
on the right, the high-head from the Lake Vera flume. Note the steep pipe-
line stairway on the extreme left, and the hanging stairway at the extreme right,
leading to the wagon road that climbs out of the canon and goes over the ridge
to Nevada City.

312

The History of the Nevada Power Plant

The Two Original 300-KilowaU Generators
rushing river water is their front yard, and
there is no back yard.

THE POWER HOUSE AND ITS FOUNDATIONS

The power house foundations are on solid
bedrock granite. Steel rods three-fourths of
an inch thick are sulphured down into that
virgin rock, and they rise perpendicularly
through a bed of eighteen-inch solid concrete
and come on up through heavy timbers to
which they are bolted. Upon massive beams
thus firmly secured rests the generating ma-
chinery.

Despite all the physical difficulties of the
site, not a single mishap or delay occurred
in the installation of that plant.

Along the last and steepest part of the
"slide," the water pipes had to be laid and
anchored to make them secure for the func-
tion of carrying the flume water swiftly down
to drive the impulse wheels. As first installed,
the low-head pipe went down in diminishing
sizes to increase the density of the final jet.
For the first 1 20 feet the pipe diameter was
forty-eight inches ; for the next 1 00 feet,
forty-four inches; and for the last 100 feet,
forty-two inches. This pipe discharged into
a large steel receiver from which the water
shot against the wheels.

THE ORIGINAL INSTALLATION

For the original installation there were two,
300-kilowatt, I 33-cycle, two-phase, Stanley,

inductor-type generators, making 400 revolu-
tions a minute, and generating at 5,500 volts.
Each was direct-connected to three-foot Pel-
ton impulse wheels. Three of these Pelton
wheels were used on one generator, and four
on the other. The generators were guaran-
teed to have a commercial efficiency of 94.6
per cent, and an electric efficiency of 98 per
cent. Each of the seven Pelton wheels had
two nozzles, and the two generators together
developed about 800 horsepower.

The first switchboard consisted of open-
air, automatic circuit breakers. They were
supposed to break the circuit, but, as George
Scarfe relates, "they did not always do it,
and at times there were many fine displays of
fireworks." But the deficiencies of the equip-
ment in those early days of hydro-electric
generation have taught lessons that have been
the means of producing many of the improve-
ments and economies introduced into the
plants later established.

From the switchboard the two-phase lines
were carried out through the end of the
power house to an eight-mile pole line end-
ing at Grass Valley and having a midway
branch to Nevada City. This pole line was
run up hill and down in a right-of-way
cleared sixty feet wide through a brushy and
timbered country. Round poles, cut from
the right-of-way and reaching thirty feet
above the ground, were used, and on them

The Original Pole Line, as Built in 1895

31.3

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

were crossarms with triple-petticoat, white-
porcelain insulators, manufactured by the
Locke Company. These insulators are still
in use, but the poles and crossarms have all
been renewed.

When the power plant was being built
Grass Valley and Nevada City were electric-
lighted by a series system from a small plant
owned by K. Caspar, now proprietor of an
electric lighting system in Vallejo. The Cas-
par plant was bought by the new Nevada
County Electric Power Company, and a sub-
station established in Grass Valley and one
in Nevada City. Step-down transformers
were placed in these substations to reduce the
5,500-volt current from the new Nevada
hydro-electric plant on the South Yuba to a
voltage of 2,200 for use in the mines. The
small house transformers stepped-down this

2,200-volt current to a 550-voh current for
small motors used in a foundry and in a
planing mill, and further transformed it to a
I I 0-volt current for city and domestic light-
ing.

DEMANDS FOR MORE POWER

The original installation proved so success-
ful that demands began to be made for more
capacity. Then it was that the Lake Vera
dam was built and the high-head water power
secured as a supplementary supply for the
Nevada power house. To make use of this
new supply of water, a corrugated iron build-
ing was erected in 1 898-99 next to the
original power house, and Tutthill water-
wheels were installed to operate two more
Stanley generators of the same size and de-
scription as the original two. These new
generators each developed 330 kilowatts.

The Switchboard in the Newer Part of the Power House
314

The History of the Nevada Power Plant

1^ „

paral-

1900,
power

The high-head
wheels were
mounted on the
same shaft as the
low-head wheels
that got their im-
pulse from the
river flume. A
switchboard, with
Martin open-air
switches, was put
m the new building
so that all the ma-
chines could be
operated in
lei.

When, in
still more
was demanded, ar-
rangements were
made with the
Yuba Power Com-
pany's plant at
Colgate (now also
the property of the
Pacific Gas and
Electric Company) by which a 23,000-
volt current was brought over the ridges to
Grass Valley, where four 200-kilowatt trans-
formers were installed to lower the voltage
from 23.000 to 5,500, so that it could be
combined with the initial power from the
Nevada plant. At that time 23,000 volts
was high power to be sent over a mountainous
district frequented in winter by heavy snow-
fall, and the old-time electric men used to go
out at night occasionally and watch appre-
hensively to see how the insulators would
endure under the coating of snowflakes.

In March of 1907, according to C. Boyd,
its present foreman, the little Nevada plant
held out through a terrific rainstorm that shut
down all the other hydro-electric plants of the
system.

The Boarding House

Note the suspension bridge from the power house. High water almost rearlies
this foot-bridge. The boarding house is .33x80 feet, has ten bedrooms, eac-h
with hot and cold water and electric heat and light, a clubroom, a dining room,
a bathroom, and a kitchen.

PRODUCTION AND PRIDE AT THE PLANT

The constant average production of the
Nevada plant is now about 1 ,200 kilowatts,
or 1 ,600 horsepower, which is about one-
third as much as is usually produced by the
company's oldest plant, the one at Folsom,
where a huge volume of water from the
American river falls only fifty-five feet and
then is used again after it falls half that dis-
tance.

The plant at Colgate is producing about
19,000 horsepower, and the one at Electra
about 26,000 horsepower. But probably
at no other station of the company's system
is there to be found greater pride in their
plant than exists among the employees hidden
down in that narrow carion at the place they
affectionately call "the 'Rome' power house."

.31.3

Electrical Development in Nevada County

By J. E. CALVERT, Foreman Grass Valley Substation.

The first electric power gen-
erated in Nevada County was at
a small water-driven plant in-
stalled at the Charomat mine,
near Nevada City, by W. C.
Clark in 1887. In the evening
of the 5th of August of that
year arc lights were seen for the first time
in Nevada City.

Fire bells rang, the population of the min-
ing town assembled. Everybody wanted to
see the wonderful new illumination. Nobody
missed seeing it.

The plant consisted of three Westinghouse,
direct-current generators, with a capacity of
2,000 candlepower at a 1 00-volt pressure.
The circuit, which included both Nevada
City and Glenbrook Park, was of No. 6
wire, covered with a white, weatherproof in-
sulation and strung along on trees and on
poles.

To celebrate this great event properly
series arc lights were hung all around the
course of the racetrack, and Nevada City
enjoyed the novel sensation of watching
horseracing at night!

The system was soon extended to Grass
Valley, three miles over the ridge, and Sat-
urday night, August
27th, Grass Valley had
its first electric lights.
Again curious crowds
thronged the streets and
proudly eyed the daz-
zling arcs, just as the
people of Nevada City
had done three weeks
earlier.

But the plant was not
very successful, because
of the great loss of volt-
age in the line. By

November it passed to the ownership of
John Glasson, and he moved the generating
machinery to the Idaho-Maryland mine,
where the water pressure was about 200
pounds to the square inch.

As business increased the new owner began
to lock ^bout for a higher head of water in
order to generate more electric energy by the
use of more machines. So in April of I 894
he moved to a new location on Deer Creek,
four and a half miles westward from Grass
Valley. There the plant was enlarged by
installing a 2,000-volt, 133-cycle, single-
phase, alternating-current alternator, built by
the United Improved Electric Company. The
exciting current of this new machine was sup-
plied by a three-horsepower, Westinghouse,
shunt-wound generator.

The new transmission line consisted of two
wires of No. 0 bare copper for supplying
single-phase power, while the series arcs were
supplied by a circuit of No. 6 copper, cov-
ered with a white weather-proof insulation.
The arc lamps were mani^factured by the
Westinghouse Company, with the exception
of a few 50-candle-power Bernstein lamps.

Water was taken out of Deer Creek about
three-fourths of a mile above the power house

.f.>:

Mining Town of 10,000 People

Electrical Development in Nevada County

and conveyed through the Excelsior Ditch to
a wooden penstock about 300 feet above the
power house. From the penstock a 1 2-inch
sheet-iron, riveted pipe carried the water down
to the nozzles of two four-foot Pelton wheels.
One generator was direct-connected to one
of these wheels, the other was belted to a
counter shaft, driven by the other Pelton
wheel.

March 20th of 1896 Glasson sold out his
plant to the Nevada County Electric Power
Company. This company operated the Deer
Creek plant for three years before shutting
it down and disposing of the machinery for
junk. It was during the year 1 899 that the
\vriter became identified with the county's
electrical development. He was operator in
charge of the Deer Creek plant during the
months just prior to its being abandoned.

In 1 896, for the first time, electricity was
brought from the Rome power plant, on the
South ^ uba river, into Nevada City, just
three years before the old Deer Creek plant
was abandoned.

It should be mentioned here that the Ne-
vada County Electric Power Company had
already established a plant at the corner of
Main and Stewart streets in Grass Valley,
m what was known as the Shubridge build-
mg, and there had installed two General
Electric, 50-light, constant-current transform-
ers, each rated at 5,000 volts and 1 33
cycles. Being constructed with movable sec-
ondary coils and fixed primary coils these
transformers were entirely automatic and
needed no attention.

The first electric motor run in Nevada
County was installed at the Gold Hill mine
early in the year 1897. There it was used
to drive a I 50-horsepower compressor. The
equipment consisted of a two-phase, 1 30-
horsepower, synchronous motor separately ex-
cited by a Westinghouse direct-current, five-
horsepower generator. To bring it up to
synchronism a Stanley, two-phase, 550-volt,
I 5 -horsepower motor was belted to its shaft.

Later this machinery was moved to and in-
stalled at the Homeward-bound mine.

The first induction motor used in Nevada
County was a Stanley-type, two-phase, 550-
volt, 40-horsepower machine, installed in
Boston Ravine at the Rogers mill, better
known as the Gold Hill mill. This same
motor is now regularly used as a starting
motor in the car barn of the Nevada County
Traction Company. This company operates
the trolley hne between Nevada City and
Grass Valley.

The Grass Valley Substation in the Shubridge
Building in 1895

The first electric hoist in Nevada County
was erected at the Homeward-bound mine in
August of 1 898. It was operated by tvvo
250-volt, direct-current motors, which re-
ceived their current from two rotary convert-
ers, the alternating current voltage of which
was 220, while the direct current voltage was
250. The Homeward-bound also used a
General Electric, 30-horsepower, 250-volt,
direct-current motor to drive a Cornish pump.
The rotary converters were not very success-
ful, so, in September of 1 898, they were

317

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

taken out and a motor generator set substi-
tuted in their place. The capacity of the
motor was 1 80-horsepower, and was rated
at 5,500 vohs, 16,000 alternations, two-
phase. It was belted to a General Electric,
direct-current, class MP, 250-volt generator,
which ran the two 250-volt hoist motors and
a 30-horsepower, General Electric, 250-volt
motor belted to a Cornish pump. A similar
hoist was also installed at the Gold Hill mine.
This type of hoist continued in use until the
newer alternating-current, variable-speed, 60-
cycle, three-phase motors were introduced.
These represent the latest practice, and are
now used quite extensively in the Grass Val-
ley mining district.

The first substation of the Nevada County
Electric Power Company in Grass Valley
was situated at the corner of Main and
Stewart streets. The switchboard equipment
consisted of a Stanley, four-pole, double-
throw, open-break switch connecting the main
5,000-volt circuit from the Rome power
house to the bus bars. There were also two
double-pole, single-throw, open-break switches
connecting the two town circuits to the 2,000-
volt bus bars. The main line voltage was
stepped down through four dry-type Stanley
transformers of forty kilowatts each, 5,000
volts primary and 2,000 volts secondary.
The transformers had regular taps on the
secondary side, the regulation being obtained
by cutting in and out resistance coils made of
No. 9 galvanized-iron wire tapped to a home-
made rheostat.

The mine circuit was not brought into the
Grass Valley substation, but was tapped off
at a pole at the corner of Auburn and Em-
pire treets. To cut out a mine circuit, it
was necessary to open the line by knocking
out a brass tubing with a pole. The tubing
was eighteen inches long and was fastened
into two jaws made of one-eighth-inch by
one-and-a-half-inch spring brass. This primi-
tive type of switch was in use until the year
J900, when the company bought land at the

corner of Auburn and Empire streets and
erected on it a corrugated-iron building. A
switch board fifty feet long was put in this
new building, and seventy-two open-break,
Martin switches were installed for use on the
different mine circuits.

In the fall of 1900 electric power was
first brought in from the Colgate plant to
four Stanley-type, oil-and-water cooled, 200-
kilowatt, 23,000-volt primary, 5,000-volt
secondary transformers, and was paralleled
with the Rome power plant.

Nearly all the outgoing circuits were oper-
ated at 5,000 volts, two-phase, 133 cycles

The Grass Valley Substation of Today

until the three-phase, 60-cycle circuit from
the Colgate plant was constructed. The first
important load was taken on at the Allison
Ranch mine, where a three-phase, 60-cycle,
300-horsepower, Westinghouse induction
motor had been installed.

As the 60-cycle came more into use the
company built a new substation at Grass
Valley, back of the old one. This new sub-
station is forty feet square. At present it
contains nine 300-kilovvatt, 60-cycle trans-
formers, stepping from 23,000 volts to 2,400
volts. They are oil-insulated and water-
cooled, and, being connected in ^ on the
low-tension side, deliver 4,400 volts, three-
phase current. The different mines are sup-
plied through General Electric, three-pole,
single-throw oil switches, of which there are
sixteen, connected to two sets of bus bars in a
concrete subway beneath the marble panels.

318

Two Epoch-Makers in the Electric World

WHEN Guglielmo (William) Marconi
was only 26 years old — he is now
but 34 — he became famous that memorable
1 2th of December, 1901, by receiving at
his experimental station
in Newfoundland dis-
tinct clicks sent across
the Atlantic by wire-
less telegraph from his
station in England.
Thus he finally proved
the practical applica-
tion of wireless teleg-
raphy to commercial
uses. He did not in-
Guglielmo Marconi vent the wireless.
He was born in Marzabotto, near the city
of Bologna in Italy. His father was an
Italian, but his mother was Irish, a highly
cultured woman with considerable talent for
music and a member of the well-known Guin-
ness family of Dublin, famous as manufac-
turers of ale. Young Marconi was given
a good education, ending with a college
course, and then took up electricity, a subject
in which he had been much interested from
early boyhood. He is a quiet, thoughtful
man and a hard worker, and is the business
head of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph
Company, operating in England and America.

A one-page ad run just once in "The Sat-
urday Evening Post" costs $3,000. Why?
The paper has a circulation of 1 ,250,000
copies, and the chances are that a consider-
able percentage of about 5,000,000 reading
and intelligent people may see that ad. That
is the theory of advertising: putting it where
the right people will see it. If you wished
to announce a special bargain sale at your
local store, it would do you no good to scat-
ter 1 0,000 handbills on some distant Indian
reservation.

MICHAEL FARADAY discovered
the principle of the dynamo. He
died forty-two years ago, at the age of 76.
He was born near London, September 22d,
1 79 I . When he was
22 he was appointed
an instructor in chem-
istry in the Royal In-
stitute at London, and
at the age of 24 began
his great career of in-
vestigation and discov-
ery in electricity and
magnetism. In Au-
gust of 1831, when
he was nearly 40, he Michael Faraday

made five remarkable experiments extending
over a period of ten days. All these experi-
ments had to do with the principles of the
generation of electricity, now so well known
in connection with the electric dynamo.

Getting Experience

C. Bond, foreman at the Nevada power
house, tells how years ago he was laid off for
"monkeying with the machinery": —

"When I started to work as an oiler at
the Rome power house November 1 4th of
1 902 electricity and its ways were Dutch to
me. But after I had been on the job two
weeks I thought I knew a whole lot about the
business. To prove this to myself I threw
the switches in on a 'dead' machine and then
opened them again on a 'dead' short.
Whew ! There was an arc that I shall never
forget. For my trouble I was laid off for a
month. When I resumed my duties at the
power house I decided it would be better
for me to learn from the experience of others
instead of experimenting on my own account
with powerful electric currents."

319

College Men in the Company

AMONG the employees of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company are rep-
resentatives from ten European, one Cana-
dian, and thirty-three American colleges,
making a total of one hundred and one differ-
ent mdividuals with college experience. The
ratio of college to non-college men is one to
thirty-six, or less than 3 per cent, of the
company's force.

Just how much a college training counts
depends mostly upon the capacity of the in-
dividual and also to a great extent upon the
quality of the college and the time spent there.
It is of record that the little old "Univeristy
of Hard Knocks " has turned out many a
good man. But the product of a college is
judged by its alumni who have been out in
the world sufficiently long to have struck their
pace in their chosen vocations.

The purpose of a college has been ex-
pressed as the training of men who are to
rise above the ranks; it is to get a man ready
to be a master adventurer in the field of mod-
ern opportunity. The college is intended to
stimulate in a large number of men varied
resourcefulness which would be stimulated m
only a few if the development were left to
nature and circumstances. The percentage
of colleges that fall short of this ideal is per-
haps no greater than the percentage of colleg-
ians that are not good subjects for develop-
ment.

With these ideas in mind it will be inter-
esting to look over the accompanying list of
colleges and their products that have come

mto the company. Some persons, it will be
seen, did not graduate; those who did, re-
ceived their graduation degrees: A. B.,
bachelor of arts; B. S., bachelor of science;
Ph. B., bachelor of philosophy; LL. B.,
bachelor of laws; M. E., mechanical en-
gineer; M. S., master of science; D. D. S.,
doctor of dental surgery; M. D. V. S., doc-
tor of veterinary surgery.

Very naturally half the college element
has come from California's two big universi-
ties, the state university supplying thirty men
and Stanford twenty.

The hydro-electric field with long-distance
transmission of energy has offered compara-
tively a new vocation for the college-trained
man, and that is why, perhaps, the class years
show rather recent dates and so few early
graduates from Berkeley, though California's
state university turned out its first class way
back in 1872. The very first class to com-
plete the four-year course at Stanford, the
"pioneer class" that graduated in 1895, has
furnished the company four men; California's
'04 class has furnished six men; and Stan-
ford's '05 class, five.

That some college graduates of recent
years are engaged in ordinary construction
work is no reproach to their collegiate train-
ing. Most all the engineering chiefs have
had to come up by that same practical route.
The reproach comes when their college train-
ing does not enable them to advance faster
than the average man who has not had uni-
versity opportunities.

CLASS
YEAR

.San Francisco

NAME YEAR DEGREE OR TIME

LeshafTS College (Si. Petersburg, Russia)

B. H. Kuechen • ( ' !^ year) . .

Moscow University (Moscow, Rj-,sla)

B. L. Zellensky (1 year) San F

University of Turin (Turin, Italy)

Santiago Merle San Francisco

WHERE EMPLOYED

" rancisco

320

College Men in the Company

CLASS
NAME YEAR DECREE OR TIME WHERE EMPLOYED

San AuGUSTiN College (Madrid, Spain)

F. J. Hodgkinson (3 years) Fresno

Lycee Imperiale de St. Omer (France)

J. E. Poingdestre (Completed various courses) . Marysville

St. John's University (Ireland)

J. Fitzgerald San Francisco

Grosvenor College (Carlisle, England)

T. E. Marrs • • (3 years) San Jose

King's College (London, England)

T. E. Marrs (1 year) San Jose

Marlborough College (England)

H. C. Beauchamp Nevada City

Vickery's University (England)

H. G. Howard Oakland

Montreal College (Canada)

E. J. Roy Oakland

New Hampshire State College (New Hampshire)

C. W. Martin Sacramento

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston, Mass.)

H. C. Blake Construction Department

William R. Morgan 1889 M. E San Francisco

W. C. Spencer (2 years) Construction Department

Yale University (New Haven, Conn.)

W. B. Bosley 1892.... A. B.; 1894, LL. B.... San Francisco

New York University (New York city)

A. L. "Wilcox 1903 B. S San Francisco

Vanderbilt University (Maryland)

William H. Kline 1890 LL. B San Francisco

Stevens Institute (Hoboken, N. J.)

George C. Holberton 1891 M. E San Francisco

Washington and Jefferson College (Pennsylvania)

Paul W. Murphy (3 years) Construction Department

Purdue University (Lafayette, Ind.)

Earle B. Henley 1904 Completed Course San Francisco

Valparaiso University (Valparaiso, Indiana)

John Speijcer Construction Department

Armour Institute (Chicago, 111.)

Harold B. Winters Construction Deparlmeit

University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

H. J. Brower (1 year) Oakland

St. Mary's College (Kentucky)

G. C. Thompson Oakland

University of Tennessee (Tennessee)

R. C. Compton San Francisco

Tashio College (Tashio, Mo.)

George R. Anderson (1 year) Construction Department

University of Missouri (Missouri)

A. U. Brandt 1899 B. S Oakland

321

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

CLASS
NAME YEAR DECREE OR TIME WHERE EMPLOYED

Western Veterinary College (Kansas City, Mo.)

J. A. Meacham 1897 M. D. V. S Construction Department

Washington College (Missouri)

Paul M. Downing 1891 .. B. S San Francisco

•
University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.)

D. M. Young De Sabla

S. J. Lisberger 1903 B. S.; M. S. 1909 San Francisco

University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Ove J. H. Michelet 1894 (2 years) San Francisco

Colorado Agricultural College (Colorado)

H. P. Kelley (2 years) Oakland

Utah Agricultural College (Utah)

J. R. Carl (2 years) Electra

R. P. Crookston (1 year) Electra

University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.)

T. J. Ludlow 1897 Construction Department

Washington Agricultural College (Pullman, Wash.)

C. R. Gill Sacramento

J. Z. Strauch Sacramento

Oregon Agricultural College (Corvallis, Ore.)

Don C. Ray 1896 Grass Valley

Columbia College (Milton, Ore.)

(Miss) Rose Frendig 1903 San Francisco

University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Cal.)

Walter R. Bisbee 1899 (2 years) San Francisco

Santa Clara College (Santa Clara, Cal.)

D. A. (Gus) While (later 80's) San Francisco •

O. D. Dewey (2 years) San Jose

Walter J. Walsh (I year) San Jose

C. T. O'Connell ■ • (5 years) San Jose

Joseph B. Kent 1905 Construction Department

Sacred Heart College (San Francisco, Cal.)

D. A. (Gus) White 1892 San Francisco

J. D. Sweeney Oakland

L. Melbourne Oakland

E. J. Angelo San Francisco

St. Mary's College (San Francis:o, Cal.)

D. A. (Gus) White (later 80's) San Francisco

H. D. Hanifin San Francisco

S. C. Wafer

St. Mary's College (Oakland, Cal.)

W. E. Bell C. E Oakland

R. Grossman Oakland

University of the Pacific (San Jose, Cal.)

C. A. Smith (7 months) Construction Department

College Men in the Company

CLASS
NAME YEAR DEGREE OR TIME WHERE EMPLOYED

University of California (Berkeley. Cal.)

W. E. Osborn 1880 Ph. B Woodland

C. E. Sedgwick 1 893 B. S San Francisco

J. U. Smith

Charles J. Nelson.
Clarence D. Clark.
R. J. Brower . . . .

I. E. Flaa

John O. Hansen. .

.1894.
,1898.
.1899.
.1900.
.1902.
.1902.

• B. S.; M.S. 1899 San Francisco

B. S Oakland

B. S North Tower

B. S Oakland

B. S San Francisco

B. S San Jose

R. J. O'Connell (3 years) Construction Department

H. C. Vensano 1903 B. S Construction Department

James H. Wise 1903 B. S San Francisco

E. L. Lord (4 years) Construction Department

T. J. Ludlow 1904 Construction Department

Stanley V. Walton 1904 B. S San Francisco

William M. Walton 1904 D. D. S Construction Department

Wallace H. Foster 1904. . (I year) San Rafael

1904 B. S San Francisco

1906 B. S Construction Department

1907 B. S Sacramento

1909 San Francisco

1909 B. S San Francisco

1909 B. S Construction Department

(I year) San Rafael

,1912 (1 year) Oakland

W. B. Barry (2'/2 years) San Francisco

John D. Kuster (Summer School) San Jose

P. A. Thompson Oakland

C. T. Carr (4 years) Construction Department

James K. James Construction Department

Stanford University (Stanford University, Cal.)

Arthur H. Burnett 1895 A. B Richmond

Paul M. Downing 1895 A. B San Francisco

G. S. Johnson

C. H. Warren

John Spencer

H. T. Graves

W. H. Cilker

Robert Sorenson

L C. Steele

W. Taylor 19

H. G. Howard

Walter Hyde 1895.

Archie Rice 1895.

F. V. T. Lee 1897.

J. E. Murphy

Frank R. Stowe

Leo H. Susman

George H. Bragg

Robert J. Hughes ....
Leonard L. Hohl

.1898.
.1900.
.1901.
.1902.
,1903.
1904.

A. B San Francisco

... (4 years) San Francisco

... (5 years) Construction Department

A. B San Francisco

. . (4 years) Construction Department

A. B Construction Department

J. H. McDougal 1905 A. B Sacramento

James W. Coons 1905 -A. B Construction Department

A. L. Trowbridge 1905 A. B San Francisco

Harvey Shields 1905. . A. B Construction Department

F. H. Trowbridge 1 905 Sacramento

Lloyd Henley 1908 Construction Department

W. T. Tyler 1909 A. B San Jose

W. C. Spencer (I year) Construction Department

Ralph L. Milliken De Sabla

323

The Source of San Francisco's Electricity

By EDWARD STEPHENSON, Engineer of Station A.

Out beyond the Union Iron
Works, in the Potrero district, is
a huge steam-driven plant that
generates all the electric light and
power used in ihe city and coun-
ty of San Francisco. The east

idward Stephenson .. ^, imi- !*• I

wall or the building adjoins the
great Spreckels Sugar Refinery, because when
this electric plant was established about ten
years ago it was owned by Claus Spreckels,
who also owned the substantially rock-ribbed
shore land on which it stands. The natural
solidity of the site accounts for the splendid
manner in which the building and its founda-

tions have stood earthquake tremors and the
constant vibrations of the massive machinery.

As there are eleven water-driven and eight
steam-driven electric plants in the system con-
trolled by the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany this generating plant is designated as
Station A.

In size and output it is the largest plant of
its kind west of Chicago, and it requires the
expert services of one hundred men to operate
its machinery.

The building is an immense brick structure
extending from street to street through a big
city block. It is 450 feet long, 140 feet

iBjii^^-

station A, San Francisco
It is at the corner of Twenty- third and Louisiana streets, and extends from Humboldt street (shown
in the foreground) south to Twenty-third street. The smaller building is the office, with its main
entrance on Humboldt street. The entire nearer part of the long double building contains the engine-
room; the further part, the boiler room.

324

The Source of San Francisco's Electricity

View in the Boiler Room, Looking South

wide, and 80 feet from its flreroom floor to trie generators. Ten of the generators can
its steel-ribbed roof of galvanized sheet-iron. supply San Francisco with all the electric light
A division wall runs the entire length of the and power the city ordinarily uses. Three of
building and makes of it two tremenduously the generators are used to supply the exciting
big rooms of equal size. current to run the ten others. The foundations
The long room on the east side of this for these big generators are built up fifteen
double building (the left-hand side in the pic- feet above the main floor, and on a level with
ture) contains the twenty-seven steam boilers, the tops of these generator foundations is the
the six boiler-feed pumps, the one salt-water floor of the engineroom. On the main floor,
fire-pump, the five economizers, the three aux- which is below the level of the generators and
iliary-exhaust feed-water heaters, the four the engineroom, are installed all the conden-
fucl-oil pumps, the five fuel-oil heaters, and sers, air-pumps, pipes, and such other equip-
all the steam and water piping necessary to ment as can be placed below the engineroom
the operation of this big modern boiler plant, floor.

which has six smoke stacks and four induced-
draught fans to accelerate the draft in the
boilers and economizers.

The long room at the west side is the
engineroom, and it also contains thirteen elec-

Before the plant was finished it was sold
by Claus Spreckels to the San Francisco Gas
and Electric Company, and then the instal-
lation was completed.

The accompanying view of the outside of

325

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

the building conveys a very good idea of its
massive construction and great size.

The boilers in this building are capable of
daily converting 2,000,000 gallons of water
into steam at a pressure of 200 pounds to
the square inch. About thirty miles of four-
inch boiler tubes are contamed in the boilers
and economizers. It is not often that the
maximum capacity of the plant is needed, yet
in winter time, durmg the period of short and
dark days, it is quite usual to evaporate 5,000
tons of water a day and convert it into steam.
The production of steam is the first step in
a steam plant's generation of electric light
and power.

To change 5,000 tons of water every
twenty-four hours into steam at 200 pounds
pressure requires an enormous amount of fuel.
So much fuel is needed that if coal were used

this great plant in itself would consume more
coal every day than is now daily used in the
entire city of San Francisco. Think of that.
But fortunately the fuel is crude oil.

This plant uses 1 00,000 gallons of fuel-
oil a day, when it is going some. But to
handle this immense amount of oil happens to
be about the easiest and simplest work about
the station.

Of course fuel-oil can not be left round
like coal. Elaborate containing tanks must
be provided. They must be of a size suffi-
cient to store a large reserve supply to pro-
tect the plant against the risks of delayed de-
livery.

Sometimes the railroad company can not
get the oil-tank cars through from the wells.
Sometimes the oil-carrying steamers are de-
layed. Sometimes the cross-country oil-pipe

View in the Engineroom, Looking South
32G

The Source of San Francisco's Electricity

stationary Switchboard in the Engineroom

lines burst or need repairs. But despite any
or all of these uncertainties Station A must
keep going and keep giving to the people of
San Francisco all the electric light and power
they require.

The forethought of the company manage-
ment in supplying such ample storage capacity
at Station A has averted shut-downs. When
the oil company has been short of oil the large
reserve storage at Station A has given it a
place from which to secure a temporary
supply.

Steamships carrying 50,000 barrels, or
8,000 tons, of fuel-oil can come alongside
the company's own wharf near its plant and
discharge their oil cargoes directly into the
storage tanks in about fifty hours. As there
are two separate pipe lines the oil cargo from

two oil-boats can be pumped out at the same
time. Probably no other electric light and
power plant in the world can handle its fuel
in such large quantities and so quickly as can
Station A. Fifty thousand barrels, or 8,000
tons, of oil can be received at one time in oil
cars on the plant's own spur tracks, but the
operation of pumping out the tank cars is
slower than the pumping of the same amount
of oil from the ships.

After the production of steam the next
step in the making of electricity at Station A
is the use of this steam to run the electric
generators. Recriprocating engines are used
to revolve the generators. Six of these engines
are of the Mcintosh and Seymour standard
compound type of 2,200-horsepower capacity
at normal load, two are of the Union Iron

327

Pacific GsLS and Electric Magazine

7£:

Works triple-expansion type of 2,200-horse-
power capacity, and two are of a Union Iron
Works type and design similar to those used
on the latest American battleships built by
the Union Iron Works. These last two en-
gines were rated by the Union Iron Works
at 4,800-horsepovver, but even after years
of use the normal capacity of these two
engines when working with the greatest ease
and smoothness is about 6,300-horsepower,
or more than 31 per cent, greater than the
makers guaranteed them.

Every engine is supplied with condensers
and air-pumps which are intended to receive
and condense into water all the exhaust steam
from the engines. This distilled water is
then pumped back again into the boilers.
Thus the cycle is maintained; the water con-
densed into steam, the exhaust steam con-
verted again into water, and this water sent
bark into the boilers to be reconverted info
steam, the endless round being mamtd'ned
as long as the plant is operating.

Some idea of the length of time this opera-
tion has been unceasingly continued may be
gained Irom the explanation that some of th".
engmes ha^e revolved more than 500,000,-
000 times since they were first installed.

In changing the exhaust steam from these
engines back into water it is necessary to cool
the steam until its latent heat has been ab-
stracted. This cooling operation requires the
use every day of about 75,000,000 gallons
of salt-water. Think of it! That is twice
as much water as the Spring Valley Water
Company daily supplies to the entire city
of San Francisco. To put it another way.
Station A has to pump I 50 gallons of water
a day for each of the 450,000 people in San
Francisco in order that the whole city may
have all the electric light and electric power
it needs.

The work of raising this salt-water requires
four centrifugal pumps driven by electric
motors. These four pumps are housed near
the waterfront, about 1 ,000 feet east of Sta-

tion A. The salt-water comes in from the
bay 500 feet through a canal that is about
fifty feet wide at the bay end and twenty
feet wide at the pump end. The pumps are
of the Byron Jackson type, and they work
under a head of fifty feet. Three of them
have a capacity of 30,000 gallons a minute,
and the fourth has a capacity of 20,000 gal-
lons a minute. They all discharge into a
great thirty-inch cast-iron main, extending
1,000 feet to the electric plant. After this
pipe reaches the station it has outlets at each
condenser, at each cooler, and at any other
places where salt-water may be required.
Each outlet is provided with strainers of a
standard pattern to intercept any dirt that
may have passed the primary strainers at the
suction end of each pump in the channel.

To keep all this system of machinery in
repair and running smoothly requires the serv-
ices of one hundred men, each an expert in
his particular line. And when each man does
his work well and gives full vent to his
knowledge of the subject then Station A is
entirely successful; and I am proud to say
that this condition has been generally main-
tained. It is creditable to the men them-
selves that the efficiency at Station A is much
higher as the years go by and the plant and
the machinery grow older. This higher effi-
ciency is due to the systematic way in which
the men at this plant pull together and observe
the rule that "a stitch in time saves nine."
They not only put in the timely stitch, but,
if the place be thin, they put on a patch in
time and make things more secure. And the
end is not yet, even after Station A has gen-
erated more than 500,000,000 kilowatt
hours. She is still a big, sturdy, reliable pro-
ducer of electric energy, because the men and
the machinery keep working smoothly.

Most baldness is caused by a derby or a
high hat, the stiff, rigid rim of which tends
to bind the head and retard the circulation
of the blood to the scalp.

328

The Fun in Handling Kickers

By S. A. WARDLAW, Counterman, San Francisco.

Nothing more essentially con-
tributes to the successful handling
of complaints than a polite and
agreeable manner backed up by
a knowledge of the details of the
business. The consumer must
be made to feel that the com-
pany is always willing and ready to rectify
any thing based on a legitimate complaint.

There are all sorts and types of people
coming to the counter with their gas and
electric troubles. They must be treated with
tact, and on the general theory that honey
catches flies, vinegar never. The angry and
excited person who comes in full of the idea
that the company is unreasonable must be met
with "the smile that won 't come off."

While a great many complaints are un-
reasonable, there are many consumers who
prove disposed and willing to learn the com-
pany's side of the story.

At times some humorous incidents happen,
but during their narration the counter clerk
must listen with respect and dignity.

An excited little Frenchman figets in. He
has moved into a new flat without notifying
the gas company. He has tried to turn on
the gas himself to save ze trouble. And he
has broken "ze pipe," which he now produces
to prove his statement.

There is the amateur gas-fitter who goes
down into his basement with a lighted candle
to find out where the gas is leaking. He finds
It, and he comes with a kick.

The Chinaman soft-pedals in and wants to
know "what matter him gas clock?" And
he 's right; the meter is a clock.

1 he Italian comes and gesticulates about
"da meet, da meet," and he does n't keep a
butcher shop either. He has had trouble
with his meter, and has eaten garlic in order
to come in and breathe defiance at the com-
pany.

Also there is the woman who has just
about this to say: "I do n't see why my gas
bill is bigger than any body else's on the
block. Every woman I have talked with in
our neighborhood has a smaller bill than ours
and they have larger families!"

As an antidote for this feminine storm
in comes the nice, kind, old lady who knows
it is her mission in life to convert the counter
clerk, and she takes time to it. But who can
blame her? Take that either way you like.

No policeman is in sight, and so in comes
this other woman to tell her troubles to the gas
man, as she has known him as a patient
listener before.

A colored man saunters in. He knows his
business, well I guess yes! He kept every
light lit in his boss's house while the family
was away in the country because he was n't
goin' to stay there all alone in the dark!

Occasionally the genus farmer plods in
and kicks at having to put up "the forfeit,"
as he terms the deposit.

From time to time the newspapers publish
in their joke column "funny ones" concern-
ing gas. But these jokes are not all products
of the imagination. If all the funny ones
that actually happen at all the complaint
counters in the country could be gleaned there
would be funnier ones in print.

The hard thing is to make some people
believe that you believe they believe what you
are telling them when you know they do n't
believe it. But to go through with the process
and keep smiling is true diplomacy, and the
counter clerk early learns that he must prac-
tice it on the public. While the consumer
may think the counter man is making extrava-
gant statements and promises, the consumer's
feelings always respond to genteel and con-
siderate treatment. "A soft answer turneth
away wrath," and most people prefer taffy
to epitaphy.

.'329

How to Figure Cost of Electric Power

By S. V. WALTON, Manager Commercial Department.

The purpose of the accompany-
ing tables IS to enable any one to
determine by them the cost of
any amount of electric power.
Suppose, for example, A has
a plant to be equipped, say, with
a 75-horsepower motor. He
wishes to operate, say, I 2 hours a day. He
learns that he can secure electric current, say,
at 3 cents a kilowatt hour.

He refers to the first table, and glances
down the first column till he comes to 3 cents
the kilowatt hour. Opposite that, in the next
column, he sees 2.238 cents, which is the
equivalent rate for one horsepower, since one
horsepower equals 746 watts or .746 of one
kilowatt. Then finding the column headed

1 2 and following it down to the line opposite
the 3 cents of the first column he finds
$10.95, which is the monthly cost, and oppo-
site this, in the next column, is $131.40,
which is the annual cost. Continuing on into
the next column he finds $8. 1 7, which is the
monthly cost of one horsepower, and in the
next column, just opposite, is $98.02, the
yearly cost of one horsepower.

Multiplying these monthly and yearly
horsepower costs by 75 he has the cost for
his plant. Suppose now that he have his
motor tested and find that it is taking only 60
horsepower. Then his power costs should
be reduced accordingly, by figuring them at
60 horsepower instead of 75.

These tables save much figuring.

COST OF POWER <. roL.Mc,.TM.750HRs> (T

Hfii-EtflDAJl 10 - -_

r..-.-^f^7^-

-^ ^J/J-

^^^,T.

C£,5r .

Ji63 - ^^-ifiQ

^2« 1 .n.iD

-l-fty li&4Q_- [ J4a Lea7Q_ L_6£_9 .J.8Q30

7.5fJ ! fi7cr.

z::

liiiHRVIU

l^P. Mpa rt;a„l\.W HBa.fliiieMf^ J-ia

.wh..Hh^h»^p.»

K Wt;t«',.l'iiirf»H»;s pen jk W H« ri:| tP Mi,-i pit b ; H W ^f^j, f p

iEBMrt-

T^AH

n„^r,..

iS'*

C^^

B.7 ij.io jiii+j B2

9BI>

109

2.9l2G2^i€5 I9.4<

-il)

.£61

1.06

12 78

./y

&53

i.^S i^3Ji ,e5

„44

1354

1 70

1 27

1523

1 92 2300 1 4:

.7,5 2 34 2a.i],7s|2..97

B9b

\ti

14GD

.0-89

:::i;:.5^:r3

,70 2041,27

15.20

195

23 5fl

145

1745

2 19 2626^163

,?e^ 2.t8| 32 ,2|2 0ol2S9^292 1,50^2, 6>e..
22(i. 30, 3e.,4.^25l^5!.5|3^a 2S-.a245 2.4

♦i

336

1.37

\6fS

1 02

i2 26

14 7<

.92 23oJ.43

ni5

2l9

26-28

163

19.60

a'*72957^l64

373

1 iZ

.6,2S.

1 13

i3C2

1 83 21 9C

> Sfe

16 5'

2 15 2iBj 1 59

19 06

244

29 20

182

21 76

97A\52QisM

24 51^! 3 54140,

a5a2»edl3Eo 43B02 72 32t

IC7

1 £6

I-4.98

2 C 1 24 0.

1 90

.es/

!ixvy,i'

20 9/

266

3212

2 00

2JedJ3 0l J3614|' 2 25|269d 368 4417

?75 32 5^40, J4.i,»3CO|35s.
2'99|35.9j4 59|525il3 27|392

.C ^^b

|B2

219

I.3C

leM

2 20 26^

le;

isec

22 67

2S2

35,^

2 18

26 J- 3 29; 394^245,2941 4.02 46.18

£5 ^6S

196

ZS7J

i-*7

17 70

^ 37 264

(.7 7

2124

277 ISa? 207'24 76

2 36

2»^ 3 56 42 712 66 31 86 4 35 52 2

3 24J36941'''''*- 5^943 54424
349U,93 5,, I6.VJ9,'4SK

322

l>i

£bia

1 i9

l9t>6

22 &7

2 96 3S77 2 22 266

34.Uoi»l2 54

50 5*3 8-+- 4-5 99^ 86 34 3i,, 469 56-2

341

^20

26^fl

1 C^-

19 74

|263]3l76

1 97

23 es

309,57 0^2 30 2764

35^4ei4j2€5

3i5ft3 97 4765 2 36,35$3|4 65,5822

je2^434j|i29,65S, 195 47.5£

.75

OCO

I2i

2731

ITO

20A2

?7A

32 85

204

24 50

3.20

36iS238!28.S£

32e7!4 11 4e2i

307

seie oczcczs

3 74,449; 546 ;65 70406'450
3 87 464; 1, £6 '£76a 422,5064

.578

sje

29 ?9

1-76

2 1 lO

33.95

2 tt

2il2

130

53 7S

j4-i5

5092

317

3 796 5.,ae2 52

S97

I'M

2920

1.81

£i 78

298

3i,04

2 18

ZCi^

3-41

40a&2 54 JCiO

ie0 46 7^2 9.

-* I4-*«M- 309

^4 38

5256

3 27

392) 515 6424

3.39:479i!5„,0cT43e:522

its

€3-»

2SI

3iCi

• 93

23 I?

3lO

3723

2 32

2777

3G2

4544-2 70 3240

3703

.466

5583

347

4166 569 €&26

424

5092l'€2i 7446463 '55A4

G7i

^74

3183

204-

24 81

5 29

3342

245

2S4C

3 83

45.932 66 343

45a 525( 327

39.2

493

53 1:

3 6t

44,, 6 02 72.27

4.49

b3,i9 6 57 [7a^4 90 598

.35

1CB

289

3'^ca

2 IC

2 56T

J47

4i£i

2 59

31 04

A06

48 633 02

36 2

463^ S54i 545

4139

521

624*

3.ea

4£5< 6,56 76.23

4.74-

56 91 Ic 9 4 83-23 5 i9 ■62.08

74€

3(>+

jesu

227

27 23

S(,S

■4180

2 72

32 67

■4-26

51 io| 31s

38,12

4 87 564( 5 63

45 57

548

65 70

409

49 0, 6.69 80.5(4 99

59 5C 730! 8760 5 45 £5 35

1 1

B2I

3 V*

■^Oii

2 SO

293&

4oe

48 16

3 00

3594

-4e9|5e3(| 3 5C

4-L33

D56 642.4-00

47-9.

6 03

72 2

4 50

53.9, 756, 883: 5.49'ti Si^jaci, 56 J6 5 99 TLBs

63!

S'*^

41 oe

2 S3

iO^'i

4 II

49.26

3oe

36 TC

4-79 5749! 358

42 83

5 46

65704-09

49-0

6 17

73 91

460

5514 7 53|90.M S fe2'67 39', 8 21 96 5^6 ,3 7X4*

' <?

«3d

seaisfto

2 72

32 68

4sa

s23e

3 27

3921

Sil

6132.3 81

45 74

3 04

70 0i'^56

5228

656

49t

58 9l;aOS 96'q5 99 7,.98r6 16 lOi 2CJ£.54' 7S42

i?32

3Ba.*5t

2 ai

S-^M

456

54 »S

5.4 O

40.64

&35

€386 3 97

4-765

6 09

73-00-541

54 4€

6 85

8213

511

61 26:J8 56|,00.5eJc 24J74«8||S ,3 lios.sje 81 181.69

1 3

370

39^-.7.,

2 93

Ji40.

47i

i694

354

4246

5.5-4

6643 4 13

49SS

6 53

7592 -t72

56?4

7 12

5 32

6 5 7, a 70

,0455649 77 819 50 ,,588'' 06'e49S

1 "^

'04^

S i8

3e>2

5il

61 S£

3 8IJ457,

5 96

71 54 4.4S

,5.337

6 82

31 76 6 09

6I.0Q

767

9191

5 72

essJs.lT

,,2426.99 83.8t],022Ii22 6.^ 76Ji9,45

1 5

lil9

4S6'i-*i

3^s:«6,

546

6570

^0649.0,

6^9

76.65I477

S71h

751

67 6( 54»

6553

8 22

9855

6 1,3

7 5.52*0 o;

,2045 749

9986|l0.95 i3l'40^S't7l9aQ

1 e

..f4.

'*86S6'>

JtJ^js,

5 84

70CI

52 28|

6 62

8,.7. 5.08. «»

780

£371

8 77

>05I2

6 54

78.4; 1,070

,2844 733

9585 11.68 14016 8-71 !i04.5i

l-E6t

^n €30

3 8e

4629

6 21

7446

■t.e^

si55

7 24^

sag] S4-C

64S(

ase

93 2f 617

7-4 0«

3 32

111-69

6 95

8351 ,,.J7

,365, 849

01841)241 1469^ 9 26l||i.09

ISO;

S^Jfeib

3 37

-*7e,S

6 39

7eej

4-77

5718

746

694; S66

se7.

u:,^

0220 £56

76?'

984

114 9d

715

8577, 14<

140.53 8 75

04eai2.76;l53-5Q 9.531114.36

1 8

lit

D-vrtbio

ica

■»9 0l

€i.7

78 84

490

58 81

767

31 9t 5 72

G&es

877

05.if e.54

784;

986

II&26

75G

8821 i2i>4

W4S4 8.99,078:|l5t4|,5768960 ',,763

1 b

i-ViT

iia

69 li

•^31

SI 74

6.94

65^2

317

6208

6 09

<^JO'- GC-»

7243

9£f

82,n

iO>4l

2483

777

93,2 ,27,

52 57 9 48 ,,3 82' ,3 97i,6644i0 55i24i€

■ •492

fi(>6

'JOO

45h»

54»e

7 30

876J

543

ei^i.

6S2

0.- 3C e 35

7fcS4

9 74

I6BC 726

8713

10 96

5140

ftifl

9301 i3 38

,60 60a98:„38,||,460(,75M,oS9,3a»

2 I

i5er

6sa

7«ea

-t76

57tb

767

St.Si

5 7i

ee-K

896

0731 tC7

10 23

ZZe^ 763

ei.49

1131

15797

858

0292, 4 Oi

68C3,04»',25 8<|iiji,819d., 44,3725

S 2

1 6*1

6 6!

60 il

S9 9I

803

sen

5 99

7t 88

5 37

i?42 6 99

63BC

10 71

2&4£ 79s

95A-

12 oe

44 S<

S.99

0782 14 72

766610 98 ,3,79^6 06 ©2 72,198 ,457

I6T8

«6^

W.,

SIC

ei27

8.21

BB.i.a

6.J

73.5E

93 £■

i-*9e 7(6

sst;

losel

31.4? S-17

96 02

12.55

476:

9 IB

,0.27^1505

SOtd,, 23,5478!'iC-*3',97,o',2 25,470

e 3

1 7lfe

«99

8.»

s^^

C2.ei

a-M

C0 1-4

75 i5

9.90

1753 731

8768

1120

54 32, 8 3S

oO,2(

12 60

51 11

9 40

=S'J!^"'.'!i^

t-lli

7J^ 66 6

i }9

e-t £7

SC7

O40.

C.47

7760

1&-I2

2.13* 7 5:

905*

11 57

53701 863

6347

>3,C2

56 0-

971

640

i5 6&t90n, 1,66 ,42 27 ,7 34

2-^

1 7S.C

730 e7«

iv*

£3 3:

8-76

05.l£

6.94

764,

1022

22 G.

762

914;

IIC9

4016 8 72

04 55

i3 16

5769

ieoi,92 7ai, 98J,437 ,752

'2i02-4i3 07;i5€.8'

ibCi

3 GT

66. Of

9 13

L09St

6BI

81 6£

IOC5

27 7:

794

95 5(

12 le

14-eo( 008

£69)

1310

64 E;

0 22122.55

Iie72^0075i>248',497« ,825

2'9odi3.6a!i6iV

1^0

7«0 ^9(

set

706t

943

II let

7 08

84.95

M06|

not

bze

?9U

12 66

5164^3 44.

15-27

1425

70 62

0C312743

17 39^06.78 ,2 9a, 5575, 6.56^7 761 ,4 '6 i6390
,aOi'2,6 8ll348,6,74l,97l^36 5!v4 70,;64.
,873122464,5.98, 67 7i2t44i^452e, 5 25,8291
19.4(12528 ,447^17372 2, i;Ui,<^,5 ,9 ,69 5,
30.07Uos<i4.97|,7a71!l9o|26290 16 54.56(4

^oH B.,;s6,^

t le

7 5i^3 8C

«a2(

7 3S

il-SC

3797

858

0£9i

13 iS

5766 eei

i?g3

14 ef

77 3s!„04^.52,3S

i^b

.o..;;BSiW«

€ S:

7 £2- -0.22

22 6'

762

ei 4!

1193

45(V

Q.9C

Ot7<

1364*

6S^; 10 17

21-86

S69|190.5^ll86|i42,i5

2 S

?,ci8S^.«8:

cse

76^7 10 5?

1270;

790

e4 7(

2^3

S2I

10.5^

14.12

se«,o5.2ev

75.5(l0.6ei3O70

??ia!l siai.osii

e.si

61 69 10.95

_^IM

.8.1!

12 78

.^ilfi

,95i

Jii*

4CI

330

How to Figure Cost of Electric Power

COST OF POWER. f.ruLtMor.TH.730MRS.) «f) 1

- 5-.

H«» Pin

MniMTH VtAB

Mor^TM VCA«

Mni^T-n 1 YlftR

YrAi*

«"'

no<iT

rn^T

rn-^T

.WH«.„.

^ H«<; PEK

^^p^.

^^K.- p..

KWH.,_,

^Ph l^Bt

hPMimpew

lfiaiF« PFH

yPHHR pen

4ph

itnn

iDnIt

tiaa*

Yi^fl

'^I'^Tl

TG/^n

MonTf

|M0MJJ.1IJV^

IfOT.

|H0f^T|

Yr^R

1C«'f^

f-k.^-.iv.

■km

ICAft

MeowvcAB

tLKr

IMS

s'W

TC3

S-t + . 1.S2

9*rA

.>^i

3 6i

.I&..7

use

liiOS

less

.2 6-?

to 7+

2+89

e2(.

„^1^^

f02i8

5 z

2587

9 75

lie so

7 26

97i-«- 1160

l*<3..€

6.11

i>4&e

iiC3

fc3.S.J

IC.tT

1213?

15. 5S

>SC8d

11 ea

i3e+.|

17 5+

2IC124'

I3.08

I36B'

21 + 1

£36 96

.5 97

iei6B

'3S€

2C9tl

5-t

S'l^

9e9

18 e3

7 57

66 &c n.&C

-t2 3a

8 63

106 .©

i3.es

lee-cf

10 33

I238i

t5a3

• 8980

• 1 ao

I+ISS

1761

213S3

13.29

21 7+-

26096

16 2C

13+ e9

'3.73

212 38

I 3

?■♦«

loci

■ zo-».

7+9

83 &e le.OS

14-ti4

839

07 62

.■4.06

1C&&

ic.+e

i2va<

I607

192 T2

1198

i-*3.-n

«oe

2166

13+e.

161 73

22 or

26+99

ie+7

idTes

24 09

«aoJ.,„

215*5

2 6H

iCV*

771

e2%6 12*1

I4«%

926

11109

i-*4e

73,74

108O

29.61 ieS6

198 66

12 35

.+SI2

22318

.3.90

166 64

22 7+

27302

16 67

203.£7

:+H2

2978.

18 52

I0-6-*

T94-

9S31 12 TB

3J}'

?&3

i-t.»i

\^<^^^

n 12

?D+4(

i2 71

171 S+

1747

Zll

ill+O

all

itc'slUT

'««

^008

1^^

I85 9«

l'i*e

2102+

!3,+!

:0 38

II^M

2+ 08
?+7>^

285 0£

IV-,

22) M

To'i'^

bb'js

\\7s

M»(

8 62

icii. ,3 69

,€C4-

'.c.'i

22 53
li'^-te

ib,&tt

J^^

12 D7

42 9a

ie"

2zT^

'.'■^

16s"

'OflZ

249tt

.6 33

.837S

\lTs

5(113

IH»7

227&J

27.38

5265*

2042

esos

nee

*^V

ass

.06 JO 1 + 2*

7D.e:

loea

127-43

16.61

39 e«

i^5e

16.99

227 76

14 le

.6S.9I

21 57

26C?:

15^+

191. i-V

2€09

31317

13+7

2336i

?fl4 7

3*JM

212 +

2&+B6

, o.as

I30.TC

^4g

^^■♦M

ISAS

■^ 1

ia-^6

I-V9.W

9 10

75.!«

1M6

3396

1747

13 03

f*29

.9 37

SIS^

2oafc+

2+b-efl

359I$2 33

26733

■*2

S.I IS

12.7 7

SJ.M

9.53

■t.37 IS. 5 5

633(

11.4-4-

3725

1789

Cl4€2

13.34

i60.ig

20.+S

?45,a

.528

182 97

?3.02

?76ivl

17 17

eo6«4

!8iil^

5!72G

20 .&6

S5IS9

W66

22 87

2744i

4-J*

M70

xtBZ.

3C-t

11573 iS.'al

seib

11 67

36 87

16 11

217IB

15 39

fe2 0.

20.70

2+82<

15.+ +-

l6S.li

25 30

ZTi>zi

>737

208.79

;8+3

J40ih

2/21

254 Si

372 30

23.13

27773

■* 3

3 an

13 07

i&ta:

B75

iToe

li^O

18834

l< 71

1*0 V

16 32

219 73

11. eo

«S.9i

20.9+

2S«i2

15-6^

187.53

23 56

>62.bl

17 50

21076

r87«

5+12:

2i+6

25756

31 59

376 6S

23+2

26100

■» t

3-281

■ jsa

1«0.M

■s*8

113 61

l6C-<

192 7£

ii3e

.4-S-)7

16 7+

22+ b.

13 96

lC7Ti

21 + 3

Sae9<

15.96

191-69

2+..

»9C«

1799

215 63

>9 + t

21.96

263 &T

3212

23.96

287 3 J

-Y.S

.3 69

i«-»^5

2192

196 Ol

f^-.*;-

-«fi

10.-.3

I6 7»

3CI-4S

12 S3

ISOV)

.9 60

2SiC6

1 + &1

116 36

22+C

2CO+0

22i+S

30.77

369 3IH

S2s«

275.5;

3358

■*7

i&M

..1-2S

aiia

.otet

27 96

■ 7 16

20Sb«

12 80

1>S57

20 02

e*o..7

itys

1791©

Si-.ttS

?7++f

1707

20476

StaiJ

.921

230 5i

JI + +

377+1

23+6

2815*

34 3t

4.1172

25CO

307 14

1!>*S

l-V+O

iTSsf

iO,7T

293*

lTS-4

2ctlcS

12 95

.b3 2l

e+2i:

1+.75

.ft. D7

?5.i3

277+0

17 2S

?to+

3l2A»

19 +e

252 8C

3178

361+3

2371

26* !■

3468

*l6+<

25.87

3I04<

-t e

3 s 81

1+59

17s 20

10 89

.i0 70

ns2

2.0.24

I507

lis 64

eo+&

246LZei

1526

2338

2803;

17+3

209 •»

26 30

313 56

1962

23323

3211

38rM

23 96

287 53

3504 42C+eJ26i4

3i3C)

■+ &

3 6as

1+30

iTftSi

>i M

1789

2M^6i

«3 3'4

I6O.0

eo.87

2iOJ9

.5117

166 79

23,96

286^6

1760

2l3+f

2685

32193

20 03

a«i3

i2 78

39347

Z++6

2951.

5177

1+2324^26 69

3202

i.'3P

II I^

„..=

2190<

l^>.S:

2s%&0

1^69

292 vv

VftM

20++.

r99 5i

+39 UK 7 23

s .

secA

11 S7

22S^

16€^6-*

2606

1(.20

19+ *l

24 8+

297 6+

335 07

2063

305 1

++6.7»

27 77

5 2

3 8R

IS 81

igSB

II 79

\*\(,C

iaS6

22 7 76

.4.6

ic-^yo

ta 15

265 72

.£.^e

19022

2^32

50J£b

16 69

•2CS4

saio

3+IC4

2l2C

?s+>»

5+ 7a

1+17 56

25 95

31150

3796

2a 32

33981

)9.t

■ S-»6

■ SI6J

II 91

I4£M

|9 16

■2»9^

.4 30

niS*

22 37

£ea<«

.e.a7

7<j^.i

25 57

306 e«

19 07

2 26 Ti

2677

s-v+aa

2i+e

257 31

55.2

42158

26 20

31+45

38 53 459S'

28:19

3+3 U

3954

iC II

leS^l

12 oe

i*ssi

i«33

232 V4

14-4:

175.7

;2S0

376 as

IC.&4

2o2f

23BI

30S5i

19 26

^i05.C

2^04

3+&2

2167

259 76

35+ ^

423.59

26 +S

311+9

36.63

+&*n

2ed(3+ey|

S'^-

»«S

le-i-z

I9TI0

■ ezs

1470+

19 Tl

2J6M

I4T0

1I64-*

?3t,C

E/S^

17 .6

2G30

5.5 56

19.61

29 b9

3tf+.Ii

22 Ob

!&+fc6

^•2

*33C;£

2693

32540

39+2

+ 7JO'

29 + 1

55281

HTft

ITW

K**0

l^«

BO-*-*

RA.S?.'

182 97

3727

527 C+

20 5 +

24 5 97

27+ 4<

^it,

27 93

+0 66

65«

S 7

%232

I7 5i

soac^

15 93

ibiei

aodi

^4»A<

IbSf

me 24

&4..2bi

?912T

le 11

2i7 2t

27 76

352ttft

2C7C

2+a32

312 +

JM49

?5 W

279 56

3813

26 + 5

341+S

4.61

• ^«

310 +

372+(

t-zes

iT'ta

soaae

iSt>*

i^esz

2c 99

?3i S^

is.ee

.67 dE

2+ so

203 &

ie2>B

2iy rt.

28 C<

336W

aft68|

>50X

31 T.I

371 J&

23:.l

26181

3846

46.73

2670

3+++4

+196

^370

3.3,37^7^

5 8

W 127

17 65

>I170

13 IC

1 = 793

ei n

2i4C4

id 79

lessi

^■4 71

25€38

.6 + 3

2ZI .t

26 2s

)S6 72

2.07

E52&

51 76

361 M

2371

36 64

+«S7<

2695

5+7+4

+23+

508-W

;7ao

,«,,

iTsJ

21. S

.3 38

I60«

.1*4

"»«

iec,7

1.2 76

iOI43

i!or

7-Jel

?!^9

26.19

19+20

2+.&i

29+07

tO.L3

4f«ftO

?9»B

P ,

lflS-4

r??fs

ilHt

i6<:.o

,f ri

l-i-^l

311 71

iM-,rt

?9 7l

Sf*-2-

22 16

26S7, 53 + 3

voon

2+ y+l

.'i-uer

4O«0

+63 Si

sc+s

,=..,,.,

6-i
£5

»-&43

ii;^

;::J

IM27

?3 73

;;J

;7C9

321 93

.9 66

?4Clt

3C2C8
3^92

us:

25.25

27C1C 3398

2722t 3+£i

H5 9

L'H

3C6 3:

3773':
36S37

^7 + 5^+0

14+0 42+76)

COST OF POWER. CI ruLLMo~T„.730H«,») ©1

JR, .....«,

,;,

1 -4

H«ifE«

nCHTH

C«B

7-50

CO^T

rns

Cos

kvv H

yPHRIPER

tf;H„.,Pf„

^^w.m.^.,

rf>H«

ftPfW

K,W Rsrr

rf^H*

^EEfl-

K.W.1-

IK^PUI

tfJHHij

ia.e£fi

H?Hn<j

. PFH

•\ttxt

■Vhm

-V«TI

4™.TH

iLirm

Yrn-

Tffr:

■ '"'^IJ

-MT-

■• M

-6 1,'

2597

W.17

2«,9(

+ 4.6

3294

4918

57ftl6

3534

€.7 p99t

-T^--

.+-J.S- 15 20

ft?*--

744«

ZiO^Z

'8.54

342,37

2129

255+(

32 63

39126

24 5+

29189

36 7a

4+OJ8

2T5S

32437

4+ 9:

538.01

3344

+01 SS

^889

366,9^

36+9

+36.a:

Tr^-S'

2463815 31

M-e.+

22055

28.76

34+9!

2145

?575i

3287

24^2

56 99

44541

27 59

[»3a8i

45.5

5-»20j|

3369

+04 5;

4a28

S9l3ft

56 16

44.10

248aJ

5+5

E4-82

.8-52

222 16

ea97

347+£

2. 60

33 12

397.2

24 70

J726

446 7e

333.27

*i+9

546.M

3394

*9.64

595,68

37 03

44437

?5lflS

^65

678:)

P4.19

.6-79

225 4j

•a35

352.5;

2.92

Z65o;

3360

4025(

2506

TOOfcO

378.

45533

28,2.

338.18

*fc .6

55407

54+4

413 55

50,37

604.+i

450 9

255 SC

2SS5

357 7C

zuw

S40S

2? 4^

30196

5^).5b

l^-i,^

£1i,«2

543 01

^82

bb^JJI

34.9^

Si.iO

fci^f

«"*:

4374-

71 6297

,,^,^

'5 9?

193^

362 81

27065

3458

25 79

466+7

29,03!

347 9<

*7 + 9

S7a.5

3544

51.83

e2.9&

38 G7

463.97

7Z &37I

£1 03

262*

6 35

'6 28

315 36

255 ES

J067

3C792

22 87

2744t

3506

4204f

2615

313 67

59+6

*71C-'

29 + 1

35288

Vd l£

3T8-.6

Jb,y4

43I.St

52 66

;30,72

3921

♦70.6I

ZG+feJ

6 + 4

97+2

31755

91 +

236.89

10 69

3704*

2105

216 17

5S.31

126 55

515.8;

39 73

476 35

2964

555 55

46 iu

3ei9

4i4 5(

52.93

63510

5946

47377

22 1©

96 7t

H6b

23852

3. .0

37J0!

25.9

:7fl26

35,55

+26 32

26 5.

316 03

K).00

47961

29.-J4

5^7 7t

46 8:

586 19

3643

43729

S3 29

GSft-ie

39-76

'1'770-

.^J

TSO

fi7fi

?nt(SO

2701

?nis

24.73

31 52

3781-

2351

?ft5 9(

J6,0+

432 IC

26 86

3.'2S6

*oS5

+8618

3025

362G8

49 sol

59+22

5C93

443 28

5402

64824

+0.50

483 57

22 80

1701

20423

2739

24506

51 95

385?

?3ft3

3C 53

4 38 00

.:7::4

32t: li

M .0

4v27;j

yjee

367St

50,17

;oi25

3/43

4 45,2!

14^3

65700

»90)i

^f7n

'3 10

?774fl

7?4-

?n6<*^

P7 7+

32 38

3883

26671

370.

4+584

2760

35109

MC3

135 32

5107

^72Ad

50,84

61028

3793

r*53;(

66576

41 59

496 4

5T+4

2J4P

281 OS

7+6

209 67

'6..

20 97

25159

32 SO

3934

2446

1^915;

3750

t4-9.G

27 97

33545

*i20

W)5M9

31+b

5".3l

eiB.3

3843

4612^

36.21

67+52

503. (

2356

2&2*

21103

28 29

21 iO

?5\22

33 02

i96Q

2462

2»+:

37 74

+52.60

28,15

337&

W47

■iOaiB

3I.6S

379.83

51.84

£223

38 68

+64^;

5£,58

6769

506.4;

P37I

-=^471

'12 39

?fl47

VMC4

?l.24

Ji23

3985(

24 78

pSTT-S"

J79S

it-i5S2

2853

339.81

♦2.74-

^■1246

3.89

382^9

52,lW

626.5+

58 93

56,9+

6B3j»

4Jj*8

50971

^+02

'BOi

17 '^2

2i6i2

28 64

21 51

25812

336S

405og

25. 0

30115

3847

1-61 3&

26.69

34+ 1(

43,29

SI903

32 50

38719

S2.&4

634,57

3943

47323

5767

b92JM

4J-02

292 «

16 14

EC. 39

54 Oft

♦o6a<|

2542

1M?'

Ifl^

16720

3?,Q«

J'*?*!

12^4;

525.6C

J£iO

3be.O!

li^JiL

°424':

i^^

47^2;

iSLiii

/W.bO

43 ^"J

3^^

k,.^

'wS

22 M

204 Cfi
1G7.&3

3451

2605

3i?i^

3995

4 73,04

29^8

352a«

532.7

J38,74

33^

39fe9<
+01^9

54 10
54.85

IX^i

40 + i

■+-1ol'1

''it

It^

^3585

?^r«

30113

IflTI

f?46'i

361 ^=;

2? +7

?€9 5t

35 16

V2i5a

2621

ji+4:

40.8

481 &0

29.96

359+

4521

542i)

3373

MM3*

55.18

GG2.+fi

+( 18

iOZi

72270

»+93

)3912

.1 „>.

3rio

22 6o

2KI9

35 36

t*4 1 3

•C57

316*(

H)42

48+72

30-5

3C115

♦s+a

545-3

3333

+0C7;

5452

iCC + 9

4l4i

49721

b0 59

72JWJ

»^2U

>423!

.5S4

30 66

22 87

27+**

55 76

»2i-2+

2C £?■

320.21

40*1

t9C.5G

301.

56695

*t05

3bia8

54 J4

*HC9

56 19

S74 32

*l,92

30519

El 32

735iB4

*573

i+asa

1928

23l+»

3103

27773

154 1-J

2700

5?-tO;

+i+n

(•^40

30^1

370 \i

t6,Sh

S-SH+Ji

lil

tlb.^^

ifaftg

ifliiJ

i24i

iiiSJi

S2Q5

r+t^^

\^J2.

.9 61

23+18

31 59

281 CK

4 39.+

27 32

327S5

*! 86

502 24

312+^

5M£6

*7|i

5GiO*

3&1S

f2l49

37 53

^58

*-2 92

5.3 17

^73

733.5t

K64

561-99

v.sl

19 73

5176

36106

23 &9

;&+2«

3706

t+43

2764

3316+

»2 37

50801)

31 to

373 02

■J-7£t

S7..59

35 S7

+2641

58 20

uy86

4542

32Me

i3.5l

762.2

J7 38

56855

ISflf,

,3.94

e363

372ft

147 13

?7 60

333 55

42 6t

>..oo

3.76

381.9 4735

5-H.at

3S77

*2aa3

58-b3

70:£J

4567

52+ IS

65-88

7C6.50

47to5

vipr

3? .2

^jC6'2BT53

3749

t'49Ga

279G

+2,86

51392

3)96

se3«

*a2£

378..6

35.98

1-5.30

56.86

7066^

43 92

>2 7l3

;+2+

♦792

,/5.i>*

J24 9

20 19

,<..-

3791

t.^7S

2azs

539 2T

13 3+

5.9- 76

3232

J87 73

*8.77

58473

36 58

M(>Zl

ASh

7*4.67

4 + 42

i33.4

.497

77364

4847

581,60

ISQM

20+I

1+S07

394?

459^

*9 32

69.3^

Vh7S

M..0

6^25

72271

1+92

?W'l

;570

?tttt40

»yflj

777;

?064

P47 7r^

«2J

398 Iff

297 33 56 77

*6SO

*+32

396 +4

446 O0{

50 67

7307^.42

*+3

S716

h&36

594 G7

6 2 ' - bfci

2797

10 67

3jsa

♦ 02 "6

f3 05

JOOtO 39.9

»70i2

2e2i

*+8fl

iS72£

35+1

UoOM

>0+2

B0+ + 4

3761

450 90

tab-

4d92

551.1

r7. 16

50.0

«.a

"'"

"'»

"''

'""

">""■""

"^«

?e«

352C.

>3 0.

5+ 112

'"°

•"«

5065

cm"

3ftM

*5b.WI

g'A^

74i7a

46a

55710

£.789

81+ oa

3016

;o+4i

70..

26 58

3+lW

2132

2553

3451

41.72

25 »0

JiK7.1+ *0O+

46034

296e

3591

45 70

5+1+^

4095

51 -"il

&>7 5f

384..

+60jl>

6288

'3 + 82

46,92

3t)0-

;6G2

62*W

5.19

=►421

5 3

7r87

26 6t

21 55

ViGlO

>5 8r

^H'j-V-

30l8

36? !■

46 27

54-50

4.387

52<>6

G2+13

5Hty

+C5ea

53 33

762 95

474.

^b^Wi

r?5b

832,2«

51.74

»2«W

9 fe

t;^

29 let

420+

26.+

5I3A7 WiO

490.:.(

3Q50

5659

*«7S

3+87

41822

5261

S30.r

47a 3.

|b+2 2

7 7a8e

47.91

575 07

7a06

6+aM

,2-2 tt

62 IV

a 7

^9+"

re4,.3 35,4.

424 fN

126 + 1

Jlt.^J+ 41 52

^^6

5082

47^+

566+1

35 23

S3. 6

e372S

39 Gb

475+t

i46a

7769

46 + 1

.810<

706"

&4il12

3283

E35-W

***

r^i'i

IsSW

2? M

t270-.

26 55

If) 56 » ^

498 2

50.86

r7\f.r

W+8

354-1

W4.76

5345

;4o.ai

39BG

+778fl

,5 2e

782*'

4866

5»4 0

71.6

63+10

55 50

£37 1+

157 7C

??23

2G6fl5 )5 77

t2«£4

26 Ct)

320,2I 41 7 1.

50018

31 13

373 56

4773

572 52

35 59

53.70

543W IOOC

4803.

786.3"

46*1

587 oa

7154

a5tt+e

9S3T

S4i+1

9**

561.55

224S

26a« IC .+

»5i6

?C,9C

323+7 42 IT

50581

314-3

57/39

482

578 i€

3596

>4ZS

;5(»+^ +0+7

4852

E»i2i!

79+9

49 + 1

>93.<H

U-dt

53,92

;+«-3j

7 460 3040

J6t^

«^«

272 10 J6 10

4JSO

e7»3

326 74 43 60

.,oo|„„

56" la

10 70

5»4a

J6.3Z

13«2

s+ao

-*^oi>

;699

WW.

♦»9I

&9aO!

TiOO

n^*-"*'

:l±£.

;3348

331

Tests with Pi tot Tube on Salt-^A/^ater Main

By A. L. TROWBRIDGE, Field Engineer.

I When the steam turbine

£ plant of 9,000-kilowatt capacity
at Station C, Oakland, was first
put in operation some months ago
it was desirable to determine how
much salt-water was being used

. L. TiuwIiii.lKC . . ,. A ■ 1

m Its coohng system. As its salt-
tvater supply comes direct from the nearby
Oakland estuary, which is an arm of San

just outside the boiler-room and at a distance
of 540 feet from the intake end of the salt-
water pipe. The discharge from the con-
denser is directly into the conveniently near
outfall sewer in Grove street.

Because of the existing conditions the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company's hydrau-
lic engineer, James H. Wise, chose the Pilot
tube as the cheapest and most easily applic-

Francisco bay, the flow varies with the height able means of measuring the quantity of flow
of the tide and it also varies with the electro- through the salt-water main, and he intro-
generating demands put upon the steam plant. duced an apparatus designed by himself but

Pitot Tube Arrangement for Measuring the Velocity of Water in a Pipe

The salt-water is pumped through 675 feet
of 42-inch cast-iron main by a 2 1 -inch cen-
trifugal pump, which is direct-connected to a
compound engine measuring I3i inches by
2 inches by 1 2 inches. The pump is located

with its general arrangement like that used in
similar tests made by William M. White,
chief engineer of the I. P. Morris Company.
The large illustration on this page shows a
drawing of the apparatus and the method of

332

Tests with Pitot Tube on Salt- Water Main

attaching it to the
pipe where the flow is
to be measured. The
four taps equidistant,
or ninety degrees,
apart on the circum-
ference of a circle
perpendicular to the
axis of the pipe give
a static head reading
as indicated in four
of the glass tubes at-
tached to the gradu- '^
ated board, where in- ^
dicated by the letter »"i)
A. The fifth tube on "^
the board is connected |
with the Pitot tube, j^
This fifth tube not
only indicates the
static head but also
the head to which the
velocity of flow is due.
The five glass tubes
enter a common cham-
ber at the top, and
that arrangement in-
sures equal pressure
in all the tubes. By
means of the small
hand pump attached
to this manifold cham-
ber the water columns Ciuves Plotted From Fitot

in the glass tubes are

kept within the limits of the graduated scale,

which covers a length of five feet.

The rack and pinion, indicated at letter B,
are used to make the Pitot tube traverse a
diameter of the pipe while being held in
position by a slotted guide tube, indicated at
letter C. On a scale along the rack is in-
dicated at any time the position of the Pitot
tube along the diameter.

As the salt-water main lies beneath the solid
concrete floor of the building of Station C
it was necessary in attaching the Pitot tube to

Tube Operations, Showing Total Discharge of Section

make the tests to select some point on the
suction side of the pump. The Pitot tube
was therefore attached at a point about I 00
feet from the intake end of the main and just
outside the bulkhead line of the estuary. In
order to keep the water columns in sight in
the tube it was found necessary to create at
that point a vacuum of about fifteen inches.
Some difficulty was at first experienced in
making the apparatus sufficiently tight to main-
tain this vacuum. It was found necessary to
replace the lever cocks, shown in the large

333

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

illustration, with needle-seat gauge valves.
It was impossible to obtain any reading
from the glass tube connected to the top of the
pipe, because at that point an air space exists
even when the pump is running at high speed
at high tide. So this top tube had to be kept

the assumption being that the co-efficient c is
unity for the form of Pitot tube used.

To determine the mean velocity and total
discharge of the section the following for-
mulae are necessary:

Take the exact area of the cross-section of

and Q = 2 TT p- Frc/r=Kn,a

where Q = discharge in cubic feet the second
Vm = mean velocity of section

tightly closed, as the entrance of air through it the pipe as gauged at the time the apparatus
would destroy the vacuum in the other tubes. was installed. Then, on the assumption that

When the apparatus was thus set up for 'he velocity is the same at all points equidis-
any position of the Pitot tube a set of four t^nt from the centre of the pipe, at any
readings was taken. The mean was taken distance, as r, from the centre, there will be
of the readings of three of these tubes as in- an elementary annular ring of width d r,
dictating the static head. The value of h, or length 2 T, and area 2 Trrdr, throughout
the head to which the velocity of flow is due, which the velocity, V, is uniform. The volume
is found by subtracting the mean of the three of discharge for this annular ring will be
readings from the reading in the glass con- 2 irrdr V, or
nected with the Pitot tube.

To determine the mean velocity of flow for
the entire cross-section of the pipe it is neces-
sary to make a series of readings with the
Pitot tube at different positions extending
across a diameter, or at least along the diam-
eter from the centre to the circumference. The
velocity determined at any point a given dis-
tance from the centre is assumed to be the
velocity throughout the
annular ring having that
radius. To make ob-
servations of equal value
in computing the dis-
charge of the section
such intervals were

selected along the diameter as would produce
ten annular rings of equal size. The round
illustration shows the positions occupied by
the Pitot tube in this traverse of the pipe.

Three complete sets of observations were

From this V,

a = area of section in square feet.

2 TT r*"' V rdr

J o

If a curve be plotted having for its
abscissae the values of r and for is ordinates
the corresponding values of 2 -^r V, the area
under this curve will be equal tp 2 7rr ) V rdr,
which will be the total volume of discharge
through the pipe. The mean velocity can
then be obtained by dividing by the area of
the pipe.*

One of the accompanying illustrations
shows two such curves plotted from observa-
tions made at high tide and at high pump
speeds. Under such conditions the results
were the best, as errors in readmg the value
made the 4th of May, one set for each of the of h then became relatively small, owing to
three stages of the tide. For each set of the high velocity of the flow.

observations the pump was operated at five
different speeds, and a traverse of the pipe
was made with a Pitot tube for each speed
of the pump.

To compute the velocity at each position
of the tube this formula was used:

It was always necessary to have the tubes
well throttled in order to control fluctuation.
At low velocities, where the total value of h
fell, for instance, to one-hundredth of a foot.

*From W. R. Eckart's paper on "The Applica-
bility of the Pitot Tube to the Testing of Impulse
Wheels."

334

A Muddy-Road Mail Wagon

an error of 50 or even of 1 00 per cent, might
easily be made in the reading.

For the purpose of estabhshing a perma-
nent gauge that would indicate the quantity
of water flowmg mto the condenser the follow-
ing apparatus was mstalled: two taps were
made on the salt-water supply pipe at a point
in the turbine room where this pipe, reduced
to a thirty-inch diameter, comes up through
the floor to the condenser. One of these taps
was fitted merely with a nipple and cock.
Into the other tap was screwed a solid brass
block three-fourths of an mch in diameter
and having through its centre a one-eighth-
inch brass Pitot tube extending about ten
inches within the pipe. From these two taps
rubber tubing was led to the two arms of a
U-shape glass tube fixed to a board having a
scale for indicating the difference in water-
column heights.

At low tide the 1 5th of May a set of five
observations was made with the Pitot tube at
five different pump speeds. Simultaneously
readings were made of the differences of head
indicated by the U-tube in the turbine room.
By this means the gauge was callibrated and
a scale attached to it to indicate gallons a
minute. This scale is so arranged that the
zero can always be set at the elevation of the
static head column and the gallons a minute
at that time flowing can be read directly
opposite the higher column.

The results of the Pitot tube tests at
Station C were by no means all that could be
desired, because of the low velocity of the
flow and the numerous conditions affecting
that flow. Much more accurate results are
expected when the same apparatus shall be
used on pressure pipes having a considerably
higher velocity of flow.

Any cloth or textile fabric may now be
rendered fireproof by steeping it in a ten per
cent, solution of phosphate of ammonia and
then drying the goods in the open air.

A Muddy-Road Mail Wagon

During the winter some of the mountain
roads in the neighborhood of the great hydro-
electric plants in the Sierras are so nearly im-
passible that no ordinary conveyance can get
through with the mails. The accompanying

illustration, furnished by I. B. Adams, acting
superintendent of the Colgate power division,
shows a one-seated, two-wheel stage, or
mountain mail wagon, used in muddy weather
on the run between Marysville and Compton-
ville. The vehicle is surrounded by most of
the important citizens and population of the
little town of Dobbins, the nearest postoffice
to the Colgate power house.

There are two classes — producers and
dependents.

Out of his personal experience H. S.
Worthington, general foreman of electric dis-
tribution in San Francisco, has contributed the
following:

Complaint Clerk (at 'phone) : Hello?

Consumer: Is this the gas and electric com-
pany?

Clerk: Yes.

Consumer: Well, this is number 2323
Blank street, and our electric heater won't
work. My wife wants to take a bath, so will
you please send an inspector?

.3.3.5

A Rail-Bonding Car

By C. W. McKILLIP, Manager Sacramento District.

One of the most troublesome
things in connection with the
proper maintenance of efficiency
in an electric street-car system
was to keep the joints of the rails
so connected by a solid metal

C. W. McKillip I , , , , , ,

bond that there would be a con-
tinuous back circuit for the current, after
passing through the trolley wire, the car
motors, and the wheels, to return through the
rails to the power house. The rails them-
selves must be slightly apart to allow for ex-
pansion during warm weather; otherwise a
continuous, solidly-welded, steel rail might
be used.

As these bonds were generally attached to
the rails out of sight, just below the level of
the roadbed, they used to receive scant atten-

tion, and the losses of electric power through
a defective track-return circuit were some-
times considerable.

Then a rail-bonding device, mounted on a
trolley car and operated by electricity taken
from the trolley wire, was introduced. The
purpose of this bonding car was to create in-
tense heat at the point needed and then weld
into clean, burnished spots on the two adjoin-
ing rails a connecting piece of heavy copper.
The weld is so perfectly made by this means
that no cracks or fissures are left to grow
wider through wear and erosion. The junc-
tion thus formed is so complete that no force
can tear away that bond ; it is fused to stay.
It can not be removed except after consider-
able mutilation and a lot of work with proper
tools. The operation of brazing a bond to
ordinary rails takes
from forty-five to
sixty seconds, using
an alternating cur-
rent of about 2,000
amperes at five
volts, after convert-
ing and transform-

The Electric Rail-bonding Car, and Foreman Shipley of the Company's Car Shops at Sacramento

336

l^^

The Company's Deer

ing about twenty amperes at 500 volts taken
from the trolley wire.

The operation of brazing a bond to ordi-
nary rails takes from forty-five to sixty sec-
onds, using an alternating current of about
2,000 amperes at five volts, after converting
and transforming about twenty amperes at
500 volts taken from the trolley wire.

All the necessary apparatus is mounted on
a small trolley car. The accompanying illus-
tration shows the bonding car used by the
Sacramento street-car system, which is owned
by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The man squatting down is holding the bond,
but he is no "bloated bond-holder." That is
Paul R. Shipley, the foreman.

The car is provided with a small portable
electric grinder for burnishing perfectly
smooth the spots to which the bond is to be
fused. A brass-lined bonding clamp is ad-
justed. On the burnished side of the rail this
clamp holds a carbon electrode pressing the
copper bond against the spot where the weld
is to be made, and on the opposite side of the
rail the clamp holds close a copper electrode.
Then, as the electric current passes from one
electrode to the other, through the bond ter-
minal and the rail, the carbon becomes incan-
descent and, combined with the great current
density in the surface of the steel, generates
the heat required to produce a perfect weld at
the exact spot desired.

J. W. Hall, manager of the Stockton
water district, has been a grandfather six
months.

George Scarfe, manager of the Nevada
water district, is a grandfather. The grand-
daughter arrived in Nevada City November
I 6th, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George
O. Scarfe. John Werry, manager of the
Nevada City district, is also a grandpa; has
been these four months! Grandpa Scarfe is
44 years young, and Grandpa Werry is way
under 60.

The Company's Deer

Near the northern outskirts of Sacramento
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company owns
an amusement grounds known as Oak Park.
It is operated in connection with the com-
pany's twenty-nine miles of city trolley-car
system. The park consists of an area of

tree-shaded lawns, a skating-rink building, a
scenic railway, a theatre building, various
nickel-getting sideshows, and the Sacramento
baseball grounds and grandstand. The ac-
companying picture, from a snapshot taken
when the buck was not defying the trespasser,
shows the deer in the paddock near the skating-
rink. The buck (on the right) was presented
to the park about three years ago by George
Wisseman, and its mate, eating with it, was
presented by Charles Hart. The doe in the
foreground is their young one, and was born
at the park.

A cubic foot of gold weighs 1,210
pounds, which is nearly twice the weight of a
similar mass of silver.

Tungsten lamp filaments are so feather-
weight that it takes 1 40,000 of the size used
in a sixteen-candlepower light to weigh a
pound.

GEORGE C. HOLBERTON

His Naive Account of What Happened Before He Became Engineer of
Electric Distribution

BORN in New York City, schooled and
college-trained in New Jersey, "summer-
pastured" on his grandparents' farm in New
England, "shop-tested" for nearly three years
in the great works of the General Electric
Company at Schnectady, and, when 23,
launched to "go it alone" in the strange, new
field of California; the first few months as a
workman for a traction company in Oakland,
the next year as a salesman for the General
Electric Company's San Francisco branch,
the next two and a half as an engineering
employee of the gas companies at San Fran-
cisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and Stockton,
the next half-year at Centralia, Washington,
as general manager of the water company
of that town; the next two years and a half
at Bankok, Siam, in charge of the electric
lighting of that oriental capital, and the
past nine with the several California concerns
that have been amalgamated into the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company, and now, at the
age of 39, engineer of electric distribution
for this company's system in the cities of San
Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Berkeley,
and other places, and chief engineer for its
water works in the city of Stockton, where
pumping plants at seventeen deep wells supply
water through many miles of mains to a com-
munity of 30,000 people.

There you have it, under heavy pressure
to the square inch, the progressing career, up
to date, of a successful young engineer, who
resides at 3369 Jackson street, San Fran-
cisco, runs an automobile, is a sociable, good-

natured, good-liver, married, the father of a
boy and a girl, and recorded on the member-
ship rolls of the Union League Club of Cali-
fornia, and of the American Institute of Elec-
trical Engineers as George C. Holberton.

When jokingly urged to reveal his past
as a basis for a biographical sketch, he
promptly sent in reply the following note,
which tells the story in an original and en-
tertaining way characteristic of the man him-
self:

I can hardly lay aside all my modesty and
diffidence. Unfortunately I was born with
quite a neucleus of these things rampant in
my system, and I have never been able en-
tirely to remove them. Also, I have no per-
sonal knowledge of my early life. But I
have been told by my parents, in whom I
have explicit confidence, that I was born on
Twenty-third street. New York, the 6th of
August, 1870. What I did from that first
birthday until I started attending kindergarten
is only hearsay; I have no personal recollec-
tion of ever having worn dresses or played
with a powder puff.

But I remember the kindergarten very well,
because my teacher's name was Katie, and
our principal amusement was bringing into
the school boxes of "Katie-dids," which we
put in our desks. What happened to us Katie
did ! I grew too strong for that kindergarten,
having licked everybody there, so I was
lassooed and led to a public school, and
served out my term till graduated m I 886.

I had inherited from my father and my
grandfather, both of whom were artists, a
tendency to palatte and brush. I still have
the palate, but don't really need the brush!
My father informed me that there was very
little real money in the artist business, and

3?.S

Men of the Company — George C. Holberton

that if the tendency continued to show on me
hke mosquito bites he would take me out
and shoot me rather than see me grow up
artistically and paint myself to death for
nothing.

So it was decided that I should not get
shot, or even half-shot. Instead I was sen-
tenced to Hoboken, to Stevens School, and
did a year's time there till I was parolled
with the graduating class in 1887. In the
fall of that year I entered Stevens Institute in
Hoboken, and in 1 89 1 I came
out of it a full-fledged mechani-
cal engineer! I was full, the
day I graduated, of a large
assortment of technical and
scientific knowledge, so I knew
I would be much in demand. I
was; I got a position right away
with the General Electric Com-
pany in its Schnectady works at
the large and remunerative salary
of three dollars a week. Having
an indulgent father, I was able
to board at a respectable lodging
house by touching dad for the
difference.

After the first six months as
an apprentice I was drafted into
the draughting room, and a few
months later was wafted into the
engineering part, where I had
charge of the construction of all
the railway generators. I re-
member building the generators
for the "Oakland, San Leandro
and Hayward Railroad," and
wondering where the deuce that
road was, never dreaming that
the next turn of fortune would find me rail-
roading in that very part of the world. After
approximately three years in the factory I
felt that I had probably learned more about
the business than they knew themselves. So
I decided to seek other fields, to "Go
West!"

In November of 1893 I came out to Cali-
fornia. Having no rich relatives, influential
friends, or other handicaps, I was permitted
to dig for myself. I secured a position with
the street railway company in Oakland as
chief electrical cook and bottle-washer, my
job being to do all the work that nobody else
particularly wanted to tackle, such things as
cleaning the motors, greasing the trolley

wheels, and, whenever the weather was bad
and the roads muddy, putting the cars back
on the thin iron slivers they called the track.

I had n't been at this Oakland job very
long before "Old Sleuth" or somebody at
the Schnectady works tipped it off to the San
Francisco office of the General Electric Com-
pany that I had escaped from the reservation,
and the San Francisco branch dared me to be
a salesman. That year that I was a sales-
man, to be exact, in July of 1 894, it was

George C. Holberton

my good fortune to attend in Sacramento the
second annual banquet of the Pacific Coast
Gas Association. There I first met some of
the old-time Gas and Electric officers.

During I 895 and 1 896 and part of I 897
I worked for the San Francisco, Oakland,
Sacramento, and Stockton gas companies. I
can now look back to that period with a great
deal of pleasure. It was a pleasure to know
the men then connected with these gas com-
panies. Most of them, at least those who
are still alive, are now with the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company or in some of its sub-
sidiary companies or departments.

In the summer of 1897 I took a trip into
the Sierras for the purpose of making a report

:'.:i9

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

to the Capital Gas Company (now known as
the Sacramento Electric Gas and Railway
Company) on the water-power system then
owned by Mr. Van Orden. On my return,
and at the suggestion of J. B. Crockett, I
apphed for an electrical engineering position
at Bankok, Siam. I hardly dreamed I would
bag anything at such long range. While wait-
ing for a reply from Siam I put in my time
at Centralia, Washington, being everything
from general manager to stoker for the Cen-
tralia Water Company.

In the fall of 1 897 I went to Siam. There,
during about two years and a half, I had an
experience that was sometimes shocking, but
at no time insulated against the bum climate
of Bankok. All the work had to be done
with "raw material," that is Chinese coolies
and cast-iron. The Chinks had to be shown
how to do everything. Often httle models
had to be made in wood; they could n't make
heads or tails of mechanical drawings. For
fuel we used the shell of the rice grain, or
"paddy husk," as it is called out there. When
I arrived they were lugging the paddy up to a
loft above the boilers, so that it could be
dumped down to the furnaces. I put in a
blower system that would suck the paddy
husk out of the boat and whisk it to the loft
through a big pipe. The coolies were like
silly kids; they 'd stand close and watch the
paddy husks pulled in, so close that some-
times the suction pulled the flimsy pants clean
off the Chinks. I kept three nationalities at
work to be sure of having a force that
would n't all be observing at once some of
their numerous holidays. But I learned a
whole lot at that job.

The best thing I did in Siam, though, was
to wed Miss Katherine Bell Johnson in No-
vember of 1897. While in Siam I became
the proud father of two children. I hasten
to explain, however, that although they were
born in Siam, they are not Siamese twins, the
boy being somewhat older than his sister.

In addition to looking after the electrical
industry of Bankok, so far as it concerned
the Bankok Electric Lighting Company, I
had the pleasure of mixing with royalty
and doing much electrical work "In the
Palace of the King." If the climate had
been better, so that it were possible to live in
Siam comfortably for any length of time, I
would probably now be wearing some of the
famous decorations of the Siamese govern-

ment and be first electrical assistant or some-
thing to the king! But the climate made it
impossible for my wife and children to re-
main in Siam. So, at the beginning of 1900,
I sent them back to the United States, going
with them myself as far as Hong Kong.
After making a trip through China and re-
turning to Bankok by way of Singapore I
found things so lonely without a Holberton
face in sight, except when I shaved, that I
decided to return to the United States, and
I did, arriving in May of 1900.

I was then made superintendent of the elec-
tric department of the Oakland Gas Light
and Heat Company, a position I filled till
that company was taken over by the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company. After the con-
solidation I became engineer of electric dis-
tribution for the combination as well as super-
intendent of the Oakland division, and was
also appointed chief engineer of the com-
pany's Stockton Water Works.

With all this varied experience I feel that
I can now be counted as "one of the old
Gas and Electric men," for when I take off
my hat, behold! do I not qualify? And
when I enter a barber shop and say, "I want
a haircut," does the barber not ask, "Which
one?"

I might mention that I once played base-
ball for the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company, but I get sore when I dwell on
that, as I was called "out" Snd my reputa-
tion as a baseball star ruined, solely through
the criminal near-sightedness of a bum ama-
teur umpire!

Construction of the company's new power
line from Sutter City to Meridan in Sutter
County is being delayed by a flood that has
inundated Tule Basin, floated the poles laid
along that course, and filled the holes with
water.

William Roche, an operator at Substation
J, Sacramento street, San Francisco, was a
steamship electrician sixteen years, serving on
the liners "Lusitania," "Carpathia," and
"Slavonica." He was shipwrecked in the
"Slavonica" off the coast of Portugal at
2:30 a. m. of June 1 0th, 1909.

340

San Francisco's Electric Pulse

THE accompanying diagram is not, as With the approach of darkness, the use

might be supposed, a profile map of the of power actually increased until, within less
Sierra Nevada mountains, but the history of than an hour's time, a demand was put upon
a San Francisco day through the medium of the company for 26,000 horsepower. This
an electric light station. enormous demand lasted but a few moments.

The figures on the left indicate the kilo- Then, from 7 o'clock in the evening until 6
watts, or electric horsepower. To get actual the next morning, the demand decreased, as

indicated by the steady fall in the charted
load line.

To provide durmg a few hours of each
day for an increase in output from an average
of about 12,000 horsepower to a temporary
call for 26,000 horsepower, there must be in
readiness engines, boilers, and men capable
of giving more than double the average ser-
vice.

The maximum demand during the period
of twenty-four hours is called the "peak
load," because the charted variations of the
load line, as here shown in the diagram, pro-
duce an outline like a mountain peak. Some
electric plants, owing to the peculiar nature
of the demands of their consumers, may have
two or more "peaks" during the twenty-four
hours. But in San Francisco there is only
the one pronounced "peak," when, toward
evening, factories, office buildings, stores, and
elevators are still using electricity, while all
lower corner of the diagram, at 6 o'clock in over the city electric lights are first turned on.
the morning of Saturday, November 1 3th. If any commercial enterprise maintained

At that hour the load demanded by the con- twelve clerks for the average hours of the
sumers of the company was approximately day and required twenty-six during two or
6,400 horsepower. The demand continued, three hours, without any particular increase
constantly increasing, until at 8 o'clock, when in business, could it afford to sell as cheaply
the factories began their work, 1 1 ,000 horse- as if it had steady work all the time for only
power was needed. The maximum of the twelve clerks?
morning load was reached at 1 0 o'clock,
when about 1 4,000 horsepower was being
used.

You can see how the demand for power
began to fall off toward noon, and where it
reached the minimum at 1 2 o'clock. At 1
o'clock, when the mdustries resumed work,
the power again came on.

horsepower, increase them by one-third. For
example, the I 8,000 near the top of the dia-
gram would be 24,000 horsepower.

The load Ime begins at the left-hand.

If an electric company could keep down
its "peak" demands so that, during every
hour of the twenty-four, it would have to
produce only the full average load, then it
could sell its product much cheaper, as the
efficiency of its plant would be constant.
Sometimes an electric company encourages
those of its consumers who can do so to

341

Talk About Horsepower !

avoid using power during the "peak" period
and to take it during the hours when the
general demand is comparatively small.
Electricity can not be made and then stored
in a reservoir to be taken, like gas, when
needed. The machinery generates the mys-
terious current, and unless that energy be
used that very instant then it is wasted. So
an electric plant has to be kept running just
the same all the time, steadily using the same
average operating force and equipment, and
generating enough electricity every moment
for all its customers. It must keep up to that
average, and it must have enough reserve
equipment to carry it over the "peak."

A New Power Plant

A new hydro-electric plant has recently
been completed in Placer County, on the
north fork of the American river, at a point
known as Horseshoe Bar, which is three miles
from Michigan Bluff. It was at Michigan
Bluff that Leland Stanford, then a young
lawyer from Wisconsin, located in 1850,
built with his own hands a small split-shake,
two-story building, and conducted in it a gen-
eral merchandise store. The profits from this
mining camp store formed the neucleus of the
subsequent fortune of more than $30,000,000
that is now the endowment of Stanford Uni-
versity. This new power plant is to furnish
energy to the well-known Cash Rock mine,
a few miles down-river, and is also to supply
power to various mining and other industries
further southward in Placer County. The
plant is the private property of John A. Brit-
ton, general manager of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.

Since January 1 st, 1 909, saloons have
been legislated out of business in this country
at the rate of seventy a day, or a total of
1 1 ,000 ; and now in 70 per cent, of the
area of the United States licensed liquor
traffic is forbidden.

Talk About Horsepow^er !

This is a picture of an 1 8-horsepower
team recently engaged in toiling up the steep
incline from the Colgate power plant to the
top of the ridge. The distance is but a
mile and a half, but parts of the road have
a I 5 -per cent, grade. It required two whole
days for this powerful team to haul the load
up that one hill. On the truck was one 300-

kilowatl transformer, and that machinery and
the conveyance together weighed 1 8,000
pounds. Two of these transformers had to
be hauled from Colgate about twenty-five
miles over mountain roads to the Alaska
mine, one of the new customers in Nevada
County of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany. The photograph was sent to this maga-
zine by I. B. Adams, acting superintendent of
the Colgate power division.

During the past six weeks the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company has been removing its
poles and transformers from the streets of
Marysville and placing them in rear alleys,
and replacing the old transformers, which
ranged from one to fifteen kilowatts, with
new ones, ranging from fifteen to fifty kilo-
watts. The improvement has meant the ex-
penditure of about $5,000, and has included
reconstruction throughout the city, all multiple
lights being placed on the arc system, so that
every street light can be controlled by one
switch at the substation.

342

I. C. Steele of the general construction H. Root of the Oakland power division

department used to play on the University of was with the Thirtieth United States Infantry
California baseball team. during the Spanish war.

Don C. Ray of the Grass Valley district S. B. Harris and J. C. Thompson of the

saw a year's military service in the Philip- Oakland power division each put in four years
pines during the Spanish war. as electricians on United States war vessels.

Dr. William M. Walton of the construc-
tion department is a graduate in dentistry
from the University of California.

E. L. Moon of the bookkeeping depart-
ment in San Francisco served eight years with
the British army in the East Indies.

E. C. Weston of the supply district at Sac-
ramento spent thirteen years with the Fifth
Royal Scots regiment of the British army.

E. W. Crosby of the supply district at
Sacramento served mne months in the Philip-
pines with the Fifty-second Iowa Volunteers.

R. Wheeler, a mine foreman in the gen-
eral construction department, was in seven
pugilistic contests during his earlier days; he
also served in the British army.

Paul W. Murphy of the general construc-
tion department, a Washington and Jefferson
College man, served three years m the Philip-
pines, first with the First Colorado Volunteers
and then with the United States scouts.

August Fessler of the operation and main-
tenance department at Sacramento served four
years in the German army (1891-1895)
and one year in the United States army, dur-
ing the Spanish war.

S. P. Babcock of the Oakland office
served three years and four months in the
Civil War in the 1 52d New York Volun-
teers.

H. A. Davies, J. C. Williams, and J. C.
Gullikson of the company's street-car shops
at Sacramento are veterans of the Spanish war.

B. L. Zellensky of the gas and electric
records department in San Francisco served
one year in the Russian army ; he also attend-
ed Moscow University.

R. A. Hawkins of the North Tower power
division spent a year and a half in the Philip-
pines with the Fourth United States Cavalry,
and then a year and a half in the shops at the
Mare Island Navy Yard.

R. L. Milliken of the De Sabla power
division served during the Spanish war as a
private in the Fifty-second Iowa Volunteers
in the Philippines and later attended Stanford
University.

T. J. Ludlow, a superintendent in the gen-
eral construction department, put in two years
at sea on the Pacific and five consecutive sea-
sons on the Yukon river; he was also a stu-
dent for a while at both the University of
Washington and the University of California.

343

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

F. J. Hodgkinson of the Fresno district
served with the Sixth United States regulars
and then with the Eighteenth Infantry three
years.

Robert S. Sorenson of the engineering de-
partment played on the University of Cali-
fornia football team two years and on its
basketball team four years. He has been
playing Rugby this season with the Bar-
barians.

James H. Wise, civil and hydraulic engi-
neer, and A. L. Wilcox, civil engineer, are
members of the Commonwealth Club of San
Francisco. While a student at New York
University, Wilcox played on the football
team against Columbia and other big elevens.

J. A. Meacham, an assistant foreman in
the general construction department, is a
graduated veterinary surgeon, and served in
the United States army in the Philippines as
quartermaster and veterinary surgeon from
1901 till 1904.

J. F. Lee, a signal man in the general con-
struction department at Colfax, is a Civil
War veteran (Company F, Twelfth Iowa
Volunteers) ; was in several hot battles, was
captured, parolled, and exchanged, and then
went back and mixed in more military scraps
with the Rebs.

Charles L. Barrett, secretary of the San
Francisco company, sometimes receives notes
from ladies. Here is one, just as it came, but
with the signature suppressed:

San Francisco Nov 9, 1909 Dear Sir:
my gas is something terrible I have to use
almost a lamp in the store and it looks a
fright. Would you be so kind and come to

pump the meters and the lady up stairs

has the same complaint Send them out add
mitely to

S. A. Wardlaw, counterman in the San
Francisco office, was an actor three years in
New York city and quit because of parental
objections to the stage; was a cowboy for a
while on a Nevada range; and then came to
California. He is counted on by the San
Francisco office force as a ready and versatile
entertainer whenever the fellows dine out.

E. B. Hinz of the supply district at Sac-
ramento served three years as third assistant
engineer on the British battleship Condor and
a year and a half as second assistant engineer
on the passenger steamer Islander ; and was on
duty in the engine room the day the Islander
was wrecked and completely demolished.

The November number of "Public Ser-
vice," a Chicago magazine, republished in its
entirety the article on "Water Power Devel-
opments in California," by John Martin, a
director of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, but gave the matter the title "Public
Benefits Derived from Water Power Devel-
opments." The whole article was also re-
printed by the San Francisco Chronicle and
signed "An Engineer."

"Mike" Hardy, a powder-man in the gen-
eral construction department at Colfax, is a
Civil War veteran; served the entire four
years; was in both the first and second
slaughtering engagements at Antietam; was a
mining prospector in Mexico from '79 till
'81, and at the time of the Hillsboro mas-
sacre in the Black Range of Mexico was
shot five times by the Apaches but escaped,
though his six partners were all killed. In
the '70's he worked on the first Santa Fe tun-
nel through the Raton Pass, and there had
a partner named Pete Mooney; and it so
happens that after all these years the two
old partners are again working together, help-
ing in the construction of the company's Bear
River dam. Hardy is 62.

344

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Vol. I

Contents for January

No. 8

MAP OF SACRAMENTO AND ITS CAR LINES .... Frontispiece

SACRAMENTO'S STREET-CAR SYSTEM . . . Archie Rice . . 347

"FOR MEN MUST WORK" 354

THE HISTORY OF GAS LIGHTING IN SACRAMENTO E. C. Jones . . 355

FIRE! A CAUSE AND A REMEDY . . . . R.J.C. . . 363

EDITORIAL 364

GETTING NEW GAS BUSINESS .365

A MINIATURE HOISTING WORKS 367

MEN OF THE COMPANY— J. E. POINGDESTRE . A. R. . . 368

THE NEXT BASEBALL GAME 369

A FISH STORY 369

HOW AND WHEN GAS-LIGHTING STARTED . V.Howard . . 370

WHERE HOPE WAS SMALL BUT GRIT WAS GREAT P. H. Hiilebrand . 371

PERSONALS 376

THE MAGAZINE, ITS CIRCULATION AND ITS CRITICS .... 377

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS Facing 378

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

JANUARY, 1910

Sacramento's Street-Car System

Being a Little History of Transportation in a City Where This
Company Has Large and Varied Interests

By ARCHIE RICE.

A good system of transpor-
tation within the confines of a
city is a sure sign of its modern
development. Engineers who
are competent to judge have
declared that Sacramento has
the best-equipped street-railway
service in the United States. There are
twenty-nine miles of single track gridironing
in the most desirable manner an entirely flat
area that claims a population of more than
50,000 and contains real and personal prop-
erty that in 1909 was assessed at $30,450,-
000. The Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany owns Sacramento's street-car system,
with its franchises, roadbeds, and passenger
cars, and its big car barns and car shops, at
Twenty-eighth and N streets; owns the Sac-
ramento gas works, near the river bank at
Front and U streets, and its distributing sys-
tem; owns the electric plant and substation
at Sixth and H streets, and its distributmg
system; and owns Oak Park, an eight-acre
pleasure resort at the southeastern outskirts of
the city, containing tree-shaded lawns, the
local baseball grounds and grandstand, a
theatre, a skating rink, a scenic railway, and
a variety of amusement features. By the

aggregate of the several million dollars in
these investments the company is financially
interested in Sacramento and its prosperity.
The company's diversified holdings are of
such a character that their value and earning
power must depend directly upon the popula-
tion and success of Sacramento. Whatever
is good for a city as a whole is good for those
that supply the citizens with gas, electricity,
and transportation. And by that measure
this company may be said to be vitally inter-
ested in whatever may concern the welfare of
Sacramento.

The great interior valley of California sug-
gests a huge platter, the sloping outer edges
of which are the foothills that are banked up
against a solid surrounding wall of high
mountains framing a level plain some 500
miles from north to south and about sixty
miles wide. Midway of the western side a
piece of the rim of the platter is broken out.
There the foothills taper down and the moun-
tains dwindle and part to accommodate San
Francisco bay and to make of that spacious
inland sea a common drainage basin for the
two long rivers that meander slowly from op-
posite ends of the great valley. Hundreds of
miles they flow between low and inadequate

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Tlie Service Veterans of the Sacramento Street-Car System

Upper row — "Jack" Elliot, William Craig, John Cleave, G. B. Redman.
Bottom row — Otto D. Druge, William Dean, Barney Harr. *

banks, and together pour their earth-tinted
floods back again into the blue waters of the
old ocean. From that ocean the western
sunbeams feed the clouds that float inland
and deliver their moist cargoes as rain or snow
to form anew the sources of all the contribut-
ing branches of the Sacramento and the San
Joaquin.

Northeastward from San Francisco, per-
haps seventy-five miles in a direct line, about
ninety by rail, but a distance of 1 30 miles
by bay and river channel is the city of Sacra-
mento. It is a level, valley town, with tree-
skirted streets and spacious lawns and gar-
dens, and it is close-girt on its western and
northern sides by rivers. It lies just below
the angle formed where the American comes

in from the eastward and turns its flood into
the parent river that was early christened by
the devout Spanish with the name the city
later adopted for herself. An artificial ridge
nearly twenty feet high rims the edges of
these two water courses and forms there an
angular bulwark against the old menace of
inundation. Back in January of 1850 and
again in 1862-1863 floods so swelled these
rivers that they poured their surplus shoulder-
deep over the town and forced the in-
habitants to take to second stories and row-
boats till the muddy waters had subsided.
A year ago another of those excessive flush-
ings from tens of thousands of acres of melt-
ing snowfields along high Sierra ridges start-
ed two big wallowing freshets on a long race

348

Sacramento's Street-Car System

toward that meeting point, right there where
Sacramento lies close behind her levees. For-
tunately the American river arrived first and
turned the high crest of her waters safely
down the main channel before the Sacramen-
to's overload came defying delays. What
might have been had the two over-burdened
rivers met there at the same moment and
forced each other back the people of Sacra-
mento do not like to consider, because it is
within the bounds of possibility that just that
thing may happen sometime. And Sacramento
already has more than $60,000,000 in local
property that would feel the force and effect
of that calamity.

How such a chance may be definitely de-
feated is very thoughtfully expressed in an
interesting monograph recently written for the
American Society of Civil Engineers by Su-
perintendent Foote of the North Star mine of
Nevada County, a gigantic producing property
that has already yielded $30,000,000 in
gold. An eminent civil engineer himself, fa-
miliar with the details and cost of the great
inundating and drainage systems built for the
valley of the Nile in Egypt and for places in
India, Foote contends for a comprehensive

government system of dykes across the great
California valley every five miles or so, for a
drainage channel to be dredged into the centre
of Tulare lake to reclaim those thousands of
acres of rich submerged lands, and for a reg-
ular, systematic, gentle spreading of the spring
floods over the land that they may deposit
their enriching mud and then drain only
water back into the improved river channels.
He estimates from the cost of similar works
that the project would require an expenditure
of about $160,000,000. But he declares
it would increase the value of the productive
land alone to the amount of more than $600,-
000,000, to say nothing of the assured per-
manent protection of Sacramento and other
flood-fearing communities. He would have
valley lands annually enriched by the silt that
for more than half a century has been forced
to clog up the lower channels of rivers that
have been too much confined by levees. He
would have farming independent of the old
gamble with inadequate or uncertain rainfall
and a gradually less productive soil, and pos-
sibly freed, Egypt-like, of the toil of plowing.
Along in 1 849 and for a dozen years
thereafter Sacramento was the miners' Mecca.

A Recent Group at the Company's Car Shops of the Men that Make and Repair the Cars

349

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

It was the meeting point between the river-
boat traffic with San Francisco and the wagon
and pack-mule traffic with the mines. The
regular population of the place ranged from
2,000 to 10,000, but the ebb and flow
of travel coming and going between San

The Electric Power House and Substation

Francisco and the mines formed a transient
army of perhaps 25,000 people. And they
always spent at least one eventful night in
Sacramento. The town was "wide open,"
and the street crowds carried interest far into
the night. Gambling houses were numerous.
From 1852 to 1863 few visitors to Sacra-
mento failed to enter Keith's great gambling
place near what is now the junction of Sec-
ond and J streets. On an opposite corner
was the El Dorado gambhng house. Noted
for their games of faro, rouge et noir, vingt-
un, keno, and montc, and for "The Ele-
phant" and two or three other games never
since played or known, these resorts were the
music halls of their time. At Keith's Mart
Simonson, a violinist, was the great attraction,
and to hear him play "The Wrecker's
Daughter" was the primary object of many
a first visit. In those times even the racing
river trip was full of excitement, aside from
the steady gambling aboard the boats. The
price for passage between San Francisco and
Sacramento was at first $50, later $30, then
$15, $10, and $5, till latterly for many years
it has been but $1.50. In the days before
railroad competition the river trip did not

take ten to fifteen hours and mean half a
hundred landings. The best record was five
hours nineteen minutes, made by the "Chry-
sopolis," which is none other than the well-
known, big, bay, ferryboat "Oakland" of
today, gradually reconstructed until probably
not one of her original timbers remains.

Sacramento was the commercial and out-
fitting centre for most of the mining districts.
That was why in I 854 the legislature, after
having experimented with Monterey, San
Jose, Vallejo, and Benicia for one annual
session at each place, moved to Sacramento
as California's permanent capital, a position
in which the city has been seriously chal-
lenged but twice — first about fifteen years
ago by San Jose and then two years ago by
Berkeley.

Late in 1858, after its second biennial re-
ception of the legislators, Sacramento had so
far evolved toward modern conveniences that
a bus line was developed to slosh through the
winter mud from Third and R streets to
Second and K streets and thence out to a
pleasure resort known as Hubbard's Park.
The fare for the whole or any part of the
route was twenty-five cents. As early as

Showing Half of the Double Car Barns

1861 a street-car franchise was granted, but
when the flood of 1 862 came, turning the
whole American river through the town, the
bus line went permanently out of business
and the proposed car line was forgotten. In
1 868 Sacramento became the western termi-

350

Sacramento's Street'Car System

nal of the first transcontinental railroad, a
project due entirely to the enterprise and
initiative of four of Sacramento's most famous
citizens — Stanford, Huntington, Crocker,
and Hopkins. Then a new bus line, known
as the City Omnibus Company and owned

The Cai Shops

principally by Thomas Berkey, for many
years assessor of Sacramento, began operatmg
its horse conveyances between Front and K
streets and Sutter's Fort, out on Twenty-
eighth street.

Sacramento was rapidly assuming too im-
portant a position on the map to remain con-
tent with a mere bus line. Her permanent
population had grown to nearly 25,000, and
the town had settled down to something of
the dignity of a well-established modern city.
The legislature — and it had the power in
those days — had, March 27th, 1868, ap-
proved an ordinance for a street-car line,
and three months later the county supervisors
had granted a twenty-five-year franchise to
Z. L. Davis to operate horse cars from Front
and K streets out to Twentieth and G streets
by way of J and Tenth streets. J was then
the principal street. The fare was not to be
more than ten cents.

Two years and a half passed before
actual construction work was begun. Mean-
while the company had been reorganized,
had been renamed the City Railway, had
elected N. L. Drew president, retaining
Davis as one of the officials, and had secured
J. C. Garland from Chicago as its new

superintendent. Garland sought and secured
further franchises, and then rushed construc-
tion work. June 1 3th of 1 870 he began by
digging a shallow channel at Front and I
streets for the reception of the ties and rails.
An order for eight little cars had been
placed with the Kimball Manufacturmg Com-
pany of San Francisco. The San Francisco
Daily Aha California in its issue of August
1 7th, 1870, in a news article declared: "An
advance step has been made in Sacramento
by the establishment of a street railroad.
Two excellent cars, manufactured in this
city, were yesterday shipped to the stale
capital."

The entrance to these little cars was at
the front end. There stood the driver of the
two horses, and he was also the conductor,
for he kept a watchful eye on a small glass-
partioned box hanging just inside the door
and saw that the fares deposited tallied with
the number of passengers before he worked
a lever that dropped the cash or tickets into
a lower receptacle. It was not difficult to
make the count, as each one of these cars
could seat no more than a dozen persons.

August 20th, I 870, the line was first for-
mally opened to the public with two cars.

The Car System's Mill and Paint Shop

The superintendent of streets had protested
against the condition in which the company
was leaving the roadway and had ordered
that not a car should be run till the street
was first restored to its original smoothness.
The city trustees backed this up with a

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

special prohibitory ordinance. But the cars
started just the same, and kept right on run-
ning regularly, although Superintendent Gar-
land and two relays of drivers were arrested.
That first day from 8 to I 2 in the forenoon
and from 2 to 6 o'clock in the afternoon

The Scenic Railway at Oak Park

women and children were carried free. The
public wanted street cars. August 28th two
more cars arrived, September 2d two more,
and before the end of September the last
two of the eight had come and been put into
service. From the first the fare was five cents.
But it was not till 1878 that Sacramento's
street-car business made enough to pay ex-
penses.

In 1 880 further franchise privileges and
increased population caused the construction
of fourteen blocks of new line along Tenth
street from K to the city cemetery. And
that same year the line on Front street
was extended to the old Central Pacific
Railroad station.

The transition to electric service came in
1889, with storage batteries installed under
former horse-cars of a larger size than the
original "bobtails." October 10th of 1892
street railway franchises were secured by
Albert Gallatin and Horatio Livermore and
promptly transferred to the new Sacramento
Electric Power and Light Company, which
was incorporated November 4th of that year
with a capital of $1,500,000 and with Gal-
latin, Horatio Livermore, Charles Livermore,

A. J. Ralston, and Joshua Barker as direc-
tors. In January and February of 1893 this
new concern bought up practically the entire
stock of the street railway company and of
the East Park Association and secured a col-
lection of little old horsecars. It then ordered
five larger and more modern cars built at the
Carter Brothers' shops in Newark, for it had
secured a fifty-year franchise for a line on P
street. In October of 1893 this new Sacra-
mento Electric Power and Light Company
bought the exclusive water privilege of the
Folsom Water Power Company on the
American river near Folsom for $900,000.
By the summer of 1895, with the completion
at Folsom of California's pioneer hydro-
electric plant for long-distance transmission of
energy, current came through a twenty-two-
mile power line down to Sacramento to oper-
ate the company's street cars and supplement
its lighting service.

April 3d of 1896 Gallatin, the Liver-
mores, and their financial associates had in-
corporated the Sacramento Electric Gas and
Railway Company. In June of that year
this new concern absorbed the Sacramento

One of Sacramento's First Street Cars, as It Looks
Today

Electric Power and Light Company. Then it
organized with J. W. Hall as its first presi-
dent, the same Hall who is now manager of
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
Stockton water company. In May of 1 899
this new Sacramento company also absorbed

352

Sacramento's Street- Car System

the Capitol Gas Company. In 1902 it es-
tablished its own car shops in Sacramento
and began the construction of the fifty-seven
big, fine, modern cars with which the system
is now equipped. Then in June of 1902
John Martin and Eugene de Sabla of the

One of the Later Horse Cars Kun By Storage Battery

Bay Counties Power Company secured finan-
cial control of the Sacramento company.
Thus it grew to be a part of the California
Gas and Electric Corporation, which, early
in 1 906 was absorbed by the new Pacific
Gas and Electric Company, although it still
retains its local individuality under the familiar
title of the Sacramento Electric Gas and
Railway Company, an enterprise managed by
C. W. McKillip, who is himself a native of
Sacramento and has developed in the busmess
from the days when he was a boy employed
at the gas works.

Nothing more picturesquely illustrates the
development of Sacramento's transportation
system than a comparison of those first primi-
tive little bobtail horsecars of 1870 with the
huge, double-truck, modernly appointed, trol-
ley cars of today. An engineer would smile
now at the type of construction used thirty
and forty years ago for the roadbed. On that
first line from Front and I streets to Twentieth
and H streets the original construction con-
sisted of half-foot-square wooden lies, seven
feet long, laid six feet apart, and held together
by long four- by six-inch wooden stringers
upon which were laid and spiked the thin,
flat, nineteen-pound rails, spaced for a five-

foot gauge. As the jolt of the wheels on the
ends of the rails would gradually work loose
the spikes a sledge hammer had to be carried
on each car to pound down any up-curving
rail end to avoid the danger of having it rip
up into the bottom of the passing car. The
process was called "pounding down snake
heads." When the O-street line was opened
nineteen-pound T rail was used with a little
thinner ties, the same kind of wooden stringers,
and outside the stringers blocks of wood on
each tie as a foundation for a foot-wide plank,
which helped brace and maintain the gauge
and also served as a dry and substantial out-
side path for each horse, the car animals hav-
ing been trained to tread the plank, even on
the run, and avoid the deep winter mud of
the roadway. By I 88 1 construction had de-
veloped to twenty-five-pound T rail with the
same style wooden stringers grooved into
the old-type ties and both dogged and spiked
down so firmly that the outer plank was not
used, except at turnouts.

During the construction of the line from
the Southern Pacific station along Third and
J to Twenty-eighth and out to Oak Park a
thrifty contractor who wanted firewood de-

Typical Car Now in Use

cided that seven-foot ties were really a foot
longer than necessary, so he had that foot
sawed off and sent to his home. Twenty-two-
pound T rail had been used on this line, but
soon it had to be changed to thirty-five-pound
T rail in some places and in others to thirty-

533

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

five-pound, second-hand girder rail to provide
the heavier foundation needed for the change
to electric cars.

All these evolutions had tended toward
bringing the ties closer and closer together
for a firmer foundation. Then came forty-
pound girder rail with a four-inch chair
spiked down to the old cross ties, a style of
construction made necessary on certain streets
by reason of the cobble paving. But with
the building of the Twenty-first-street line
from P to Y streets fifty-one-pound rail on
six- by eight-inch ties eight feet long was
deemed necessary. Then, following a public
demand for a noiseless pavement, seventy-
four-pound rail was introduced with the
asphalt on J and K streets. But even this
proved too light, and the eighty-seven-pound
groove rail of today had to be substituted
and close-rimmed by a six-inch strip of basalt
rock laid on a six-inch bed of concrete and
surface-covered with two inches of bitumen.
On Sacramento's streets having macadam
pavement the standard roadbed construction
is now a sixty-pound T rail on six- by eight-
inch ties eight feet long and placed sixteen
inches apart on a six-inch stratum of crushed
rock, with another course of crushed rock
seven inches thick, the three-inch top layer
oiled and packed solid with a fifteen-ton
roller until the surface has the appearance of
an asphalt paving.

Not infrequently a stranger's impressions
of a town are based on the treatment he re-
ceives or the conduct he observes in the com-
paratively few people with whom he is
brought directly in contact during a brief
visit. So it is a pleasure here to record that
of all the times I have been in Sacramento,
an unknown stranger on her treet cars, I
have never seen among the one hundred and
seventy-six motormen and conductors any-
thing but uniform courtesy, attention, and
cheerfulness toward all sorts of passengers.
And that is a pretty good indication that
Sacramento is a community not possessed of

a pessimistic grouch or engendering and
tolerating a personal attitude that makes for
general discontent. A city can have no
better advertisement than a cheerful and con-
tented people.

"For Men Must Work"

This unusual picture shows machinists at
work rolling in back-header nipples in a

water tube boiler. The original photograph
was taken by Wallace H. Foster, manager
of the San Rafael district.

John Cleave, possibly the best-known
character on the car lines of Sacramento, be-
gan his service on the little old horse cars,
way back in 1879. He always works
twenty-nine days a month, except m Decem-
ber, when he takes a trip to San Francisco
to visit relatives. It is said of him that he
has never had an "oversleep" against his
name during his thirty years of service and in
all that time has never smoked a cigarette,
been under the influence of liquor, or used
profanity ; and that is going some, consider-
ing what a carman has to face!

The History of Gas Lighting in Sacramento

By E. C. JONES, Chief Engineer Gas Deparlmenl.

E. C. Jones

Sacramento, the capital of
California, derived its name from
the Spanish of the ecclesiastical
word sacrament, meaning "an
outward and visible sign of an
inward and spiritual grace."
The story of how the Sacra-
mento valley was explored and settled by
Captain John A. Sutter recalls the experi-
ences of the pilgrims who first made their
homes on the shores of Massachusetts bay
nearly three hundred years ago. This pioneer
settler of California was confronted by all
the hardships, disappointments, and dangers
of the Puritans, with the single exception of
the wonderful advantages of California
climate. But the troubles of the California
Pioneer were ever tempered by sunshine and
warmth. Seventy years ago, and well within
the memory of many who are still living, the
site of the present city of Sacramento was
little known to white men and was occupied
by hostile tribes of Indians.

Captain Sutter had received information in
his Missouri home as to the mildness of Cali-
fornia's climate and the productiveness of its
soil, and he was filled with enthusiasm to be
among the first to settle in so attractive a
country.

He left Missouri in April of 1 838 with
a small company bound for California. The
overland journey was slow and full of diffi-
culties. He attempted to reach California
by way of the old Oregon trail. But when
he reached the Willamette river his men de-
serted him. So he took passage on a Hudson
Bay Company's vessel that was going to the
Sanwich islands. He hoped that he would
be able there to reship to the coast of Cali-
fornia. But he was disappointed, and left
the islands in a vessel bound for Sitka. After

iiome delay he came down the coast in the
brig "Clemintine" and arrived at Yerba
Buena (now San Francisco) July 2d of
1839. As Monterey was then the only port
of entry he was compelled to go to that point
before the vessel could be formally entered
in accordance with the Mexican custom house
regulations.

At Monterey Captain Sutter explained to
Governor Alvarado the interest he had long
felt in California, and expressed his desire
to settle in the Sacramento valley.

The Indians of the northern part of Cali-
fornia had all along been hostile to the set-
tlement of Mexicans in their territory, so the
proposition of Captain Sutter to locate in that
dangerous region was favorably received. He
was given permission to explore the rivers and
to select and take possession of any location
that pleased him, and was assured that after
one year from the time of settlement he would
be given title to the lands. With this en-
couragement, he returned to Yerba Buena,
chartered the schooner "Isabella," purchased
some small boats, and began the exploration
of the Sacramento river. He was eight days
in discovering which was the main channel
of the river, and then he sailed up stream to
within ten miles of the present city of Sacra-
mento. He was met by armed and painted
Indians. But he succeeded in satisfying
them of his peaceable designs, and a treaty
was made. He was allowed to proceed up
the river, accompanied by two Indians, and
he ascended in his schooner as far as the
mouth of the Feather river, and in small boats
went on up the Sacramento some distance fur-
ther. After exploring the country he returned
to his little schooner and found his men in a
slate of mutiny. They demanded that he
should abandon so foolhardy an expedition

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The State Capitol at Sacramento

in that useless wilderness. But Captain Sutter
was determined to succeed, and he returned
to the mouth of the American river, which he
entered August 12th of 1839. He ascended
the American river about three miles, dis-
charged there the cargoes of his boats, pitched
his tents, and mounted small canons as a
means of defense and to intimidate the In-
dians. Here he broke the spirit of insubordi-
nation among his men, but the party was di-
vided. Three white men decided to remain
with Captain Sutter. Although satisfied as
to the bad faith of the natives, he hoped to
gain their assistance in carrying out his de-
signs.

The Indians were scattered over the coun-
try in tribes and had their rancherias located
at various points in the valley, along the
course of the streams. At the time of Captain
Sutter's arrival one of the most powerful of

the tribes were the Nemshous, who ranged
between the Bear and * American rivers.
Across the Sacramento were the Yolos, and
on the north side of the American were the
Bashonees. The Indians found by Sutter
were degraded and worthless, inhabiting mis-
erable mud holes or adobe huts, and subsist-
ing on fish, acorns, roots, and small game.
They were too lazy and stupid to hunt the
larger game, which was so plentiful in the
country at that time.

The first site Sutter selected on the Amer-
ican river was a place now known as Stew-
art's. But it was not entirely satisfactory.
So Captain Sutter began in 1 840 building
Sutter's Fort at its present location. In 1841
an adobe building was constructed at the first
landing, a place known later as the Tan
Yard. Soon after that Sutter constructed
a good-sized adobe house of two stories and

336

The History of Gas Lighting in Sacramento

three smaller houses, all surrounded by a
wall, and these comprised Sutter's Fort. This
work was accomplished by enlisting the labor
of friendly Indians, whom he had succeeded
in partially civilizing. These Indians were
then employed in opening a road through the
chaparral to a landing point on the Sacra-
mento river two miles distant and called the
Embarcadero. This name was retained until
I 849, when it was changed to Sacramento.

Captain Sutter had enclosed a large tract
of land with a ditch, and had commenced the
cultivation of the soil. In two years he had
established himself in power and authority.
He surrounded himself with the best obtain-
able mechanics. Work of various kinds was
carried on within the walls of the fort. He
also formed a company of soldiers, selected
from the best of the natives of the country.
And when Fremont, "the pathfinder," ar-
rived from the East he found at Sutter's Fort
forty Indians in uniform, thirty employed
white men, and twelve pieces of mounted ar-

tilery. Sutter's Fort was then capable of
holding one thousand men, and there were
two vessels at the Embarcadero belonging to
Captain Sutter.

During the rebellion in 1 844 Captain
Sutter was called upon to aid in sustaining
the Mexican government. As a result of that
little revolution Pio Pico was made governor,
and he retained the office until the war with
the United States. A revolution later broke
out among the Americans, who, before the
Mexican war, took possession of Sutter's
Fort and raised the first flag of independence.
This movement was known as the Bear Flag
Revolution, from the revolutionists' banner,
on which was painted an emblem representing
a grizzly bear. During this encounter Gen-
eral Vallejo and other Mexicans were held
as prisoners at Sutter's Fort for about three
weeks.

The war between the United States and
Mexico began in May of 1 846, and Com-
modore Sloat was directed to occupy the

Sutter's Fort, Now Within the City of Sacramento

Pacific Gais and Electric Magazine

An Old Group at the Sacramento Gas Works

Left to right — John Hines. Jim Cousins, Harry Keefe (in white), James Apple, Supt. George W.
Jackson, Engineer Dennis Brophy, John Logue. John Brophy (hat at chin), Pat Spain, James McGunigan,
J. Francis, Con McCann (bare arms), John Quigley, James Quillinan (shovel), John Roach.

ports of upper California. The 7th of July
the American flag was raised in Monterey,
the 9th of July at the plaza at Yerba Buena,
and soon after at Sutter's Fort and other
places.

After the arrival of James Marshall, a
millwright. Captain Sutter determined to build
a sawmill. They selected a location far up
on the American river at what is now Coloma.
This place had all the natural advantages
necessary for the successful operation of a
sawmill. Marshall, with seventeen men, be-
gan in the winter of 1847 to build the mill.
In January of I 848, while Marshall was em-
ployed in enlarging the mill-race, he made the
first discovery of gold in Cahfornia. Marshall
hastened on horseback to report his discovery
to Captain Sutter at the fort, where he ex-
hibited about two ounces of scale-like par-
ticles of gold. Captain Sutter desired to keep
this discovery a secret, as he was depending

on the mill at Coloma for lumber which he
needed for building operations. But it was
impossible to conceal a fact^so important and
interesting. Despite all precautions the quiet
mining operations were discovered. A gen-
eral stampede resulted. The discovery of
gold caused a rush to the diggings. Seekers
of gold made their way up the Sacramento
river. The first party of these gold-seekers
landed at the Embarcadero November 2d of
1 848. There was not a house there. The
only place of business of the future Sacra-
mento was an old store-ship laid up by the
bank of the river. But Sutter's Fort was the
great centre of trade, and a little town m
itself. It was rented to merchants at $60,000
a year. The principal establishment was the
general store of Samuel Brannan & Co. At
that time flour was sold at $60 a barrel, pork
at $50 a barrel, and sugar at twenty-five
cents a pound.

3.58

The History of Gas Lighting in Sacramento

In December of 1 848 Captain William provements, and the streets of Sacramento
H. Warner surveyed and laid out what is were raised and planked to a grade above the
now the city of Sacramento. The first build- high-water mark. Had it not been for un-
ing in the new town was erected by Samuel forseen events the gas supply would have
Brannan, and it was completed January I st been the first public utility in Sacramento,
of 1 849. It was located on the corner of J then a town of some 8,000 people. But
and Front streets, and stood there until the
fire of 1852. During all this time the town
of Sacramento remained under the nominal
government of an alcalde, or mayor. But
with the I st of August of 1 849 a meeting
of a town council was held, and after six
weeks' deliberation the councilmen submitted
a draft of a city charter. This proposed
charter was defeated by I 46 votes, but was
afterward approved by a majority of 295
voles.

The population of Sacramento October
1st, 1849, was 2,000, and at that time
there were forty-five wooden buildings and
three cloth houses in the town.

One evening in January of 1 850 the town
was suddenly inundated by a rise of the river.
So high did the water come that vessels of during 1 854 a water works was first installed.
ordinary size could sail as far in as Sutter's This was the first city water works established
Fort, and the entrance to the City Hotel was on the Pacific coast.

from boats landing at the second-story win- The 25th of February, 1854, an act

dows. This flood lasted but a few days. passed the legislature declaring Sacramento
The 7th of April the waters again flowed into the capital of the state, and March I st, I 854,
the town, and the day following the city coun- the governor, state officials, and the legisla-

The Old Office Building at the Sacramento Works

cil voted an appropriation for constructmg a
temporary levee. When this work was ac-
complished the principal business districts of
Sacramento were protected against flood
water.

This enterprising young city was the sec-
ond in the state of California to introduce
illuminating gas. Many interruptions pre-

ture arrived and were received by the city
corporation, the Sutter Rifles, and the assem-
bled citizens.

June 5th of 1854 a Scotchman named
William Glenn obtained a franchise to build
and operate a gas works in Sacramento. This
was the same year that gas was introduced
in San Francisco. But Glenn did not pro-

vented the completion of the gas works. July ceed with the building of the works. He sold
15 th, 1854, the city was nearly destroyed his right to others who organized August
by a fire which consumed ten entire blocks 18th, 1854, under the name of the Sacra-
in the central part of the town with more than mento Gas Company. Angus Frierson was
two hundred frame buildings. During that elected the first president, and N. W. Chit-
year a new levee was constructed, one thou- tenden, the secretary.

sand new houses were erected, one hundred October 20th, 1854, Mayor R. P. John-

and fifty of which were substantial brick im- son took the initial step in the construction of

.3.59

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

the gas works by turning the first soil in ex-
cavating for the gas-holder tank. The prog-
ress of the work was seriously interrupted,
and the undertaking was abandoned March
7th, 1855, on account of the rise of the
American river and the submerging of Slater's
Addition, where the new gas works was be-
mg built.

But August 14th, 1855, work was re-
sumed, and was carried to a successful com-
pletion.

Sacramento was first lighted by gas the
evening of December 17th, 1855. At that
time the officers of the company were R. P.
Johnson, president; P. B. Normai, engineer;
H. W. Watson, secretary; D. O. Mills,
treasurer; and James Murray, W. F. Bab-
cock, L. McLean, Jr., R. P. Johnson, and
W. H. Watson, directors.

The retort house was a brick structure
fifty-four feet long, fifty-one feet wide, and
twenty-one feet high, covered by an iron roof.
The adjoining purifying house was thirty-five
feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and eighteen

feet high in the clear. The purifying house
had a water-tight cellar built on arches. The
meter house and offices occupied a building
thirty-seven feet long, twenty-five feet wide,
and two stories high. A great deal of pride
was taken in the gas works' chimney, which
was built of brick and was eighty-five feet
high.

The gas-holder tank was fifty-two feet six
inches in diameter and twenty feet deep. It
was made of brick and rested on a pile
foundation. The buildings and brick-work
were constructed by Carr and Winons of San
Francisco, and all of the iron-work was fur-
nished by James and Peter Donahue of San
Francisco.

In 1856 the average daily output of gas
was from 8,000 to I 0,000 cubic feet. The
selling price was $15 the thousand, and there
were one hundred and thirteen consumers.

In 1 863 the number of consumers had in-
creased to six hundred, and then the city con-
tracted for forty-five street lamps at $9 a
month each, the lamps to be lighted only

General View at the Sacramento Gas Works
360

The History of Gas Lighting in Sacramento

during the session of the legislature! A new
gas holder was constructed in 1 869 with a
capacity of 60,000 cubic feet.

February 1st, 1870, the price of gas was
reduced to $7 the thousand cubic feet, and
there were at that time 33,000 feet of street
mains in use. During that same year the
price was further reduced to $6 the thousand,
at which rate it was held for several years.

In 1871 there were 50,000 feet of gas
mains in the streets of Sacramento. The offi-
cers of the company at that time were Charles
E. McLane, president, and H. B. Forbes,
secretary, and John Q. Brown was the super-
intendent. January 8th, 1872, opposition
came mto the field under the name of the
Citizens Gas Light and Heat Company. The
trustees of this new concern included many
well-known men of Sacramento, and the first
officers were \V. E. Brown, president; Rob-
ert C. Clark, vice-president ; Albert Gallatin,
treasurer; and J. W. Pew, secretary. This
Citizens Gas Company proceeded to build a
works on a 600x240-foot area on the river-
front, between T and U streets. The erec-
tion of the works began there in February of
1873, and the plant was completed in De-
cember of that year. Eighteen miles of street
mains were laid. The plant mcluded a sub-
stantial retort house, containing five benches
of five retorts each, a purifying house, and
all the apparatus necessary for a complete
coal-gas works, also a brick office building,
which contained an eight-foot station meter
and rooms for the directors and for the trans-
action of the regular business of the company.
This gas works was the nucleus from which
has grown the present well-equipped works
of the Sacramento Electric Gas and Railway
Company of today.

January 1st, 1875, the Sacramento Gas
Company and the Citizens Gas Light and
Heat Company, were consolidated under the
name of the Capitol Gas Company, with a
capital stock of $2,000,000 in 40,000
shares of $50 each. The gas-making opera-

tions of the new combination company were
carried on at the works of the Citizens Gas
Light and Heat Company, between T and U
streets and Front street and the river-front.
At this works there were three 60,000-cubic-
foot gas holders for the storage of gas. These
holders continued to be the sole dependence

Pier on Sacramento River Where Fuel-Oil Is
Delivered at tlie Gas Works

of the company until the construction in 1 908
of the 500,000-cubic-foot modern gas holder.

In 1878 the retort house of the Sacra-
mento Gas Company was sold and converted
into a warehouse, and the railroad company
bought the old gas holder and the land on
which the holder had stood. So the plant
of the Sacramento Gas Company, with the
exception of its street main system, passed
out of existence.

When the present state constitution was
adopted the capital stock of the company was
reduced to 1 0,000 shares, at a par value of
$50 a share.

The report of the superintendent, John Q.
Brown, for the year ending 1876 gives the
amount of gas made that year as 36,033,000
cubic feet, with a leakage of 1 7 per cent.
It deals with the re-arranging of the mains
and services due to the consolidation of the
two companies, and states that all of the

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

apparatus at the old works was taken down
and that those parts in good order were util-
ized for improvements and additions to the
new works.

During 1876 quite extensive improvements
were made to the works that had been ac-
quired by the consolidation, and five branches
of retorts were added, making ten in all. That
year there was constructed a new coal shed,
40x120 feet. This shed remained in use
until it was dismantled during the month of
December, 1909.

In 1876 the gas was made from Sydney
coal, costing $12 the ton, enriched with
"Kerosene Shale" from Australia, and cost-
ing $25 the ton.

In 1887 the officers of the Capitol Gas
Company were B. U. Steinman (afterward
mayor of Sacramento), president; Oliver
Eldridge, vice-president; and C. H. Cum-
mings, secretary and treasurer.

March 21st, 1887, John Q. Brown re-
signed as superintendent of the gas works to

accept the position of state gas inspector, and
was succeeded temporarily by J. R. Watson,
who, in turn, was succeeded September 1 st
of that same year by George W. Jackson as
temporary superintendent. Jackson was then
clerk of the company, and J. C. Pierson was
appointed the permanent superintendent. Pier-
son retained this position until 1 894, when
he retired to attend to his mining interests.
He was succeeded as superintendent by
George W. Jackson.

July 1st, 1887, the Capitol Gas Company
consolidated with and absorbed the Thomson-
Houston Electric Light Company, thereby
disposing of a competitor and combining the
electric lighting and the gas business.

In I 896 the Sacramento Electric Gas and
Railway Company was formed by the con-
solidation of the Sacramento Electric Power
and Light Company and the Folsom Water
Power Company, and in 1 902 this company
acquired by purchase the Capitol Gas Com-
pany.

The 500,000-Cubic-Foot Gas Holder at the Sacramento Works
362

Fire ! A Cause and a Remedy

In March of 1903 the Sacramento Elec- at Oak Park, a large and rapidly growing
trie Gas and Railway Company was acquired suburb of Sacramento. Recently it was de-
by the California Gas and Electric Corpora- cided to increase the oil-storage capacity at
tion. During the many changes in corporate the gas works, and a 1 0,000-barrel steel oil-
title and the advancement in the art of gas- tank was placed upon a barge in San Fran-
making the method of making gas was also cisco and towed up the Sacramento river,
changed. moved over the levee, and placed upon a

A plant for the manufacture of water-gas foundation in the yard at the gas works,
from anthracite coal and petroleum was con- In preparing this article the writer has

structed, and it was used in connection with drawn freely from a little book entitled "Sac-

the coal-gas works. As petroleum became ramento Illustrated," published in 1855 by

more plentiful and cheaper, water-gas dis- Barber and Parker,

placed coal-gas.

In 1 903 another advancement in the pro-
cess of manufacture was made by the intro-
duction of crude-oil water-gas, using Cali-
fornia petroleum exclusively for the manu-

Fire! A Cause and a Remedy

An ordinance was recently passed by the
city trustees of Chico prohibiting the use of
facture of gas. With the development of gasoline in any building, room, or enclosed

the process of making gas the quality was
improved, and the price was reduced to $1
the thousand cubic feet, which is the rate
now charged m Sacramento.

The late George W. Jackson was suc-
ceeded as superintendent of the gas works

shed within the corporate limits of that city.
This prohibition emphasizes the danger of
gasoline; it shows the growing tendency to-
ward restricting this commodity, because sad
experience has taught that gasolme is even
more generally dangerous than the highest

by R. P. Valentine, and when the company modern explosives; that even the fumes have
passed into the hands of the California Gas been known to ignite when coming in contact
and Electric Corporation the late Albert with an open light, though the tank containing
Gallatin was made its manager. Then in the gasoline was many feet away.
turn came Frank A. Ross and F. E. Fitz- A recent inspection of one of the Pacific
Patrick as managers. Gas and Electric Company's plants showed
In January of 1906 the Sacramento Elec- three comparatively new lines of hose rotted
trie Gas and Railway Company became a (one entirely off) at the valve connection. This
parrt of the Pacific Gas and Electric system, rotting had been caused by water dripping
and is now under the management of C. W. into the first loop of the hose. A blueprint
McKillip, with Edward S. Jones as super- can be had from the office of the property
intendent of the gas works. agent, showing the proper method of install-
Since the Sacramento works has passed ing drip cocks to obviate this trouble. Ex-
into the hands of the Pacific Gas and Elec- amine your hose lines monthly, and try them

trie Company great improvements have been
made in the plant, new and larger sets of oil-
gas generators have been installed, new puri-
fiers have been constructed, and a 500,000-
cubic-foot storage holder has been built. The
street-main system has also been extended

out.

R. J. C.

At the annual dinner of the National
Commercial Gas Association held at the
Hotel Astor in New York the night of De-
cember 15 th, forty-two of the guests repre-

to keep up with the growth of the city, and sented interests capitalized at $600,000,-

a high-pressure gas system has been installed 000.

3C3

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF AI.I. THE EMPLOYEES
or THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. BRITTON Editor

ARCHIE RICE Associate Editor

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER - - - BusinessManager

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription 50 cents

Single copy 10 cents

Matter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Vol. I JANUARY, 1910 No. 8

EDITORIAL

Going
After
New
Business

mostly innovations for the foreigners. The
American who would there introduce modern
methods of any kind goes up against a wall
of provincial preference for things as they
are; encounters that shrug with which they
tell you, "Pero no es custombre."

In the progressive, commercially advanc-
ing, and inventive United States people are
ever ready for what is new and better.
Where at first gas and electricity were used
rather as luxuries, today they are a domestic
and a business necessity, because they save
time and space and money. And the only
limit to their more comprehensive use in every
community is the limit permitted by the rep-
resentatives of the producing companies in
being content with taking new business as it

One man working alone may

evolve a great idea. But when

many men at the same time

take it up and begin to work at happens to come without going forth and

it, then results come. Thus it helping to create unanimous use, to hurry the
has been with inventions, and thus with all day when American homes may be the freest
reforms in government. The power of num- in the world of unnecessary toil and dirt,
bars, seeking, moving, eager for some one with their attendant annoyances to home-

And in the end the majority always blessed A

mencan woma

nhood.

The highest masonry dam in the world
will be that for the Shoshone irrigation
project in northern Wyomirrg — 325^ feet.

thing
rules.

Apply this cumulative force to a great
business enterprise. Some one man may get
an idea. He alone can not accomplish its
fullest results. But when a considerable
number of men become possessed of that
idea, believe in it, talk about it, and work

for it, then it grows to be a developing The Pacific Gas and Electric Company

power. has more than 1,500 employees in the city

Forty years ago where was gas used in of San Francisco alone, and in the outside
California and how extensively? Twenty districts of the company's territory there are
years ago where was electricity used? Why regularly at work from 1,500 to 2,000 or
have they grown to such wide popularity in more men, according to the amount of con-
steadily displacing candles and kerosene struction and repairs.
lamps and wood and coal? The reasons
for the change are because they are more

convenient, more cleanly, and comparatively A San Francisco man residing out on

cheaper, where physical and mental annoy- Page street lost $250 in December. He had
ances are reckoned in the cost or comfort of hidden it under his gas meter, which he had
human life. come to believe was a lucky place, since he

In Mexico and all through South America knew the meter was registering slow and
winter-warmed houses, stoves, and fireplaces saving him money. Was it retribution or
are a rarity, and gas and electricity are just the usual fate of those who rely on luck?

364

Getting New Gas Business

Following Up Advertising

T T IS now necessary for a gas company to
advertise, as necessary for a gas company as
for any trade. The present keen electric com-
petition and the countless fuel-gas and cook-
ing appliances have called into existence live
and active gas advertising. We must reach
out for new consumers, and we must educate
our consumers in the uses they make of gas.
Since we can not exhibit our goods, except
in a restricted sense, we must avail ourselves
of all the publicity possible. So declares
Thomas R. Elcock in the July bulletin of the
National Commercial Gas Association.

Continuing: In a large sense, our adver-
tising is the effect produced on the public by
the treatment received from every department
of a company. This article, however, deals
with cdvertising in the limited sense of public
notices with a view to sale.

The good of advertising in daily papers
varies according to local conditions, the char-
acter of the papers, and the size of the popu-
lation. In large cities, approximating a mil-
lion or more, where the papers are large, and
crowded with the full-page displays of de-
partment stores, the efficacy of your mes-
sage IS uncertain. It is likely to be fitted in
with undesirable associates or crowded into
inconspicuousness. The best one can do is
to condense the print, and either leave the
surrounding white space for a mat, or draw
a frame of broad black lines. The minimum
space for effectiveness in a large paper is
fifty lines deep, across two columns.

In a smaller city newspaper advertising can
be of undoubted value. The copy should
accord with your display, and should be
seasonable and dignified, never bizarre or
humorous. Let it show at first glance that
the "Gas Company" is speaking, and its au-
thority will have weight with the consuming
public. Let your convictions as to the merits
of your goods be strongly expressed. YOU
are convinced that there is nothing in the
world to equal a gas range or a gas water-
heater, and you will write convincingly. Lay
before the public a simple explanation of the
article, and emphasize its claim, the saving
of labor, of time, and, whenever possible, of
money. Do not despise the certain well-de-

fined lines of gas talk, the old expressions
"no dust," "no ashes," "no dirt." These
are cardinal points of merit, strong talking
points, and women contemplating the pur-
chase of a range like to hear of these fea-
tures. Make the public absolutely familiar
with the appliance, and never forget to state
the three basic principles of satisfaction to
the reader — where it can be seen, what it
costs, and what, if you sell on terms, the
payments are.

While the best newspaper copy is seldom
unerringly strong enough to mould a reader
into a prospect, it does make the public fa-
miliar with your goods, and so, like signs,
painted and illuminated, bill-boards, posters,
and street-car advertising, is a good invest-
ment.

It is the following up of this publicity that
demands our most serious thought. Your
advertising department and your new busi-
ness department must act as one. Their pur-
pose is identical. The most effective follow-
up system is based on data secured from the
live files kept from your solicitors' returns.
The canvass covers your entire territory.
As the data is returned, it is noted on cards,
whether there is a complete non-use of gas,
or whether there is a non-use of some par-
ticular appliance. The two classes of cards
are filed separately, and, from their data, the
mailing of advertising matter is begun. A
consumer, who has not installed a certain
appliance, receives a call from a salesman ;
then, probably a week later, an illustrated
folder, attached to which is a return postal-
card. The folder should apply to the trade
you desire to supply. There should be one
covering domestic appliances, another for res-
taurant appliances, another for blast furnaces,
et cetera. The personal letter may be done
by the multigraph and the address type-
written. The return of the postal, of course,
stirs us to immediate action. The silence of
the prospect places his or her name in the file
for a second call by the salesman. Should
the sale then be effected, the file card is com-
plete. But, if the sale be not yet effected,
there should be a personal letter signed by
the district sales manager, another call from

365

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

the salesman, and possibly another personal
letter. Care must be taken not to antagonize
the prospect, your salesman being able to
guide your attitude in this respect. By such
a system, complete, live data are maintained
for every residence in your territory.

If thoroughly done, such a campaign must

give results. What you attempt in adver-
tising, do on as good a scale as possible.
Issue one sample of merit rather than many
of indifferent appearance and hasty com-
pilation. The printed matter you send your
consumers is but an extension of your dis-
play.

Detroit's Gas Kitchens

To secure "all-gas kitchen" business from
hotels, clubs, restaurants, and cafes, writes
Clark R. Graves in the September 1 st issue
of "Progressive Age," omit the argument of
economy; talk superior service; then prove it.
The gas man has educated the housewife to
use gas for cooking. To secure the business
of the hotels and cafes is the next step: first-
class accounts, and steady users, durmg three
hundred and sixty-five days of the year, of
gas appliances and gas supply. But remem-
ber that the restaurant-keeper always adver-
tises "service," and it is "service" that you
must help him give. When he speaks of coal
at forty dollars a month and gas at seventy-
five, talk superior service to him.

The arguments that have secured the De-
troit City Gas Company a good hotel busi-
ness, and which will help in any search for
hotel business, are:

1 — Service (the public's demand)

2 — Convenience (ready to serve)

3 — Saving of space (valuable to restaurants and
hotels)

4 — Saving of labor (no firemen needed )

5 — Cleanliness (no ashes, no coal dirt)

6 — No excessive heat (nearby rooms are not af-
fected, and bring in better revenue)

7 — Economy (indicated by above items, and by
saving in repairs)

8 — Satisfied help (a chef will stay where gas is
used)

9 — Reliability (ready to operate, no danger of fire
from overheated kitchen).

To prove the foregoing advantages, lose no
opportunity of getting some one appliance,
no matter how small, into a kitchen. Do not
bribe a chef, but show him that you are mak-
ing his work one of pleasure and perfection,
and one that will bring him increased salary,
many times over what you could hand him
"to swing the deal." Educate the chef and
the proprietor, gain their friendship and con-
fidence, and every "all-gas kitchen" gained
helps you to another, as chefs and help move
about the city, and talk amongst themselves.

We have given an annual exhibit for two
weeks each year, showing the latest appli-
ances, sending to all proprietors, cooks, and
others interested a neatly printed invitation to
call, inspect, and be our guests. This gives
opportunity for those using gas to meet with
non-users, and so many new consumers are
gained.

After the installation, service must be ren-
dered, and continuous business maintained.
We have a first-class maintenance man, ca-
pable, willing, accommodating, and pleasing.
He wins the confidence of the steward or
chef, and keeps the appliances clean and ad-
justed. He drills the range and broiler burn-
ers, and permits no drop below the original
service. Repairs are made at cost, but no
charge is made for this man's time. This
efficiency of service is the secret of hotel gas
revenue. No complaint ever reaches the
hotel office, the manager is willing to pay,
and never returns to coal.

We sell old coal ranges in the country,
away from our mains. Sometimes a small,
side-street restaurant can be sold a combina-
tion coal and gas range at a smaller rate
than that for a new coal range. The gas
section will then be used for cooking, and the
coal section for a cellar, or for storage of
cooking utensils.

In selling appliances, get the money; do
your own collecting. You will be surprised
how much better satisfied a man is with an
article after he has actually parted with his
money for it.

To settle the complaints about high bills,
have your salesman, and your maintenance
man likewise, carry a loose ledger index book,
wherein monthly readings are recorded.
When the consumer insists that a month's bill
IS out of all proportion, show him the amount
for the corresponding month of the preceding
year, and for every month of the interval.
When he sees that you know what you are
talking about, he becomes more reasonable.

366

A Miniature Hoisting Works

Agree to watch his kitchen, and take daily
readings. Convince him that his rehable
chef is using the amount recorded, and com-
plaints will cease. In securing an order for
an introductory appliance, gain permission to
run a good-sized feed pipe to take care of
the balance necessary for an "all-gas
kitchen," and so prevent an additional cost
from cropping up when you ask the proprietor
to spend a hundred and seventy-five dollars
or more for a range. The following appli-
ances must be installed before you have an
"all-gas kitchen":

1 — Hotel gas range
2 — Broiler with elevated oven
3 — Bake or pastry ovens
4 — Combination cake griddle and toaster
5 — Coffee urns
6 — Gas water-heaters
7 — Gas burners under stock kettles
8 — Gas burners under steam table
9 — Gas burners under automatic egg timers
10 — Gas burners for dish warmer.

The combination flat broiler, cake griddle,
and toaster, makes a fine trial appliance, as
a coffee urn, for instance, would not. The
former is economical, does three things with
one fire, takes up little room, and is always
in use, winter or summer. It educates a con-
sumer to the use of appliances, until a seven-
ty-five-dollar gas bill seems cheap.

In summing up the hotel business, I will
say that thirty per cent, of the eating houses
of Detroit are saving money through our serv-
ice, thirty per cent, find the cost of gas no
more than that of coal, and forty per cent,
are paying more for fuel, but figure that our
service makes their mode of cooking un-
equalled. They are happy, and so are we.

A Miniature Hoisting Works

In one of the rooms at the "Rome" power
house is an ingenious little contrivance de-
vised and constructed by George Ostermann,
a young switch-tender. As may be seen
in the accompanying illustration, it is a

miniature hoisting works, with a shaft and a
powerhouse. It is operated by a small motor.
As the car with its load of ore reaches the top
of the incline, a trigger on the car strikes a
cross-beam, and the bottom of the car falls
open and dumps the load into the chute. In
its descent the car strikes a lever which throws
the bottom up into place, and the trigger
catches and holds it there.

There are about I 48,000 persons confined
in the public and private insane asylumns of
the United States, and it is estimated that
during the average time of their confinement
each of these persons costs the state about
$6,000 and deprives the state of about
$2,000 in personal productiveness, or a loss
of $8,000 net on each person so maintained
and uncured. In Belgium the insane are very
successfully treated in small family groups,
all given occupations, and made self-maintain-
ing till returned to self-reliant citizenship.

George Dixon, a foreman in the general
construction department at Colfax, was form-
erly a professional actor. He was the origi-
nal Dixon of Mason and Dixon, a vaudeville
team known through Europe, North America,
and South America as the "American Eccen-
trics." Dixon played for nine years in Paris
and for four years in the British Isles, and
was an old chum of Chauncy Olcott's. He
has a collection of programs, newspaper clip-
pings, passports in different languages, and
other interesting evidences of his theatrical
wanderings.

3G7

J. E. POINGDESTRE

Longest in Service of All Those in the Electric Department

(fr* HE only difference being that I have
1 a little less hair at present," is the
laconic comment accompanying his "only
photograph," which had to be slipped from
the family album to illustrate this page.

John Edmund Poingdestre is manager of
that unit of the company's properties desig-
nated as the Marys-
ville district and in-
cluding the electric
service and the gas
works of Marysville,
a centrally located
Sacramento - valley
town of about 5,000
people, close to the
river.

In length of serv-
ice he is the com-
pany's oldest electri-
cal employee, having
begun his work as
bookkeeper and ac-
countant for Eugene
J. de Sabla's first
little electric plant at
Nevada City eigh-
teen years ago.

But his very first
appearance was in
London, England, the 22d of June of 1853.
So, let 's see, he must have celebrated his
fifty-sixth birthday last summer. Although
he was born an Englishman, with a French-
sounding name, and completed his collegiate
education at the Lycee Imperiale de St.
Omer in France and writes a significantly

J. E. Poingdestre

French hand, he waited till he was 41 and
had dwelt in the state of California a decade
before he entered the state of matrimony.
Then it was that his calmer judgment
focused his attentions strongly upon San
Jose, which thereby received one more de-
served endorsement to its reputation as a
California city speci-
ally noted for its at-
tractive women.

"First employment
— British govern-
ment. House of
Commons; other oc-
cupations too numer-
ous to mention: in-
cluding surveying,
railroading, mercan-
tile business, et cetera,
and of late years
mining, and lastly the
gas and electric busi-
ness; also newspaper
work in the past."
There he gives it, in
the barest skeleton,
without time or place
or incident.

"Newspaper work
in the past" ! Was it
as foreign correspondent limited to brevity
cablegrams when the tolls were high? Thus
would the baffled biographer rebuke this
diffidence and modesty that are evidently
standing right in the way of the publication
of what shows all the symptoms of being a
really interesting story that would give the

368

A Fish Story

reader something of the personality and the
hfe-pilgrimage of the man.

His experience in the company may be
said to have been in three stages, but not in
automobiles. And it has been marked by
ups and downs. First stage — up in the
Sierras, as bookkeeper and accountant at
Nevada City and then as manager at near-by
Grass Valley; second stage — down on the
San Francisco peninsula, in charge of the
business at Redwood and San Mateo; third
stage — the happy medium at Marysville.
Up in the mountains was where he acquired
his love for mining; down on the peninsula
was where his love turned to matrimony;
and, on the level, there are no little Poing-
destres in Marysville to bear the Poingdestre
arms, or to be borne in the aforesaid arms,
as the lawyers would say.

Frequent change of occupation and loca-
tion is one of the marked characteristics of
those born under that sign of the zodiac
covering the period from June 2 1 st to July
22d. If the subject of this sketch conform
as closely to the standard in other respects,
he should be a man of persistent and deter-
mined will, be extremely sensitive, fond of
travel, possessed of an excellent memory;
be a lover of home life; be of a mechanical
turn ; devoted and efficient under responsi-
bility but restive under the direction of others;
kind in times of iUness and trouble, fond of
the beautiful and artistic, generally neat and
orderly; and of medium stature, with large
torso, round face, small features, and light
or grayish eyes.

That these characteristics do or do not
suggest J. E. Poingdestre is for those to
judge who know him personally or by sight,
a pleasure that the writer of these lines has
never had. A. R.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company
has eleven water-driven and eight steam-
driven-electric generating plants and one
hundred electric substations.

The Next Baseball Game

Seeking satisfaction in a return game to
remove the sting of a 9-3 November defeat,
the combined talent of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company and the San Francisco
Gas and Electric Company is planning to
go against the Gas Workers Union some
Sunday afternoon late in January or early
in February on the grounds at Twelfth and
Mission streets. The convenience of this
location carries with it a rental charge of
about twenty-five dollars, so the promoters
have decided to collect a modest fifteen cents
from each man spectator and welcome the
women free.

A Fish Story

At 5:53 a. m. of November 7th, 1909,
the Smartsville-Marysville line of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company burned down
where the line crosses the Yuba river near
Hammonton. Both ends of the wire, accord-
ing to C. E. Young, superintendent of the

Two (Hook - and -)
Line Men

T. F. Blackhart,
operator, and B. H.
Wilco.x, accountant,
testing a load at the
Colgate Power Plant.

A. Beauoliamp, an
operator at the Ne-
vada Power Plant,
and a trout he
caught there 22 in-
ches long and weigh-
ing 3 V2 pounds.

Marysville power division, fell into the water,
and, from every indication, killed five bass,
one about I 0 inches long, the others smaller.
These bass were found there floating on the
water, and evidently had been killed but a
short time. No cause of death other than
by electric shock could be discovered.

3G9

How and When Gas-Lighting Started

By V. HOWARD, Engineer North Beach Gas Station.

Inflammable gas is formed
in tremendous volumes within the
earth in connection with deposits
of coal and petroleum. Such gas,
escaping through natural fissures
or brought to the surface in pipes,
may be collected and used for
fuel or illumination.

On the shores of the Caspian Sea, between
Europe and Asia, there is a place where in-
ternal fires have been burning from remote
ages, burning gas that has been constantly
coming up there for thousands of years from
petroleum deposits.

In the province of Szechuen in China the
natives have long been using natural gas from
depths of 1 ,500 or 1 ,600 feet and conveying
it some distance from the wells by means of
a pipe system of bamboo tubes. It is claimed
that the Chinese were using this natural gas
as an illuminant long years before gas-lighting
was introduced among European nations.

But by general consent the discovery and
application of gas-lighting is credited to Great
Britian. The earliest European records of
the distilHng of coal in a retort for the pro-
duction of artificial gas concern the experi-
ments conducted about the year 1 69 1 by the
Rev. John Clayton. That was about 2 1 8
years ago.

Next came Lord Dundonald, who began
experimenting with gas in 1 787. He was
using a patented process for obtaining coal
tar and tried to see what would happen to the
gas created during the process. The result
was that he used it for lighting up the hall of
Culross Abbey.

The real commercial development of coal
gas as an illuminant began in the year 1 792,
one hundred and one years after the British
discovery of artificial illuminating gas and one

hundred and seventeen years before the pres-
ent time. The name of Murdock, a Scots-
man, stands conspicuously identified with the
new industry.

Over in France, a Parisian named Lebon
began in 1801 making gas from wood, and
introduced the new illuminant into his own
home. The success of Lebon's gas-lighting
in his house in Paris attracted so much notice
that many supposed he was the originator of
the idea. The Frenchman's interesting experi-
ments did one thing though; they happened
to attract the interest of a man named F. A.
Windsor, who took up the enterprise in a
business-like way and in I 803 had gas-light-
ing introduced into the Lyceum Theatre in
London. Not till seven years later was
Windsor able to inspire sufficient business con-
fidence in gas-making to attract others and
get a company organized for the commercial
manufacture of gas.

By 1813 Westminster Bridge in London
was first lighted by gas, and three years later
gas-lighting had become quite common in
London. So popular had gas become within
the course of a few years after its first public
use in London that all the most important
cities and towns in Great Britian and Ireland
were using the new illuminant for lighting
streets, shops, and public buildings. But the
introduction of gas-light into private homes
was a much slower process. Some people
were afraid of it; some did not wish to be
bothered by the odor and the annoyance that
were early associated with faulty installation
and defective fittings. But that was almost
one hundred years ago, and there have been
vast changes and improvements since then.

A busy glad-hander is generally a tire-
less leg-puller.

370

Where Hope was Small But Grit was Great

The Vivid Description by an Eye-witness of the First Sea Fight
of the Russian-Japanese War

By P. H. HILLEBRAND, Division Foreman, Marysville.

The first sign of approaching
hostilities between Russia and
Japan was toward evening of
the 8th of February, 1904.
Then it was that we saw a
squadron of Japanese warships
convoying three Japanese trans-
ports, with 3,000 Japanese troops and their
mihtary supplies aboard, come steaming into
the harbor of Chemulpo, Korea. The
Japanese cleared for action, and lined up
within short range of two Russian men-of-
war, which had been peacefully lying at
anchor there with a French, an English, and
an Italian cruiser and an American gunboat,
the "Viclcsburg," on which I was at the
time an electrician of the first class.

In that Japanese fleet were sixteen light-
ing ships, under command of Rear Admiral
S. Uriu. Russia's force to oppose this
formidable array consisted only of the cruiser
Varyag and the gunboat Koreetz.

The little Koreetz had already prepared
to leave Chemulpo. She was actually steam-
ing out of the harbor when she suddenly met
the large Japanese squadron headed in from
sea. A signal from the Japanese admiral's
flag-ship ordered her to put about and return
to her anchorage. She had undoubtedly in-
tended to go to Port Arthur, there to join
the Russian fleet. But now her doom was
sealed.

At 8 o'clock that night, obscured by the
wintry darkness and with all the Japanese
lights extinguished, the three transports silently
felt their way further into the harbor and
anchored near the city itself. Then began

the hurried landing of troops and stores. We
guessed what they were doing there in the
dark, but we could not see. Nor was there
sound or light. All night long the rush of
that smothered disembarking continued, and
over the black waters could be distinguished
omninous little torpedo boats darting hither
and thither, evidently on picket duty to pro-
tect Japan's soldiers and ships from a possible
Russian surprise.

When darkness dissolved at the break of
dawn that 9th of February there lay twenty-
two warships representing six of the world's
greatest nations, all silent, still, but growing
more and more distinct with the development
of the full light of a day that was destined
to show a scene of desolation before the com-
ing of another darkness.

The 3,000 Japanese soldiers were all
safely ashore and ready. The whole Japan-
ese fleet was aswarm with men hurrying about
decks. The grating noise of their hoisting
anchor chains came to us over the tranquil
waters of the bay.

Slowly but in a way that meant a mighty
menace, their great black-barrel guns point-
ing back like many huge spyglasses all
focussed upon the two Russians, the Japanese
ships steamed away silently in single file and
turned to the right behind Yo-Dolmi Island,
out there at the harbor entrance. They were
gone, but we all knew they were only wait-
ing.

Presently a launch made the rounds of the
foreign warships, visiting each; and to the
"Vicksburg's" commander also it brought
the Japanese admiral's warning: —

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

his imperial japenese majesty s
ship nanina

Chemulpo Roadstead,

February 8th, 1904.

Sir: — I have the honor to notify you that
as hostilities exist between the Empire of
Japan and the Empire of Russia at present,
I shall attack the men-of-war of the govern-
ment of Russia stationed at present in the
port of Chemulpo with the force under my
command, in case of the refusal of the Rus-
sian senior naval officer present at Chemulpo
to my demand to leave the port of Chemulpo
before noon of the ninth of February, 1 904,
and I respectfully request you to keep away
from the scene of action in the port so that
no danger from the action would come to the
ship under your command. The above men-
tioned attack will not take place before four
o'clock p. m. of the 9th of February, 1904,
to give time to put into practice the above
mentioned request.

I have the honor to be, sir, your most
obedient servant,

S. Uriu,

Rear Admiral, commanding a squad-
ron of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Russians had been given until noon to
go out and fight hopelessly against those six-
teen Japanese warships lying in wait for them
behind the island. Or they could choose the
best position and remain grittily in the harbor
and defiantly wait for the enemy to crowd in
and do its worst right there. Or they could use
the time to abandon and destroy their two
ships and then take their chance on shore
against that larger and better armed and bet-
ter prepared force of Japanese soldiers that
was waiting somewhere and would outnum-
ber the Russian sailors three to one. Or
these Russians could simply wait and sensibly
surrender with the honors of war in the face
of overwhelming odds that could mean noth-
ing but the valorous sacrifice of human life
by those who might attempt to fight either
part of that outnumbering foe.

At 9 o'clock the little Russian gunboat
Koreetz was alive with preparations. Men

were clearing her decks. Topmasts were
being chopped down. Skylights were being
smashed loose. Every movable thing, what-
ever was breakable or inflammable and not
absolutely necessary to the fighter was being
cut away, stripped off, and thrown over-
board. The little Koreetz was preparing to
go into a fight!

At I I :20 a. m. the cruiser Varyag and
the Koreetz hoisted their anchors and grimly
and silently started out of the harbor, their
flags flying, their men at their stations.

They were going bravely to take the
hardest chance of all, to meet the Japanese
who were already waiting in a chosen
position to riddle them as they would try to
reach the open sea.

As the Russians came abreast and were
steaming past the cruiser Pascal, from the
Frenchman's decks rang thrilling shouts of
encouragement and applause. Almost in-
stantly the men-of-warsmen on the decks of
the English cruiser Talbot and the Italian
cruiser Elba broke into a resounding chorus
of tremendous cheering for the brave fellows
that were faring forth to an unequal battle.

Little did we on the "Vicksburg" real-
ize as we stood watching, the solemn de-
parture of those two Russian vessels going
grimly out to fight with sixteen Japanese war-
ships hidden only two miles away what
would be the aspect of Russia's men and
ships when next we should see them at close
range.

They were approaching Yo-Dolmi Island.
The little gunboat Koreetz was now moving
ahead on the left of the Varyag. Her in-
tention became evident to all of us. She
would take the lead, draw the aim of the Jap-
anese full upon her, receive the first fury of
the fire, and give the larger and more valu-
able Varyag just that slim chance of running
the gaunlet and somehow fighting her way
through for a clear dash to sea and then a
long race to Port Arthur. It was a forlorn
hope, a desperate move.

372

Where Hope was Small But Grit was Great

The Russian Gunboat Koreetz Just After the Explosion

At 1 1 :50 a. m. the first shot was fired.
It was a Japanese shell aimed at the little
Koreetz. On the "Vicksburg" we heard its
roar for almost a second before we saw a
white geyser suddenly burst up out of the sea
a hundred yards short of the Koreetz but in
direct alignment for her side.

The Koreetz almost instantly returned the
fire with her starboard battery. We saw the
flash.

The next moment thunder began roaring.
The cruiser Varyag had got along to a point
where she too became visible to the waiting
Japanese fleet, out there behind Yo-Dolmi
Island. Her right side became the target
for a hurricane of Japanese fire. Some of
the missiles struck her, and the water all
about her was being slashed where the Japan-
ese cannonade with small ammunition was
just missing the mark.

The whole fury of the Japanese attack
seemed now to be concentrated upon the big
Varyag. She was being showered with a
perfect rain of sharpnel that was splashing the
water as with hailstones. The Japanese
were evidently trying only to kill off gun
crews with that small shot and force the

Varyag to surrender as a valuable prize of
war.

For about fifteen minutes the little Koreetz
and the big Varyag were in thickening black
clouds. We only knew they were still afloat
and fighting as we saw the intense red blurrs
of fire as their guns belched forth in that pall
of smoke and kept hurling back defiance in
the face of destruction.

On went the fight in its thundering fury,
its flashes, its terrific detonations, and its in-
creasing obscurity from the thick powder
smoke that hung low over the water.

Then out of that stiffling cloud suddenly
emerged the big Varyag, headed back into
the harbor, keeping Yo-Dolmi Island be-
tween her and the Japanese fleet. And over
there, turning to the left and emerging from
the grayish gloom, we saw the little Koreetz
also coming back.

But the Japanese had detected the move
despite the smoke. One of the Japanese bat-
tleships nosed out from behind the island
into our line of vision and opened fire with
ten-inch shells meant now to tear the big
Varyag to pieces. And the huge projectiles
struck her with telling effect.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

From I 1 :50 a. m. till 12:40 p. m. the
storm of battle had roared incessantly.
Fifty minutes is not long for some occasions,
but when every second of those fifty mmutes
is filled with the intensity of the fury fight of
nations it is as hours in times of peace.

The crippled Vayrag, her port quarter all
afire, her hull and superstructure all bat-
tered and smashed, came on in and dropped
anchor.

Medical assistance from all foreign men-
of-war in port was quickly sent alongside in
the little steam launches to render aid to the
wounded.

While we were yet a city block's distance
from the Varyag we could hear the uncon-
trollable screams and yells of men crying out
in their agony.

The Varyag's decks were like some
terrible slaughter-house. Limbs of human
beings were strewn about. The warm
blood was still trickling from the dismem-
bered parts. Here and there lay men with
arms and legs completely torn away by shot
and shell, the blood gushing forth where life
still lingered.

One poor fellow was being lowered from
a fighting top. He had been shot through in
several places. His agonized groans from
the torture of his pain brought a choking
lump up into the throat of every man of us.
We too were all fighting men of the sea, but
this thing was heartrending and terrible.
Just as they placed him gently on the reeking
deck his cruelly wounded body convulsed
spasmodically with each of several gasping
screams, and then he lay still, a sacrifice to
his country's call.

Surrounded by all this slaughter and
shrieking and the sickening silence of dead
bodies, the survivors still stood at their guns,
ready to fight on, to obey, to do their duty
in their Emperor's cause. Their faces were
black with the grime of powder, smeared
through the sweat of toil. Some wept in
sheer desperation, in their strange frenzy to

fight on. If there had been any personal
fear it had all gone in the first fury and ex-
citement of that fight that was pre-ordained
to spell slaughter for the small Russian force
that went heroically out to battle.

Meanwhile the little Koreetz had anchored,
but the Varyag signaled to her, and so she
steamed further into the harbor and anchored
again, this time clear of the other vessels.
From the movements aboard the Koreetz it
was now evident that her crew was preparing
to abandon her.

The wounded from the Varyag were being
tenderly taken to the foreign men-of-war. In
twenty minutes they had all been transferred
to places of safety and surgical attention.

It became plain now to every watcher that
the crippled and flaming big Varyag was
doomed and could not shelter human beings.
Boats from every man-of-war in the harbor
were rushed to her to take off her crew and
officers and get them safely aboard the
neutral foreign warships. In ten minutes this
hurried relief was concluded.

Then we turned from the abandoned Var-
yag to see what had become of the apparently
unharmed little Koreetz. There she lay
three hundred yards off to. the right of the
"Vicksburg," ominously silent, still, deserted.
There was a fascination about it all that kept
our eyes strained to the scene, to that fighting
ship that had significantly hunted a clear
space. Without comment we all seemed in-
stinctively to expect something. And then it
came!

The Koreetz suddenly boosted herself al-
most bodily up out of the bay. And as she
rose, two quickly succeeding and terriffic ex-
plosions shook the air, ripped the little vessel
asunder, sent the scattered parts skyward in
a million slivered pieces. They went up like
sime mighty funnel and curved and came
down like some huge aerial umbrella dripping
streams of dirty water and shedding showers
of debris. And when the air cleared there
lay all that remained of the once sturdy little

374

Where Hope was Small But Grit was Great

Koreetz — some tangled wreckage, a battered
smokestack, and part of a distorted hull pro-
truding above the waterline.

About three hundred yards to the right of
the exploded Koreetz lay a Russian merchant
steamer. Her crew also had abandoned
ship. To make sure that she would not fall
into the hands of the Japanese as a trophy of
victory her sea valves had been opened so
that the waters might rush in and sink her.
Slowly, gradually, she was going down at
the stern. The big Vayrag was now also
settling, tilting more to the left as she sank
lower and lower into the sea. Fire was
spreading rapidly over her stern. The flames
were licking up the scattered ammunition
along her bloody decks. The resulting ex-
plosions were as a iitful fusilade. At 6:01
she keeled further over to the left, her smoke-
stacks almost touching the water. The am-
munition and the other heavy articles left
about her decks could be heard nosily thump-
ing and bumping as the vessel rolled and wal-
lowed to adjust herself in her cold coffin.

Just then the bugle on the English cruiser
Talbot cut the crisp night air clearly with the
first mournful notes of "taps," sounding the
soldier's requiem for the men that lay dead
on those doomed decks.

As the bugle's mournful wail carried
clearly over the water then in truth did every
listening man-of-warsman see the thing close,
through tear-dimmed eyes that were directed
toward that coffin ship which would any
moment now go down into the sea, carrying
in her the gallant fellows that had fought by
her to the death.

The bugle notes faded, died away in the
distant echo, and our ears caught only the
hissing of steam and the rumbling of heavy
things shifting uneasily in the dying Varyag.
Then came a louder murmur, like the last
groan of some expiring giant, and the big
Varyag slipped down into the sea and was
gone.

The Russian merchant steamer was sinking

too slowly to suit those that had abandoned
her. One of her small boats pulled back
alongside, and men went up and into her.
In fifteen minutes they quickly departed.
Presently a glimmer of light showed through
one of her cargo portholes. In ten minutes
more she was a complete mass of flame. She
burned as a great battle beacon on into the
night till 2:45 o'clock, then she slipped down
to join Russia's thirty dead men that went
to the bottom in the Varyag, from which
fifty-six wounded men had earlier been res-
cued.

These poor wounded survivors were the
maimed and mutilated human evidences that
civilized nations have not yet developed far
enough out of barbarity to arrange among
themselves that peace and national pride may
be maintained without the barbaric slaughter-
ing and crippling of some of their physically
best and bravest men, and without the de-
struction of enormously valuable property
that takes the savings and contributions of
millions of innocent people to produce.

Frederick C. Jones, the company's chem-
ist, is a Harvard graduate, having received
the degree of A. B. in 1895.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company
owns gas works in eighteen cities, fifteen sub-
sidiary electric light and power companies,
the water works of the city of Stockton, the
twenty-nine miles of street-car system of the
city of Sacramento, the steam railroad from
Folsom up-river to the state prison, an amuse-
ment park with its theatre and baseball
grounds at Sacramento, and the South Yuba
and the Auburn irrigation systems with their
aggregate of more than 633 miles of water
ditches and twenty-eight miles of flumes from
more than thirty mountain lakes and reser-
voirs that also belong to it, together with
several thousand acres of mountain side as
a catchment area and timber supply, as the
company owns and operates two sawmills.

375

Fred W. Schimmielffenig, engineer of the
Stockton Water Company, has a little
daughter, born the 23d of October.

C. A. O'Conner, assistant superintendent
at the Potrero gas works, was a student at
the University of California in 1 905 and
1906.

Otto D. Druge, a veteran in the Sacra-
mento street-car service, is depended upon
for songs and funny stories whenever the
boys have a smoker.

Fred C. Birkenstock, an operator at Sub-
station J on Sacramento street in San Fran-
cisco, served with the Second United States
Cavalry in the early '70's.

H. C. Parker, secretary in the general
manager's department in San Francisco,
was graduated from the University of Cali-
fornia in 1908 with the degree of B. S.

J. W. Dooley, first operator at the Cen-
terville power house and an employee there
since March of 1907, was married Decem-
ber 2d, his bride being Miss Vera Owens of
Redding.

William Craig, who wears motorman's
badge No. 1 in Sacramento, has been in the
company's service since 1889, when he con-
trolled one of the first electric cars operated
by storage battery.

E. H. Perry, first operator at the de Sabla
power house and an employee of the company
for the past three years, was married at Oro-
ville, December 4th, his bride being Miss
Frances Pickler of Stirling City.

The company's oil barge that carries fuel-
oil up to Petaluma for use in the gas works
there is named John A. Britton, after the
general manager.

The two excellent photographs of the state
capitol and Sutter's Fort that illustrate Sacra-
mento's gas history were taken by Superin-
tendent Merrill of the company's Sacramento
car system.

Nelse Kjar, a collector for the company's
gas, electric, and street railway business in
Sacramento, was attacked December 1 4th
by two Greeks wielding monkey wrench and
butcher knife because Kjar called to collect
the gas bill. The belligerent Greeks were
arrested for assault with deadly weapons.

San Francisco has decided to have a
world's fair in 1915 to celebrate the com-
pletion of the Panama Canal, and John A.
Britton, general manager of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, hc»6 been chosen as
one of the committee of two hundred repre-
sentative men to develop the enterprise.

Joseph P. Baloun, chief draftsman for the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, was,
about twenty years ago, an arc lamp trimmer
and wireman at the Union Iron Works ; then
he served his mechanical apprenticeship in the
shops, and, after a few years of outside ex-
perience, re-entered the great ship-building
works as a draftsman, and continued in that
capacity until three years ago, when he left
to become the head of this company's draft-
ing department. During the eight years from
I 898 to I 906 he was also instructor in me-
chanical and naval architectural drawing and
mechanics at the San Francisco Evening
High School.

376

The Magazine, Its Circulation and Its Critics

THOSE who write for or are interested
in this magazine may have wondered
who are its regular readers. In addition to
the circulation intended for some 3,500 em-
ployees of the company, scattered through
scores of towns in twenty-seven counties, com-
prising the middle third of California, there
are already (by Christmas, 1909) paid sub-
scribers outside of the company who receive
the magazine in six cities of four foreign
countries and in fifty-four cities of twenty-
nine states and territories, not countmg Cali-
fornia, which has in thirty towns paid sub-
scribers who are not employees.

New York city shows thirty-four sub-
scribers; Boston, eight; Philadelphia, five;
Manila, three; and Los Angeles, thirteen.

Here are the places where outsiders in-
terested in gas, or electricity, or in you and
your work are regularly receiving this maga-
zine:

Switzerland — Geneva.

England — London, Manchester.

Japan — Tokio, Yokohama.

Philippines — Manila.

British Columbia — Victoria.

Alabama — Birmingham.

Arkansas — Helena.

Colorado — Manton, Denver.

Connecticut — New Haven.

District of Columbia — Washington.

Georgia — Columbus.

Illinois — Chicago, Rockford, Litchfield, Oak Park.

Indiana — Logansporl.

Iowa — Waterloo, Davenport.

Maine — Portland.

Maryland — Baltimore.

Massachusetts — Boston. Maiden.

Michigan — Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo.

Minnesota — Minneapolis.

Mississippi — Vicksburg.

Missouri — St. Louis.

Nevada — Tonopah.

New Jersey — East Orange. South Orange, Pater-
son. Long Island City, Elizabeth.

New York — New York, Albany, Brooklyn,
Poughkeepsie.

North Carolina — Wilmington.

Ohio — Dayton.

Oregon — Portland.

Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Chester, Morristown,
Pittsburg, Bradford, York, Wyncole.

South Carolina — Charleston.

Texas — Galveston.

Utah — Salt Lake City, Provo.

Washington — Spokane, Olympia.

Wisconsin — Duluth. Milwaukee.

California — Alameda, Auburn, Bakersfield, Berke-
ley, Cherokee, Cisco, Colfax, Dutch Flat,
Electra, Fresno, Gilroy, Jackson, Los Angeles,
Oakland, Oroville, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Potter
Valley, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose,
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara,
Santa Cruz, Stanford University, Stockton,
Sebastopol, Ukiah, Vallecito.

In addition to all these there are scattered
to various cities thirty complimentaries for
directors and public libraries, forty-two for
advertisers, and fourteen as exchanges for
gas, electrical, technical, and commercial
publications. So, there is how far the new
magazine has already reached.

New subscribers are asking favors that we
are no longer able to grant without the co-
operation of some of the old subscribers. They
want back numbers, and the reserve supply is
now reduced to this condition : —

MONTH COPIES

June 300

July none

August 3

September none

October 1 30

November I

December 2

If any one in the company, who is not
preserving a complete file, have spare copies
that he does not want, they would be thank-
fully received by the magazine as a small
contribution to help replenish the depleted
stock.

From the "Electrical World" (New York),
issue of December 16th: —

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San
Francisco, has commenced the publication of a
monthly organ, named the "Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine," which differs materially from the usual
central-station publications. A number of pages is
given to excellently illustrated descriptions of parts of
the company's plant, which is so extensive and varied
that this feature can be continued over a long period.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

There is also in each issue a number of articles of a
technical character likely to be of value to the em-
ployees of the company, and the August issue in-
cludes a well-written and illustrated history of gas
lighting in San Francisco. Another feature is a
biographical sketch in each issue of a member of the
company's staff. About half of the contents relates
specifically to the routine operations of the company.
In typographical appearance, illustrations, arrange-
ment of matter, and evidences of editorial skill, the
publication is much in advance of other central-
station organs of this country, which considerations
appear to justify the policy of the company in attach-
ing a subscription price and aiming at a general cir-
culation for the periodical.

From a civil engineer of Olympia, Wash. :

I have just been looking over the October number
of your magazine, and I want to say that it has been
quite some time since I have seen anything as good
in its line. It is bright and newsy and withal has
lots of the good, solid stuff hidden away in it. I
wonder what the chances are for an outsider to gel
on the subscription list. I am enclosing stamps in
hopes.

From Wells Drury. secretary Berkeley
Chamber of Commerce, and formerly man-
aging editor San Francisco Call:

The admirable magazine * * is certainly
unique and most attractive. I notice you use a great
many halftones, and the idea occurred that you
might like an article concerning Berkeley, properly
illustrated.

From "The Gas World," London, De-
cember 18th: —

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company of San
Francisco is evidently a believer in the merits of
printer's ink. It issues monthly "The Pacific Gas
and Electric Magazine," of which No. 6, Vol I,
has just reached us * * * . The number, which
is well printed on good paper, contains the full text
of Mr. Jones's paper to the recent meeting of the
American Gas Institute on "The Development of
Oil-Gas in California, " a short paper by Mr. W. R.
Eckart, the veteran consulting engineer to the com-
pany, on "Hydraulic Pressure Gauges, " and many
other interesting contributions on technical and
general matters.

From the Nevada City "Miner-Transcript"
of December 226: —

John Calvert, foreman of the Grass Valley sub-
station for the Bay Counties Power Company, wrote
an article for the monthly magazine issued by the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company that is full of
interesting information and well put together. Mr.
Calvert is an electrician who understands his business,
and his description of the [electrical] development of
this county lacked none of the essential details.

In their issues of December 28th Vallejo's
three daily papers contained articles concern-
ing the December number of the magazine.
The morning Times had a half-column
commentmg favorably on E. C. Jones's his-
tory of gas lighting in Vallejo, closing with
this sentence: "The article will be interesting
to many in this city, as it deals with other bits
of early history not generally known by the
public." The evening News also had a half-
column referring to the gas history of the
town and making a point of how Vallejo lost
the state capital; and remarked, "The article
is edited by E. C. Jones, who is chief en-
gineer of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, and shows a remarkable amount of
study into the conditions as they existed as
early as 1850." The evening Chronicle con-
tained a shorter notice, making mention of the
history of gas lighting in Vallejo.

From Sacramento "Leader", January
2d:—

In the December number of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Magazine * * an interesting article appears
on "A Rail-Bonding Car. " It was written by Su-
pervisor Charles McKillip, manager of the Sacra-
mento Electric Gas and Railway Company * * *.
The article is handsomely illustrated.

From the managing editor of "Selling
Electricity", New York, January 4th: —

You certainly have struck a fast pace, and I wish
you all success. I would be interested to know
whether your circulation extends beyond the em-
ployees of the company.

378

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Vol. I

Contents for February

No. 9

THE MEN AT THE HEAD OF THE COMPANY .... Froniispiece
HISTORY OF SAN JOSE AND ITS GAS BUSINESS . E.C.Jones . . 381
HOW TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM WORKMEN C. Y. Ferguson . 389
THE SELECTION AND CARE OF MEN . . . Frank G. Baum . 390

THE ELECTRA PLANT 'S ABLOOM WITH BABIES Will T. Jones

THE FIRST AND ONLY ELECTRIC-RUN SAWMILL J.W.Hall .

EDITORIAL

MORE TIME FOR PRIZE SUGGESTIONS

THE LEE-WISE DINNER

MEN OF THE COMPANY— F. V. T. LEE . . . J. A. B. .
MEN OF THE COMPANY— JAMES H. WISE . . A. R.

A BUSY BASEBALL SEASON PLANNED

INTERVIEWING DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS . John Clements

"BUCKING THE TIGER"

THE COMPANY'S PRIVATE TALK-LINE SYSTEM . R. J. Cantrell

PERSONALS

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS

393
394
399
399
400
401
403
404
405
408
409
411
412

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

■a •_'

> t

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

FEBRUARY, 1910

No. 9

History of San Jose and Its Gas Business

By E. C. JONES, Chief Engineer Gas Department.

In a letter, dated June 3d,
1 777, Don Felipe de Neve, the
third Spanish governor of all
Upper California, requested au-
thority from the viceroy of Mex-
ico to establish a pueblo on the
banks of the river Guadalupe,
near San Francisco Bay. Receiving no re-
sponse from the city of Mexico and realizing
the importance of having a settlement in the
beautiful Santa Clara Valley, close to the
Mission of Santa Clara which had been es-
tablished January 18th, 1777, Governor
Neve ordered Don Jose Moraga, lieutenant-
commander at the Presidio of San Fran-
cisco, to detach from that garrison soldiers
skilled in agriculture and others to make up
a little band of fourteen settlers. These
settlers, headed by the lieutenant-commander,
located on the present site of San Jose No-
vember 29th, 1777. They designated their
camp as a pueblo, and took for its protective
divinity Saint Joseph (in Spanish, San Jose).
The establishment of this new pueblo by
Governor Neve was approved by the King of
Spain in a letter dated March 6th, I 779.

The 24th of December, I 782, Don Jose
Moraga was appointed a commissioner to go
to San Jose and, in the name of His Ma-
jesty the King of Spain, was instructed to
give title and legal possession to the nine

founders of all their cultivable lands, house
lots, and the iron brands to mark their cattle.
November 20th, 1 792, Captain George
Vancouver visited the Santa Clara Valley,
and in his sketch of the trip he described it
thus:

We considered our course parallel to the
sea coast, between which and our path the
ridge of mountains extended to the southeast-
ward; and as we advanced, their sides and
summits exhibited a high degree of luxuriant
fertility, interspersed with copses of various
forms and magnitude, and verdant open
spaces encircled with stately fruit trees of
different descriptions. About noon we arrived
at a very pleasant and enchanting lawn, situ-
ated amid a grove of trees at the foot of a
small hill, by which flowed a very fine stream
of excellent water. We had not proceeded
far from this delightful spot when we entered
a country I little expected to find in these
regions. For almost twenty miles it could
be compared to a park which had originally
been planted with the true old English oak;
the underwood, that had probably attained its
early growth, had the appearance of having
been cleared away and had left the stately
lords of the forest in complete possession of
the soil, which was covered with luxuriant
herbage and beautifully diversified with
pleasing eminences and valleys, which, with
the lofty range of mountains that bounded
the prospect, required only to be adorned
with neat habitations of an industrious people
to produce a scene not inferior to the most

381

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

studied effect of taste in the disposal of
grounds.

The Spaniards informed this distinguished
EngHsh voyager that the Indians were in a
state of inactivity and ignorance. These In-
dians were the discoverers of the cinnabar de-
posits which eventually became the New
Almaden Quicksilver Mine. They used the
red pigment to adorn their faces and bodies.
This coloring matter was highly decorative,
but its use resulted in all the symptoms of
mercurial poisoning, with disastrous results.

The buildings of the first pueblo were lo-
cated about a mile and a quarter north of
the present city of San Jose. The limits of
the pueblo included the ground covered by
the present city and extended far beyond.

The first houses were built near the little
stream crossed by the first bridge on the road
leading from San Jose to Alviso. In 1 798
the house of the a^unlamiento was built. This
was a one-story adobe building having three
rooms. It was located on what is now Mar-
ket street, near the corner of El Dorado
street. Its rooms were used as a court as
well as a jail, and one of them was the office
of the alcalde. This old building was torn
down in I 850.

The good Fathers of the Mission of Santa
Clara realized the wonderful agricultural ad-
vantages of this valley, and sowed the seeds
from which the harvest is now being gleaned.
The beautiful trees which line the Alameda
between San Jose and the Mission of Santa
Clara were planted in 1 799 by Father
Maguin de Catala, assisted by two hundred
Indians. These rows of willow trees are now
the pride of "the Garden City."

The first permanent foreign settler in the
valley was John Gilroy, a Scotchman, who
landed in Monterey in 1814. At that time
San Jose had only about twenty houses.
Gilroy finally settled on a ranch, about thirty
miles south of San Jose, near the town now
bearing his name. Before the year 1 820
there was but little business in the valley.
The manner of living was primitive. This
condition continued until the Americans came
m 1846.

In 1 83 1 San Jose had a population of
524. After the revolution of 1836, Gover-
nor Alvarado came into office. At that time
Monterey was the Mexican capital of Cali-
fornia. He was desirous that his name
should be connected with the pueblo of San
Jose. He insisted for a while in leaving off

Looking North through the business centre toward the railroad statio
382

History of San Jose and Its Gas Business

the name Guadalupe, the patron saint of
Mexico, and substituting the name Pueblo
San Jose de Alvarado. This change, how-
ever, was short-lived.

It was in San Jose that Jose Castro, a
lieutenant-colonel of cavalry in the Mexican
army and the acting general commander of
the department of California, received the
proclamation of Commodore Sloat the 9th of
July, 1 846, declaring that thenceforth Cali-
fornia would be a part of the United States,
and that its peaceful inhabitants would en-
joy the same rights and privileges and the
same protection accorded in any state in the
union. The 1 3th of July, 1 846, the first
United States flag was raised on the pole
which had been erected by the Mexicans in
front of the house of the ayuniamienlo.

The discovery of gold in California in
1 848 nearly depopulated San Jose. Crops
that were sown that year were never har-
vested. It was then that Don Luis Peralta,
one of the first settlers of San Jose, gave
this sound advice to his sons: More would
be gained by remaining on the ranches and
raising grain to feed the miners than by de-
serting the beautiful valley in search of gold.

When the convention to form a state con-

stitution was held in Monterey in September,
1849, the people of San Jose exerted every
influence to have San Jose selected as the
permanent seat of government. Dr. Robert
Semple, president of the convention and mem-
ber from Benicia, urged that the first session
of the legislature be held at Benicia, but
forever after at San Jose. This did not meet
with the views of the San Jose delegates. A
vote was carried in favor of San Jose, and
the first formal meeting of California's legis-
lature was held at San Jose Saturday, De-
cember 15 th, 1849.

In 1850 a tri-weekly stage line to San
Francisco was established. The fare was
$32, or as it was then expressed, "two
ounces." Before that the fare by way of
Alviso had been $35. During the follow-
ing ten years the growth of the town was
rapid and substantial.

By 1 860 San Jose was large enough to
warrant the introduction of illuminating gas.
October 6th of that year James K. Prior,
Thomas Anderson, and James Hagan
formed the San Jose Gas Company. This
corporation had a capital stock of $2 1 ,000,
and was incorporated for a period of forty
years from the date of filing the certificate.

San Jose, a "garden city," claiming a population now of 58,000

383

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

General View of the Gas Works at San Jose

Gas was first lighted in San Jose the 2 1 st
of January, 1861. It was supplied to eighty-
four consumers. There were seven street
lights. The price of gas was $10 the thous-
and cubic feet. The sales of gas for the first
year amounted to 165,000 cubic feet.

An exclusive privilege to supply gas in
San Jose had been granted to the incorpora-
tors on certain conditions. One of these con-
ditions, contained in the ordinance granting
the franchise, was

Section 8 — That if it shall appear at the expiration
of five years from the date hereof that gas can be
furnished for less than now, having reference to the
price of labor and material used in the manufacture
of gas. coal now being rated at fifty-three dollars a
ton, it shall then be lawful for the city authorities to
make such reduction as in their discretion shall seem
just, so that the rates shall not be less renumerative
than they would be now; and at the end of ten years
a like reduction may be made, should labor and ma-
terial still further reduce.

Railroad communication between San Fran-
cisco and San Jose was not established until
1865. Before that date coal was brought to
Alviso in sailing vessels or in barges, and
from the Alviso landing it was hauled to San
Jose, a distance of about nine miles, over
roads which were in bad condition at all sea-
sons of the year and during wet weather were
impassible owing to the overflow of the
streams which enter the bay at or near Alviso.
During the periods of overflow the coal used

for gas-making was carried from Alviso on
pack mules. It is recorded that often these
mules with their burden of coal would be
swept away by the torrent while fording some
stream, and both mule and coal lost beyond
recovery. So there is probably quite a de-
posit of coal and mules somewhere in the
Alviso flats.

The first gas-holder built in San Jose had
a capacity of 8,000 cubic feet. The ma-
terial used in the construction of its tank was
redwood planks three inches thick. This
gas-holder was in continuous use twenty-eight
years. When torn out in 1888 the redwood
tank was found to be in as good condition as
when it was built. Some of those very red-
wood planks were then used in the construc-
tion of buildings about the gas works.

In 1 865 a special committee of the city
council made an investigation of the business
and profits of the San Jose Gas Company.
The report showed that the original invest-
ment of the gas company in I860 was $21,-
000; that during the first five years of its
existence the total expenditure for better-
ments, materials, and labor in the business of
gas manufacture was $55,637.93; that the
receipts from gas sales during that period
amounted to $75,617; and that the three
founders of the company had divided in di-

384

History of San Jose and Its Gas Business

vidends within the five years $19,979.52, or
almost the equivalent of their original invest-
ment.

The formal history of the various light
companies in San Jose is best given in the
following short extracts from the county
clerk's records:

165. James K. Prior, Thomas Anderson, and James
Hagan formed a corporation by the name of
"The San Jose Gas Company" for the purposes
of manufacturing gas in the city of San Jose
and supplying the city with same, gas to be
manufactured from coal and other substances.
Capital stock $21,000, divided into 210 shares,
$100 each, for a period of 40 years from date
of filing of certificate. Principal place of busi-
ness of the company, city of San Jose. Dated
October 6th, A. D. 1860.

240. Amended certificate of Incorporation of San
Jose Gas Company, dated February 25th, 1879.
James K. Prior, Thomas Anderson, and James
Hagan incorporate, that the name of said com-
pany is and shall be the San Jose Gas Com-
pany. Capital stock is $600,000, divided into
6,000 shares, par value $100 each; to continue
in existence for period of 40 years from and
including October 6th, 1860.

215. Increase of stock of the San Jose Gas Com-
pany 9th day of June, A. D. 1877, increased

to $600,000. The whole of the original capi-
tal stock, to wit $2D,000, has been paid in, and
said corporation has no liabilities. Austin
Roberts, Secretary.

272. San Jose Brush Electric Light Company. Art.
of Incorp. to carry on business of lighting the
city of San Jose by means of electricity, etc.
Term 50 years. Capital stock $100,000, 10,000
shares, $10 each.

DIRECTORS RESIDENCE

James A. Clayton San Jose

Pedro de Saiset San Jose

Thomas Rea San Jose

T. S. Whippel San Jose

Geo. H. Roe San Francisco

Dated Feb. 25th, 1882.

390. Articles of Incorp. of Electric Improvement
Company. Place of business of said corp.
City and County of San Francisco, State of
California. Term 50 years.

DIRECTORS RESIDENCE

Frank Butterworth. . . San Francisco
Aug. J. Bowie, Jr. . .San Francisco

Wm. H. Howard San Mateo

J. B. Randol New Almaden

Louis T. Haggin. . . . San Francisco

Frederick Sharon Belmont

Henry C. Dreger

Cap. stock $5,000,000, div. 50,000 shares $100
each. March 30th, 1887.

The Company's New Office in San Jose
385

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Prune trees in blossom in foothill orchards, near San Jose

The large white mass in the background is Alum RocIj, in a famous picnic caiion

440. Electric Improvement Company of San Jose.
Art. of Incorp. To engage in business of
electricity in every branch connected with it
in any and every shape, form, manner, or pur-
pose whatsoever &c. Term 50 years, place of
business San Jose.

DIRECTORS RESIDENCE

C. W. McAffe San Francisco

T. C. VanNess San Francisco

A. J. Bowie San Francisco

H. J. Edwards San Jose

James W. Rea San Jose

Cap. slock $100,000; 5,000 shares, $20 each.
440. Creation of Bonded Indebtedness March 29,

1889, $60,000.

357. Amended Art. of Incorp. of the San Jose
Brush Elec. Light Co. to generate, transmit,
and sell electricity, electric light, and power, to
manufacture, purchase, and sell gas, to purchase,
lease, sell, and rent lands, tenements, and here-
ditaments. To buy, hold, and sell shares of
stocks in any and of any corporation. Dated
May 16, 1887. Principal place of business
San Jose. Term of years 50 from and after
incorporation. Same directors for first year.
Cap. stock $100,000, div. into 10,000 shares,
$10 each.

428. Art. of Incorp. of the San Jose Light and
Power Co. To manufacture, purchase, and
sell gas, to generate, transmit, and sell electri-
city, electric light, and power. Principal place
of busmess San Jose, Santa Clara County, Cal.
Term 50 years.

DIRECTORS FIRST YEAR RESIDENCE

Chas. Otter San Jose

H. H. Kooser San Jose

E. W. Clayton San Jose

Chas. A. Hagan San Jose

H. J. Edwards San Jose

C. T. Ryland San Jose

Amasa Eaton San Jose

Cap. stock One Million (1,000,000) Dollars,
div. into 10,000 shares, $100 each. Dated
June 20th, 1889.

473. Certificate of creation of bonded indebted-
ness San Jose Light & Power Co., passed
resolution 16th day of Aug., 1890, to raise
money to enlarge capacity for manufacturing
gas, electric light, and power. Created bonded
indebt. of $60,000. Sixty bonds, each of the
face value of $1,000, to run 10 years, bearing
interest 6% per annum, payable semi-annually.

709. Articles of incorporation San Jose Lighting
Co. June 3d, 1895. To build, construct, own,
&c plants for manufacturing gas and lectricity
for lighting, heating, power, &c. and sell and
distribute gas, electricity, &c, to lay down
mains and erect poles lines &c in San Jose.
Term 50 years. Cap. slock $250,000.

DIRECTORS RESIDENCE

Chas. F. Wilcox San Jose

Joseph R. Pallon San Jose

William H. Summer San Jose

Reinhardt L. Stock San Jose

J. J. Sontheimer San Jose

I 1 58. Articles of Incorp. United Gas and Electric
Co., purposes to engage in the business of
manufacturing, generating, and purchasing gas,
electric current, and electric energy &c. Prin-
cipal place of business, San Francisco. Term
50 years.

DIRECTORS RESIDENCE

C. E. Green San Mateo

W. Gregg, Jr San Francisco

C. H. Pennoyer San Carlos

C. O. Poole San Francisco

J. E. Green San Francisco

Cap. stock $2,500,000; div. 25,000 shares,
$100 each. April 17th, 1902.

729. (709) San Jose Lighting Co. Cert, copies
of resolution of board of directors changing
principal place of business of said company
from San Jose, Santa Clara County, Feb. 1st,
1904, to City and County San Francisco, Cal-
ifornia, room 1014 Mutual Savings Bank
BIdg., 708 Market street.

386

History of San Jose and Its Gas Business

July 1st, 1902, the Electric Improvement
Company and the San Jose Light and Power
Company were acquired by the United Gas
and Electric Company. In merging these
two companies a lease was acquired of the
building on Market street, formerly occupied
by the "Evening Herald." The building
was fitted up for offices, then the offices of the
Improvement Company on West Santa Clara
street and those of the San Jose Light and
Power Company on Fourth street were va-
cated. There was also a concentration of all
the gas interests of the new corporation on
San Augustin street, on the former site of the
gas plant of the San Jose Light and Power
Company. At that time the mtenfion was
to build a high-pressure pipe-line up the
peninsula as far as San Mateo, but the pro-
ject was never undertaken.

Many names familiar to the gas men of
the Pacific slope are connected with the his-
tory of gas-lighting in San Jose. Charles W.
Quilty, who was the second president of the
Pacific Coast Gas Association, was for many
years president of the San Jose Light and
Power Company ; and Harry J. Edwards,
affectionately spoken of by his friends as
"genial Harry Edwards," was intimately
connected with the lighting interests of San
Jose almost from the inception of the business.
Harry Edwards, one of the moving spirits
and the manager of the Electric Improve-
ment Company, was afterward manager of
the United Gas and Electric Company, and
the district manager at San Jose of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company until his death,
which occured July 1 0th, 1909.

James K. Prior remained in the gas busi-
ness in San Jose until March, 1 899. The
reason he gave for resigning from the com-
pany was that he was desirous of bringing
about a consolidation between the San Jose
Light and Power Company and the Electric
Improvement Company. The negotiations
fell through, but eventually the consolidation
was accomplished.

The position of superintendent of the gas
works at San Jose has been filled by many
men well known to the gas fraternity. John
FuUager was superintendent from 1 889 to
1 890. Then came Peter E. de Mill, Jr. He
was the son of Peter E. de Mill, of Detroit,
Michigan, the founder and first vice-president
of the American Gas-Light Association, the
first meeting of which was held in Cleveland,
Ohio, in September, 1 872. It was while
Peter de Mill, Jr., was superintendent of the
San Jose works that modern coal benches
were installed and the present storage holder
was built. Following de Mill came O. M.
Gregory, from 1892 to 1901; H. O.
Byerly, from 1901 to 1903; J. R. Thomp-
son, from 1903 to 1904; and R. H. Har-
greaves from 1 904 to the present time.

The United Gas and Electric Company,
which now manufactures the gas supplied to
San Jose, is a part of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.

The progress of gas-making in San Jose
has kept abreast of the times. San Jose was
one of the first cities on the Pacific slope to
introduce the manufacture of water-gas. The
works is now equipped with a modern oil-
gas process, and a new storage gas-holder of
500,000 cubic feet capacity is being erected.

The gas business in San Jose has grown
from its eighty-four consumers in 1 860 to
its 5,942 of today. The city is covered by
a network of seventy-eight miles of street-
mains, supplying these consumers. During
the fifty years the price of gas has been re-
duced by successive stages from $10 the
thousand cubic feet to the present rate of
$1.25. The price of gas in San Jose now
is as low as in many of the large eastern
cities. This is due to the refinement of the
process of manufacture and to the use of
California petroleum, which produces a gas
of excellent quality.

Although it may not be considered good
form to refer to the catastrophe of 1906, yet

387

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

it must be touched upon in order to give credit
to men who worked so faithfully and unsel-
fishly at the time of the great California earth-
quake. San Jose was almost on the geological
fault hne, and suffered as much as any town
in the path of the earthquake. A glance at
the accompanying picture taken at the works
shortly after the disaster will give some idea
of the devastation of property belonging to
the gas company. The damage to the gas
works was so great that Superintendent
Robert E. Hargreaves found it necessary to
turn the gas off from the city because the
relief holder, the purifiers, and the scrubbers
were in a dilapidated condition. The even-
ing of April 1 8th the gas generator was
heated up, ready, without the loss of a day,
to make gas. But the gas services and house
fixutres throughout San Jose were in such con-
dition that it was not deemed advisable to
turn on the gas until April 24th. By the

26th of April more than seven hundred gas
meters were in use. During those strenuous •
days Harry Edwards, ably assisted by
Robert Hargreaves, almost performed mira-
cles in repairing the gas works and the dis-
tributing system so that gas could be supplied
to the city of San Jose after an interruption I
of but six days.

After the death of Harry Edwards his
mantle fell upon the shoulders of John D.
Kuster, who was formerly manager of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Fresno
Gas and Electric Company. John Kuster
is an able man of force, and possesses many
of the qualities which endeared Harry Ed-
wards to the people of San Jose, so that no
more happy selection of a successor could
have been made.

The company has recently moved its of- |
fices mto modern and well-equipped quarters, j
under the direction of John Kuster. '

What the Earthquake Did at the Gas Works in San Jose

388

How to Get the Best Results from Workmen

During the coming spring months the gas The writer in preparing this article has

distributing system of San Jose will be en- drawn freely from the "History of San Jose"

larged and improved so that no city in Cali- by Frederic Hall (1871) and "Auld Lang

fornia will have better gas service. Syne" by T. R. Parker.

How to Get the Best Results from Workmen

By C. Y. FERGUSON, Foreman Santa Rosa Substation.

To get the best results from
your employees let them know
you have confidence in their abil-
ity and integrity. Aim to show
your appreciation by your actions
toward them. A cheerful "good
morning" when you meet them
will always create in them a kindly feeling
toward you.

Put all employees on their good behavior
and let them know that you are interested in
their welfare, and that just so long as they
do the best they can their positions are secure.
In fact, act on the Golden Rule principle,
doing unto them as you would wish to be
done by if your positions were reversed. For
are we not all of one great family, each
striving in his particular position to make one
grand success of this gigantic corporation?
Each is a necessary part of the great whole.
An employee who, under these conditions,
would take an unfair advantage of your con-
fidence in him is not worth much to you, and
the sooner you are rid of him the better you
are off.

We all, from the head of any great con-
cern down to the humblest position, have some
pride in our work, and each is happier when
he knows his efforts are appreciated. Do n't
wait until one is dead to extoll his good
qualities; let him know them while he is living.
You will feel better for it, and his joy will
be increased.

The first mistake of any man does n't
necessarily deserve a discharge. He may be
from that time on more valuable than if that
mistake had never occurred. To err is hu-
man; to forgive, divine. None of us is per-
fect. If we were, we would be too good for
this earth.

Carelessness is one of the worst sins of an
employee. Trouble caused from it is a hard
thing to condone. A good, gentlemanly talk

to the careless one instead of a "

be more careful," is certainly the best way
out of the difficulty. If that does n't bring
favorable results, then a time-card is the only
remedy. But for habitual stupidity there is
no hope.

Let the president or any other official of
a concern visit one of the many plants belong-
ing to that concern and if, in going among the
men, he be thoughtful enough to say to
them, "How are you, boys?" I can assure him
that he never can know how they appreciate
it. I have overheard many a man say after
they have been recognized by a superior,
"He seems to be a fine gentleman; he isn't
too proud to speak to a working man."

On the other hand, if your employees are
never noticed, or noticed only by a scowl or
a cross word, you never will get the results
from them that can be obtained by the one
who gives them a pleasant greeting.

As we go through this life the question
is n't so much Is he a gentleman? as Am I?

389

The Selection and Care of Men

By FRANK G. BAUM.*

Frank Ci, Fiau

Volumes have been written

about the selection of machinery
and materials to perform certam
functions, and much has been
printed on the care and life of
machines and the cost of pro-
ducing certain commodities. But
until a few years ago there was little real
study of the selection and care of the men
that are required to supply that human in-
interest so necessary to the carrying out of a
method in its planning and in its daily opera-
tions.

Every industrial enterprise depends for its
success upon the method, the men, and the
money employed to attain practical results.
In developing an enterprise every dollar of
capital is equally efficient with every other
dollar. Hence, assuming the capital is suf-
ficient, the success of any industrial venture
depends upon the soundness of the scheme
and also upon the human interest of the in-
ventor or the promoter, upon the interest of
the directors and the manager, of the en-
gineers and superintendents, and of the fore-
men and workmen who put their brains, wits,
and muscles to the task of producing some-
thing of use.

If one review the history of any very suc-
cessful enterprise he will find, generally, as
the cause of the success a very unusual and
successful man capable of projecting himself
into his work, and by his enthusiasm and
energy carrying with him many men who

would follow only such a leader. The west
has developed many such men and enter-
prises. If the reasons for the successes of
these men and their undertakings be analyzed
it will be found that the organizers had not
only keen perception of the business but a
keen appreciation of good men and a great
ability to select and to hold them. Since the
human interest plays such an important part
in any enterprise, why is it that not more at-
tention is paid to the selection of men? and
why are most of us such woeful failures as
organizers?

When a man selects a piece of machinery
or certain materials he has definite ideas of
what he wants, and will generally choose the
best he can find for the work to be done. He
does not take cast-iron when steel is required,
because what he wants is a material that is
strong, pliable, and resilient. But if he need
the same characteristics in a man, he is liable
to employ one who has no resilience, no
pliability for a working organization, one
strong, perhaps, but lacking the ability to use
his strength in team-work. When a man
selects a horse he gets about what he wants,
but his judgment of men is not so accurate.

Almost any one can take out a pair of
horses and in a short time be able to tell if
one of them is slow, lazy, or vicious. But,
even after employing a man for a lifetime,
an employer may not learn that that man is
a sneaking, lazy, incompetent fellow who
shifts his work on to others. The reason for

* [Editorial Note — Frank G. Baum, now an independent consulting engineer, was this company's electri-
cal engineer in 1902 and from 1902 till 1907 was its general superintendent and hydraulic and electrical en-
gineer. During that time he supervised the construction of most of the de Sabla power plant, added 10,000
kilowatts to the productivity of the Electra plant, put in additions to the Colgate and Centreville plants, and
started the Deer Creek plant. He also built the Martin Station plant, and invented the outdoor switches
used throughout the company's system. His oil-tub switches are familiar devices in many of the substations.
He has written a book on "The Transformer"; is the inventor of an alternating-current calculating device;
and is the author of various articles on calculation of electrical transmission systems. He was born at
St Genevieve, Missouri, in 1870, earned his way through Stanford University, and was graduated there
in 1898.1

390

The Selection and Care of Men

this is that the sneaking, lazy, incompetent
man usually has in his make-up the ability
to lie and to talk. Man's woeful lack of
skill in judging men correctly is mainly due
to the fact that men are able to talk and by
their talk prevent an accurate measure of their
real worth. The first evidence of incompe-
tence and procrastination is lying and the
wasting of valuable energy. By these signs
one should learn to know this class of men.

But care must be taken not to injure a
good man through misjudging him. It is
more serious to misjudge a good man than
to keep an incompetent one. The injury
thus done a good man may affect his whole
future, deprive us of his services, and give
other men less confidence in our justice and
our ability to judge men correctly.

In a machine — an organization of mechan-
ical parts — we are dealing with definite ma-
terials definitely arranged, but in an organi-
zation of men we are dealing with human
beings of variable characteristics and rather
indefinitely coordinated. When it is a ques-
tion of selecting certain mechanical materials
to produce certain results one can with con-
fidence say "I will," but when human ma-
terials are to be employed to produce certain
results one can in modesty only say "I will
try."

In engineering work we are careful not to
strain materials beyond a certain point lest
we exceed the elastic limit and weaken the
material or deform its structure. Men also
have a limit beyond which, if forced, they
will sustain an injury. It is not logical to
employ a factor of safety to materials and to
work men to ultimate fatigue. The careful
foreman or superintendent does not coddle
the lazy and urge on the willing worker.

The strength of a piece of wood or steel
lies in the way the fibres are organized to
resist applied force and in the composition of
the fibres themselves. The power of a ma-
chine lies in the selection and organization of
its parts. And in the same way the strength

and power of an organization depends upon
the selection and working relations of its
members.

In a successful machine or structure we
often require materials having different prop-
erties; so also in an organization different
characteristics are required. That is why
a large organization can employ some men
to advantage who could not get along by
themselves or in a small company. The real
strength of the foreman or organizer is shown
by the way he is able to select his human
material to fit the conditions and to har-
monize the differences. He does this by
recognizing the different characteristics and
abilities of the men and in directing their
natural qualifications along certain lines. Far-
sightedness and a continuous study of the men
is required in order to do this. The ideal
foreman or organizer sees conditions in the
organization far ahead, and he begins to
select and tram and mould his men accord-
ingly.

But when the one who selects the men and
directs their organization is a second-class
man, incompetent and dishonest, with the
usual attributes of egotism and snobbishness,
nothing but failure can be expected for the
organization which he directs. Only men of
his kind or men looking for favors will con-
tinue working for such a man. That type
will not get very close to his men, and can
not win their respect. Where there is no
respect there can be neither cooperation nor
loyalty. The average man wants to be loyal
to his superior, to his employer; he likes to
be able to feel, to think, and to say "I am
working for a fair and square man, a fair
concern." Men will not be loyal merely to
a salary or to a position. They want to be
loyal to a principle, to an ideal, to a man.

Fortunately, the spirit of the modern well-
directed corporation is to conduct the business
as an enterprise in which the employees, as
well as the owners, are interested. It is
recognized that all power is energy released

391

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

and directed; that in an organization, as well
as in mechanics, misdirected energy vents
itself in loss or destruction.

The interest of a foreman, a superintend-
ent, or a manager in his men must be real
and not feigned. Children and animals de-
tect insincerity by instinct,' and so do men.
One can not expect power from an organi-
zation built on a wrong principle or an
illusion. We pity the man who tries to main-
tain mechanical power from a perpetual-
motion machine, or we send him to an
asylum; but our knowledge of human nature
is often so limited that the man who is in-
sincere and who feigns interest and runs a
bluff is occasionally advanced in position
and salary. Generally the man who is least
sincere in his dealings with men gives himself
credit for havmg the greatest possible amount
of "tact," that very desirable quality of
which we all have so little and of which we
boast so much.

To advance, whether as manager, engineer,
superintendent, foreman, or ordinary em-
ployee, it is necessary for one always to look
to the organization of which one is a part,
and continually to try to maintain and, if
possible, to improve it. History teaches us
that there are in every organization forces
(sometimes "knockers") tending to wreck it;
that the tendency of every organization is
toward degeneracy or disruption, just as the
tendency of everything is toward a lower
potential, or from a highly organized state to
a lower, because it is easier to go down hill
than up.

Enough energy and thought must be put
into an organization to make for a continuous
standard or for improvement. Maintenance
and up-keep are as necessary for the human
as for the physical elements of a system.

We should be as quick to recognize a good
man as a good device, and then should choose
the best. Drive the laggard. But do not
urge the man who is already going at top
speed; you may break his stride; he may

falter and fall. We must be careful not to
make mistakes, but when we make one we
must be big enough to acknowledge it. We
must continually review and check our actions
toward the men above and below us, just as
we check and review our methods and our
calculations in engineering, reasoning the
matter out in various ways, reviewing it from
all sides and angles, to see if we arrive at the
same conclusions.

We must know our work and do it in a
competent way, as only the competent man
can win the respect of those under him. For
success, it is as important that we have the
respect of those under as those over us. We
are all here to try to increase the efficiency
and happiness of life. "We must not whine"
in doing our part, but recognize that the spirit
of the age is sincerity, cooperation, speed.
We should study every problem as a condi-
tion of facts, eliminating personal elements;
then consider, then decide, and then accom-
plish the result.

We must be thorough and to do that which
we have to do our very best. Our ability to
do a big task is often judged by giving us
a little one first. Because we are not
acquainted personally with, the general mana-
ger or the superintendent does not mean that
we are not being appreciated.

We must not hold our job, but make our
job hold us. If we do n't like our work we
should get out and select some other. We
should be reasonable and not grouchy and
cranky. To be a crank is not a sign of
genius, though some geniuses may have been
cranky.

The best way to be contented is to keep
busy, think, read, be up to date, be effective,
be ready. There is a better place for us if
we are prepared. If we do n't reach it, we
will be better for having tried, for during the
trying we will have improved ourselves.

In Turkey there are more aged people to
the thousand than in any other country.

392

The Electra Plant's Abloom with Babies

By WILL T. JONES. Accountant.

Hidden up here in Amador County,

Where the Mo-kel-um-ne's harness'd for power,

We who work for the plant at Electra

"Must waste lots of time?" "by kilowatt hour?"

No! "by record of actu'l production!"
Right here is "a station that works overtime"
Has four new babes to report as a starter!
Is that no excuse for boasting in rhyme?

In several issues of the magazine have ap-
peared announcements of new arrivals at vari-
ous other plants, but what of Electra? The
information here presented should establish
a mark which will easily give Electra the
lead over all the ten other hydro-electric sta-
tions in having followed Roosevelt's ideas of
"national greatness, " and incidentally in es-
tablishing Electra's claim to the "Premium
Station" for the year 1909.

July 25th the stork left an eleven-pound
boy at the home of J. R. Carl, who is in
charge of one of the shifts in the power house.
Of course, Carl junior will put in an appli-
cation to headquarters for a position as
operator, but they say the young man has
a weakness for his bottle, and that may have
to be overcome before he gets a job.

August 25 th the big bird again flew up
the cafion, and left a ten-pound son at the
home of "Bill" Jones, the bookkeeper. Jones
is a veteran at receiving the bird; he now
boasts the banner family in camp, two sons
and a daughter. He is seriously thinking of
acquiring a small farm where all the little
Joneses can grow up and other things.

October 28 Superintendent Eskew and
his wife were presented at Marysville with a
girl. Heretofore horses have been Eskew's
particular hobby, but he is now becoming
quite an expert discussing "Mellin's Food"
and other dope of that kind. He states that
he has made reservation for Miss Eskew at
Mills Seminary for the term beginning in
1925.

November 1 4th Alex Moran, a lineman
here, appeared with a big smile, the reason
being the arrival of a daughter in his home.
If it had been a boy Moran had figured on
having another lineman for the company, but.

since his calculations were upset, he has not
yet decided just what his plans will be. Of
course, he tells us all that he wanted a girl.

This makes a total of ten children in camp.
"Mayor" A. P. Clark has called an election
to bond the town in order to build a school-
house. He will shortly present a petition to
Mr. Britton asking that the company furnish
the teacher when the schoolhouse is built.

Under the supervision of Mrs. Clark, wife
of the "mayor," a baby show was held at
Electra, January 26th. The clubrooms were
tastefully decorated. One of the features
was a large sand-hill crane. It had been
stuffed by L. Flagg, the local taxidermist,
and had received the nomination for the
office of stork. Some pleading looks were
cast at it, but it just craned its neck and
made no promises.

There were to be three classes for babies:
the largest, the smallest, and the prettiest.
Considerable rivalry was shown among the
proud parents. All four babies were en-
tered in each class.

For some time it had been a much-mooted
question as to who would be the judge.
Finally, John D. Walker, foreman of the big
ditches, was selected. He had the qualifica-
tions necessary for an unbiased judgment, his
family consisting of himself, his wife, and a
small dog.

Walker is quite a diplomat. The babies
all looked to him so small, yet so pretty, and
so big for their age that he declared it a
draw in all classes, and awarded the prizes
accordingly.

So here's to Electra!

By the Stork not forsaken.
She 11 make a good showing

When the census is taken.

393

The First and Only Electric-Run Sawmill

By J. W. HALL, Manager Stockton Water District.

The snarl of the sawmill

as it rips logs into lumber! It is
the swan-song of the once tower-
ing trees of the forest.

California is a state where
nature painted her pictures on

J. W. Hall , . , XT 1 1 r

a big scale. Not the least of
her landscapes are her great forests of pine.
They sweep more than five hundred miles
along the western slopes of the Sierras, a
mighty green pane! midway between the
golden grain of the long level valley and the
lofty snow-crested peaks of the mighty saw-
tooth range that forms the inland rampart
against storms from the east.

When the Argonauts swarmed over those
summits and down through the timber belt
they halted a moment in wonderment at the
magnificent conifers; then hurried on down
to stake out their claims in the golden sands
along the streams in the foothills. The forests
were soon drawn upon to provide them with

shelter. Sawmills were started here and
there at the lower edges of the timber zone.

It was a long and expensive haul to bring
the lumber out from its comparatively in-
accessible sources to the settlers in the valleys.
After the transcontinental railways were ex-
tended into the mountains larger mills were
constructed, further afield. But the railroads
penetrated only a small part of the timber
area. So other means were resorted to for
bringing out the lumber.

Down the Klamath, American, and Mo-
kelumne rivers logs were driven to mills near
the large valleys. At other points mills were
located in the forests, and the lumber was
floated down to the valleys in big V flumes.

In all sawmills there are enough waste
products to provide the mill with fuel.
Where fuel is cheap steam is the natural
motive power. But with steam power there
are long lines of shafting and counter-shaft-
ing and belting, and they deduct much from

Up-stream end of the old Folsom Sawmill, with the log basin in the foreground, the log slide from the
canal at the left, and a log going up on the endless chain to be sawed into lumber

394

The First and Only Electric'Run Sawmill

Down-stream end of the old Folsom Sawmill, showing horse-drawn lumber cars, and the railroad lead-
ing to the lumber yard; to the left the sawdust chute down into the river; and in the background
the Folsom steel bridge across the American river

the efficiency of operation. Deterioration is
rapid, and there is the ever-present danger of
fire.

The sawmill at Folsom, in the early nine-
ties, so far as the writer knows, was the first
and only large mill ever equipped to be
operated entirely by electric power. It was
thus established partly from sentiment. The
new electric power house was near at hand,
and the water for its operation was running
to waste through the penstocks. Then, too,
because of its nearness to markets the owners
thought the waste products, generally used
for fuel, could be sold for more than enough
to pay for the electric power bills. In this
estimate they were nearly correct. There
were other advantages. The mill could be
built more compactly and inexpensively if
electric power were to be used. The various
machines would be operated by individual
motors; there would be but little line shaft-
ing; and the danger of fire would be elimi-
nated.

So the Folsom mill was built with three
decks. On the lower one was located most
of the motors, and they were belted to the
machines on the floor above them. What
little line shafting and counter shafting there

was. was also located on the bottom floor.
The line shaft was used to operate the cut-
offs, the sawdust conveyor, and the live rolls.

On the second floor was the mill proper,
open from end to end, and containing the log
carriage, the saw, the resaws, the edger, the
cut-offs, and other lumber-making machinery.

The third floor was the filing room. There
the great band-saws were sharpened and re-
paired.

An endless chain slide running from the
log basin up the incline to the log deck de-
livered the logs into the mill. They were
then rolled down a gentle inclme to the log
carriage, and as they rolled they were critic-
ally examined for bits of broken steel dogs
or for pieces of gravel that might have been
imbedded in them during their rough journey
down the rock-ribbed American river.

If too large to be handled by cant-hooks,
a line from the bull-wheel placed them on the
carriage. If the sawyer desired to turn them
over at any stage of the sawing, he did it
instantly by merely throwing on the "Nigger"
that would thrust itself up through the floor
at the side of the carriage. The log-carriage
was operated by its own motor. This motor
had an ingenious system of belting and coun-

.S9.1

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

tershafting and friction pulleys, to give the
requisite reverse motions to the carriage,
which was controlled by a lever in the hand
of the sawyer.

There was a forty-foot band-saw, twelve
to fourteen inches wide. It ran over two
pulleys, in a vertical position, one high above
the other. One of these pulleys was driven
by a spur gear on its own shaft. This gear
meshed into the cogs of its companion wheel
on the end of the motor shaft. One of these
gear wheels was provided with lignum-vitae
cogs to deaden the noise.

A band-saw is operated at a high rate of
speed. It is a rare thing for an accident to
happen to it. But when the mishap comes
it is cause for momentary panic. If that

sharp-toothed ribbon of steel speeding round
at a terrific rate encounters an undiscovered
broken piece of a steel dog imbedded in the
log, either the teeth will be stripped from its
edge or the saw will be broken in twain and
sent like a streak of blue lightning writhing
through the mill, a terrible instrument of de-
struction, endangering life and machinery
until its momentum is exhausted. But one
such accident ever happened at the Folsom
mill. Its announcement was with a crash
heard high above the snarl and hum of the
machinery. At the warning all hands in-
stinctively ducked for safety. But the saw
did not come whipping and lashing through
the mill. Every one waited and wondered.
It was gone! It could not be found! Fur-

A view inside the old Folsom Sawmill — in the foreground the motor that operated the endless chain
pulling logs up out of the pond; in the centre the motor that operated the edger; on the right the
small amount of shafting that operated the cut-off, the sawdust conveyor, and the live rolls

396

The First and Only Electric'Run Sawmill

A baud-saw in position on the automatic filing machine at the old Folsom Sawmill

ther examination disclosed just a single brok-
en pane of glass in one of the windows. The
forty-foot length of tearing steel teeth had
gone out tandem through that small space.
It was found tangled up in a heap on the
ground outside the mill.

When these big band-saws are broken or
dulled they are brazed and repaired in the
filing room, and sharpened automatically on
a machine. They are placed on an oval-
shaped carriage, with the teeth projecting up-
ward. A shifter moves the saw along the
space of a tooth at a time. A small revolv-
mg emery wheel, adjusted above it, drops on
each tooth for a few seconds, then lifts, and
drops on the succeeding one, as the shifter
brings each tooth along to place. All this
at the Folsom mill was op>erated by a small

motor. The man in charge governed the
operation.

The lumber traveled on the live rolls from
the saw to the edger, which in turn was
operated by its own motor. The edger man
must decide at once into what subdivision
each board or slab shall be cut, so as to save
the clear lumber and get all there is out of
it. Then, adjusting his levers, he speeds it
through to the cut-offs, where two men adjust
saws and trim the ends, giving the boards
or scantlings the merchantable lengths. After
leaving the cut-offs the lumber travels again
on the rolls to the sorting tables. There it
is loaded on the small cars, and is hauled
on a horse railway to the yard.

Turntables and tracks led into every alley
in the yard, at the Folsom mill, and at the

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

opposite side other turntables and tracks led to
the box factory at the lower end of the yard.

The curve-sided slabs from the outside
of the logs were sent on other rolls to cut-
offs, and were made into cord-wood. Later
this cord-wood was hauled to the nearby
railroad for transportation, principally to
Sacramento, twenty-two miles down-river.

The rated capacity of the Folsom mill was
about 1 20,000 linear feet of lumber a day.

In the operation of a sawmill it is a case
of "hurry up" all the time. From the tap
of the gong, when the lumber begins to leave
the saw and to stream through the mill, every
man Jack has his hands full to keep it in

motion until it leaves for the yard. If any-
thing goes wrong and the lumber piles up
anywhere the mill has to be shut down for
readjustment. The machinery is quieted, but
not the curses of the disappomted men.

The men are selected for their experience
and ability, and each is ambitious to be a
"top-notcher" in his specialty. The healthful
scent of the fresh clean lumber gets in a man's
blood. He does team-work with his fellows
to make the "Ole Mill" turn out more lumber
than her rated capacity. And generally the
crew at that electric-run Folsom sawmill
made her hum and snarl and come close to
doing all she could possibly do in a day.

The Folsom Prison Power House, showing the company's dam up-stream and from it the canal along
the near bank of the river — the small buildings are watch towers for the alert guards with repeat-
ing rifles

The world has no kind of use far him that 's always

glum;
The man who has a grievance is the man all people

shun;
For folks have troubles of their own; your woes just

merely bore ;
Brace up, keep mum, an' grin, old sport, an'
Do n't get sore.

For the man who wins is the man who works.
Who neither trouble nor labor shirks.
Who uses his hands, his head, his eyes;
The man who wins is the man who tries.

A man with his health

Is a mine jammed with wealth.

.398

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine matter how inaccurately their predecessors

may have reduced them) these new officials
are then public benefactors! If they raise

JOHN A. BRIXTON

ARCHIE RICE -

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER

Editor {^g^ ^^^y a,.g jj^gj^ corporation hirelings!

Editor °

Business Manager

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription 50 cents

Single copy 10 cents

Matter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Vol. I

FEBRUARY, 1910

No. i»

EDITORIAL

Rate-fixing is a duty sometimes

California
Needs
Rate-Fixing
Commission

imposed on city or county
officials. It is not the personal
desire of the men themselves.
Popular election does not en-
dow the victors with more knowledge of busi-
ness affairs than they previously possessed.

The average county supervisor is just an
average citizen, a good deal like the rest of
us. Aside from his private business he must
give a small part of his time to the manage-
ment of public matters that in the aggregate
represent investments and conditions of far
greater magnitude and diversity than his own.
There arise hundreds of civic subjects for his
consideration. Some of these matters require

In some of the states where public ques-
tions are gradually receiving a more scientific
and exact treatment, the subject of rate-fixing
has been delegated to a state commission.
Thus it is now in Massachusetts, Wisconsin,
and New York. The commission is com-
posed of specially qualified men of known
integrity. They investigate and report. When
such men under such conditions set a local
rate it is influenced by neither sentiment nor
partisanship, by neither gallery nor graft. It
IS a fair rate based on local conditions in
each city.

Let us have such a commission in Cali-
fornia.

More Time for Prize Suggestions

The cash-prize contest on "How to Get
New Consumers" has been extended. In-
dividual manuscripts not exceeding four hun-
dred words in length will be received as late
as March 3 1 st. The first prize will be $20
and the next three prizes will be $10 each.
From among thirty-five hundred employees in
the exact knowledge and skill of a specially twenty-one districts but thirteen contributions
trained expert. were received. The hope was to secure rep-

Yet our average citizen is expected to solve resentation that would in the aggregate supply
them off-hand. As soon as he is elected to a the company not only with the real prize
supervisorial or municipal board he is ex- winners but with the ideas of other thoughtful
pected to be able to grapple with the manifold men familiar with the specific methods and
items and complications connected with the conditions of their particular localities. Then,
cost of the manufacture and distribution of in the aggregate, the company would have a
gas. But it takes an expert to analyze the splendid fund of effective methods for use in
subject. An expert can do it with a degree the getting of new business. The localities
of exactitude and fairness — if he be given represented by the thirteen contributors, all of
scope and time. whom have been notified that they may now.

According to the present plan in Califor- if they wish, recall and revise their papers,
nia and many of the other states, the changing are San Francisco headquarters building (2),
party officials must annually fix the rates for San Francisco at large (2), Oakland (2),
water, gas, and other service. The result is Alameda, Ocean View, San Mateo, Santa
this: If the rate-fixers reduce the rates (no Rosa, Sacramento, Electra, De Sabla.

The Lee- Wise Dinner

JANUARY 29th was a Saturday, and all
that day the district managers and the
division superintendents of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, gathered from points
within a radius of two hundred miles, had
been in joint session m the assembly room of
the San Francisco headquarters building par-
ticipating in one of their monthly conferences.
So it came about very conveniently that they
and other officials and the department heads
of the company assembled that evening for an
informal dinner that was to be their "good-by
and good luck" to two retiring engineers.

Eighty men were present m their business
garb, and but two of the managers or super-
intendents were absent. The gathering was
probably the most complete representation
of the company's managing forces ever
assembled.

When it came time for the speeches John
A. Britton, the vice-president and general
manager, in announcing the resignation of
F. V. T. Lee as assistant general manager
and of James H. Wise as civil and hydraulic
engineer, paid each a feeling tribute and
specified the valuable services each had ren-
dered the company.

To F. V. T. Lee was then presented a
large photograph album bound in black
morocco, the corners elapsed with heavy
silver work containing the trademark of the
company illuminated in blue enamel. On the
first of the forty or more heavy detachable
leaves was a presentation sentiment from the
signers, the lettering being beautifully hand-
illumined in old English script, with the
name Francis V. T. Lee in colors and
centrally conspicuous. Following the tribute
were two more pages covered with the auto-
garphs of the eighty and a few others after-
ward added. The subsequent pages will,
as soon as the work is completed, contain a
comprehensive pictorial collection of all the
company's power plants, many of its sub-

stations, places of interest throughout the
system, and pictures of the men who signed.
To James H. Wise was given a portable flat
camera in a dark leather case. Each memento
was selected as the specific token that would
most practically appeal to the recipient, who
would value it for its associations and not for
the intrinsic investment.

Both men made speeches expressing their
thanks but tinged with a little embarrassment
and something akin to sadness at leaving. For
four years Lee had been with the company,
and Wise's term had been six.

After impromptu speches had been made
by Frank G. Drum, president of the com-
pany, by Garret W. McEnerney, E. C.
Jones, A. F. Hockenbeamer, Paul M.
Downing, George C. Holberton, and J. E.
Poingdestre the key-note of the occasion,
despite the orchestral airs, had become an
expression of sad farewell to two well-liked
and well-valued men mixed with a pretty
general incidental tribute to John A. Britton
as the inspiration to good work.

A flashlight picture was taken of the
assemblage. A halftone reduction of the
photograph is used as a frontispiece in this
number of the magazine. The naming is
generally by rows from right to left, starting
with the long row standing. Just back of the
central table are seated J.
dent Drum, and F. V. T.

The picture shows:

George C. Holberlon, E. B. Henley, J. F. Butler,

F. E. Oldis, William Hughes, J. D. Butler, Leon B.
Jones, W. B. Barry, C. J. Wilson, H. C. Vensano,

G. C. Robb, A. H. Burnett, J. H. Pape, A. C. Mc-
David, F. E. Cronise, C. W. McKiilip, F. S. Gray,
R. J. Cantrell, H. C. Parker, H. B. Heryford,
George B. Furness, A. R. Parratt, S. V. Walton,
George N. Stroh, J. P. Coghlan, D. M. Young,
C. E. Young, W. M. Henderson, W. E. Eskew,
J. H. Hunt, W. E. Osborne, F. A. Leach, Jr.,
Thomas D. Fetch, Wallace H. Foster, Leo H. Sus-
man, F. H. Varney, John A. Britlon, D. H. Foote,
George Kirk, P. M. Downing, 1. B. Adams,
H. C. Bothin, H. W. Cooper, F. V. T. Lee.

H
Lee.

ise.

400

Men of the Company

W. R. Arthur, Joseph P. Baloun, Harry Boslwick,
S. J. Lisberger, C. F. Adams, J. O. Tobey,
O. E. Clark, C. D. Clark, C. R. Gill, J. E. Poing-
destre, A. J. Stephens, W. C. J. Finely, Archie Rice,
J. O. Hansen, J. W. Hall, F. R. George, John D.
Kuster, E. W. Florence, George Scrafe, Frank G.

Drum, James H. Wise, W. R. Morgan, J. C. Love,
Garrett W. McEnerney, Sherwood Grover, John
Werry, A. C. Beck, L. H. Newberl, W. H. Kline,
C. L. Barrett, John S. Drum, A. F. Hockenbeamer,
E. C. Jones, F. D. Stringham, Gus White, George
H. Bragg.

F. V. T. LEE

Retiring Assistant General Manager

IT MAY be set down as a general proposi-
tion that it is difficult to write of a man
whom you know well, but more particularly
difficult to write a biographical sketch. Jus-
tice can not be done to the past life of one
whom you have known only during a certain
number of years, and it should not be the
aim of the biographer to "accentuate or set
down aught in malice."

The subject of this sketch has been closely
allied to the writer for four years, thinking
each day the same thoughts and trying to
work out the same problems. Men so con-
nected in any business are probably mora
closely associated than in any other relation
of life; the fads and foibles, the even and
uneven points in each are generally well
brought out and thoroughly understood.

Friendships thus formed are more lasting
than those made by casual acquaintance or
occasional contact. When the tie that binds
is loosened then the biographer while writing
feels that the things that might be said can
not well be expressed.

The following sketch is based on informa-
tion and personal knowledge, but while it
does not do justice to the subject, it may
answer the purpose for which it is intended.

that of saying good-by to a friend through
the medium of the company's magazine.

F. V. T. Lee? Oh yes, every one in
the Pacific and San Francisco companies
knows Mr. Lee, and a great aggregation out-
side of these companies knows him, but very
few know his full name, so here it is —

Francis Valentine Toldevy Lee.
This was given to him by his parents, pater
F. V. T., senior, mater Frances Dorinda
Byrnes. From his father, a British army
officer, he inherited his desire for discipline;
from his mother his gentleness; and from both
his good breeding.

He was born in Winchester, England, in
1870. This is an unimportant detail, but
mentioned to establish his maturity. He was
deprived at the age of seven of a mother's
love and care and grew to youth under the
guidance of his father. Traveling with this
parent he early saw Greece, Italy, and other
parts of Europe. Then he went to school,
in Paris, but at the early age of fourteen he
lost his paternal guardianship, and was forced
to a new view of life.

Resourceful and ambitious, he came to
America when seventeen years of age, seek-
ing health first. In the wilds of Canada,

401

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

xjoBS^l

with the vanguard of the Canadian Pacific
Railroad builders — those men who in priva-
tion blaze the way for posterity — he caught
up with his disappearing physical stamina,
and in rough living and in the endurance of
hardships he linked it to himself again.

At twenty he dared the field of work in
the demanding city of New York, and as the
assistant of E. E. Stark, superintendent of
the Manhattan Electric Company, he found

F. V. T. Lee

himself. Seeing the possibilities in the then
comparatively new field of science, he, on
friendly advice, determined to take a college
course, and entered Stanford University in
1 893. Incidentally he worked his way
through, for when he took up life for him-
self the silver spoon was not in his mouth.
He solved the moot questions as to whether
or not a successful man would be more suc-
cessful with a college education, or whether
a college education should precede or follow
a business or scientific career. He toiled up
the hill of labor, and near the crest took his
degree of A. B. to make his hold fast.

Leaving college, where he had been the
secretary and companion of the late Dr.
F. A. C. Perrine, he allied himself with that
builder of men and enterprises, John Martin,
and became an individual factor in the in-
stallation of many hydro-electric plants.

In 1 899, feeling the need of help in his
onward march, he took as a helpmeet —
that 's the word right here — Edith K. Bon-
nallie, and the union has brought two spots
of sunshine into the home — Ruth and Mar-
garet.

Until 1 906 his experience in business and
engineering matters grew through affiliations
with John Martin & Co. and the Stanley
Electric Manufacturing Company.

"Alphabetical" some of his friends jok-
ingly call him, others say "Mathematical."
He is mathematical in exactitude to the extent
of the length, breadth, and thickness of a
gnat's whiskers.

In 1 906 he entered the employ of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and for
four years, as assistant to the president, has
made a record, has builded plants and or-
ganized men, has slaved and toiled as only
men who work for a large corporation do,
and has left enduring monuments to his en-
gineering ability. But, be'st of all, in his
leaving to chase again that elusive physical
betterment that escaped him once more,
during the eternal daily grind of the business,
he has left only friends in his associates.

F. V. T. Lee has not been a "jiner," but
has affiliated himself with the institutions that
are for the betterment of men, such as

American Institute Electrical Engineers,
American Society Mechanical Engineers,
American Gas Institute,
American Electro-Chemical Society,
American Society of Civil Engineers,
Pacific Coast Gas Association,
National Electric Light Association,
Institution of Electrical Engineers (London).

Perceptive in his qualities, critical in his
concept of himself, artistic by nature, with a
love for literature, music, and the arts, his

Men of the Company

fads are mathematics and photography. His Above all, F. V. T. Lee is a friend-getter
habits are the usual ones of such a man — and -keeper, with high moral aims and pur-
neither good or bad nor indifferent; his poses. Relieved from the strain of public-
peculiarities are many, so are yours and mine service-corporation work, watch for him to do
— a man without habits or peculiarities would things, for he possesses the requisites of youth
be a misfit somewhere. and purpose. J. A. B.

JAMES H. WISE
Retiring Civil and Hydraulic Engineer

ANY a head-piece is merely a hang- crocheting neckties and embroidering hat-

may be called Wise.

guess whether a man is posing as a poet or
boycotting the barbers. Occasionally the top
of the hedge is bristled to produce the effect
of height. But generally the more curl (just
short of the real kink), the longer the locks,
and the greater the looks from love-lorn
lassies !

But here 's a subject who wears little on
his head to deceive the most credulous. He
uses neither high-heels nor pompadour. From
the pavement to the top of his dome of
thought is exactly six feet. Add to this the
fact that he is not yet thirty or taken, but
"has more women friends than any other man
ever in the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany," and you gather that hair is not the
main thing, that curly locks do n't always
count the most with Cupid.

He has personality plus, and the wmsomeness
of his ready smile is so effective that it is said
that wherever in the mountain hotels of
California there are waitresses this young
hydraulic engineer is always brought the
choicest dishes.

It was preordained that he should be wise
and take a high position in the world. His
father was Wise before him, and where
"Jimmy" first located the land is a mile high. During the first ten years of his life he

That 's the way they refer to Denver when saw something of the mining regions of Colo-
advertising it as a convention city. It was the rado and New Mexico while accompanying
27th of February when James first caught his his father, who was a mining man.
breath in Colorado's capital. The date is At 1 2 he arrived in California, and in

not significant except to those who may be Alameda completed the grammar-school

James H. Wise

403

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

1^881^//

course. Then he entered the Lick School in
San Francisco, and was graduated at 19.
"He was a crackerjack in mathematics and
used to lend us pocket-money" is the com-
ment of one of his classmates at Lick.

The next scholastic move was back across
the bay to Berkeley. He entered the Univer-
sity of California, specializing in the college
of mining, and in June of 1 903 was gradu-
ated with the degree of bachelor of science.
"The crackerjack in mathematics" was then
invited to come back to the Lick School and
be an instructor. For a year he taught high-
school mathematics, that brain-drill that
makes for reasoning power, that equips the
student with the means of arguing from cause
to effect, of applying the mind to think out
the solution of a problem.

After one year as a teacher "the cracker-
jack in mathematics" entered the employ of
what is now the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company. He came at the instigation of
J. D. Galloway, at that time the company's
consulting engineer. At first he served as an
instrument man, then as a surveyor under the
consulting engineer, and in the construction
department under Frank G. Baum; survey-
ing, doing field work, engaged in power-plant
installation — first at De Sabla, then at Elec-
tra, then for seven or eight months upon the
Hendricks ditch system that supplies the De
Sabla plant, then at the Centreville plant, and
finally at the Deer Creek plant. Following
this practical field work he was summoned to
headquarters and made assistant to Baum in
his office, and served as such till that former
sufjerintendent resigned from the company to
become a consulting engineer. When Baum
went. Wise was made hydraulic and civil en-
gineer. And finally, after six years with the
company, he too became attracted by the lure
of private practice, and the first of the year
tendered his resignation to become a partner
with his friend Frank G. Baum, who, like
Wise, came up through this company and
attained distinction in its service and left it

with the best wishes of his associates and
chiefs.

At his graduation from the state university
James H. Wise was elected to membership in
the honorary technical society of Sigma Psi,
which enrolls each year the foremost tenth of
the class, and very recently he has been
elected to the honorary society of Tau Beta
Pi at Berkeley.

Those in the engineering world who know
"Jimmy" Wise well say, "Wait and watch
that man, because he is a wonder in his
specialty and he will make his mark high."
But aside from his efficiency as a hydraulic
engineer, there is about him that something
which IS better than special knowledge — a
big, kindly humanness and a cheery gentleness
that make him a man's man despite the fact
that feminine telephonic calls elect him by a
great plurality to the title of the "ladies' man."

When Mrs. Wise arrives may she be wise
enough to preserve that winning sunniness and
smile, and never change them to a look of
sadness. A. R.

A Busy Baseball Season Planned

"Play ball" is in the air again about the
headquarters building in San Francisco. The
local talent of the Pacific and San Francisco
companies has been consolidated, and an am-
bitious schedule of games has been outlined
for a prolonged season. Matches have been
arranged with Santa Clara College, St.
Ignatius College, Gas Workers Union, Stan-
ford University, U. S. Marines at Mare
Island, and Spring Valley Water Works,
and arrangements are being made for games
with University of California, Olympic Club,
Naval Training Station at Yerba Buena
Island, Pensacola, Presidio Post, Fort Miley,
Fort Baker, Labor Council, and other teams.
The San Francisco aggregation challenges
any of the other districts or divisions, and
suggests Oakland or Sacramento as a neutral
meeting place.

404

Interviewing Dissatisfied Customers'

By JOHN CLEMENTS. Solicitor, Oakland District.

How to deal with dissatisfied Now what will we do about it? We are

customers is a hard problem. It going to investigate the complainant's claim,
is especially so when the person We are going to see if the fault lies with us.
registers a kick against the pub- We are going to see if the meter readings
lie service corporation. As a have been correctly returned. If we find the
rule such complainers come with readings correct we will further investigate
a predetermined verdict against by testing the meter. If the meter prove cor-
They feel or assume to feel rect we will help him then to look for any

fault in the installation that may be the
cause of the trouble, and will advise him
what best to do to reduce his bills.

Many times persons have said to me: "I
can not believe that you really care anything

the company

that the corporation is constantly planning
how it can get the advantage. As proof posi-
tive of this the kicker will cite articles he has
read in the newspapers, showing up the cor-
poration's base methods. Yet when ques-
tioned closely as to his general belief in the about me or the size of my bill as long as
truth of many statements made on other sub- you can get all the money out of me that
jects by the press, he will frankly acknowl- you think I will stand." Such remarks may
edge his doubts; many are for purposes of be supplemented with many harsh words and
agitation. But agitation is truly an Ameri- impossible charges as to the methods of the

can method. All or nearly all of our laws
are the result of agitation. Many of the
good things which vve receive at the hands of
our public servants are the result of agitation.
Note the many so-called congresses that

public service corporations in general and
this one in particular. But I say: "Now
let us reason together. We have not come to
demand of you anything more than is justly
due. We would much prefer that your bills

meet throughout this country; note the so- were smaller, for then you would be a bet-
called chambers of commerce ; note the dis- ter satisfied consumer, and a satisfied con-
trict and ward improvement clubs in every sumer usually says good things of those with

town and city. None of them has power to
act, but they agitate; and often very good
results come of this agitation.

The effect of all this tends to make the
public service corp>oration more watchful of
its business interests, more careful in its treat-
ment of complaining consumers.

The complaining consumer usually begins
by telling you that you have charged him (or
her) for more gas, electricity, water than
he ever used. "I know! I have not used!

whom he has dealings and the result is a
favorable advertisement. A dissatisfied cus-
tomer is a bad recommendation. Public
service corporations are just as eager, and try
just as hard, to please you as people in other
lines of business. There is no other founda-
tion on which they can stand and long con-
tinue in business."

A reasonable person will listen with respect
to a statement of the case from the stand-
point of the public service corporation. In

any such an amount! and I tell you right extreme cases of discontent the personal inter-
now! that I will not pay any such bill! What view redounds to the benefit of the corpora-
are you going to do about it?" tion using this plan.

'Digest of paper read before the seventeenth annual convention of the Pacific Coast Gas Associa-
tion at San Francisco in September of 1909.

405

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The man or woman who comes downtown
to make a complaint has generally warmed
up to the occasion before leaving home, and
is fully determined to have it out with the
company.

One day not very long ago a letter was
handed me by the district manager. The
author of that letter was evidently in a calo-
rific state of mind. He warned us that we
had this time picked out the wrong man to
rob; demanded an immediate investigation;
his gas bill was too high. The sum involved
was less than two dollars for the month. But

■of course we would investigate. I called at
his house and learned that he was employed
in a planing mill ; that he would not be home
until 5 o'clock. I left word with his wife
that I would call again later in the evening;
and I did. I found this young man, as I
have found many other persons who pen
harsh letters, to be a very pleasantly disposed

person. I introduced myself as the represen-
tative of the gas company. I told him I had

•called to see if I could in any way help him
out of his trouble, and I assured him that I
was really eager to do so. I did not in any
way refer to his letter or the harsh words

Tit had used toward us. I found that the
young couple had a small gas range and a

•circulating water heater of the ordinary type.
The appliance had been in use only a short
time and was of standard make, so there was
no fault to be found with it. It was there-
fore a case of reasoning with these young

'people and taking an interest in their welfare.
They had been told that, as there were only

the two in the family, their fuel bill should
not be more than half as much as a neighbor

In whose family were double the number.
"Suppose," I said, "you are preparing a

meal for two and you boiled potatoes. The
time required is usually forty minutes. Now
for two persons, we will say, you put in the

toiler three potatoes. Your neighbor, having
four in the family, uses six potatoes; she, like

^fourself, cooks them in just forty minutes.

Again you are going to bake a dozen biscuits,
enough, we will say, for two persons at a
single meal. Now you would warm up your
oven, say, for five minutes, place the biscuits
in the oven, and in from fifteen to twenty
minutes they would be ready for the table.
Your neighbor, having four in the family,
bakes two dozen biscuits in just the same
time that you do, and uses the same amount
of fuel as you do."

This required a little time and patience,
but proved quite convincing to this man who
had demanded investigation but had not in-
vestigated for himself. As I was leaving the
house he referred to the letter he had written
to the company and wanted me to say to the
manager that he was sorry he had not been
more reasonable in his demands for investi-
gation. This visit made a friend of a man
who might, under other conditions, have re-
mained an enemy and an agitator.

I called on a professional man, an M. D.,
who had refused to pay his bills for the good
and sufficient reason that he knew he had not
used as much gas as usual ; in fact, for the
time covered by the bills in question he had
not used any at all. If necessary, he could
prove this to any one willing to be honest and
listen to the truth! The truth is what I want
to find in all such cases.

"Now," said I to this doctor, "let us get
down to the truth; let us investigate. I have
been over your account in the company's
books, and fail to find an error; your meters
have been tested and found to be in correct
registration. The last statement I have my-
self compared with the readings of today, and
it proves to be correct. There must be some
other item to be looked into."

I had noticed that two months' bills were
unpaid. His reason for this was that he
deemed it necessary that some adjustment be
made by the gas company. One of the bills
was too high, because he had not used the
gas! I asked him to give me the proof that
he had said he could give. At this request

406

I Mm I

Interviewing Dissatisfied Customers

he smiled and said: "Now I have you in great scholars call it. It was a very pretty

a corner. The reason I know I did not use
the gas is that I bought and had installed a
coal range."

"Well, well!" I said, "so you are not
using any gas? You have not used any gas

home of the bungalow type, a nice modera
gas grate was burning in the room where I
was seated, and through the portiers in an-
other room I could see gas grate number two
burning. In addition to these I afterward

for any purpose for more than two months?" found a standard make of gas range and a

"Oh yes, we used some gas. We have a waterheater. Presently the professor came

small bedroom heater and a small plate on into the room. I told him I had come ia

the coal range. But you know they would answer to his letter of complaint. He laughed

not use any such amount as you have charged and said, "Well, I suppose you fellows in the

me for. So you see you have lost your case." office, knowing that it is near annual dividend

"It does look rather dark." I said, "but time, are trying to make as good a showmg

let us open it up again; let us have a retrial. as possible! At least, it would seem so, as

Would you mind letting me see the bill for I find there is a general complaint of exces-

the coal range and the expense for installing sive bills; much higher than they were a

it." He said he would be pleased to have me month or two ago."

see the bill as that would be proof of dates. I said, "My dear sir, I hope you will par-

"But," he remarked, "the bills are at my don me if I do not make any answer tO'

office." your little joke, for I surely can but regard

"Very well," I said, "the proof of date such a statement as a joke."
is what I want." Then I went on and told him that we had

I gave him my address and telephone num- made a thorough investigation of his account,

ber and asked him to call me up as soon as had tested his meters, followed up the meter

he had found the bills relating to the coal statement, and verified it.
range and that then I would be pleased to "Professor." I said, "to prove that you

call again. He never called me up. But are sound in the position you take in this mat-

a check came in a few days for his account ter of two persons not being able to use so

in full. I met him several months afterward much gas as you are charged with, allow me

on a street car. He recognized me and to submit a simple problem. Suppose that

laughingly said he was all wrong about the you and I, or any other two persons, enter

date of the installation of that coal range. this room at, say, 7:30 a. m. ; we feel chilly;

"Another thing I want to tell you," he said, we consult the thermometer and find the tem-

"is I have a better opinion of the gas com- perature to be, say 40 degrees Fahrenheit,

pany since you called on me and took so Now. in order to make the room comfortable
much pains to clear the matter up.

Then there was a college professor who
wrote a very sarcastic and very firm letter.
He knew the company was trying to take

undue advantage of him. It was impossible swer to this problem answers your letter. I

for two persons to use the number of cubic may go into your kitchen and apply the same

feet of gas with which he had been charged! rule there."

When I called on him it was in the even- "Never mind doing that," he said, "but

ing, and it was in the rainy season. Hand- what would you advise me to do in order to

ing my card to a son of Nippon, I was ush- reduce my bills?"
ered into the sitting room, or den, as these I replied by asking if he thought that by

407

we must raise the temperature, say 30 de-
grees. How much gas or any other fuel
should it take to do this for two persons?
How much. say. for six persons? The an-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

using coal or wood in each of the places
where he was then using gas his bills for fuel
would be any less. He frankly answered "no."
"If you exercise watchfulness and care,"
I said, "you may be able to reduce the cost.
A gas fire is one that you can control much
better than any other when you have the de-
sired temperature in your rooms; you can
cut down the flame so that the maximum heat
may be maintained at the minimum of cost;
in the kitchen when water has been brought
to the boiling point or the heat in the oven
has reached the desired point for baking, you
can control it in the same manner. By a little
close attention to these points the operator will
soon become really skillful, not only in doing

good work but in the matter of keeping down
the cost. Read your meters, check them
with the statements rendered by the company.
Here is a card which will give you full in-
formation on this point. We shall be pleased
at any time and at all times to do whatever
we can to satisfy you to the fullest extent of
our ability."

He was profuse in his thanks for the visit
and for the interest taken by the company.

Enough has been cited to show that in
many instances a personal interview redounds
to the best interest of the public service cor-
poration. Many a man or woman appreci-
ates a little personal attention, and after re-
ceiving it becomes the company's friend.

"Bucking the Tiger"

THIS is not a meeting of the vestry. These the formerly well known pastime of "bucking
men, according to J. W. Hall, manager the tiger." The picture shows a "faro lay-
of the Stockton water district, are engaged in out" in palmy mining days on the old Tuol-
umne river. Faro,
common to all new
mining camps, has
been described as the
squarest gambling
game a man can
tackle, if he must
gamble; but in
police-regulated com-
munities faro is sup-
posed to be prohibit-
ed. Hence this
glimpse behind the
scenes for those who
have only read of
the game, a favorite
of the old-time miner
in the early days of
California.

408

The Company's Private Talk-Line System

By R. J. CANTRELL, Property Agent.

The train dispatcher's office lose by enforced darkness. They want serv-

is the nerve-centre of a railroad's ice; they have their own troubles. It is up

operating system. The dispatcher to the electric company to deliver the goods

IS one of a group of expert all the time, or the merchant will adopt some

telegraphers sitting silently in a surer method of lighting,

big room where every instant. In developing its system the Pacific Gas

day and night, the clatter of the and Electric Company combined and then

telegraph clicker reports from hundreds of
stations the progress of trains. It is the dis-
patcher's business to keep his head, to facili-
tate the movement of traffic, to avoid block-
ades, to prevent collisions. And he must do

joined by copper wire nineteen electric plants
and more than one hundred electric distribut-
ing stations. Then it established a load-dis-
patcher's office at Oakland, and it connected
that office by a special telephonic service with

it by lightning-flash orders back to the stations the nineteen generating plants and the hun-

to hold this train till that one passes, to side- dred substations. The load-dispatcher, like

track that freight at such a point, instead of the railroad train-dispatcher, is ever on duty,

further on, to clear the track for an express He is intently watching his electric volt-

that has just been reported a little delayed.

The chief dispatcher, with his corps of
attentive telegraphers, feels every pulse-beat
of the system. It is his lookout to keep the
traffic moving with the least possible delay;
to regulate the flow of trains so as to avoid
confusion and mishaps.

An electric company with one generating
plant may do business for a long time with-
out a stop. Then its troubles may come in
a close series. Twice, thrice in a week acci-
dents may happen, and lights fail. Excuses
do not restore the profits that storekeepers

meters, every clock-like dial telling by the
sway of its sensitive hand the flow of current
from a certain plant, the increasing or de-
creasing use of energy in a certain section.
He watches, and as he watches he uses the
telephone. He operates switches. He turns
more current here, less there. If a generat-
ing plant suddenly fail, he closes a switch
and lets some of the mighty system's energy
flood back that way to relieve the shortage.
Everywhere the consumer must get serv-
ice, no matter what may be the local mishap
at the nearest generating plant.

THE COMP.VNVS TELEPHONE CORPS .VI' CEXTR.VL

f^ f^ ^^ fl P

409

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

yjtljjljg^jj

In perfecting this method a private tele-
phone system was a necessity. In addition
to all the facilities of the commercial tele-
phone companies, the electric company estab-
lished a special service consisting of a private
submarine cable across San Francisco bay
and a trunk line running zigzag to various
stations along a route more than four hundred
miles in length.

It created lines of quick conversational
communication with the nineteen electric
plants and their hundred substations, with the
company's eighteen gas works, with its water
works in Stockton, with its street-car system
in Sacramento, with its two extensive irrigat-
ing systems along the slopes of the Sierras,
and with its two mountain sawmills. It spun
a web embracing many mountain reservoirs,
scores of miles of flumes, and hundreds of
miles of pole lines and their scores of ever-
watchful patrolmen. It joined its San Fran-
cisco headquarters building with all these

four hours of every day-and-night period.
They are ever ready. If by any mishap the
private telephone line fail they switch to the
commercial lines. Every part of the mam-
moth system in twenty-seven counties, from
Chico to Fresno, from the crests of the
Sierras down to the sea, is tapped by a talk-
wire. In the main office in San Francisco
alone the private service consists of ninety
local telephones. There are nine in the
supply warehouse at Fifth and Tehama
streets, so that rush orders can be started
from there with a rush. In the headquarters
building the various officials and depart-
ments on the six floors are connected by a
house system of twenty private telephonic
stations, supplemented by the latest perfected
whisper-phone system for exclusive communi-
cation between departments. In the San
Francisco complaint department there are
also four telephone operatives stationed at a
specially constructed board to receive and in-

places and with the private offices of the stantly to assign each complaint to the proper
managers of its twenty-two territorial districts department.

in twenty-seven counties, with the offices of
its twenty-one division superintendents, and
with the stations or homes of its scores of
section foremen. Then it weaved into this
interconnecting network the private homes of
all its officers, all its heads of departments,
and its corps of special electric, hydraulic,
mechanical, civil, and gas engineers, so that
any one needed could be reached at any hour
of the day or night. The scheme was per-
fected to make it possible for the company
to live up to its slogan "At your service day
and night."

In the headquarters building on Sutter
street in San Francisco was established the
operating centre of this comprehensive plan
of intercommunication. A light, airy room
was reserved for the special switchboard, and
adjoining it was provided a rest-room and
other conveniences for the comfort of the staff
of seven central telephonic operatives whose
services run in relays throughout the twenty-

The human element that keeps this tele-
phonic system ever ready, day and night,
weekdays and Sundays, workdays and holi-
days, is the corps of sev^n young women
whose pictures illustrate this article. Their
alertness and cheerfulness is the key to the
circuit, and the perfection of the system is the
realization of the company's desire to be "A
House of Courtesy" "At your service day
and night."

Frank J. Griffin, chief accountant at San
Rafael for the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, has been appointed agent at Milt
Valley.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company
representatives in San Francisco are out with
a challenge to the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Company to get into a bowling
tournament.

410

ER50NALS

Sherwood Grover is a graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania.

Charles J. Sellner of the electric meter
department at Oakland studied four years,
ending in 1901, at Polytechnicum Cothen
and Ilmenau in Germany.

A. Eliason of the electric meter depart-
ment at Oakland is a University of California
graduate, class of 1 899, and received the
degree B. S.

A. B. Sanderson, an engineer at the Mar-
tin Station gas works, near San Francisco, is
a mechanical engineering graduate of Stan-
ford University, class of 1905.

E. C. Jones, chief engineer of the gas de-
partment and librarian of the Pacific Coast
Gas Association, has been elected to mem-
bership in the California Library Association.

F. V. T. Lee delivered an address at
Stanford University February 7th embodying
practical advice to students in the engineering
department, from which he was graduated
thirteen years ago.

W. P. Taylor, an employee in the Marin
district, has resigned his position as steno-
grapher at San Rafael to be secretary to
John C. Kirkpatrick, manager of the Palace
Hotel and other Sharon estate properties.

Latest additions make the report of col-
lege men in the company read thus: total
109, representing thirteen European, one
Canadian, and thirty-five American colleges,
with the University of California represented
by thirty-two, and Stanford by twenty-one
men.

•W

Otto A. Knopp, who is at the head of the
electric meter department in Oakland, spent
two collegiate years at Polytechnicum
Cothen, and three at Techiusche Hochschule
at Charlattenburg, Germany, where he re-
ceived the degree E. E. in 1 900.

Nevada City and Grass Valley begin the
day earlier than any other towns in all Cali-
fornia. Mountain stages and the little nar-
row-gauge train leave before the world is
awake, and hotel breakfasts are always by
lamplight. So it happened as a matter of
course when Daniel C. Stewart was married
at Grass Valley February 3d it was a 4 A.M.
ceremony with an early wedding breakfast
and an early-started bridal trip by train to
the coast cities. "Dan" Stewart has been
with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
in Nevada County longer than any other em-
ployee. He is popular with men, and he
proved so popular with the women that in
selecting the present Mrs. Stewart, who was
Miss Mary Upton, an acquaintance since
their childhood days in Grass Valley, he got
a wife of whom the "Daily Transcript," in
writing of the wedding and its company of
relatives, declared: "Mrs. Stewart is one of
the sweetest of Grass Valley's young women.
She was born in this city, graduated with
honors from the Grass Valley high school,
took up nursing and completed her course a
few months ago at the Lane Hospital in San
Francisco. Quiet and unassuming in her
manner, sweet and gracious to all with whom
she came in contact, and untiring in her de-
votion to her friends and family, she has won
a place in the hearts of those who know her
that will cause them to love and respect her."
The article also mentions some of the young
man's good points, but who 's interested in a

groom

411

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

F. B. Anderson
Henry E. Bothin
John A. Britton
W. H. Crocker
E. J. De Sabla, Jr.

DIRECTORS

F. G. Drum
John S. Drum

D. H. FOOTE

a. f. hockenbeamer
John Martin

Louis Monteagle
Cyrus Pierce
Leon Sloss
Joseph S. Tobin
George K. Weeks

OFFICERS

F. G. Drum President

John A. Britton Vice-Pres. and Gen. Mgr.

A. F. Hockenbeamer Treas. and Comptroller

D. H. Foote Secretary

Charles L. Barrett Asst. Secretary

W. R. EcKART Consulting Engineer

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

W. B. Bosley Attorney

J. C. Love Auditor

W. H. Kline General Agent

R. J. Cantrell Property Agent

J. H. Hunt Purchasing Agent

J. P. CoGHLAN Manager Claims Dept.

S. V. Walton Manager Commercial Dept.

E. B. Henley Manager Land Dept.

F. E. Cronise Manager New-Business Dept.

-Vrchie Rice Manager Publicity Dept.

E. C. Jones Engr, Gas Dept.

P. M. Downing Engr. O. & M. Hyd.-Elec. Sect.

F. H. Varney Engr. O. & M. Steam & Gas Eng. Sect.

H. C. Vensano Civil Engineer

C. F. Adams Engr. of Electric Construction

George C. Holbebton Engineer

S. J. Lisberger Engineer

George C. Robb Supt. of Supplies

H. BosTWiCK Secretary to President

DISTRICT MANAGERS

Berkeley P. A. Leach, Jk.

Chico H. B. Heryford

Colusa W. M. Henderson

Fresno E. W. Florence

Grass Valley John Werry

MARYSVILLE J. E. POINGDESTRE

Marin W. H. Foster

Napa O. E. Clark

Woodland..

Nevada City John Werry

Oakland F. A. Leach. Jr.

Petaluma H. Weber

Redwood City L. H. Newbebt

Sacramento C. W. McKillip

San Jose J._D. Kuster

Santa Rosa Thomas D. Petch

Vallejo A. J. Stephens

W. E. OSBORN

MANAGERS OF WATER DISTRICTS

Auburn W. R. Arthur Placer Division H. M. Cooper. Supt.

Nevada George Scarfe Standard W. E. Eskew

Stockton J. W. Hall

SUPERINTENDENTS OF POWER DIVISIONS

Colgate I. B. Adams

De Sabla D. M. Young

Electra W. E. Eskew

Mary-rville C. E. Young

Nevada City George Scarfe

North Tower C. D. Clark

Oakland William Hughes

Sacramento W. C. J. Finely

San Jose J. O. Hansen

SoirrH Tower A. H. Burnett

SUPERINTENDENTS OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

Berkeley J. H. Pafe Oakland C. J. Wil.son S.wramento C. R. Gill

San Jose A. C. Ramsted

SUPERINTENDENTS OF GAS WORKS

San Francisco Dennis J. Lucey Sacramento Edward S. Jones

Oakland A. C. Beck San Jose R. H. Hargreaves

Martin Station John Mitchell

SUPERINTENDENTS OF GAS DISTRIBUTION

San Francisco W. R. Morgan Oakland George Kirk

412

Vol. I

Contents for March

No. 10

BIRDSEYE VIEW OF COLGATE POWER PLANT .... Frontispiece

STORY OF COLGATE AND YUBA POWER PLANTS Archie Rice . . 413

"THE BEST HORSE AT COLGATE" ........ 428

EDITORIAL 429

FIRE DO NTS R.J.Canlrell . 429

SUNSHINE E.C.Jones . . 430

MEN OF THE COMPANY— FRANK A. LEACH, JR. A. R. . . . 432

ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION TROUBLES . . . C.F.Adams . 433

ELECTRIC SERVICE OF THE PENINSULAR TOWNS LeeH.Newbcri . 437

(A PICTORIAL FISH-STORY) J. W. Hall . . 441

SIX NEW APPOINTMENTS IN THE COMPANY 442

G.^S MEN TO CONVENE AT LOS ANGELES 443

(VIEW OF THE OAKLAND GAS WORKS) 443

ELECTRIC PUMPING FOR STREET SPRINKLING . Frank A. Leach. Jr. 444

SWAM A RIVER TO SAVE A POLE-LINE 443

PERSONALS 446

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS Facing 446

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

MARCH, 1910

No. 10

The Story of Colgate and Yuba Power Plants

By ARCHIE RICE, Publicity Manager.

Nowhere in the world, prob- nice engineering preserves a gradual fall of

ably, is a huge, modern, hydro- twelve and two-thirds feet to the mile. So,

electric development more by the time the flume water has arrived oppo-

^, graphically shown at one site the power house it is ready to take a

^^B glance than m a general view single perpendicular drop of seven hundred

' of the famous Colgate power and two feet, or more than four times the

plant, on the Pacific side of height of Niagara Falls,

the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the north- That gentle diversion of an impetuous

eastern part of California, some one hundred river to produce an artificial fall at a given

and forty miles by power-line from the cities spot and there convert the water power into

of San Francisco bay. There, where the definite energy, spouting from nozzles against

Yuba River gushes down between thousand- water-wheel buckets, is the main principle of

foot evergreen ridges in Yuba County, a long hydro-electric engineering. The greater the

stone building squats close along the water's fall and volume of water, the greater the hy-

edge, with its back to a steep, rugged slope. draulic power that can be obtained to turn

Straight up that incline for a quarter of a
mile the eye traces five enormous black pipe-
lines that obviously come into the power
house from a great wooden flume that is seen
clinging high along the side of the mountain.

THE RIVER DAM

the wheels of the big magnetic devices that
generate electric current.

THE FLUME

That remarkable flume is seven and six-
tenths miles long, and it is seven feet wide
and five feet deep. It is almost level full
Eight miles upstream from the power of water that rushes along with a flow of
house is a massive, granite diverting dam 12,000 miner's inches a second; a flow so
across a narrow point in the river canon. swift that a man must be a Marathon runner
The river has hurried over its rocky, gold- to keep up with it ; and so powerful that
sprinkled bed for thousands of years, de- neither man nor animal ever gets out of it
scending by many little rapids in making an alive, if, perchance, the feet slip off the
aggregate drop of one hundred feet to the double plank which runs midway along on
mile. But the big flume that ingenious man top of the cross beams that strengthen the
devised winds majestically along the preci- box-like structure. Day and night watchmen
pices and slopes like a scenic railway, and by walk those planks that are laid almost on

415

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

the surging rush of water and half a thousand
feet above the bed of the river.

When that flow of 23,000 cubic feet of
water a minute comes down the hillside
through all five of those thirty-inch pipes,
tapered to nozzle-ends the thickness of a
man's arm, the water shoots out in four-inch
streams more terrific in force than any fire

with a force of three hundred and four
pounds to the square inch, a steady
three-hundred-pound blow on every little
space the size of a silver quarter-dollar, a
constant ten-ton thrust against each water
wheel. Such is the power of the water at
the Colgate plant. And that tremendous
battery of shooting streams turns the wheels

DOBBINS

GRASS VALLEY

3 MILES /

S.P.U.

Showing the location of the Colgate and Yuba Power Plants, the ditches, dams, rivers, and power-lines

engme ever produced, escapes with an im-
pulse so great that you can strike the stream
with a big sledge-hammer as though on an
anvil. That silvery projectile of solid water
will rend a board to splinters, or hurl a big
rock clear across the canon and shatter it to
fragments in transit. Such is the force of
those condensed columns of water. They
strike a horizontal undershot blow into the
powerful steel buckets of the man-high im-
pulse wheels, down under the power house.

that steadily generate nearly 20,000 electri-
cal horsepower. Lessening demands for
electric energy way off down in the big cities
automatically deflect those movable nozzles
so that only part or none of the stream strikes
the buckets. And what escapes shoots free
far across the cafion.

THE WATER SUPPLY

The catchment area above the dam, — the
high mountain ridges and forest slopes that

The Story of Colgate and Yuba Power Plants

i.Mkij

drain the winter's rainfall and the summer's the yuba power house
myriad springs and melting snows down into Eight miles below the Colgate power
that particular canon, — is equivalent to a house is the Yuba power plant, with a gen-
square tract of country a little more than crating capacity of nearly one thousand
twenty-three miles on each of its sides. horsepower. Historically, commercially, and
But to make sure of constant water power sentimentally this smaller enterprise is the
for the Colgate plant, to guard against any parent of the great Colgate plant. They pro-
unforseen subsidence in the river's flow above duce and turn current into the same long-
the dam or against any accident to that long, distance power-line, and they get their water
wooden flume. — through breakage, land- power from the same source. A generous

slides, snowslides, or
forest fires, — there is
an artificial lake up
between the ridges,
off to the left, two
miles and a half be-
hind the power plant,
and three hundred
and eighty-two feet
elevation above the
top of those five big
pipe-lines that come
down the ridge to
shoot water agamst
the wheels.

It is called Lake
Frances, and it covers
an area of one hun-
dred and five acres
and holds 92,870,-
000 cubic feet of
water all the year
round. It is as large
as about fifteen city
blocks. During the

Romulus Biggs Colgate

For wliDiii till- CulK.itc plant was named and tlu'
Nevada jjlant nicknamed "Rome"; he was the first
president of the California Gas and Electric Cor
poration.

part of the flume
flow must ever go on
past Colgate to pre-
serve the original
rights of the Brown's
Valley ditch. Twen-
ty-two miles of wind-
ing ditch brings the
flow to a point
above the little Yuba
plant, and there it
takes a perpendicu-
lar drop of two hun-
dred and ninety-two
feet through a single
big forty - two - inch
pipe. That water
gushes against the
Yuba impulse wheels
and then, its fighting
force expended, it
flows gently on
through twenty - five
miles or more of
winding ditch, tra-

rainy season it catches the water drainage versing Brown's Valley, and doing only the

from the minor surrounding slopes, but its quiet and peaceful work of irrigating lowland

principal source of supply is the river flume orchards and farms,
itself. During hours when the cities are not

using much current some of the electric energy California's wealth of water power

generated down at the big plant is turned to To understand why it is that California is

the work of pumping water from the flume so wonderfully rich in water power you must

and sending it off over a ridge through two bear in mind that there is a dozen or more

miles of pipe-line to that lake. Thence it can of rivers rushing down from sources high in

be instantly drawn upon in an emergency to the lofty Sierras. Wherever water can be

flow back and operate the plant. diverted and made to flow gradually along

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Colgate Power House

When the jets of water are deflected down and shooting free of the wheels. The building is as long as

a city block

the side of a river canon to produce a single d- Miles Feet Fooi-drop

plunge of several hundred feet, there power ^asterr' ^°"^ ^"""' '° ^"^

can be developed to run an electric generat- Mississippi 2,300 1,500 .6

ing plant. How splendidly California is 9*^'° '000 700 .7

, , . , , . . . ,. , Connecticut 375 2.000 5.3

supplied with these steep rivers is indicated Kennebeck 1 50 1 ,000 6.6

in the accompanying table, which gives the Rio GrancJe 1,800 12,000 6.6

, , , •, f 1 11 1 Hudson 300 4,300 14.3

toot-drop to the miie tor several well-known Missouri 2,340 4,000 17.0

eastern rivers and for some of those in Cali- California:

fornia. In this connection it will be recalled Calaveras 68 1,000 14.6

that the Yuba River slopes down an average Sacramento 400 7.000 1 7.5

^ ° Feather 136 4.678 34.4

of a hundred feet to the mile between the Tuolumne 155 8.000 51.6

dam and the Colgate power house, and that Stanislaus 113 8,000 70.8

American 118 8,500 72.0

the diverting flume is given a drop of less Yuba 90 6,700 74.4

than thirteen feet to the mile. That flume Cosumnes 93 7,500 80.3

slope is much greater than is really necessary. The steep descent of most of the Cali-
The mighty Mississippi goes to the gulf with fornia rivers enables power developers to

a drop of only a little more than seven inches locate more than one plant on the same

to the mile. diverted water system by leading the dis-

418

M
\^^ij

The Story of Colgate and Yuba Power Plants

charged water from the upper plant down
by easy gradients to some point where an-
other big drop can be produced.

EARLY HYDRO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENTS

Having in mind now the pecuhar fitness
of Cahfornia rivers for mountain power-de-
velopment, it is easier to see how the plants
progressed after a start was successfully
made and long-distance transmission had be-
come commercially possible. That the mys-
terious current could, without too much loss
in power, be sent through a wire to a con-
siderable distance from the place where it
was generated was first demonstrated to the
world in 1 886 by the hydro-electric plant
at Tivoli in Italy sending current seventeen
miles to the city of Rome.

Thirty or forty years before that Italian
plant had proven the city value of distant
mountain water power California's miners
had constructed amazing diverting ditches
and had begun using the flow of mountain
rivers to operate terrific hydraulic giants in
tearing away hillsides and dissolving them to
mud and stones in quest of settling gold.
After the Sacramento River channel had
been alarmingly filled in with these torrents
of man-made mud and the farmers in the
lowlands had been successful in having laws
passed against unchecked hydraulic washings
the costly mining ditch systems looked like a
dead loss to those who had put money into
their construction. Next came irrigating
schemes and a period of partial usefulness
for the old mining ditches.

Interior View of Colgate Power House, Looking Upstream

On the right are the mighty generators that, swiftly revolving, make the eleitriiilv ; on the left the
transformers that intensify it for delivery to the high-voltage power lines

419

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Four Miles of the Colgate Flume in Sight

THE OLD BROWN S VALLEY MINING DITCH

Then came hydro-electric power plants!
The very flume system that now supplies Col-
gate, the same ditch system that runs on more
than a score of miles and supplies the Yuba
plant and goes another score further with
irrigation, has been in operation for years as
the Brown's Valley ditch, carrying water for
hydraulic mining in Brown's Valley.

In the spring of I 895 the city usefulness
of distant water power was first demonstrated
in California with the completion of the
power plant on the edge of the American
River at the town of Folsom. Its electric
current was successfully sent through a
twenty-two-mile power-line into the city of
Sacramento. Then, in February of 1 896,
after five years of effort in acquiring and de-
veloping the necessary water power, the Ne-
vada power plant was started on the edge of
the south fork of the Yuba River, down m
a deep mountain ravine in Nevada County.
And then that plant began sending electric

current through an eight-mile power line to
the towns of Nevada City and Grass Valley
and their famous deep gold mines.

DE SABLA AND MARTIN AND COLGATE

Eugene J. de Sabla, Jr., was the prin-
cipal man behind the little Nevada plant on
the south fork of the Yuba, and John Mar-
tin had taken the contract for its general con-
struction.

Hydro-electric power was a new thing, but
it did not take de Sabla and Martin long to
see that it was a good thing, and that not
many miles away was that Brown's Valley
ditch and a prospect of taking a good fall
out of it. So, in September of 1897, they
incorporated the Yuba Power Company,
and had as a partner with them R. R. Col-
gate of New York city. Martin and de
Sabla were San Franciscans.

QUICK WORK AT VUBA PLANT

Not a day was wasted on this new scheme.
Within the record-breaking time of four

420

The Story of Colgate and Yuba Power Plants

months and five days after they decided to
build the Yuba plant the thing was com-
pleted, was generating electric current, and,
at the then almost appalling strength of I 6,-
000 volts, was sending it on down twenty-
two miles to the city of Marysville on the

been removed, leaving the plant with two,
and a productive capacity of a little less than
one thousand electrical horsepower. A big
forty-two-inch pipe eight hundred and fifty
feet long descends the oak-dotted hillside and
ejects its flood of water through a large box-

The Yuba Eiver Dam from which Colgate Is Supplied

This is a solid granite \v:i!l forty feet high and 167 feet across the canon,
concrete headgates that open into the long Hninc

ith a -wing-dain leading to

Sacramento River, where the Yuba joins the
main stream.

It was in April of 1898 that this Yuba
plant began operating. They had con-
structed a frame building covered with zinc-
coated corrugated iron, and it stands there
yet in a narrow, lonesome, tiny, upland val-
ley between Dry Creek and the Yuba River
and eight miles from the little town of
Smartsville. The original installation then
consisted of three 300-kilowatt Stanley gene-
rators. One of these generators has since

like compartment, along the outside of the
power house, the undershot flow revolving
the two sets of wheels that turn the genera-
tors inside the building.

YUBA SUCCESS LED TO COLGATE

Within a year after the completion of the
Yuba plant business had so increased and
electric prospects so expanded that the
promoters reorganized with a capital of
$1,000,000 with which to buy out the
Yuba Power Company and go in for bigger

421

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

yl^

The Tramway and its Suspension Bridge, which de-
livered 8,000,000 feet of lumber for the flume

hydro-electnc development further up on the
Yuba River. They called this new concern
the Yuba Electric Power Company.

With an eye still on the course of that
Brown's Valley ditch, they picked out a
place on the middle Yuba where they could
get more than twice the fall they had down
at the little Yuba plant.

SITE FOR THE NEW PLANT

The spot selected was where the old Mis-
souri Bar trail crossed the Yuba on the route
between Dobbins and French Corral. Then
they engaged W. R. Eckart to give his ex-
pert experience to the development of the
flume for a greater flow. So the old flume
that had wound along the canon side and
been in use for ten years was supplanted by
one almost twice as big, erected right along

above it; and the diverting dam up-river on
the north fork of the Yuba was strengthened
and raised ten feet in height. As the dam
stands today it spans one hundred and sixty-
seven feet across the ravine and is forty feet
high. It has a long wing sweep that diverts
the water through concrete headgates, which
open into the great flume.

GIGANTIC TASK OF FLUME CONSTRUCTION

The construction of the dam was not so
difficult. The native granite was right there.
Only tools and dynamite and cement had to
be packed up the river caiion. But the
building of those eight miles of flume, with
all the necessary scaffolding, trestles, and the
use of tons and tons of lumber was a real
problem. Lumber mills were a long way off,
and mountain roads steep. Ten miles across

pre the flume i
as sharp

Difficult Point
es round a turn

the preriiuce

422

The Story of Colgate and Yuba Power Plants

the thousand-foot ridges to the eastward of
the dam was a good forest region, over in
Nevada County, thick with cedar, spruce,
yellow pine, and sugar pine of good size.

A SAWMILL ERECTED

There a sawmill was established to turn
out lumber for the new flume. The com-

One of the old burio b-igac'e used in narking dyna-
mite and cement up the flume at Colgate

pany stills owns and operates that sawmill.
They cut I 1 ,000,000 linear feet of lumber,
and then picked out the very best of it, the
hearts of the logs, to use for the flume.
Across the highlands that lumber was hauled
and on to the top of the ridge, almost above
the dam. Then they built a steep tramway
coming down the mountain 1,275 feet like
a narrow ladder reaching from the depths of
the gorce right up to the blue vault of heaven.
And the lower end of that ladder they
curved into a dizzy suspension bridge that
would deliver the well-strapped little car-
loads of lumber right over on the flume-side
of the canon, where a space had been gouged
out of the rock as a sort of landing shelf.

LUMBER POURED DOWN

Day after day, day after day, lumber
poured down that chute tramway out of the
sky, and the flume slowly stretched on down
the canon, mile after mile, until they had
used up just 8,000,000 linear feet of lum-
ber, if you know what a lumber pile that
makes! In places they blasted away the
solid granite cliff and made a shelf, on turns
they used long steel rods and bolted the flume
securely to the native granite wall, and all
along the way they braced it and gave it a
foundation like a railroad trestle.

CAMPS ALONG THE FLUME

Then every two miles or so they scooped a
little shelf and built on it a small house, with
a porch overlapping the flume. These houses
were the permanent camps for the flume tend-
ers, the forest-fire crews, the repair gangs of
many carpenters that work along that struc-
ture for weeks in the summer. Later they
stretched along the side of the flume a private
telephone line with numerous stations from
which to sound an alarm or to notify the plant
that the flume had broken and that the water
power would cease coming. One day a

The suspension bildge across the Yuba River
Colgate plant — for man and horse

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Lake Frances in the Making

Hydraulic power was used to tear a hillside away, and flumes and sluices built to carry the mud to form

a great embankment

workman in a repair gang slipped and
dropped a box of dynamite into the flume and
then rushed to the telephone to warn the fel-
lows down at the power plant to "look out"

While the roadmakers and the flumemakers
were busy masons were getting ready the
building. The high-walled cafion daily re-
sounded with the cannonading of dynamite

as it was hurrying their way. But the long where all three gangs were blasting out rock
watery trip must have safely soaked and and clearing a way for operations. They
diluted the explosive before it reached the dug down forty and fifty feet to get a virgin

granite base on which to erect the Colgate
power house, and then they built it solidly of
granite and cement and lined it inside with
cement and braced it with steel girders. The

penstock gratings and screens.

A ROAD FOR THE MACHINERY

While the carpenters were rebuilding the

great flume other gangs of workmen were building, now twice its original length, is two

carving a steep mountain road down from the hundred and seventy-five feet long and forty

direction of the little hamlet of Dobbins to feet wide, has a cement floor, and it is

deliver the heavy machinery. As the loads absolutely fireproof.

were to come down, the graders did not The original part of the Colgate plant was

bother about any future loads that might have completed and current from it was sent

to be hauled up that terrible slope. So that through sixty-one miles to Sacramento the 5th

road remains as a tedious, toilsome climb. of September, 1 899.

The Story of Colgate and Yuba Power Plants

STILL FURTHER GROWTH

But even while operations were hurriedly
going on to complete the Colgate plant electric
demands so increased that the promoters be-
gan to see something of the great possibilities
they were opening up for the valley and
populous districts of California, where power
was needed and wanted. So, in June of
1 900, they reorganized again, this time with
their capital stock $5,000,000, instead of
$1,000,000. They called the new enter-
prise the Bay Counties Power Company, and,
September I st, 1 900, they absorbed the
Nevada power plant, over on the south fork
of the Yuba. Eugene de Sabla was chosen
as the first president of this enlarged concern,
with William M. Preston as vice-president
and attorney, and C. A. Grow as secretary
and treasurer, and the directors were J. C.

Coleman, Richard M. Hotaling, R. R. Col-
gate, and George A. Batchelder — all San-
Franciscans but the last two, and they were
New-Yokers, Batchelder being the repre-
sentative of an eastern banking house that had
advanced $2,250,000 for the project.

COLGATE PLANT DOUBLED

Within two years after the completion of
the original Colgate plant the building was
doubled in length and in producing capacity
by an addition to the upstream end. The
27th of April, 1901, the Colgate plant did a
historic thing in California power develop-
ment. That day through its twin wires — one
aluminum, one copper — it first transmitted
high-voltage electric energy way through to
the city of Oakland, a distance of one
hundred and forty miles by the pole-line ; and

The Stave Pipe-Line from Lake Frances to Colgate

This line consists of 8,502 foot of redwood stave pipe three feet in diameter, then 93G feet of tliirtyinch
cast-iron pipe, and finnlly of 2.870 feet of open rapid flume lluoe feet wide and a foot deep

425

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

yet not a newspaper mentioned that epoch-
marking fact. Again the company reorgan-
ized and expanded to keep pace with business
prospects, and (March 1st, 1903) took the
name Cahfornia Gas and Electric Corpora-

A section of rapid-flume from Lake Frances

ticn, with R. R. Colgate as president. And
finally (January 2d, 1906) it became a part
of the great Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, with its present total of nineteen electric
plants and eighteen gas works.

THE EQUIPMENT AT COLGATE

As it stands today the Colgate power plant
contains six great electric generating machines
and twenty-three transformers, and it has
radiating from it five different high-voltage
pole-lines traversing mountain ndges and val-
leys for more than 450 miles, and carrying
enough big copper wire to span the American
continent from San Francisco to New York.
Two lines run through to Oakland, two go
over the ridges into Nevada County, and one

extends to Sacramento, all of them carrying a
glisten of gold and silver threads spun as far
as the eye can see through the clear air above
the green Sierra ridges.

THE GREAT WATER WHEELS

There are eleven impulse wheels at Col-
gate taking the drive of water from the five
great pipe-lines that are anchored to solid
cement blocks down the mountain side. Three
of these wheels are eight and a half feet high,
and turn at the rate of two hundred and forty
revolutions a minute. Four of them are an
inch under six feet high, and make three
hundred and sixty revolutions a minute. Along
beneath the building its entire length is a
concrete-lined subway seven and a third feet
wide by eight feet high and carrying all the
bus bars and wiring of the entire station.

THE GENERATORS

The installation at Colgate consisted first of
three 900-kilowatt, 2,400-volt, sixty-cycle,
three-phase Stanley generators and one 720-
kilowatt, 2,400-volt, 1 33-cycle, two-phase
Stanley generator. But when the plant was

A Glimpse Across Lake Frances

This mountain reservoir is an nuxiliary supply
for the Colgate plant, and was named for a daughtei
of Jolin JIartin.

426

The Story of Colgate aad Yuba Power Plants

enlarged a year later a 2,000-kilovvatt, sixty-
cycle, three-phase, 2,300-volt Stanley gen-
erator was added; and in 1906 the 720-kilo-
watt generator of the original instillation was
moved and established at the upstream end
of the buildmg, and in its place was set a
new 5,500-kilowatt, sixty-cycle, three-phase.

the additional generators. And this general
hydraulic equipment is also still in use.

THE TRANSFORMERS

The transformers at first consisted of four
banks, and three banks were added when the
plant was enlarged. These transformers have

The Yuba Power House and (at the left) the Superintendent's Residence

The pipe-line comes down at tlie rifilil and operates along the left side of tlie Iniililins, eniptyini: into at
iirifiatins dilcli extending along to the left

2,300-volt Westinghouse generator. All these
generators are still in use.

THE PIPE LINES

The hydraulic instillation consisted at first
of two thirty-inch pipe-lines, with Risdon im-
pulse wheels, two wheels on a shaft for each
of the four generators. Later two more
thirty-inch, cast-iron pipe-lines and one thirty-
inch riveted steel pipe-line were added, with
twm Risdon impulse wheels to drive each of

been used in raising the generated voltage
from 2,400 for delivery through different
power lines first at 24,000 volts, a year later
at 40,000 volts, two years later at 50,000
volts, and during the past seven or eight years
steadily at 60,000 volts for all the high-ten-
sion lines. By thus making the voltage more
intense the electric energy may be more econ-
omically sent through a smaller and less ex-
pensive copper wire and then at the delivery
end, by means of reducing transformers, it

427

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

An Inverted syphon carrying the Brown's Valley

ditch across a canon below the Yuba

power plant

may be lowered for various commercial needs.
Thus experience has shown that in long-dis-
tance transmission of electric energy it is
cheaper to have more transformers at both
ends of the line and be able to send high
vohages through the many intervening miles of
smaller copper wire, since pure copper runs
into money.

All the transformers in the Colgate plant
are oil-insulated and water-cooled. The ex-
citers originally installed at Colgate are still
in use, after nearly eleven years' service.

THE SWITCHES

The generator and transformer switches
originally installed at Colgate in 1899 were
of the air-break, knife-blade type. But when
the plant was enlarged in 1900 they were all
changed to Stanley oil-switches, and a little
while afterward Stanley high-tension switches
were put on the 40,000-volt lines. Two
years later all the Stanley switches were re-
placed by Kelwan switches, but the Kelwan
switches lasted only about four months. One
was opened on a short circuit and caused a

fire and a lot of damage in the building. So,
in I 904 Baum oil-switches were placed on all
the high-voltage lines, and they have been in
constant use ever since. These switches were
invented by Frank G. Baum, formerly elec-
trical engineer and then superintendent of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

"The Best Horse at Colgate"

He was on duty at the Deer Creek plant,
over in Nevada County, but "got to kick-
ing," and in kicking nearly amputated a hind
leg against the edge of a big steel pipe.
They did n't shoot him, but figured he 'd die
any way. He lingered and got well enough
to limp along with his rack of bones. They
then sent him over to Colgate to pasture and
die. After nearly a year he picked up, which
is a boost for Colgate as a health resort (for
mules), and then they tried to sell him for five
dollars, but no one would have him. Last
spring he completely regained his strength. He
is the idol of the man who drives the team,
for this mule friskily goes double with "Nig-
ger," the proud black horse of the camp. The
mule delights in hurrying up that killing grade

at Colgate at a pace that makes "Nigger"
puff and lather, and he comes down at a gal-
lop, because he never slips or stumbles. The
driver claims that this mule that would n't die
is the best animal of all the scores owned by
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Five
dollars!

428

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

^SiikJ

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

JOHN A. KRITTON Editor

ARCHIE Rl( E Editor

A. K. HOCKEXBEAMER - - - BUSINESS MANAGER

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription 50 cents

Single copy 10 cents

Matter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Vol. I

MAKCH, 1910

No. 10

Public
Effect of
Personal
Neatness

EDITORIAL

There is a railroad that always
keeps its seats and floors so
clean that people prefer to
travel on it. They tell others
why.

There is a hotel where the rooms are kept
airy and fresh, the linen and furniture always
clean, and neither dust nor smudge is on any-
thing. Travellers go forth and comment
favorably, and indirectly increase its business.
There is a restaurant where there are no
lurking odors or flies, the table-clothes, the
napkins, the glasses are spotless, and the wait-
ers look like close friends of soap and water.
Particular people enjoy eating amid such sur-
roundings, and tell others about the place.

There is a barbershop where the barbers
always have clean hands and are free from
the smell of nicotine, and the combs and
brushes and towels look spick and span and
germless. Careful men return to it again and
again.

There is a great company with many em-
ployees. But the public comes face to face
with only a certain few, the collectors or the
counter clerks whose work neither dirties the
hands nor soils the clothes. The public knows
the company only through the representatives
it meets. If the clerks wear mourning in their
finger tips or on their teeth, tiny realty and
food souvenirs on their clothing, distill a per-
sonal essence of cigarettes, chewing-tobacco,
or garlic, show signs of a neglected razor, or
have about them any of the other suggestions

of a last-year's birdsnest, they are quietly pil-
ing up proof that the company really does n't
care what the public thinks of it, or it would
take pains to put forward a more agreeable
personal impression on the line where it comes
in close contact with the people.

Fire Don'ts

Do n't hesitate a second in sounding an alarm
of fire. The blaze may be of minute
proportions, but the next second it may
communicate with some inflammable ma-
terial and be impossible to overcome.

Do n't go to a fire simply as a spectator. Pick
up a fire extinguisher, a bucket, an ax,
a powder tube, or drag a hose on your
way.

Do n't throw water on an oil fire. Use a
chemical extinguisher, a ix)wder extin-
guisher, sand, earth; or smother the fire
out with a sack, a blanket, or a coat.

Do n't get the idea that your particular plant
will not burn down, or can 't burn down.
It can.

Do n't forget that a fire means loss not only
to your company but that it may mean a
loss to you and to the whole community.
What a fire destroys is gone forever.

A fire (of incendiary origin) recently
occurred in Sacramento, and while the finan-
cial loss, through the destruction of several
barrels of oil, was nominal, the possibilities
for a general conflagration were enormous.

The fire was discovered by Leszer, a fire-
man at the gas works, and he gave the alarm.
Two employees of the supply department
rushed to the fire with two chemical fire ex-
tinguishers.

The lessons taught in this case were: the
necessity for an immediate alarm; familiarity
with fire-equipment stations; prompt and in-
telligent action, — all going to prove the statis-
tical statement that ninety per cent, of all fires
are discovered in their incipiency.

R. J. Cantrell, Property Agent.

Sunshine

By E. C. JONES, Chief Engineer Gas Department.

Gas as an illuminant is a com-
petitor of sunshine. But sunshine
is free, and no other form of
lighting can even approximate it
in brightness. When the sun is
not shining the amount of gas or
""" electricity used for artificial light-
ing naturally increases. But this enforced use
of a daytime substitute for free sunshine is
not always given proper consideration when
comparison is made between lighting bills of
different months or different seasons.

Few people know that the United States
Weather Bureau keeps an exact record of
every moment of sunshine during the year.
Up in the Merchants' Exchange Building in
San Francisco Professor McAdie supervises
the operation of delicate instruments which tell
when the sun is shining and when it is ob-

scured. Through his kindness it was possible
to prepare the two accompanying charts illus-
trating the hours of actual sunshine in San
Francisco during the periods from October,

1 908, to March, 1 909, and from October,

1909, to February 15th, 1910. The black
portions of the charts indicate the actual night,
and the inner edges of these black parts indi-
cate the exact moment of sunrise and sunset.

In preparing this graphic story of the sun-
shine of a San Francisco winter the twilight
was not taken into consideration. The time
between actual sunrise and sunset is shown
between the solid black, or night, sections,
the daylight period being shortest in Decem-
ber. Each narrow horizontal division across
the chart represents a day, and the white
sections in these layers show the periods
of actual sunshine. The darker sections cover

Showing San Francisco's Sunshine Hours During the Winter of 1908-1909

Tlif lilacli is tile iiishtime. The lighter section i.s the daytime, from sunrise to .sunset, and its d-.wk
putclies are tile cloudy periods of no sunshine. Note how much less sunshine there was in January, 19i'9,
than in .lanuary. Ifllll. Park days more gas and electricity are used for lighting.

Sunshine

Showing San Francisco's Sunshine Hours During the Winter of 1909-1910

KiU'li twenty-foin-honr c'.ay is tracecl from left to right across the chart, beginning at li a. m. I'riini
the li'jur (if sunrise to the hour of sunset every period of cloudiness and no sunshine is shown in grayish
black. The hours are given along the top.

the hours of the day when the sun was ob-
scured.

It might seem reasonable to assume that the
hours of actual sunshine in a given month
would tally with these of the same month in
another year. But these charts show that such
an assumption will not hold good. In Janu-
ary, 1909, the total time of possible sunshine
was 305.7 hours, but the actual sunshme was
only 54.8 hours. So San Francisco really had
sunshine only I 7.92 per cent, of the time
during those January days. In January,

1910, the period of possible sunshine was
also 305.7 hours, while the actual sunshine
was 1 58.2 hours. So this January San
Francisco had sunshine 51.75 per cent, of
the time. P rom the I st to the I 0th of Janu-
ary, 1910, there was actually as much sun-
shine in San Francisco as during the whole
month of January, 1909. This would ac-
count for the excessive use of artificial illumin-
ants during the month of January, 1909,
above the amount used during the month of
January, I 9 ! 0.

On a postal card to the manager at Oak-
land:

Gas Co. Sirs: — I think the Meter full in water.
Because the Gas is breathing now strong now vifealc,
as if wounded Soldier was at point of death in
battlefield. Please inspect it at your convenience.
Yours truly. S. Aoki.

March 2d.

"Damage Claims — A Modern View,"
published in the December number of this
magazine, by John P. Coghlan, manager of
the company's claims department, was re-
printed in its entirety in the January number
of "Public Service," a Chicago magazine.

FRANK A. LEACH (JUNIOR)

Or a Printer's Devil Who Became Manager of the Gas and Electric Needs

of 300,000 People

WHAT makes a "junior"? Is it a
part of a man's name? or merely a
temporary appendix? Is it his for life? or
only during the lifetime of the "senior"?

A young man came to San Francisco in
the pioneer mining days and put out a sign
as a broker. It read "John Perry, Jr." It
continued to read just like that for nearly
sixty years, though its owner had got well on
toward ninety. Query: Was he still a

junior

'■>

When you see a "cullud pussun" with a
name like George Washington Brown or
Thomas Jefferson Jones or Abraham Lincoln
Smith, you don't infer lineal descent: merely
parents' admiration for a great character. But
when you see a Jr. after a man's name you
think of immediate km, usually a father; and
you harvest the past to cull some connection.

In this case. Who was Frank A. Leach
(the elder)? Let's get him first, and see
about Frank the Second and his claims to
individuahty apart from being the son of his
father.

Back in the rush of '49 two men came to
California. Of course there were about
1 00,000 others. But these two were named
Leach and Powell. They did n't know each
other. Each had left his wife and small
children in the east. Leach got well estab-
lished in Sacramento as a wagon-maker, and
then, in the early fifties, went back and
brought his family out from Cayuga County,
New York, by way of the Isthmus of Pana-
ma. Powell, who was the first naval con-

structor at the Mare Island Navy Yard, also
brought his family out from Philadelphia,
likewise by way of the isthmus.

Just before the outbreak of the Civil War
the Leach family moved from Sacramento to
Napa, which was a geographical point closer
to Mare Island and the Powell family. Still
the Leaches and the Powells were strangers,
though not many miles apart.

The little Leach boy that had come across
the isthmus grew to be eighteen. Right then
he did something of note. He founded the
Napa "Register." Five years later, when
twenty-three, he moved over to Vallejo, right
across the narrow little channel from Mare
Island, and founded the Vallejo "Chronicle."
This young editor and newspaper founder
then met the Powell girl who had crossed
the isthmus as a baby; she had by then grown
to attractive young womanhood. So, Frank
A. Leach (senior) and Mary Louise Powell
were married. The Leach family from New
York and the Powell family from Pennsyl-
vania thus became connected through the fates
that had turned two men in '49 to seek their
fortunes in California.

Frank A. Leach, while conducting the
Vallejo "Chronicle," also founded the Beni-
cia "New Era", and then the Suisun "Solano
Republican." Meanwhile Frank A. Leach
(junior) had arrived to augment Vallejo's
population, followed in orderly sequence by
three brothers.

When Frank the Second was sixteen the
family moved to Oakland. The father.

Men of the Company

who had already founded four well-known
California newspapers, then bought the Oak-
land "Enquirer", and immediately converted
it from a comparatively obscure little bi-
weekly publication to an important daily
newspaper.

Three years after the "Enquirer" be-
came an Oakland daily Frank the Second
was graduated from the Oakland High
School. He was then nineteen, and had
founded nothing but
scholastic convolu-
tions in the gray mat-
ter within a fairly
well-shaped head.
Then he started in
earnest to dirty his
hands and get prac-
tical knowledge of
the printing and pub-
lishing game. From
the time he was
nineteen till he was
twenty-seven he
worked in the "En-
quirer" office, going
gradually through
all the stages from
printer's devil to as-
sistant business man-
ager, and including
a thorough working
knowledge of type-
sticking and kicking off a job press. He
learned the trades of the practical printer, the
pressman, the linotypeman, the photo-engraver,
and the bookbinder.

About the midci'e of that period, to be ex-
act, when he was twenty-four, he did n't go
and ask a young woman to change her name
to Leach; not Frank the Second. He had
been attracted to one who had started life with
that name, and after meeting Frank she was
evidently determined not to change her name.
It was easy: No monograms had to be
altered. Miss Margaret Helen need no

longer be a Miss. In fact there would be one
Miss less in the families but still a gain in
Mrs., though no gain in Leaches. All this
having been satisfactorily elucidated in a
Frank way (it took time, of course, and
many private calls), these two unrelated
people, as here now duly related, were mar-
ried. There had been no loss or gain by the
union. But wait a few years. There
came some gains. Score two additions:
little Margaret Eliz-
abeth Leach and
Frank Powell Leach,
children of Mr. and
Mrs. Frank the Sec-
ond.

Meanwhile things
had happened in the
Leach business
sphere. In 1897
Frank A. Leach (the
elder) had been ap-
pointed director of
the United States
Mint at San Fran-
cisco, the largest
coinage works in the
world. Think of it:
a newspaper man be-
gan making a lot of

real

money !

! The

Frank A. Leach, Jr.

following year he sold
the Oakland "En-
quirer", and, after making miUions of dollars
in San Francisco (at the mint), he resigned
to accept the presidential appointment of di-
rector of all the mints and assay offices in the
United States. He made millions and mil-
lions of dollars during two years more and re-
signed, with a record for money-making never
equaled by any other newspaper editor of
Napa, Vallejo, Benicia, Suisun, Oakland, or
any other city you may care to mention!

But the sale of the "Enquirer", when
Frank the Second was twenty-eight and
married, sidetracked a whole assortment of

4.33

,7^

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

that young man's professional printing pros-
pects. For several years the "Enquirer" pub-
lishing concern had been doing practically all
of the printing for the Oakland Gas Light
and Heat Company and also the printing of
the proceedings of the Pacific Coast Gas
Association. Frank the Second, with a typo-
graphical and editmg eye, had been reading
these proceedings with interest; also, it hap-
pened he had been personally much attracted
to electricity and chemistry while in the high
school.

The gas company decided it wanted him.
He started as "the last man in"; was a roust-
about, domg miscellaneous stunts for six
months; then served for three years "on the
counter", taking orders, taking in cash, re-
ceivmg "kicks", givmg information, and meet-
ing the company's consumers face to face.
He was then transferred to the electric de-
partment as its first clerk, to organize its work
and reduce it to a system. He served there
a year, and, during the next two years, was
promoted to purchasing agent and to auditor.
While auditor he was practically acting as
manager at Oakland.

Then, in August of 1904, when John A.
Britton found his own official duties so nu-
merous at the San Francisco office that he
had to forego his former daily visits to the
Oakland office, Frank A. Leach, Jr., was
appointed manager of the Oakland district
and of the Berkeley district.

Official titles mean little or much, accord-
ing to what you know of the requirements of
the position. Frank A. Leach, Jr., is mana-
ger of the Oakland Gas Light and Heat
Company and of the Berkeley Electric Light-
ing Company. But that does not mean much
either, unless you happen to know that these
two companies, as subsidiary concerns of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, supply
gas, electricity, and power to Oakland, a city
of 230,000 people, and to Berkeley, a city
of 41,000 people; gas to Alameda, a city
of 30,000; gas, electricity, and power to

Emeryville, a town of 2,000; to Piedmont,
a community of 2,000; and to Albany, a
town of 500 people; and that this present
aggregate of more than 300,000 population
was only half so large five years ago; that
Leach has under him a force of between 500
and 600 employees; that because of this
quick growth of these communities the office
building in Oakland has been doubled in
height by the addition of two stories, the gas-
making capacity of the Oakland works has
been tremendously increased, several miles of
underground conduits have been laid in Oak-
land's business streets to eliminate all poles
and overhead electric wires, and the regular
business of the territory has been complicated
by the details of this general work of ex-
pansion and development.

In addition to supervising the regular busi-
ness of that immensely populous area, Frank
A. Leach, Jr., has found time during the past
four years to be one of the founders of the
Oakland Chamber of Commerce and to serve
last year as its president, to be on its beard
of directors for the past four years, and to be
chairman now of its publicity committee that
is spending thousands of dollars in eastern
advertising of Oakland. He is also an active
member of the Berkeley Chamber of Com-
merce, of the Merchants Exchange of Oak-
land, of the Athenian Club of Oakland, vice-
president of the Nile Club of Oakland, a
member of an Oakland lodge of Masons, a
trustee of the Oakland Y. M. C. A., and
vice-president of the Pacific Coast Gas Asso-
ciation.

Thus at thirty-eight (he '11 be thirty-nine
October 1 st) he may be said to qualify in his
own right as an individual who has achieved
and is not dependent for public identification
solely upon the fact that he is the son of
Frank A. Leach, former director of United
States mints. His three younger brothers
have also done somewhat to stand for them-
selves: Abe P. Leach, for eight years prose-
cuting attorney for Alameda County, is an

'-m

Electric Transmission Troubles

Oakland lawyer; Edwin R. Leach, after
taking a degree from the college of mining
engineering at the University of California,
is melter and refiner at the San Francisco
mint; and Harry E. Leach is a young Oak-
land lawyer.

Personally Frank Aleamon Leach, Jr.,
(do n't mispronounce that Roman middle
name and call it "A Lemon") is like his
father, of medium height and wirey of build.
He gives the impression of being alert, full
of business, and ready of speech, and, among
the thousands of men in this great company,
his handwriting is noticeable for its clearness.

fluency, and neatness. He has never traveled
far by land or sea, nor does he journey into
dreamland during business or recreation
hours hand in hand with Lady Nicotine.

In ancient Rome he might have been
Francus Leachus, the younger; in ultra-fash-
ionable eastern society lists, Mr. F. Aleamon
Leach, 2d; and in France, M. Francois
Leach, fils. But even in Oakland, "the
Athens of the Pacific," it would be taking a
chance to write him down Frank Leach, fils,
lest many, unfamiliar with French, might ask,
"Fills what? and why?"

A. R.

Electric Transmission Troubles

By C. F. ADAMS, Engineer of Electric Construction.

Industrial application of elec- years ago and see how little the founders of
tricity marks the most notable the art appreciated its possibilities. Then in-
physical advance of all history. dustries were located along streams capable
^^ v^ Twenty centuries ago the mes- of power development. The mill and the
^^4LB sage "Peace on earth, good-will village represented the manufacturing interest,
toward man" started a moral im- But electric-power transmission has carried
pulse that is still a compelling the energy of the waterfall to the city. The
force. No individual, society, or invention single power-station has replaced a thousand
has quickened the mind, advanced the gen- small engines. Now power can be delivered
eral welfare, and hastened the coming of at any point where an electric motor can be
"peace and good-will" as has the application located. The enormous growth of the city is

of electricity to the uses of every day.

The transmission of speech and signals
has blotted out space and time. The trans-
mission of energy has lightened the labors
and multiplied the constructive capacity and
comforts of the individual. A brief half-

the direct result. The next few years will see
the application of modern power to the farm,
and a restoration of interest in agriculture.

The purpose of this article is not to fore-
cast the future, but to inquire as to some of
the causes that tend to limit electric service.

century will almost cover the entire progress What are our ordinary "electric troubles"?

of the "electric age." A quarter-century will and why do they exist?

almost cover the electric transmission of In the transmission of electricity we have

energy and the commercial use of the electric advanced from the small central station, with

light. Read the literature of twenty-five its maximum range of a few miles, to systems,

435

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

operating under single control, serving a terri-
tory larger than a commonwealth. In trans-
mitting voltages we have progressed by stages
from 1 ,000 volts to 1 30,000 volts, and the
final limit is reached only when losses through
the air from line to line render operating costs
prohibitive. The advances in the art of trans-
mitting electric energy have been accomplished
by careful study of "the weak point," and
by the selection of the best method and ma-
terial as determined by service trial.

The entire problem of transmission is to
confine electric current to a selected channel;
to keep it from escaping from the wire.

The sole tendency of an electric current is
to return to the point at which it was gen-
erated. Insulation of numberless forms has
been developed to confine this force to useful
paths. Practically all the "troubles" of the
art are those due to some defect in insulation.

In the work of power-transmission the
troubles confronting the engineer may be ex-
amined in their normal order as those relating
to generating apparatus, to motors, to trans-
formers, and to transmission lines.

The modern dynamo well exemplifies the
law of the survival of the fittest. It is the
result of evolution and selection. From small
and crude designs generators have evolved
into a form of machine which is practically
standard. The high velocity of steam has
been utilized to great advantage in the simple
high-speed turbine, with its special design of
dynamo. In hydro-electric plants practically
no new designs of dynamo have appeared in
the past five years. The high efficiency,
strong construction, and durable insulation of
the modern dynamo make it one of the most
dependable of machines.

There is so small a limit of possible im-
provement in the efficiency of the modern
dynamo that further progress in its construc-
tion is questionable. The "troubles" are
generally due to heat, to vibration, and to
moisture. The msulation enclosing an arma-
ture coil consists mainly of a vegetable fabric.

impregnated with an insulating varnish or
compound. The useful life of an insulation
material is limited to its flexibility. High
temperature reduces its physical strength, and
renders it brittle. Long-continued heat lessens
its dielectric strength, and gradually reduces
it to carbon.

An electric conductor imbedded in an
armature slot is subject to heavy mechanical
strains. A current-carrying conductor (be
it copper bar or wire) is alternately repelled
and attracted by the powerful magnetic field
which, swiftly revolving in front of it, produces
electric energy in the copper. Unless this
conductor is firmly secured in its slot there
will be vibration which, in time, will pulverize
the insulation about the copper and result in
current-leakage and damage. This pulveriz-
ing of the insulating material is greatly has-
tened where the edges of the grooves are not
true and smooth on the side walls and the
bottom of the armature slot.

Where an armature coil consists of a num-
ber of flat copper bars wound into several
turns the individual bars tend to repel each
other. The vibration resulting from this re-
pelling force destroys the insulation between
the turns, and the copper itself is crystalized
and fractured. Another fdrm of "trouble"
experienced in the mutiple-turn coil is the un-
equal expansion of the conductor; the centre
turns of the copper, having less radiation,
will expand most, and will crowd the other
coil turns to a dangerous degree.

For these and for other reasons the most
stable form of electric generator is the one
having the fewest armature turns. Two con-
ductors to the slot is the preferred type, and
these conductors should be of cable or strand
if the armature is of the open-slot type.
Where the armature insulation becomes worn
and the copper conductor comes in contact
with the iron, the damage done depends on
the extent to which the machine is "short-
circuited."

(To be continued.)

436

The Electric Service of the Peninsular Towns

By LEE H. NEWBERT, Manager Redwood District.

For business reasons the vast
territory served by the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company is
cut up into more than twenty dis-
tricts. These districts are roughly
somewhat larger than California
counties, and, like them, they
vary in shape and area according to the lay
of the land and the density of the population.
The railroad route about the southerly
arm of San Francisco bay roughly outlines a
wish-bone. The joint of the wish-bone is the
city of San Jose, down beyond the reach of
the waters ; the lobe at the end of one arm is
the city of Oakland; and the lobe at the end
of the other arm is the city of San Francisco.
Along the peninsular arm, from the limits of
San Francisco to the limits of San Jose, there
is a valley and foothill stretch of territory
about forty miles long and about five miles
wide, gently sloping eastward toward the bay.
Midway of this great surburban strip of live-
oak country is Redwood, so called because
half a century ago it was the centre of a red-
wood lumber district, one old tree of which
remains in the giant "Palo Alto," near Stan-
ford University. And Redwood is the head-
quarters of the Redwood, or peninsular, dis-
trict of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany's system. This Redwood district in-
cludes just a dozen communities: Belmont,
with 600 people; Burlingame, with 5,000;
Easton, with 500; Mayfield, with 1,500;
Menlo Park, with 1,500; Milbrae, with
300; Mountain View, with 2,500; Palo
Alto, with 6,000; Redwood, with 3,500;
San Carlos, with 150; San Mateo, with
7.000; Stanford University, with 2,000;
and Sunnyvale, with 2,000,— total, 32,500
people.

All the peninsular communities as far down
as and including Palo Alto are supplied with

gas manufactured at the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company's great oil-gas plant, lo-
cated in Visitacion Valley and known as
Martin Station. A huge main more than
twenty miles in length carries the gas supply
to these communities.

But this article is chiefly concerned with
the electric supply and how it is distributed.
The great high-tension power-lines from the
mighty hydro-electric plants up in the Sierras
come down through the interior valleys and

The Station at Redwood

Showing the high-tension lines entering the build-
ing (on left) and leaving from the root (on the
right); the 11,000-volt circuit leaving the building
(just to the right of the pole outside the fence);
the 4,000-volt di.stributing circuit leaving the build-
ing (on the extreme left); the Baum paralleling
switch (on the first pole inside the fence), which
allows the Mountain View station to carry the
peninsular load when it is necessary for the Redwood
station to shut down; and (over the street door) the
telephone wires entering and leaving the building.

stretch high across Carquinez Straits. A
southern branch extends through to Mission
San Jose, and then goes on to San Jose and
way down to Davenport and the city of
Santa Cruz. From Mission San Jose a
branch of this high-tension system comes up
round the bay, through Redwood, and on into
San Francisco. The pole-line, with its big

437

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

insulators, is a familiar sight across the marsh-
lands.

At Redwood there is an electric station.
It serves two functions: it is the distributing

The 500-kilowatt, high-tension transformers and two
of the hand regulators. (Redwood Station)

station for supplying the electric needs of the
northern part of the peninsular district, and
it is an important high-tension switching sta-
tion. The second floor of the concrete build-
ing is devoted exclusively to high-tension wir-
ing and switching. That long marsh-land
pole-line carries two 60,000-volt lines from
Mission San Jose round into San Francisco,
and those two lines pass through the Red-
wood station, where the switching arrange-
ment is such that either of the two lines com-
ing into or going out of the station can be
taken out of service temporarily to permit re-
pairs or work on them without shutting off
the current along the entire double line. The
different high-voltage switches making this
safety plan possible are located in separate

concrete compartfnents, the construction of
which, like that of the entire building, is in-
tended to reduce fire risk to the smallest
possible factor.

When the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany came into possession, about eight years
ago, of the gas and electric properties of the
peninsula the substation at Redwood consisted
of a wooden-frame building, covered with
corrugated iron. It was twenty feet square
and twenty-four feet high. For equipment
that building had simply four, 200-kilowatt,
high-tension transformers (one being a spare
held in reserve) and three high-tension, Stan-
ley air-switches. The 6,000-volt secondaries
were carried overhead to another frame and
corrugated-iron structure housing a steam
auxiliary plant and a secondary switchboard,
which was a combination of marble, wood,
open fuses, and air-break switches.

By 1906 business along the peninsula had
so increased that the present Uvo-story con-
crete station building at Redwood was or-
dered erected. It is twenty-six by thirty-six
feet, and stands twenty-eight feet high. The
high-tension oil- and disconnecting-switches
located in the enclosed concrete compartments
on the upper floor are operated from the lower
floor by means of levers. And on the lower
floor are the high-tension transformers, the
switch-boards, the regulators, and other appa-
ratus.

There are three, 500-kiIowatt transformers.
They reduce the main-line current to I 1 ,000
volts for transmission northward to San Ma-
teo and other towns and southward to Palo
Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale; and
to 4,000 volts for local distribution in Red-
wood and the vicinity. There are also three,
1 00-kilowatt transformers to supply Red-
wood's local service. These smaller trans-
formers are fed from the I 1 ,000-volt lines
coming from the high-tension transformers.
The connection is such that if anything should
happen to the Redwood station these smaller
transformers for Redwood's local service

43S

The Electric Service of the Peninsular Towns

could be instantly supplied through the I I ,-
000-voIt line from the Mountain View sta-
tion. The I 1 ,000-volt circuits are three-
phase, and the local distributing circuits are
three-phase, four-wire, 4,000-volt.

Ordinarily the current all comes from the
hydro-electric plants in the distant Sierras
through either of the two, three-phase, 60,000-
volt lines, which extend on to San Francisco.
But if something should happen along the
hydro-electric power-line there is an emer-
gency switchmg arrangement by which cur-
rent may be turned on from the company's
great steam-generated electric plant situated
out beyond the Union Iron Works in San
Francisco, or from the company's steam-
generated electric plant at San Jose. So the
peninsular towns can not be deprived of elec-
tricity except through some rare combination
of accidents putting several mountain and two
city plants temporarily out of commission.

The growth of peninsular population fol-
lowing the San Francisco fire was very rapid,
and early in 1907 it became evident that the
existing electric system of the United Gas and
Electric Company (a subsidiary company of
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company)
would have to be completely reconstructed in
order to meet the increased demand for light
and power service. Briefly described, the
system to be replaced consisted of a main
high-tension substation at Redwood, with two-
phase, 6,000-volt lines extending southward
fourteen miles to Sunnyvale and northward
eight miles to San Mateo. At San Mateo
two, 1 00-kilowatt transformers were employed
to reduce the pressure to 2,200 volts for dis-
tribution to San Mateo and Burlingame.

After a thorough study of conditions it was
determined, notwithstanding the existing high
price of materials, to rebuild in such a man-
ner as to give not only a greatly improved
service but also to meet requirements for some
time into the future. Subsequent development
in the peninsular towns has demonstrated that
the decision was a wise one, as the electric

load taken today exceeds that of 1 906 by
one hundred per cent.

The new peninsular system as laid out by
the engineering department called for an addi-
tional high-tension station to be located at
Mountain View, eleven miles south of the ex-
isting station at Redwood. The Mountain
View station was to be fed from the high-
tension line then in course of construction and
now supplying Davenport and Santa Cruz.
There was to be a secondary substation at
Palo Alto and an enlargement of the second-
ary substation at San Mateo. These stations

The 11,000-volt Switchboard (oil switches are in con-
CiCte compartments at the left) . (RimUvcjimI si:iihmi)

were to be connected by a three-phase, 1 I ,-
000-volt tie line, with current supply from
either Redwood or Mountain View.

As a result of the work, which was com-
pleted in the summer of 1908, the system
consists today of the high-tension station at
Mountain View, which, under regular oper-
ating conditions, supplies service to Mountain

4.39

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

View and Sunnyvale and to the Palo Alto
substation; and of the high-tension station at
Redwood, which supplies Redwood and the
San Mateo substation. The switching ar-
rangement is such that, when circumstances

Two of the three 100-kllowatt transformers that
supply the local service. (Redwood Station)

require, either the high-tension station at Red-
wood or the one at Mountain View can
supply the entire peninsular district.

The Mountain View station contains three,
500 - kilowatt, oil - insulated, water-cooled,
single-phase transformers, star-connected for
60,000 to I 1,000 and 4.000 volts; three,
1 00-kilowatt, single-phase, oil-insulated, air-
cooled transformers ; and the necessary switch-
board and control apparatus. The high-ten-
sion oil-switches, like those at Redwood, are
located on the second floor. The disconnect-
ing switches are pole-type, and are located on
suitable structures outside. Voltage regula-
tion is by hand, with two sets of regulators,
one on the secondaries of the high-tension
transformers and the other on the secondaries
of the low-tension, or 4,000-volt, transformers.

Service to Sunnyvale, three miles south of
Mountain View, is through a three-phase,
four-wire, 1 1 ,000-volt line. Mountain View
service is three-phase, four-wire, and is regu-
larly supplied from the 4,000-volt trans-
formers. When necessary, this service may
be supplied from the 4,000-volt taps of the

high-tension transformers. Service trans-
formers have voltages of 2,400 to 220 or II 0.

The Palo Alto substation is supplied
through a three-phase, four-wire line. Serv-
ice transformers are connected to supply con-
sumers along the seven-mile line between
Mountain View and Palo Alto. The Palo
Alto substation contains three, 250-kilowatt,
oil-insulated, single-phase transformers, 1 I ,-
000 to 2,400 volts; and the necessary switch-
board, control apparatus, and instruments.
Voltage regulation is by means of two, single-
phase, automatic, induction regulators so con-
nected as to maintain a maximum voltage
during the peak of the load. The secondary
circuits are: Stanford University, Peninsular
Railway, Palo Alto single-phase (for com-
mercial district), Palo Alto poly-phase (for
residence service) , power, Menlo three-phase.

An 1 1 ,000-volt, three-phase. No. 4-cop-
per, three-wire circuit extends from the Red-
wood station to the Palo Alto substation,
four miles south, where it can be joined to the
1 1 ,000-volt line from the Mountain View

The 4,000-volt distributing switchboard, the oil
switches being mounted on the left. At the left
are the high-tension levers. (Redwood Station)

station, when operating conditions require.
Another I 1 ,000-volt, three-phase. No. 4-cop-
per, three-wire circuit extends from Redwood
north eight miles to the San Mateo substation.
The local circuits from Redwood station
are: Redwood lighting (single-phase, 4,000

440

The Electric Service of the Peninsular Towns

volts). Redwood power (three-phase, four-
wire, 4,000 vohs), San Carlos and Belmont
(three-phase, four-wire, 4,000 volts). Fair
Oaks (single-phase, 4,000 volts), street
lights.

The San Mateo substation contains three,
single-phase, 300-kilowatt, oil-insulated, air-
cooled transformers, I 1 ,000 to 2,400 volts,
together with the necessary switchboard and
control apparatus. Voltage regulation is by
means of two, single-phase, automatic, induc-
tion regulators. The secondary circuits are:
San Mateo single-phase (2,400-volt for com-
mercial district lighting), San Mateo poly-
phase (for residence district). Homestead
poly-phase, water works poly-phase. Penin-
sular Hotel poly-phase, Burlingame poly-
phase, San Mateo street lights, Burlingame
street lights.

In addition to the regular telephone service
a private telephone line connects the stations
at Redwood, Mountain View, San Mateo,
and Palo Alto.

All switching on the I 1 ,000-volt line is
directed by the Redwood station.

The current supply to both high-tension
stations is through duplicate lines from the
Sierra power houses or (through the same
lines) from the steam plants at San Fran-
cisco and San Jose. With the aid of the
! 1 ,000-voll tie line in case of accident at
either high-tension station interruptions in serv-
ice are doubly provided against, and the rare
occasions when they do occur they last but
a few moments.

After months of operation it can be said
that the peninsular system has been tried and
not found wanting.

Where thirty tons of "Hitch" fish from Clear Lake, In Lake County, were stranded up Kelsey Creek

May, 1900, because the stream sank rapidly and cut oft their return to the lake

(Photo furnished by J. W. Hall, Stockton)

441

Six New Appointments in the Company

WHILE February marked the dual re-
tirement from the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company of F. V. T. Lee as assist-
ant general manager and of J. H. Wise as
civil and hydraulic engineer, it also witnessed
six new appointments near the heads of vari-
ous departments. Here is the gist of the
changes:

The "Placer County District" was created
by consolidating the old Placer and Auburn
districts of the South Yuba Water Com-
pany, which embraces in its scope several
hundred miles of aqueducts, scores of reser-
voirs and mountain lakes, and considerable
stretches of flumes, comprising the system that
supplies water for domestic and irrigating pur-
poses to many communities of the Sierra
slopes and several thousand acres of foothill
orchards tributary to Newcastle as a fruit-
shipping centre. Herbert M. Cooper, former
superintendent of the Placer division of this
great water system, was made manager of the
new district. He was born and brought up
in Nevada County, his father having owned
and operated the Cooper sawmill and lumber
camp that still stands as a relic near the pres-
ent site of this company's Deer Creek power
plant. The younger Cooper was himself an
experienced lumber cruiser and sawmill opera-
tor, and in 1907 he was foreman of the Tiger
Creek sawmill. W. R. Arthur, who had
been for some time manager of the Auburn
water district, was made assistant manager
of the combined district. The headquarters
will be at Auburn.

The recently created "new-business de-
partment" has for its managerial head F. E.
Cronise. He is a native of Woodland, Cali-
fornia, and is something above six feet.
After attending the grammar school in San
Francisco and graduating from the high
school at Fairfield in Solano County, he re-
turned to San Francisco and served for three
years as a bookkeeper with the Wells-Fargo

express company, then three years as a passen-
ger agent for the Southern Pacific, then one
year as city passenger agent for the Rock
Island Railroad, then a year at field and
office work for the Hotaling Estate Company
in forwarding its California Railway enter-
prise, and then half a year as a counter clerk
in the main office of the San Francisco Gas
and Electric Company, supplemented by
several months of special work in the office
of the treasurer and comptroller of the Pa-
cific Gas and Electric Company.

The new "publicity department," having
to do with the company's publicity, its news-
paper and other advertising, and the super-
vision of this magazine, has as its manager
Archie Rice, a native of Hueneme, Califor-
nia, a graduate of the high school at Santa
Barbara and of Stanford University in the
first class to complete the four-year course
there, along with P. M. Downing, A. H.
Burnett, and Walter Hyde, who occupy
well-known positions in the company. For
some twenty years Rice has been principally
identified with journalism and magazine writ-
ing. He began at nine as a paper carrier en
horseback, and before enteVing college rode
cattle, was a school teacher, and a steamship
freight clerk, and after college was reporter,
special writer, interviewer, business manager,
editor, supposed authority on all branches of
amateur athletics, and had some minor ex-
perience prior to the San Francisco earth-
quake as an insurance agent and during ths
fire as a policeman. He thinks he is a per.es-
trian and a long-distance swimmer, but his
thinking so does n't prove any thing.

With the retirement of J. H. Wise as
civil and hydraulic engineer, Harry C. Ven-
sano of Wise's department was promoted to
the position of civil engineer. A native of
San Francisco, a graduate of the University
of California in 1903, and with this com-
pany for the past three years, Vensano has

Gas Men to Convene at Los Angeles

practically developed into the position, al-
though nature did not exactly plan him to fill
Wise's shoes, for James is a six-footer while
Vensano, no matter how great may be his en-
gineering achievements, will always have to
look up to "Jimmy" Wise!

James H. Wise, who resigned to take up
private practice, has been retained in the em-

ploy of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany as its ccnsulting hydraulic engineer.

George C. Holberton has been appointed
general manager of the San Francisco Gas
and Electric Company, and will also act as
assistant to the local president — John A.
Britton, the general manager of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company.

Gas Men to Convene at Los Angeles

Los ANGELES, which is said to have
305.000 people (with 300,000 of them
real estate agents and the others advertising
agents) is to be invaded three
days running next September by
delegates to the eighteenth an-
nual convention of the Pacific
Coast Gas Association, which
has some three hundred mem-
bers, many of whom may be
yearning to go into that south-
land to be handed an orange or
a lemon or a transfer. The president of
the association this year is a Los Angeles
man; W. B. Cline; hence the desire in his
town to greet the gas men coming from afar.
Just what form the entertainment is to take is
not divulged, but the president has on his

staff of organized hosts the Los Angeles
Gas and Electric Company, the Pacific
Light and Power Company, and the
Southern California Edison Com-
pany, which looks like some hos-
pitality and sight-seeing for Tues-
day, Wednesday, and Thursday,
the 20th, the 21st, and the 22d
of September.

The Pacific Gas and Elec-
tric Company, in addition to
having a good many members
in the association (at five dollars a year), also
has three of the officers: Frank A. Leach of
Oakland being vice-president; John A. Brit-
ton of San Francisco, secretary and treasurer ;
and Harry Bostwick of San Francisco, assist-
ant secretary and treasurer.

This plant, known as Station B of II
Oakland. Berkeley, and Alani«cl;i.
01" the picture.

Oakland's Gas Works from the Waterfront

Pa.-iKr (i;is .-111(1 Klfrt

inpany, supplies all tlii
t f;as holder is shown

used in
miilille

Electric Pumping for Street Sprinkling

By FRANK A. LEACH, JR., Manager Oakland District.

Frank A. Leai'li

Oakland has developed a sys-
tem of ten electric pumping
plants for supplying salt-water
for further use in its street-
sprinkling service.

Aside from the very large sav-
ing in expense to the city, the
use of salt-water has many advantages over
fresh water for the purpose of laying the
dust. This is especially evident where there
is moist atmosphere, such as exists about San
Francisco bay. The deposit of salt upon the
sprinkled streets is soon sufficient to gather
moisture during foggy nights, and thus make
it unnecessary to sprinkle the streets every
day. Salt also prevents the
growth of weeds. The only
objection is that the salt-water
more readily causes rust on
the exposed metal of the
wheels of vehicles.

The outfits herein described
are those used by the city of
Oakland, but they could be
adopted by any other fog-
frequented city near tidewater.
The figures show at what a
very low cost 800 gallons of
water can be placed in the
cart ready for delivery. The
appliances described could be
fitted to tank wagons and
used to pump water from
wells on county roads where secondary dis-
tribution is available.

In a test made by P. F. Browne of Oak-
land an 800-gallon sprinkling cart was filled
in 3 minutes 47 seconds, or at the rate of 210
gallons a minute, the water being raised an
equivalent of thirty-six feet, with the expendi-
ture of 4.94 horsepower hours.

The specifications of the Board of Public
Works of the City of Oakland required the

following qualifications from those biddmg on
the construction of any of the four latest
salt-water pumping plants:

The pumps shall be of the centrifugal type,
with cast-iron castings and runners, and hav-
ing shafts fitted for salt-water; they shall be
direct connected with flexible couplings to
motors, and mounted on cast-iron baseplates
arranged for pump and motor. When new,
the pumps shall produce in useful work an
efficiency of at least 40 per cent, of the power
delivered on the pump-shaft; and after six
months' use the efficiency shall not be less
than 40 per cent. The pumps shall be de-
signed so as to operate without the use of
throttling devices in the pipes because of

/^or^p/NG ^A^A

f^i/fr}j:xs Cofpac'^y iSOO Go//o/7S e

changes of head due to the tide. They shall
each have a capacity of 200 gallons of salt-
water a minute, under the conditions shown
on the accompanying plan. The suction shall
be fitted with a flange to suit the suction open-
ing, and shall be tapped for four-inch stand-
ard pipe.

The motors shall be not less than four-
horsepower. They shall be single-phase, 220-
volt, alternating current, and arranged to
start on full current with full load; and the

Swam a River to Save a Pole'Line

full-load speed shall be 1,750 revolutions a
minute.

The city shall install the plants in accord-
ance with the accompanying plans, and the

tests after completion must show each plant
delivering continuously not less than 200 gal-
lons of salt-water a minute without overload-
ing the motors at any stage of the tide.

Swam a River to Save a Pole- Line

DURING the general California storm of
December 9th. I 909, the 60,000-volt
power-line across the Yuba river was threat-
ened with destruction. One of the double-con-
structed poles carrying the wires for this
enormous voltage is shown in the background
of the accompanying illustration. That parti-
cular pole was about to be washed out by
the high water. There was no way of getting
men and material over to it.

Then it was that H. A. Kirkpatrick, fore-
man for the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany's Yuba-river district, himself volunteered
to swim across the big, turbid river, wallowing
along bankful with its unusual flood. As he
swam across he dragged along after him a

steel cable, which he succeeded in fastening
high in a tree on the opposite side. The other
end of the cable was then drawn taut and
made fast to a rock pile in the dredger dis-
trict. He then constructed a "Dutchman" to
travel along the cable, and by that means
transferred workmen and materials to the
threatened pole. The relief arrived there
none too soon. A few minutes more and the
pole could not have maintained its position ;
the wires would have been broken by the
drag on the pole. The picture shows H. A.
Kirkpatrick sitting on the "Dutchman" in
transit. The photograph was sent by C. E.
Young, superintendent of the Marysville
power division.

445

Edward S. Jones, superintendent of the
gas works at Sacramento, is a son of E. C.
Jones.

Charles W. McKillip, manager of the
Sacramento district, is one of the supervisors
of Sacramento County.

of sons: Maurice Hixon of Martin Station
has a community interest with Mrs. H. m a
bouncing son four months old, who seems to
have bounced out of sight of the news-
gatherer."

Lee H. Newbert, manager of the Red-
wood district, is this year's president of the
board of trade of San Mateo County. The
Redwood Elks, over whom Newbert now

Hite A. Grove, an operator at Station A
in San Francisco, is the father of a six-pound
baby girl, little Miss Grove having made her presides, gave a minstrel show February
initial call March 5 th. 7^1^ ^^j gth. and Newbert had his pic-
A. F. Hockenbeamer, treasurer and comp- ture in the paper in black-face caricature
troller of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com- and labeled "The sterling interlocutor who
pany, was, at the recent annual election of gives a heart-throb with every bleat." The
the directorate, made vice-president to succeed column article goes on to declare: "He
John S. Drum, the personnel of the other [Newbert] is at the present time well charged
positions remaining unchanged. with laughing-gas and carries a jar of cold-
cream to use on his face to keep it from crack-
Early in February Herman Weber, the ing, laughing at the jokes now tied up in his
company's manager at Petaluma, saved the system." Another of the troupe was to
lives of a quarter of a million chickens! An "swallow a whole doughnut hole!"

accident had happened to the gas main that ^

brings the local supply from Santa Rosa, and R. R. Colgate, now of H I Broadway,

if the gas were turned off pending repairs all New York, and the Knickerbocker Club, de-

the great incubators in the poultry metropolis spite the warning of those who knew him that

of the world would go cold. Weber stepped it would be useless to request his picture for

to the telephone and in the name of tens of the magazine, sent this as part of his reply:

thousands of old hens to be, defied Manager
Thomas Petch at Santa Rosa to turn off the
gas. Hence, "Herman the hens' hero!"

"Your letter was forwarded to my residence
at Sharon, Connecticut, and I at once sent you
the desired photograph. I have a great aver-

sion lo publicity. This is the first time my

Arthur B. Saunders of the Martin Station picture has ever appeared in public. As the
gas works, who got into the magazine's per- power house was named after me and as I
sonals as "Sanderson, Stanford '05," writes was the first president of the California Gas
by way of correction thuswise: "Having and Electric Corporation and worked so many
been there since the car-strike and being the years for its inception I feel differently toward
only Stanford man on the job, it looks as this company, and could not refuse the re-
though I am it, though your informant has quest you made. I wish you would send me
added a 'son' to my name, which is more a copy of the article as I should like to read
than has happened to my family. Apropos over old times. "

446

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Vol. I

Contents for April

No. 11

THE BEAUTIFUL NAPA VALLEY .
HISTORY OF NAPA AND ITS GAS BUSINESS
NINE COUNTER-MEN HAD TO RUN

FOUR PRIZE-WINNERS

USEFULNESS OF A PHOTO DEPARTMENT .
DARING WORK IN THE LINE OF DUTY
REELING UP A LINE BY ITS OWN POWER .
NOT AN ORDINARY LETTER ....
MEN OF THE COMPANY— FRANK H. VARNEY
BIG NEW GAS HOLDERS .
"THE HOLLYHOCK" ....
DIGGER PINE NEAR YUBA RIVER

EDITORIAL

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE INCREASED .

FORTY-FOUR YEARS A COMPANY'S HOME

THE SOUTHERNMOST LAMP POST

A TROLLEY TRAIN TO CARRY GOLD .

TO IMPROVE THE TELEPHONE'S USEFULNESS

A SNOW PLOW ON COLGATE FLUME .

ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION TROUBLES (II)

(GROUP OF SAN FRANCISCO LINEMEN) .

PERSONALS

DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICIALS .

E. C. Jc

Frontispiece

449

Joseph P. Baloun

Wallace H. Foster

A.R. .

J.W.Hall

C. F. Adams

457
458
460
462
463
463
464
466
467
470
471
471
472
473
473
474
476
477
478
479
480

Yearly Subscription 50 cents

Single Copies each 10 cents

Pacific GtAS and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

APRIL, 1910

No. 11

History of Napa and Its Gas Business

By E. C. JONES, Chief Engineer Gas Department.

Napa, nestling in her inland
valley, at the head of navigation
on the Napa River, forty-six
miles from San Francisco, is one
of the most beautiful residence
towns of California. It is a
community of 7,500 people, and
the seat of Napa County, which embraces a
territory of eight hundred square miles.

Here is a city of homes surrounded by
lawns and flowers; possessing all the charm
of New England's country towns, with their
beautiful shade trees, combined with Cali-
fornia's delightful climate and all its gifts.
There are no waste lands about Napa.
The town merges insensibly into orchards
and farms and a beautiful and prosperous
country side.

Napa derived its name from the Indian
word Nappo, used by the Pomo tribe to
convey the idea of numbers — -a collection, a
group of dwellings.

The valley was originally occupied by the
Pomo Indians, whose descendants, still fa-
mous among aboriginal basket-makers, are
now found in Lake County and some other
northern districts of California. The path
of these Indians, as they retreated further
and further northward before the white set-
tlers, is marked along the way by names that
are traceable exclusively to the vocabulary of
the Pomo tribe.

Pomo legends of the old days when the
tribe dwelt in the Napa Valley mention the
large quantities of fish in the waters there,
and particularly the hordes of salmon that
annually ascended the Napa River. This
abundant supply of their favorite article of
food caused the Pomo Indians to congregate
about the present site of Napa in a fishing
village or settlement, or Nappo.

In 1 829 Kit Carson, the famous hunter,
visited California on a hunting expedition.
In describing the Indian population he said
that many of the interior tribes were continu-
ally at war, while those living near the coast
were comparatively orderly and peaceful.
The indolence and indifference of the coast
Indians he ascribed to the mildness of the
climate and the ease with which they could
obtain a living.

In 1 830 there were about 3,000 Indians
within the boundaries of what is now Napa
County.

The first grant by the Mexican govern-
ment of land in what is now known as Napa
County was made to George C. Yount, who
was the first white man to settle in the valley.
His grant comprised two square leagues sit-
uated in the heart of the valley east of the
present site of Yountville, and was given to
him by Nicholas Gutierrez March 23d,
1 836. After the American occupation of
California it was confirmed to him by the

449

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

A characteristic landscape near Napa — vineyards, orchards, wooded foothills, and surrounding mountains

United States board of land commissioners
February 8th, 1853, and by the United
States court in 1855.

The Entre Napa Rancho, where the city
of Napa now stands, was ceded to Nicolas
Higuerra by Manuel Chico May 9th, I 836.
This grant and Yount's were the beginning
of white settlements in Napa Valley.

George C. Yount was an American and
arrived in California in February of 1831.
He was accompanied by a young man named
Guy F. Flynn, who acted as guide and after-
ward became a settler in the county. It seems
to be a fact that Flynn visited the Napa
Valley as early as 1825, and obtained the
knowledge of the country that enabled him to
act as a guide to Yount. Flynn revisited the
valley, located there permanently, and in
I 872 he died in a little old house among the
Indians near Napa.

Yount did hunting and trapping until
1 836, when he built the first log house

erected in California by an American. It
was eighteen feet square, with an upper story
twenty-two feet square in which were port-
holes for the purpose of defending himself
against the Indians. Aft'er obtaining from
the Mexican government his grant of land,
which was known as the Caymus Rancho,
he became a permanent resident of the val-
ley, remaining until his death, October 5th,
1865.

Among the early settlers who followed
Yount was Nicolas Higuerra, who settled on
the banks of Napa Creek. There he built
a wicker house, plastered with mud on the
outside and covered with a thatch of tule
reeds. Two of Higuerra's daughters after-
ward married into the Berryessa family of
the valley in Napa County which bears that
family's name.

Bartlett Vines had come across the plains
with Yount, and in I 844 he went to Napa
on board Captain Sutter's schooner "Sacra-

History of Napa and Its Gas Business

mento. " He was Yount's son-in-law. To
the Vines family came the first white child
born in Napa County, and, it is claimed,
the first American child born in California.

As early as 1 84 1 John Rose and John
C. Vines built a schooner at Napa and
launched it at a point just above the present
stone bridge on First Street. It was not
much larger than a whale boat. In 1 849
they built a barge which was used as a trad-
ing boat in all the bay inlets.

One of the curiosities of the olden days in
Napa was the first carriage, the property of
General Vallejo. It had been at one time
the state carriage of the Duke of Wellington.
General Vallejo purchased it in London in
1 833, and brought it to California shortly
afterward. The driver of the carriage rode
on one of the horses.

The first board of supervisors of Napa
County convened December 7th, 1856.

The fertility of the land and the splendid
climate of the valley tempted the early set-
tlers to experiment with semi-tropical plants.

In 1861 William Baldridge tried to raise
cotton in the Napa Valley, but with no suc-
cess. His experiments proved that the soil
was much better adapted to the growing of
grapes than to cotton. To Baldridge be-
longs the credit of planting, from seed sent
him in 1845, the black locust trees that are
seen along the coast highways of California.

In 1 864 a crop of tobacco was planted
near Napa by George N. Cornwall and
John Cornwall, with much success.

The first railroad into Napa was com-
pleted from Soscol January 10th, 1865.
The rolling stock consisted of two cars and

Napa County Is Noted for Its Stone Bridges
451

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

The Old Gas Plant at Napa, built in 1888

a pony engine. The track entered Napa
by the way of Main Street, and was laid
along that street to Third Street. The first
train passed over the track the 1 1 th of July,
1865.

The original boundaries of Napa County
also included all of the territory now known
as Lake County until 1861, when Lake
County was created.

The first mention of Napa in any news-
paper was in an article in the "Calif ornian'
in 1 848, which stated that the ship "Malek
Adhel" had passed up the Napa River and
"found plenty of water to a point below the
Embarcadero de Napa."

Early in May in 1 848 the first building
in the town was erected. This, probably by
the merest accident, happened to be a saloon
eighteen feet by twenty-four feet in dimen-
sions. The historian tells us that the saloon
formed a nucleus about which the present
city has grown. The lumber for this build-
ing was sawed at Bale and Kiburn's mill,
two miles above St. Helena.

The site of the town of Napa was sur-
veyed and laid out in the spring of 1 848 by

Nathan Coombs. The original limits of the
town included only the land lying between
Brown Street and the river and extended six
hundred yards from Napa Creek to the
steamboat landing. The town was originally
divided into upper and lower sections, Napa
Alta and Napa Abajo. The Alta section,
consisting of more than one hundred acres,
was known as Thompson'^ Addition. The
Embarcadero, or landing, was at the head
of navigation, and the ford just above it de-
termined the location of the town. That
was before the erection of the beautiful
bridges, which have added so much to the
attractiveness of the Napa Valley.

During the year 1 848 John Truebody
mowed almost the entire town-site, which
was covered with a rank growth of wild
oats. He sold the hay to the government.
The discovery of gold in that year almost
depopulated Napa, as it did other towns in
California.

The first bridge across Napa Creek was
built in 1 849, near the line of Brown Street.
It was a timber bridge, and the two wooden
stringers, each sixty feet long, cost $ 1 00

452

History of Napa and Its Gas Business

each, which gives an idea of the high price
of materials at that time.

Very little United States coin was in cir-
culation then, and even as late as 1856 the
medium of exchange was gold dust, foreign
coin, or a substitute for coin issued by the
assay office of Kellogg and Humbert in San
Francisco. These were gold pieces of $5,
$10, $20, and $50, were of weight and
fineness equal to the United States govern-
ment standard, and were readily accepted as
legal tender. No change was used smaller
than a "bit," having a value of twelve and
one-half cents. The price of everything, in-
cluding labor and all classes of material, was
enormous. Money was the only thing that
was plentiful.

In 1854 the town of Napa had a popula-
tion of about four hundred, and there were
in all about forty buildings. As late as
1856 very little effort had been made to im-

prove the streets or the highways, and both
were almost impassible during the rainy sea-
son. There were only two places on Main
Street where a person on foot could cross.
Crossings were made with bundles of straw
thrown into the mud until the bottom was
found. This is in sharp contrast with the
excellent roads for which this county is now
noted, some of the best automobile drives in
California being in Napa County. All the
roads are sprinkled in the summer-time.

It is said of the first newspaper published
in Napa, the 4th day of July, 1856, and
known as the "Reporter", that it was "a tri-
weekly" ; that is, they published it one week
and tried for another week to get it out again.

Napa was the tenth city in California to
introduce gas for illumination. In 1 867
William Smith and E. E. Chalmers were
granted a franchise but did not operate under
it. They conveyed their rights to James H.

Tbe Gas Works at Napa
453

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

A picturesque old mill, near St. Helena, Napa
County

Goodman, James Freeborn, and William W.
Beggs, who incorporated "The Napa City
Gas Light Company" with a capital stock
of $80,000, May 25th, 1867. Beggs was
at that time the chief engineer of the San
Francisco gas company. The gas works
was located on a lot sixty feet by one hun-
dred and twenty feet on Fifth Street, be-
tween Main and Brown Streets. The brick
building was a counterpart, as to size and
general design, of the Oakland gas works of
that time, also designed by Beggs. The
office, condensing and purifying room, and
retort house were all under one roof.

A 7,000-cubic-foot gas holder was con-
structed in a redwood tank, and there were
two benches of iron retorts, one retort in each
bench capable of carbonizing 2,000 pounds
of coal at a charge. Oak wood and the coke
made from the coal were used to heat the
benches. The coal used for making gas was
Scotch and Australian cannels, costing from
$20 to $30 a ton. It was freighted by
schooner from San Francisco at a cost of

$2.50 a ton, with $1 drayage added. At
that time all coal sold in San Francisco for
reshipment had to be sacked, and the cost
of gunny bags, filled and sewed, was added
to the expense of the coal. The yield of gas
the pound from this coal was four to four
and one-half cubic feet.

The condenser was of the ordinary return
tubular type, made of tin, as was also the
centre seal of the purifiers. They were fur-
nished by Morris Dobrzensky, who was the
first manufacturer of gas meters on the Pa-
cific coast. There were two redwood purify-
ing boxes four feet by five feet by three feet,
with wooden trays. Dry lime, costing $2.25
a barrel, was used as a purifying material.

All the pipe at the works beyond the con-
denser was of galvanized sheet iron, with
soldered joints, and it was made and erected
by Napa tinsmiths.

Gas was first turned on in Napa and the
town lighted September 1st, 1867. Henry
Adams, formerly with the gas company at
Sacramento, and later superintendent of the
gas works at Oakland, was the first superin-
tendent at Napa.

Public Library presented to Napa by George E.
Goodman, formerly president of the gas company

History of Napa and Its Gas Business

The original price of gas was $7.50 a
thousand cubic feet, and there were sixty-
five consumers. The county paid for thirty-
three street lights at the rate of $9 a month.
These street lights were used only when there
was no moonlight.

The first street mains laid in Napa were
mostly condemned boiler tubes two and one-
half inches in diameter, in six-foot lengths,
and joined together by cast-iron sleeves with
lead joints.

In April of 1 869 Adams resigned as sup-
erintendent to accept a similar position at the
gas works in Stockton, and he was suc-
ceeded at Napa by T. R. Parker. At that
time James H. Goodman, James Freeborn,
and Captain Harry Parker were the directors
of the Napa gas company, and Richard
Dudding was secretary.

During that year, I 869, prosperity, long
held back by the civil war, returned, and
Napa felt its good effects. The income
tax was abolished, and even the gas business
in Napa shared in the good times. The
price of gas was reduced to $6 a thousand.
Under T. R. Parker's efficient manage-
ment many improvements in the making of
coal-gas were introduced, including large
clay retorts, each capable of carbonizing
three hundred to four hundred pounds of
coal. The purifying house was remodeled,
and the street-main system was thoroughly
renovated and enlarged. The rates on street
gas-lamps were also reduced to $6 a month
each.

It was about that time that bituminous
coals for gas-making were brought from Van-
couver and Australia to take the place of
the more expensive cannel coals which had
previously been used.

These cheaper coals were Nanaimo from
Vancouver and Greta and Wallsend from
Australia. The gas made from them was
enriched with Anvil Creek cannel, or shale,
from Australia. Coke in those days sold at
$20 a ton, and tar at ten cents a gallon.

These improvements increased the earning
capacity of the company so that dividends
were declared at the rate of I 5 per cent, on
the actual investment. Also the company
voluntarily reduced the price of gas to $5 a
thousand, and the rate on the ninety street
lamps to $4.50 each a month.

The 1 3th of August in I 888 the directors
of the company decided to erect a new gas
works. John Fullagar, formerly superinten-

Theodore Roosevelt Parker

dent of the gas works at Cincinnati, Ohio,
was employed to construct it. The company
was disincorporated, and then re-incorporated
under the name of the Napa Gas Light and
Heating Company. The articles of incor-
poration were dated November 20th, I 888.
The first board of directors of this new com-
pany consisted of George E. Goodman,
Theodore R. Parker, E. S. Churchill,
Isabella Parker, and James Freeborn. H. P.
Goodman was secretary, and John Fullagar
was superintendent. The new gas works was
erected on the site of the present works and
included a 20,000-cubic-foot gas-holder and

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

a complete six-inch coal-gas works, with
Hicks settings of clay retorts. The price of
gas was again reduced, and made $4 a thous-
and, and the street-lamp rate was reduced to
$3.50 for every night and all-night service.

In 1 889 Fullagar resigned the super-
intendency to take charge of the gas works
at San Jose. This brings the Napa gas
works down to the time the writer took up
his residence m California.

Coming in 1 889 from the east, where the
highest types of coal-gas benches were in use
and where there was a rivalry among differ-

The Water Tower in Napa

ent plants to obtain the best results, it was a
pleasurable shock to me, upon visiting the
little coal-gas works in Napa under the able
management of T. R. Parker, to find the re-
tort house equipped with the most modern
type of full-depth regenerative benches, con-
taining five retorts, each capable of carboniz-
ing a ton of coal in five hours, and giving an
average yield of I 1 ,000 cubic feet for each
ton of coal. Such results were better than
were then obtained in some of the best eastern
gas works. In looking about for the reason
for such results I found it in the skill and in-
genuity of T. R. Parker. He had applied

his own improvements to the best knowledge
then obtaining in the east, and his gas plant
there at Napa surpassed in results attained
all the other coal-gas works in California.
Coupled with mechanical excellence was the
highest degree of cleanliness possible in a gas
works. About the buildings the grounds
were laid out in gardens of roses and cannas,
and round the gas-holder tank were beds of
calla lillies, while at the back of the garden
were trellises completely embowered with
purple wistaria. Everywhere, inside and out-
side the works, was evident the touch of Par-
ker's knowledge and good taste.

In 1893, at the organization of the Pacific
Coast Gas Association, T. R. Parker was
one of the charter members. To his enthus-
iastic good work much of the first and con-
tinued success of the association is due. He
immediately took charge of the "Wrinkle
Department," and the splendid results of his
conscientious work are a matter of record in
the proceedings of the association. In 1897
T. R. Parker was elected president of the
Pacific Coast Gas Association, and he per-
formed the duties of the office with credit to
himself and profit to the organization.

Then came electricity as a rival of gas.
In November of 1 899 Dr. Thomas Addison,
coast manager of the General Electric Com-
pany, and John L. Howard purchased the
old steam electric plant in Napa from the
General Electric Company and the Napa
gas works from the George E. Goodman
bank people.

O. E. Clark was then appointed manager
of the combined enterprises, with T. R. Par-
ker as superintendent of the gas works.

During all those years T. R. Parker had
also managed the interests of the Napa City
Water Company, as its superintendent.
When the city was small he was able to at-
tend to both the water and gas works, but
with the growth of Napa and the consequent
increase in the use of water he decided to
devote his attention entirely to the interests

456

Nine Counter'men Had to Run

of the Napa City Water Company. One of

the accompanying illustrations shows the
water tower at Napa, which he designed. It
stands as a sort of landmark, and as a re-
minder of what the long influence of T. R.
Parker has meant to that city beautiful.

At the time of the consolidation in 1 899
George E. Goodman, who had been
associated with the Napa gas interests from
the beginning, severed his connection with the
business.

An illustration accompanying this article
shows the beautiful library building that
George E. Goodman presented to Napa, with
the proviso that it should always be used "as
a library and a resting place for the country
people during their trips to town."

The Napa gas works was operated by the
new owners until the winter of 1902. Then
the company was purchased by the California
Central Gas and Electric Company, and O.
E. Clark was retained as manager of the new

concern. Since then the Napa Gas Light
and Heating Company has become one of the
subsidiary companies of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company.

As fuel-oil became plentiful in California,
and the new method of making gas from
petroleum was rapidly superseding the use of
coal, the gas works at Napa was equipped
with a complete oil-water-gas plant, with a
capacity of 5,000 cubic feet an hour. A
20,000-cubic-foot relief holder was added to
the plant, as well as a 500-barrel tank for the
storage of oil. At the time the works was
taken over by the California Gas and Elec-
tric Corporation the daily output of gas was
from 12,000 to 15,000 cubic feet. At the
present time, in 1910, the output is 45,000
cubic feet a day. During the period since
the introduction of fuel-oil the distributing
system of pipes has increased from six and
one-half miles to twelve and one-quarter, or
nearly double.

Author's Note — The writer, in preparing this article, has drawn freely from a historical sketch en-
titled "Auld Lang Syne, " as well as from the "History of Napa County," by Captain Wallace.

Nine Counter-men Had to Run

EVERY week day the counter-men of the
San Francisco Gas and Electric Com-
pany stand patiently and take the public's
kicks. But Sunday is different; they are not
in "The House of Courtesy" that day.
April I 0th, when a lot of noisy fellows from
the company's auditing department tried to
beat some quiet counter-men out in Golden
Gate Park the counter-men would n't stand
for it, and they did n't stand — they ran ; and
they ran all the way home; yea, verily, till
the auditing alliance stopped pursuing and,
scanning the score, agreed that "Counter-
men 21, Auditing 9" was correct.

And so another baseball bubble burst, and
eighteen envious emulators of Joseph D.
Butler sighed "What 's the use?" and re-

turned to Obscurity to spend their declining
years in the same town with Gus White.

Incidentally there were two home runs
by Barrhold, sensational base-sliding by
"Dutch " Bowman, a living haberdashery
and furnishing goods advertisement by the
immaculately attired and gloved Harry
White, and some short-stop stabbing of low
balls by Johnny Cute Ham.

The gladiators glared at each other thusly:

AUDITING-ERS CoUNTER-MEN

Barrhold pitcher Egan

Lilly catcher Judge

Butler, C first base Brearly

Kenny second base TalcotI

Hood third base Travers

Hefferman short-stop .. .Cunningham, j.

Murray, E right-field Dixon

While, H left-field Dragcevich

Murray, W centre-field Bowman

457

Four Prize -Winners

And Twenty-three Others Who Supplied the Company With
Ideas on "How To Get New Consumers"

THE prize contest is ended. It developed
twenty-seven competitors and an aggre-
gate of half a hundred different ideas or
suggestions as to "How to Get New Con-
sumers."

Very simply and plainly the conditions for
competition were these: any employee of the
company eligible, matter to be submitted not
later than March 3 1 st, writing on only one
side of the paper, and no more than 400
words.

Those exceeding the 400-word limit were
necessarily disqualified as competitors for the
cash prizes.

The first prize of $20 was awarded to
W. R. Morgan, superintendent of gas dis-
tribution in San Francisco.

The next three prizes of $ 1 0 each were
awarded to P. C. Wickersham, bookkeeper

at the Oakland office; M. J. Kelly, em-
ployed at the Potrero gas works, San Fran-
cisco ; Oscar M. Hager, employed at the gas
works in Oakland. The gas men seem to
have been possessed of more business-getting
schemes than the electric men.

San Francisco furnished eight competitors,
Oakland five, Berkeley two, Sacramento
two. Ocean View, Mountain View, San
Jose, Alameda, Santa Rosa, Marysville,
Chico, and Grass Valley one each, and the
De Sabla and Electra power plants one
each. About eight persons out of every
thousand in the employ of the company
helped supply it with these business-getting
ideas, and while there are cash prizes for but
four, there are cordial thanks for the co-
operation of all who thus helped the company
and are here listed as —

Those Wfio Contributed

EMPLOYEE POSITION AND ADDRESS

H. G. Schalh Meter Shop, San Francisco

S. Burns-Macdonald Pressureman, Alameda

C. W. McKlllip District Manager, Sacramento

T. W. Hawley Oakland

F. A. Schliemann Camp One. De Sabla

J. E. Calvert Foreman, Grass Valley

H. B. Heryford District Manager, Chico

J. F. Fugazzi Oakland

Theo. H. Smith Collector, Oakland

P. C. Wickersham Oakland

Mrs. M. E. Walsh San Jose

T. E. Fogalsang Station A, San Francisco

W. E. Kennedy Transformer Room, San Francisco. . . .

C. E. Young Division Superintendent, Marysville. . .

John Clements Field Agent, Berkeley

W. R. Morgan Supt. Gas Distribution, San Francisco.

M. J. Kelly Ocean View

Geo. Stroh Office, San Francisco

Will T. Jones Accountant, Electra

Oscar M. Hager Compressor Station, Oakland

John Sydney Judge Office, San Francisco

A. P. Parratt Chief Clerk, Berkeley

A. D. Kimball Operator, Mountain View

H. Shields Collector, San Francisco

Joseph T. McEvoy Service Man, San Francisco

W. T. Gehan Clerk, Sacramento

Mrs. Leiia A. Bohall Demonstrator, Santa Rosa

*D. E. Kepplemann Office, San Francisco

'Received April 5lh.

458

WORDS

IDEAS

143

222

238

251

261

286

348

355

356

357

369

375

392

394

398

400

484

499

515

591

702

703

260

How to Get New Consumers"

The First Prize- W^inner

Divide the city into districts,
assigning to each as agent a man
who is well acquainted, and
thoroughly competent to "satur-
ate" his district. In a settlement
of foreigners appoint a native.
At frequent intervals the agent
« K morgan should makc a house-to-house
canvass, and keep in close touch with the
people in his district; he should distribute
literature, follow up prospects, take service
and appliance orders, and report to the com-
plaint department all cases of dissatisfaction.
By good service, liberal treatment, exten-
sive advertising, and arguments of skillful
salesmen, supported by the statements of con-
sumers, bring home to every non-consumer
the cleanliness, economy, convenience, re-
liability, and other advantages of up-to-date
methods of heating, lighting, and cooking.
Employ Chinamen to teach Chinese cooks to
use gas ranges.

Agents and salesmen should study the con-
sumer's needs and educate him up to the ad-
vantages of appliances. A list should be
prepared of the most logical and convincing
reasons why the various appliances are used,
a copy placed in the hands of every non-
consumer, and the matter followed up by en-
thusiastic salesmen. Arrange with appliance
men to make installations "on trial," say for
thirty days, and to sell appliances on easy
terms.

The company should make an attractive
and conspicuous display of appliances, new

George de Long, at one time a glee club
man and tennis champion at Stanford Univer-
sity and later a Bohemian Club entertainer
and amateur society actor, is one of the corps
of field agents engaged by the new-business
department of the company.

George W. Merrill, superintendent of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company's street-
car system in Sacramento, a trolley service
with thirty-four miles of track, and Miss
Alice Muttersbach were married at the
Muttersbach residence in Colusa March I 6th,
and moved to their new bungalow in Twenty-

burners, et cetera, in its business office, with
attendants on duty to explain each particular
advantage to visitors, and to offer free trial
installations to those who are interested. Aim
to place a gas range, a room heater, a water
heater, and inverted gas mantles in the home
of each consumer.

If there be a rival company, duplicate its
system; meet all its concessions.

Act promptly on complaints; make a
searching investigation of each repeated com-
plaint. Employ competent men to make
regular rounds of large consumers and keep
installations in good order.

Exercise extreme vigilance in discovering
and blocking attempts of rival company to
win away consumers. Plan and carry on a
systematic campaign to win over rival com-
pany's consumers; discover causes of pref-
erence for rival company, and bring to bear
every legitimate influence to induce a change.
Be ready to supply any building in the com-
petitive district the instant an order is signed.

Make every effort to satisfy present con-
sumers. Do n't wait for complaints; antici-
pate them, and remove the cause. Do n't
wait for new consumers; GO AFTER THEM
STRONG.

Later the other prize papers will be pub-
lished, together with a summary of all the
effective ideas. The contest was judged
by the managers of the new-business and
publicity departments.

eighth Street, Sacramento. The bride is a
young woman of practical business experience.
After graduating from the Colusa schools,
where she was a favorite, she became secre-
tary of the Colusa Improvement Club, then
secretary of the Valley Federation of Im-
provement Clubs, then deputy county treas-
urer during the administration of T. O. Arena
and part of the administration of R. E.
Blevins, then associated with the C. F. Foster
mercantile concern at Corning, and for the
past seven years was stenographer and book-
keeper at Sacramento for the Thompson-
Diggs Company.

459

Usefulness of a Photo Department

By JOSEPH P. BALOUN. Head of the Draughting Deparlment.

Way down deep In the base-
ment of the tall six-story office
building of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, at 445 Sut-
ter street, San Francisco, is a
small section set apart for photo-
graphic reproduction work. It
carries two name plates on the door: "Keep
Out." "Photo Dept."

In that very lowly position the highest
grade work of its kind is executed, princi-
pally for the various departments represented
on the crowded and busy floors overhead;
for if any office-building in San Francisco be
a bee-hive of industry it is this "House of
Courtesy." It is here that the company's
engineering, commercial, legal, accounting,
and administrative departments are so admir-
ably distributed and interconnected through-
out a building specially designed for public-
service needs and demands.

When the author of this article was given
the humble and yet necessary task of design-
ing the "photo shop," as the boys call it, he
was told to make it as large as necessary but
also to keep it as small as possible. For, on
account of the very rapid increase of business
and the large sales of gas and electricity for
power and lighting, basement space would be
a more and more valuable adjunct to a
crowded building. In fact, additional stories
may have to be added to keep the concentra-
tion of business under one roof, and to meet
the requirements of a dozen difl^erent depart-
ments.

The photo department was suggested as
a necessity to the general organization. But
would it be available in helping to produce a
revenue in the company's earning capacity?
Every one knows that the costs of amateur
protography far exceed the sale of pictures
to friends. So it was predicted that a photo

department would be a quicksand for the
stockholders' dividends. But it has most
quickly and convincingly proven both econom-
ical and practical. Large maps, drawings,
sketches, documents, or other printed matter
can be photographed in a short space of time.
They can be reproduced with infallible cor-
rectness to the original or smaller dimensions.
Information and data are thereby reduced in
bulk to a size convenient for filing in reference
records and loose-leaf pocket, or "dope",
books. Large, original sections, measuring
five feet across, can be photographically re-
produced for mounting on a card eleven by
fourteen inches, or smaller to any suggested
scale or degree down to a postal-card size.
Thus a variety of reductions can be made to
suit the needs of the diff^erent departments.
But a minimum number of these special sizes
has been found preferable. It helps in filing
the original plates and films and also in re-
ducing the labor in setting the camera frame
and lens in position.

The draughting department at the present
time has six so-called standai^J-size sheets for
its drawings. If these sizes were brought to
a common reduction of nine inches on a letter-
size sheet eight and a half by eleven inches
the cost of operating the camera would be
materially increased over that of some one
constant reduction.

It has become possible, on account of the
uniformity of the majority of the drawings
and from their nature and character, to set
the camera on previously determined mark-
ings on the tracks, or guides, of the camera
frame. These positions represent settings for
difl^erent sizes of sheets to be photographed.
Since considerable care was exercised in the
primary test and indelible marking of these
various needed positions the setting of the
camera for a given piece of work has become

460

Usefulness of a Photo Department

purely mechanical. Thus much time is
saved, which ordinarily is spent with a cloth
over the ground glass and in a constant
juggling of the camera slide to secure the
proper ratio of reduction of image. Even on
very special sizes of drawings or documents
positions can be readily interpolated. The
adjustment of the bellows with its lens move-
ment is so carefully arranged and set with
its indelible markings that it corresponds to

it has a dark room, with a sink, running
water, shelves, et cetera, and white and ruby
lights with separate switches. The dark room
is as black as the proverbial ace of spades,
due to its labyrinth passage arrangement,
with zig-zag partitions, the walls, floor, and
ceiling of which are painted a dull black.
Besides this precaution against outside light,
the intervening passages are hung with black
oilcloth painted black also on the under side.

Qroi'n

^5//^A

Dark Roorn

.d-/o'_

B/ocA Ot/
C/ofh Curfa

For R^fk^J^r-3T.'yl)>-

r£

Whif^ L,^/,/_^ ^i: Board

S//c//ny S/ona' Comoro jed'^SSi'

jL —

posifion ef Com(^ra, position of kn.

h/a//s Pa,n/^c/ A/AZ/c

/<? -' ^ ■

P/an ofPho-^o Room

that particular size measured in its original
setting and to no other. An operator can
readily set the carriage frame and lens posi-
tion for a given size drawing and for a given
reduction without looking at his ground glass
or testing or checking in any way, for he
knows that he will get the desired result by
carefully following the marks and their full
meaning as minutely indicated for his guid-
ance.

The photo room is only fourteen feet four
inches long by eight feet ten inches wide, and

As all the lighting is artificial two open-fyptr
arc lamps are suspended from the ceiling.
These lamps are each of six and a half am-
peres capacity and are on the 1 i 0-volt,
direct-current service ; each lamp is also con-
trolled by a separate switch.

The camera is mounted on a specially
rigid frame with guides for facilitating its
ready movement backward and forward, as
indicated in the accompanying sketch.

Not only drawings but actual details of
machinery have been mounted in front of the

461

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

mSkh

camera in the regular way and exposed to
the arc hghts with excellent results on the
negative.

Although the new photo department has

but one employee, and he under the author's
supervision, it has the secret pride of doing
more than "all it is worth," and that both
quickly and willingly.

Daring Work in the Line of Duty

ACROSS the Straits of Carquinez, at the
head of San Francisco bay, four huge
high-voltage electric cables are suspended
from hilltop to hilltop 4,000 feet. At the
lowest point of the sag of the stranded-steel

D. A. Kammerer

wires they are still two hundred and six feet
above the surface of the water and safely
high above the tallest masts of passing ships.

On the Benicia side, the hill is one hundred
and forty feet above the bay, and on the top
of it is a mammoth steel skeleton tower two

hundred and twenty-five feet high, holding the
electric-power cables three hundred and sixty
feet above the level of the waters.

The 6th of January two men climbed up
to the very top of the steel ladder to take pho-
tographs. One of them, in drawing back to
include his companion in the picture, accident-
ally touched one of those 60,000-volt wires.
He dropped, as from the top of a twenty-story
building to the sidewalk, dead! The electric
arc that flashed to his body had also set fire
to the wooden cross-arms holding the insula-
tors. That was at II :30 o'clock. Extra
linemen were rushed from both sides of the
bay. They came and looked up at the fire,
and they hesitated. At 1 :45 o'clock the
company's engineer of electrical operation and
maintenance started from San Francisco on a
special tugboat with some San Francisco line-
men. They arrived a few* minutes before 4
o'clock. The fire was still burning.

McCann, a daredevil little San Francisco
lineman, now working at Los Angeles, gazed
aloft, stripped off his coat, took a wet sack
and a fire extinguisher, and started up the
long, steep ladder, instantly followed by D.
A. Kammerer, another San Francisco line-
man, and the score of linemen and electricians
who had hesitated stood and watched these
two. Up, up they went and, through a shower
of falling cinders and released bolts, finally
came to the top. In a few seconds more they
had beaten out or smothered the little lines of
flaming timbers. And the fire was all out at
4:02 o'clock, a great anxiety safely ended,
and electric service to the bay cities not in-
terrupted for even a minute.

462

Reeling Up a Line by Its Own Power

dlJ

By \X- ALL ACE H. FOSTER,

To reel up many miles of copper
wire by electric power secured
from the line itself may possibly
be a new method of removing a
distributing system. At any rate,
Walter A. Pennell, line superin-
tendent of the racmc Gas and
Electric Company's Marin district, used this
means during December, 1 909, of doing
practical work at a financial saving over the
usual method.

There was a little more than thirteen miles
of No. ! O, hard-drawn copper wire to be
gathered m between Schutzen Park and the
Alto substation. This three-phase line fol-
lowed the county road about half the dist-
ance, and the rest of the way went over high
hills, with numerous sharp turns and steep
pitches. The roads were bad from the rains,
and the hillsides were soft and difficult be-
cause of the wet.

Owing to the inflexible character of the wire
and the difficulties of the country traversed
it was estimated that an expenditure of $500
would be necessary to accomplish the work.

Pennell finally decided to use a 30-horse-
power, three-phase, electric hoist mounted on
a truck and supplied with current from the
live end of the line that was being removed.
The wire was cut at a convenient point, and
the dead side was untied from the insulators
and dropped to the ground in the usual man-
ner. At abrupt corners or on steep pitches
the wire to be pulled was led through ordi-
nary telephone messenger blocks to prevent
friction. The dead end of the wire was made
fast to the drum of the hoist and was wound
upon it till the capacity of the drum was
reached. Reels, mounted on trestles to per-
mit them to revolve easily by means of an
endless rope driven by one of the "nigger
heads" on the hoist, were provided so that

Manager Marin County District.

the wire on a full drum could be transferred
to a reel with very little labor. As soon as
the drum was thus emptied it was started upon
the work of pulling in and winding up more
wire.

The team used for hauling the truck and
electric hoist was also employed in conveying
the full reels to the point of shipment.

A considerable part of the labor cost was
expended in setting up and unshipping the
hoist. On a larger job this item would be
relatively less by the mile, so that the cost
for each mile of wire removed could be
brought below the $34 average that resulted
from the following items:

Length of wire removed, miles. . . 13.2

Longest single pull, feet 5,250

Maximum reeled m one day. feet. 25,200
Total number employed, men. ... 16

Cost of labor on the work $377.42

Cost of teammg 53.50

Cost of sundries 1 7.88

Total cost $448.80

Not an Ordinary Letter

It came from a man who had moved to
Oakland and it read:

Dear Sir: Your kind letter of 1 I — 30 at
hand. While I regret I caused you again to
remind me of the bal. of one dollar due the
company, I will say that I really had let it
slip my mind, having many other things to
attend to. We buried father Nov. 22, so
that and other things were, I guess, part of
the cause. However, I wish to thank you
for your kindness when we were in the city
and also your endurance with us in waiting
for the money long past due. I am pleased
to be able to settle the bal. ^ ou will find
enclosed a one-dollar bill.

Why will a woman persist in carrying her
umbrella with the sharp end projecting back-
ward from under her arm?

Ah ! She wants to catch somebody's eye.

46.1

FRANK HASTINGS VARNEY

"Who Solves the Steam -Engineering Problems of Three Great Steam-driven

Electric Plants

BEFORE the big fire San Francisco and
also many of the rural sections of Cali-
fornia held standing acres of advertising bill-
boards, each labeled at the top

Varney & Green.

Then the four-mile firing line moved
steadily forward for three days and nights
and drove an army of refugees into the out-
lying residence districts. Curbstone kitchens
suddenly became the only permissible places
for cooking. Fuel was scarce. Some one
took an ax to a billboard. The suggestion
spread faster than a prairie fire. By morn-
ing hardly one of those unburned Varney &
Green boards remained in San Francisco.
They had been converted into fuel-hoards
or improvised shacks or windbreaks for street
kitchens.

So earthquake and darkness and fire
effaced a business title and made it "one with
Ninevah and Tyre"!

Was it our Mr. Varney who thus went
by the board? No, not so sad as that. Our
Mr. Varney is merely a cousin of the late
Mr. Bill Board Varney. But our Mr. Var-
ney has a new residence of his own high on
the top of Russian Hill, and it is on Green
street. This goes to show that you really
can 't keep the Varneys down, though you
use an ax. For, behold! even the old title
still persists in San Francisco, only slightly
amended to read, like a vaudeville team,
Frank — Varney & Green — Street.

Nearly thirty-eight years ago, long before
San Jose had become the prune metropolis of

the world, some one may have looked up from
a morning paper there and said, "Ah, ha! I
see the Varneys have a son. Born the 15 th
of September. Let 's see. That brings him
into the world equipped with certain charac-
teristics, unless his will-power or environment
change them. He should grow up to be very
orderly and methodical, generous, solicitious
about other people's affairs, able to keep his
own and other's secrets, good at planning and
designing, devoted to his family, possessed
of most accurate intellectual discrimination,
capable of quick recovery from defeat or
disaster, having an accurate sense of feeling
and touch, not readily nourished by food un-
less surrounded by cheerful and unirritating
conditions, reach above medium height, be
well formed, and have an oval face. But
the faults of these kids born between August
22d and September 23d are: tendencies to
be militant and dominant, to value money
too highly for itself, to be careless about their
diet, and to seek medicine and doctors too
often, though unusually free from real ail-
iments. The most agreeable business or social
affinities for this youngster should be the
people born between September 23d and
October 23d and between November 22d
and December 21st."

Not being a politician and perhaps dissent-
ing from these outside analyses of his personal
possibilities, Frank Varney quit San Jose as
the Dissenters quit England; and when he
quit he took his parents along with him over
into Nevada and established them at Vir-
ginia City. There the Varneys dwelt five

Men of the Company

years, or until Frank was seven years of age.
Then, with an eye on the future, he brought
his parents down to the city by the Golden
Gate, and so the Varneys became residents
of San Francisco.

Frank entered the edifices of education.
To put it more simply, he went to the Mission
Grammar School and then to the Horace
Mann Grammar School. Thus he came to
the age of fourteen,
and was big for his
years, and some
strong. So he quit
school and tackled
work. From the
time he was fourteen
till he was twenty he
was a grocery-store
clerk in San Fran-
cisco (six months),
drove a San Fran-
cisco milk wagon
twice a day from 2
till 8 every morning
and from 2 till 7
every afternoon (one
year), was an en-
gineer on a threshing-
machine at Half-
moon Bay, an en-
gineer in a sawmill
at Los Gatos, and ^""'^ ^

was several other things that meant work
and wages.

At twenty he returned to San Francisco
and was fireman and engineer for a wholesale
coffee and spice house six months. Then he
went back to Los Gatos and put in six months
at farming, haying, plowing, and again study-
ing the milky way, this time coaxing the
lacteal fluid from the contented cud-chewing
cow.

Again he returned to San Francisco, and
entered the employ of the James H. Donohue
Railroad as a shipping-clerk on the Wash-
ington-Street pier. He evolved to recording

clerk and to way-bill clerk, and thus rounded
out one year as a railroad man. Then at the
age of twenty-two he started as engineer for
the Harbor Light and Power Company, and
put in fifteen months being "the whole thing
but the president" for a small electric plant
that supplied about a hundred arc lights. This
concern was absorbed by the Edison Com-
pany, and Frank Varney stayed with the
business, simply being
transferred to the
company's proposed
new station in Ste-
venson Street. He
did construction work
at that Stevenson-
Street plant till it was
completed in 1895,
and then he was
twenty - three. Still
with the Edison com-
pany, he bethought
him that now was the
time to get a little
more systematic
schooling, so he be-
gan taking the long-
distance courses of
the American School
of Correspondence,
and when he was
Varney twenty-four he re-

ceived a graduating diploma. He con-
tinued at the Stevenson-Street plant, ad-
vancing from operator to watch foreman and
to station foreman; and then, in 1898, when
the San Francisco Gas and Electric Com-
pany bought that plant, he was made chief
electrician in charge of three local steam-
driven electric plants — Station A, next to
Station C, in Stevenson Street, employing
twenty-two men and generating 1 ,000 kilo-
watts; Station B, in Townsend Street, be-
tween Second and Third, employing forty
men and having forty arc machines with
3,300 engine horsepower; and Station C, in

4G.1

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Stevenson Street, employing seventy-two men
and generating 2,200 kilowatts. About
1900, when George Thompson quit as chief
engineer, Frank Varney, then twenty-seven,
was made superintendent and given control
of both the steam and electric stations and
also the distributing system. A little later,
when the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company bought out the Independent com-
pany, Varney was made superintendent of
stations, and in addition to the generating
stations A, B, and C there were put on his
list seven substations : ( I ) at Fern Avenue,
near Polk; (2) at Eleventh and Minna;
(3) at Pacific and Stockton; (4) at Eighth
and Mission; (5) at Third and Mission;

(6) at Sacramento and Montgomery; and

(7) at Hyde, near McAllister.

Then came the great fire in 1906 and
swept all the substations and those three
generating stations off the map. Three side-
walk shacks were hurriedly erected as tem-
porary substations, supplied from a bigger
Station A, near the Union Iron Works,
and old Station C in Stevenson Street was re-
habilitated for a substation, from which to
radiate reduced-voltage lines.

In the sprmg of 1907 Frank Varney was
made engineer of steam operation and main-
tenance of the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany, and his duties confined to the engineer-
ing problems of the huge steam-driven electric
plant in San Francisco called Station A; the
great oil-gas works in Visitacion Valley,
known as Martin Station; the big, steam-
driven, electric plant in Oakland; and the
steam-driven, electric plant in San Jose.

Frank Varney is the father of young Frank
Varney, aged seven months; and he is a
Mason, a Shriner, and a member of the
American Institute of Electrical Engineers,
the American Society of Mechanical En-
gineers, and the Pacific Coast Gas Associa-
tion; an elder brother of "Jack" Varney,
who is superintendent of all the company's
electric substations in San Francisco; and he
is the son of Vermont parents who came to
California about I 860 by way of the Isthmus
of Panama and located in the "Garden
City," thus giving Frank, their first-born,
somewhat of a sentimental advantage should
any one think it necessary to raise the ques-
tion. Which child is the flower of the family?

A. R.

Big New Gas Holders

THE company will soon start the construc-
tion of another big storage tank at its gas
works in the Potrero district of San Francisco,
out toward the Union Iron Works. This
tank will be approximately 200 feet high and
1 50 feet in diameter, and it will hold 5,000,-
000 cubic feet of gas. It will loom up
nearly the size of the Hotel St. Francis, and
will be the largest gas tank west of the
Rockies, excepting only a tank of similar size
in Los Angeles, which cost $300,000 to
build. From this new gas receiver will be
extended eight miles of big, steel, gas main,
sweeping round through the residence districts
to give them a direct supply, instead of having

them depend upon the mains that reach from
the works into the downtown business districts
first. The new main will terminate in the
company's 2,000,000-cubic-foot gas holder
at North Beach, near the foot of Van Ness
Avenue, about the same size as the company's
big one at the Oakland waterfront.

At Vallejo the company has just com-
pleted a big, new gas tank to hold about
1 5 1 ,000 cubic feet of gas, or about three
times the capacity of the regular tank at that
plant. In testing this new Vallejo tank,
676,000 gallons of water were pumped
into it, which suggests something of its
capacity.

466

"The Hollyhock"

Or Being a Bride in a California Logging Camp

By J. W. HALL, Manager Stockton Water District.

It was a warm afternoon in

August. The logging camp in
the clearing lay basking in the
sun. Great, protruding, flat-top
stumps and trodden bare ground
marked the confines of the settle-
ment. The park-like forest
hugged it closely all about with a stockade of
towering trees. A bright green carpet of
"mountain misery" clothed the slopes and
hillsides, and on it the tall pines cast their in-
termingling shadows in fantastic patterns.
Streaks of red dust, traversing the green,
marked the roads and trails that diverged
from the camp and lost themselves in the
depths of the woodland.

The glistening tracks of the logging rail-
road, leading up from the cation below,
turned into the little valley, stretched across
its length, made a long curve round its upper
end, turned back, and, with a rapidly ascend-
ing grade, went out again and upward and
onward along the heavily timbered slopes of
the Sierras.

Near the centre of the railroad curve, on
its outside contour, at the head of the valley,
stood the station building and warehouses of
the lumber camp. And scattered about in
reckless disregard of the points of the compass
or of uniformity with one another were the
shacks and dwellings of the community. Slab
Creek, a noisy torrent of ice-cold water, ran
down under one of the trestles. A little way
below was the bull barn and the sawmill, and
farther up the track were the round-house and
the blacksmith shop and other buildings of
the company. On the rails near the trestle

stood a little Baldwin locomotive, awaiting
the return of Billy the engineer. Billy was
busily engaged on some errand preparatory to
the next trip down to the Point. In the cab
sat Dolly, resplendent in glad garments,
preening herself in the prospect of a ride
down the cafion. Her spotlessly clean shirt-
waist displayed upon it two sheaves of wheat
and the legend "Drifted Snow Flour". The
healthful color of her cheeks rivalled the
bloom of the azalia.

Across Slab Creek could be heard the
clink, clink, clink of Nick the blacksmith
working at his forge, making new or repair-
ing old logging equipment.

The shimmering heat was rising in languid
waves from the roadbed. The needles in the
tops of the pines stirred slowly at the touch
of a passing breeze. The air was fragrant
with the delicious odors of the forest.

In the roomy office of the station building
sat the operator, busy over his accounts.
Suddenly he raised his head and listened in-
tently; then ejaculated in an undertone, "train
coming, flat wheel", and resumed attention
to his desk. A faint throbbing, like the dis-
tant beating of partridge wings, had reached
his ear-drum. In a few minutes he again lis-
tened; then commented, "running pretty fast,
do n't sound right." Soon the echo that at
first had seemed only one of the subdued
noises of the forest became louder and more
insistent. The cars or train or whatever it
was must be rounding some open point. Then
all was hushed again as though they had gone
into the depths of a canon. The sounds grew
nearer. The echoes spoke more and more

Editorial Note — The author of this article long ago lived the life of the California logging camps, one
of which he here so picturesquely portrays; and specific interest in the subject today is increased because
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company now owns and operates two logging camps and sawmills to supply
its miles of mountam flumes with lumber for the annual repairs.

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

AJ^J;

harshly. The squeahng of the car wheels ing switch. He wrenched once, twice, and

on the distant curves increased in intensity, then, with a last herculean effort, threw open

and a few minutes later settled into a steady the switch. The flying train sped by him,

shrill. plowed along up the opposite bank, and

The occupant of the station stretched him- wrecked itself amongst the stumps of a pre-

self lazily, left his desk, and came to the vious season's cut.

door. He looked up the track, uneasily There was a general gasp of relief as the

noted that whatever train it was there was cars left the track. Nick, with his hand still

something unusual about it, something going on the bar of the switch, glanced once at the

wrong. Finally, at the fartherest visible point pile of wreckage, then round at the blanched

of the track, he made out two cars loaded faces of the onlookers, spat reflectively, and

with railroad iron. They were running alone sauntered leisurely back to his forge. And

and running away. They had broken loose the incident was closed,
from the construction train further up the In the solitude of the great woods the small

mountain.

Necks were craned out of doors and win-
dows in camp. Startled voices yelled,
"What 's up?" The speeding cars dis-
appeared for a moment on the sloping hill-
side. Then they burst with a roar round
the last point, and bore down on the camp
with the speed of a racing auto and the noise
of a hurricane.

things of life become important. Still there
is nothing small in the woods. The horizon
is wide. Operations are undertaken on a
large scale. The occupations, much out of
doors, are wholesome, conducive to exuberant
health. And with bounding health there is
a zest in the very details of each day's ex-
istence.

The furor over the runaway cars had

One of two things would happen! The cars scarcely subsided when the logging com-

would shoot off on the curve and crash into munity was again all excitement. Sandy

the buildings, or they would stay on the track Bruce had been away from camp on one of

and drive like an iron-clad into the standing his periodical visits to Hangtown. And

locomotive and wreck it. when Billy returned from his run down the

Dolly sat in the cab like one paralyzed, track to the Point he brought the news that

unable to move or escape. Billy bounded Sandy was coming back with a side-partner!
toward her. He saw the danger, raced for Logging Jacks do not often marry. But

the locomotive. He would move it off down no one ventured openly to question the pro-

the track. In his excitement he forgot on priety of Sandy's action,
which side he had placed the safety chuck- Sandy's wife had ridden in with him on

block, and ran round to the wrong side. He the stage down Break-Neck Canon; had been

then rushed back to the other side, wrenched hauled across the river on cables and up the

out the block, sprang into the cab, and opened long tramway to the Point. Then, seated on

the throttle, but too late! a bale of hay on a logging truck, she had

The runaway cars, now coming with compassed the ten or twelve miles inland by

terrific sf)eed, raced across the two high rail to the camp without getting much mussed

trestles. Nick the blacksmith had heard the up.

tumult above the sound of his anvil. He She was clad in an apple-green dress of

looked up; saw them coming. Without a modern make; her shoes were trim; she wore

moment's hesitation he sprang out of the door gloves; and on her head was a very large sun-

and ran across the tracks in the face of the bonnet of bright crimson. One of the boys

flying train and grasped the bar of a derail- who first saw her at the store exclaimed in

"The Hollyhock"

open-mouthed astonishment to another, "Holy
Macinaw! look at the hollyhock." A mo-
ment later, as she turned her gaunt, but finely-
cut features and clear gray eyes in his direc-
tion, he made mental allowances. But the
name was out; she was "The Hollyhock"
after that.

Sandy paid small attention to any one's
opinion. She was promptly installed in his
little shack. That same night she was
honored with the customary charivari, with
its medley of mock music. Sandy was a
popular man, so the charivari was made a
red-hot welcome.

"The Gimlet," who led the orchestra on
such occasions, appeared waving the stars
and stripes, for sometimes the receptions were
precipitous, and a man needed all the pro-
tection he could invoke. "The Gimlet" rode
on a camp burro, with a rusty scythe over his
shoulder in lieu of a sword, and he was ac-
companied by the balance of the camp, with
horns, tin cans, and other nerve-rackmg noise-
makers. The demonstration was prolonged
and boisterous. Sandy and his wife took the
compliment in good part. Sandy would prob-
ably have felt slighted had the ceremony
been omitted. After the first "number" he
led "The Hollyhock" out by the hand and
clumsily said, "Boys, this yers my wife."
The band saluted. Sandy then "set 'em up,"
and thus the house was warmed.

The next day Sandy went to work as a
brakeman on a logging train. On one of the
first trips a truck went off on a trestle, and
Sandy fell off the train and landed on his
head in the gulch. They brought him home
much dazed, and summoned a physician.
When, some hours later, the doctor arrived
he looked Sandy over and lowed he had a
pretty bad crack on the nut, but that his head
was so hard it could n't be broken, and that
lie would be O. K. in a few days. He
left a prescription to be mixed with a quart
of whisky — dose one swallow every hour, —
and turned Sandy over to the greatly-per-

turbed "Hollyhock" and to Scotty, a close
friend.

From the moment of the accident Sandy
had been much dazed, but at short intervals,
perhaps a hundred times that day, he would
rally and ask, "Scotty, how far did I fall?"
Scotty would patiently reply in a pleasant
drawl, " 'bout twelve feet, Sandy." Then
Sandy would put his hand to his head and
ejaculate, "the hell!" and again relapse into
a semi-stupor, only to recover in a little while
and enquire again, "How far did I fall,
Scotty?" Scotty would reiterate, " 'bout
twelve feet." "The Hollyhock" nursed
Sandy tenderly, and his condition improved
slowly all that day.

The next day, which was Saturday, two
other logging Jacks returned to camp from
Hangtown. The wives of these two men
dwelt over there. They had acquired the
Salvation-Army habit, and during this latest
visit of their husbands it seems they had in-
veigled their mates into the army.

Now, those two men had been considered
incorrigibles. Furthermore, anything so out
of place as the reformation of a logging Jack
had never been considered amongst the social
possibilities. Fhe conversion of such men
was sufficient news to startle the nerves of any
ordinary logging community. The thing,
looked impossible! A logging Jack and reli-
gion do not amalgamate.

A logging Jack thinks he can out-work,
out-fight, out-swear, out-drink, and out-last
anything that ever wore boots. From the
nature of his wholesome life in the woods he
IS hardier, huskier, and broader than any
other class of workmen, and he never does
things by halves.

Now Bill and Harry having temporarily
back-slid into the Salvation Army, due to
the energetic solicitations of their wives, in
good faith and enthusiastically, wished to re-
form the whole camp right away. They un-
flinchingly spoke of their salvation. They
announced that the next day, being Sunday,

4CD

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

they would hold a meeting in the round-house
and relate their experiences. All were cor-
dially invited to attend.

Nobody needed urging. Even "The
Hollyhock" and Scotty left Sandy at home
and went to see the fun, "The Hollyhock" in
thankful earnestness and Scotty with mental
reservations.

"Slippery Jim," who was at the bottom of
most of the mischief in the camp and who
labored faithfully to relieve its monotony,
had been round and passed the word to the
boys to secure some small iron washers at
the shop on their way to the meeting.

The assemblage came to order. Harry
and Bill were good talkers and earnest. Each
in turn gave a forceful account of his regen-
eration, and called upon all the others to join
in with them. Bill stated in simple words
that they all knew what a dissipated wreck
he had formerly been, and recalled the many
fights that had come off between Harry and
himself ; but now the hatchet was buried, and
they were like two brothers, "as David and
Joe Nathon," as he pronounced it. Un-
fortunately for Bill's peace of mind they
called him Joe Nathon for many days there-
after.

"Slippery Jim" arose in his seat and
gravely endorsed the religious reform. He
proposed that a small collection be taken as
evidence of their good will, to help the cause
along. To give things a start he immediately
proceeded to pass round a small box that he
had provided for the occasion. Contribu-
tions were generously showered into it.
"Slippery" walked up to the front and
dumped the collection upon the table. A pile
of iron washers, with a solitary silver quarter
gleaming amongst them!

Bill and Harry looked at it, then at each
other. With one accord they sprang upon
"Slippery." The fight was fast and furious
while it lasted, but the odds were too great.
Bill and Harry were soon obliged to succumb
to the combined resistance of the congrega-

tion. The meeting was adjourned, amid the
laughter and joshing of the loggers.

"The Hollyhock" hurried breathlessly
home, and burst into the house with, "Oh
Sandy, it was a dreadful fight! You should
have seen Bill hit 'Slippery.' "

Sandy stirred slightly and inquired, "How
far did he fall?" And Scotty, who came
in at that moment, responded in his usual
drawl, " 'bout twelve feet, Sandy." Sandy's
hand went up to his head and he said, "the
hell!"

Digger Pine Near Yuba River

This freak landmark, growing alongside
the trail between the Colgate and Yuba

7'"^ —

-_/

)

■\

--i" 1

•»l^

k '

rnxg

1^^

*-' -

electric-power plants, was probably tied in
a knot years ago by a miner or hunter. Some
day it will amaze tourists.

470

Editorial

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PUBI,I8HEn IN THE INTEllKST OF Al.f. THE EMPLOYEES
OF THE I'ACIFIC (JAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. HKITTON ElMTC.Ii

ARCIIIK RICE Eiirnii:

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER - - - BusinessManaokk

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription JJO cents

Single copy 10 cents

Mutter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street. San Francisco

Vol. I APRIL, 1910 No. 11

EDITORIAL

Save

Something;
Buy
Land

Some men and nearly all women
can not get life-insurance. Most
men, through personal selfish-
ness, evade it. Many are favor-
ably impressed by accident-in-
surance, and practically all people favor fire-
insurance.

All forms of insurance mean small regular
deposits against a future need. Insurance is
a kind of compulsory savings account, based
on the hope that if loss come these small de-
posits will suddenly repair part or all of the
damage.

In the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
there are approximately 3,500 employees.
Whether or not they believe in any of the
standard forms of insurance is immaterial.

The thing is this: They are all now earn-
ing money. Many of them are probably
savmg little or nothmg, for that is the great
easy-going way that has ever been character-
istic of the generous, free-spending Califor-
nian.

In France, following the Napoleonic wars,
taxes became so high that all the people had
to save scientifically to live and pay the
government's demands. As a result of that
enforced experience the French people today,
only half as numerous as we Americans and
confined to a territory about the size of Cali-
fornia, are the money-lenders of the world.

In Japan, since the Russian war, the people
are practically paying half their wages to
remove the nation's debt, and that experience

in enforced thrift will make the Japanese the
future bankers of the orient.

In our own country and the world over the
members of the Salvation Army give one-
tenth their regular earnings to the cause.

This all goes to show that people can save
when they have to, and that they may save
something on their own account if they will.
What is needed is a specified incentive, a
good, sensible little investment to receive and
increase the value of the gradual savings.

Everywhere in California there are still
good investments, in a city lot or a few
country arces for a future home. The land
can be bought with a very small initial pay-
ment, followed by modest monthly install-
ments. And such opportunity is right now
within the financial reach of every person who
is earning a little money. It is a form of in-
surance against the higher prices, higher rents,
and home needs that are certain to develop
as the years pass.

When you own a well-chosen little piece of
land you have a property that can not be de-
stroyed and will never decrease in value.

In a few years you can get it finally paid
for. Many a man has said with regret, "I
remember when I could have bought all that
land for a hundred dollars."

Subscription Price Increased

Beginning with the May number of this
magazine the subscription price to persons not
employed by the company will be $1.50 a
year. Employees will continue to receive the
magazine free. Subscriptions already entered
or those received prior to May 1st will, of
course, be at the old rate of fifty cents a
year. All employees who may wish to put
their friends or relatives on the subscription
list will have the opportunity at the fifty-cent
rate if their prepaid subscriptions be received
before May 1st. It 's cheaper than writing
twelve monthly letters, and easier and more
entertaining. But act quickly if you see it
that way.

471

Forty-four Years a Company's Home

THE accompanying picture shows the old
office building of the San Francisco Gas
Light Company. It faced on First Street,
with one end on Natoma Street, and was the
headquarters of the company from 1853 till
April 1st, 1897, when the move was made
to the new building that stood on Post Street,
above Powell, until the fire of April, 1906,
destroyed it and the old structure here illus-
trated.

As originally constructed in 1853 this old
brick building was only about half the size

At the right of the door, on along the re-
mainder of the front of the building, was the
large room occupied by the bookkeepers and
collectors. The one-story wing at the ex-
treme left of the main building formed the
office of the president and the secretary from
1853, when Beverley Sanders was president,
down to 1897, when Joseph B. Crockett
was the chief.

On the second floor the three end and t^vo
front windows at the near corner opened into
the office of E. C. Jones, in the days when

The Old Office Building at First and Natoma Streets

here shown, the section of four windows
along the right-hand front having been added
in 1873, two years after the original San
Francisco Gas Company changed its name
to the San Francisco Gas Light Company.

In the near corner downstairs, the room
lighted by two windows on each street, was
the cashier's office. There during many
years Thomas J. Slevin served as cashier.
He was a man of a studious bent, particu-
larly interested in all history and biblio-
graphy pertaining to California.

he was only assistant engineer of the com-
pany. The next front window to the right
lighted the office of the bill clerks. And the
next six windows opened upon an assembly
hall that extended through to the back of the
building. In that assembly hall were held
the meetings of the stockholders and there,
too, was formed the Pacific Coast Gas
Association, at a meeting held July 1 1 th,
1893. The association also held its annual
sessions there in 1895 and 1896.

The little two-story building off to the

A Trolley Train to Carry Gold

right was the original office of the company's
chief engineer, in the days when Joseph
Beggs and Wilham Beggs and Joseph B.
Crockett were the engineers. Upstairs was
the draughting room, where, it is said, Peter
Martin started to learn to be a draughtsman
because his uncle Peter Donahue thought the
young man might take gas as a profession.
Later that little building served as an office
for the sale of coke and tar.

A Trolley Train to Carry Gold

The North Star mine in Nevada County,
California, is a property that has already
produced $30,000,000 in gold. It has in-
cline shafts down mere than 5,000 feet on
the ledge; has underground passageways
aggregating about twenty-five miles, and on
the surface of the earth it covers several hun-
dred acres of land. The mine regularly em-

The Southernmost Lamp Post

Way down at the other end of the world,
where modern community civilization has
come its nearest to the south pole, there is a

little town in New Zealand called Invercar-
gill. This picture shows the southernmost
gas lamp in that town, the southernmost
church, and the southernmost bus as a means
of street transportation.

J. O. Tobey, formerly assistant superin-
tendent of the San Jose power division, has
been made superintendent of the Sacramento
power division, which has been reduced in
size by transferring from it to the Nevada-
County division the Deer Creek and Alta
power houses.

Goodness! Where do all the pins go?

Never could tell ; all I 've ever seen
seemed to be headed one way and pointed
the other.

ploys about 350 men. All its motive power
is furnished by the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company. This illustration shows a tiny
trolley train used on the surface to carry gold
ore from different shafts to the mill. This
little motor car was designed by George
Scarfe, the Pacific Gas and Electric Com-
pany's electrical superintendent in that sec-
tion. Note the very narrow gauge of the
track, and the double troiiey.

473

To Improve the Telephone's Usefulness

TELEPHONING is the only kind of
communication a good many people
have with certain other people. Such are the
conditions brought about by the time-saving
devices of modern business methods. The
telephone-talk is often the means of making
or losing a friend for a large concern that
has thousands of customers to serve. The
promptness of response, the tone of the voice,
the courtesy displayed or lacking are all little
things that count, and, in the aggregate, with
tens of thousands of customers, they make for
popularity or public resentment.

It 's good to work for a company that 's
pMjpular ; it 's unpleasant to be occasionally
reminded — "That s one of the meanest,
worst-hated corporations in the country."

Prompt, fair, courteous treatment all along
the line from every employee is the human
force that produces popularity for a com-
pany; and when all are working toward that
end the mechanical parts of the system get
a sort of reflex impulse that helps make things
run smoothly. Railroads are abused, but the
passenger agents of the railroad companies as
a class are chosen because of their cheerful
personality and their natural courteous de-
meanor in the face of irritating conditions.
There may be grouches in every railroad's
official family, but they are not the big pas-
senger agents.

The purpose of this article is to indicate
along what lines the best results may be
attained in the regular use of the hundreds of
miles of private telephone system owned by
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and
the San Francisco Gas and Electric Com-
pany in conjunction with the well-known local
and long-distance service system of the com-
mercial telephone companies.

Nearly all the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company's tens of thousands of customers
use the telephone in transmitting requests for
service, repairs, and general information.

That 's why this company aims to have the
best telephonic service in California, and to
keep it accurate, prompt, and courteous.
Every employee who has occasion to talk
with an outsider by telephone is regarded as
a personal representative of the company. He
helps make or mar the company's reputation
for courtesy and promptness.

One thing that always irritates the average
person is the knowledge that he must wait
and keep waiting and asking when he knows
that another who happens to be a personal
acquaintance of some one in authority can
reach headquarters and get quick results.
And he 's right in resenting such favoritism.

Here are some suggestions covering the
telephone situation. Read them, follow them
in your business, and the public effect will
gradually become evident, and every local
condition applying to the company will be
made a little pleasanter. A business lifetime
consists of a great aggregate of pleasant in-
cidents and a great aggregate of irritating
things; and whichever way the balance goes
more decidedly the man is marked in time
upon his features by the prevelance of sun-
shine or shadow, and into one class or the
other most men go before they are fifty.

Let us remove as many of the little irritants
as possible, and get for ourselves and the
company the maximum of sunshine and its
honest good-nature.

PROMPTNESS

When the telephone rings, answer it
promptly ; when an employee is away from
his desk and his telephone bell rings, the
nearest employee should answer it at once.
Telephone etiquette begins with a prompt re-
sponse.

HOW TO ANSWER

The lack of an explicit and uniform
method of answering telephonic calls is re-
sponsible for much waste of time. Such
responses as "Hello" and "What is it.

To Improve the Telephone's Usefulness

please?" should be avoided. "Hello" is
meaningless; "What is it?" is courteous but
inefficient, and only results in prolonging the
conversation, as the person making the call
is usually obliged to enquire the name. It
is not practicable to formulate phrases that
will satisfy every condition, but the follow-
ing responses may be generally employed: —

(1) Where an employee answers ihe call, and his
personal identity is not of special importance, the
name of the department or office should be given, as,
for example, — "Contract Department," "Treasurer's
Office," "Repair Department."

(2) Where the employee, in a sense, answers for
the department, and at the same time has direct deal-
ings with the public, and the line on which he answers
is more or less individual, he should give the name
of his department, followed by his own name, thus: —
"Commercial Department, Mr. Walton."

(3) Where the line is individual, and is not used
by the public to any extent, the name only should be
given in responding, as — "Mr. Downing," "Mr.
Varney." This should also apply in all cases where
a call has been answered by one person, while the
request has been made for another. Where this
condition is known, the person happening to answer
should give his own name.

(4) Employees taking calls over lines located in the
private offices of officials, or departmental heads,
should answer as follow — "Mr. Barrett's office,"
"Mr. Love's office." Where a name is given m
answering a call, it is more dignified and courteous to
preface the name with "Mr." or "Miss, " as the case
may be.

(5) Endeavor to obtain, as early in the conversation
as possible, the customer's name, address, and tele-
phone number. Failure to do so results frequently in
considerable delay and annoyance to the customer, as
it is not at all an uncommon occurrence for a cus-
timer to hang up his receiver abruptly before remem-
bering to supply this necessary information, or he
may be inadvertently cut off before he is through
talking.

BREVITY

It order to be brief, it is not necessary to
be brusque ; the sharp, peremptory tone em-
ployed by so many people when using the tele-
phone can not be too severely condemned.
To be brief it is only necessary to be business-
like and concise. In using the telephone, re-
member that unnecessary conversation ties up
a trunk line to the detriment of some other
department. If the requisite data be not at
hand, do not ask the customer to hold the
line, but obtain his telephone number, and
call him up as soon as you have secured the
desired information.

Courtesy is the outward expression of
breeding and character. Its practice is

founded upon the Golden Rule of doing unto
others as you would they should do unto
you. In very few industries is the need of
courtesy more imperative than in the business
of manufacturing and supplying gas and elec-
tric light and power. To the layman this
business is peculiarly technical and mysterious.
He does not comprehend its complicated
processes, and he resents its apparent mystery.
In dealing with this type of man, who can
not understand why his service is not con-
nected within twenty-four hours after signing
an application, or why he should have to
obtain city inspection, our employees have
daily opportunities for showing the quality of
their courtesy. It is necessary for them to re-
member that the customer is unacquainted
with many conditions with which they are
thoroughly familiar, and in imparting this
knowledge to the consumer, they should do so
without any assumption of superiority or any
display of impatience. The favorable im-
pression made upon a customer who takes up
his telephone to register a vigorous complaint,
and who finds a courteous employee at the
other end of the wire, quick to understand his
difficulties and eager to remedy them, can not
be over-estimated. From being one of its
severest critics, the customer becomes one of
the company's best friends; he is usually
gratified to recognize the courtesy with which
he has been treated, and does not hesitate to
advertise it amongst his friends. True
courtesy pays because —

(1) It makes friends for the company, as well as
for the employee.

(2) Its practice is conducive to greater dignity and
self-respect.

(3) It eliminates friction, and lubricates the ma-
chinery of business.

(4) It refutes the traditional attitude, popularity
ascribed to public-service corporations, of being cal-
lously indifferent to the interests of their patrons.

Only authorized employees should make
definite promises as to the completion of work
at a given date, and these employees should
at once make a record of such promises, and
hold themselves personally responsible for
the fulfillment. If it subsequently develop
that the work can not be completed as agreed,
the employee should call up the customer
prior to the date promised, and make \vhat-
ever explanation is frank and proper.

475

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PERSONAL USE OF TELEPHONES

The company does not desire unduly to
restrict its employees in the necessary personal
use of its telephones; but it should be under-
stood that the abuse of this privilege, or the
indulgence in frivolous or unnecessary con-
versation over the telephone, will not be per-
mitted. The various exchanges of the com-
mercial telephone companies and the chief
operator of this company's own switchboard
are instructed to report any abuses of this
nature which come to their attention.

SWITCHING

Our customers are often referred to the
wrong department, owing to the indefinite
nature of their requests, and in this manner
they are frequently subjected to the annoy-
ance of being switched from one department
to another, before they are finally able to tell
their story to the right man. The resultant
impression made upon the customer is ex-
tremely unfavorable. So this practice should
be avoided as far as possible. If it be neces-
sary to transfer the person calling to another
department, the operator on our switchboard
should be signalled and asked to secure the
desired connection. Whenever it is practi-
cable, our employees are requested to take
down the customer's message, and see that it
is forwarded to the proper department for
attention; they should also offer to make a
note of any messages intended for an em-
ployee who is absent, and see that such mes-
sages are delivered. Employees should keep
posted as to the classification of our business
and should know the respective departments to
which various applicants should be assigned.

SIGNALING

After a call has been received by the tele-
phone, and it is desired to signal our operator,
care should be taken to flash slowly, as the
signal lamps on the switchboard will not light
up if the receiver hook be jiggled up and
down rapidly. If, on an original call, or on
a flash signal, the operator do not respond
within a reasonable time, the matter should be
at once reported over another telephone to
the chief operator, who will thus have an
opportunity to ascertain if the corersponding
signal lamp on the switchboard is burned out.

TELEPHONIC PEAKS

The principal peaks, or busiest periods, on
our switchboards occur between the hours of

9 and 10:30 a. m., and from 3:30 to 5
p. m. In addition to these regular peaks,
there is also a heavy traffic on the switchboard
at times of abnormal darkness during the day,
or following any severe storms, or any serious
break-downs on our lines. Employees are
requested to pay due regard to these condi-
tions, and to avoid using the telephone during
these busy periods except in the necessary dis-
charge of their duties.

TELEPHONE TROUBLES

In order to maintain our telephone system
at its highest efficiency, the cooperation of all
our employees is very essential. Whenever
any trouble is experienced on any of our lines,
or any complaints are received from our cus-
tomers regarding telephonic service, they
should be promptly transmitted to R. J. Cant-
rell, property agent, who is responsible for
the operation of our telephone system.

A Snowplow on Colgate Flume

This flume is eight miles long, clings to the
mountain side hundreds of feet above the
depths of the Yuba-River canon, carries an
enormous flood of swift-rushing water to drive

the wheels at the great Colgate power plant,
and has only two boards, laid side by side
along the crossbeams over its treacherous flow,
as a path for the workmen. In the chill winds
of January up in the Sierras they are out
operating that plow to scoop clear the walk-
ing boards so that the lumber dollies can be
trundled along with timber for the ever-
necessary repairs.

476

Electric Transmission Troubles

By C. F. ADAMS, Engineer of Electric Construction.
PART II

In a generator or motor every
toot of armature conductor af-
fected by the magnetism of the
field adds to the total electromo-
tive force of the machine. A
single multiple-turn coil may have
an induced voltage of from 50
to 500 volts, according to the number of the
coil turns, the length of the "active" con-
ductor, the strength of the magnetic field, and
the speed of the machine.

Where the short circuit occurs in a single
coil the voltage affected may be so low that
an arc will not be formed. Under such con-
ditions the short-circuited turns will heat
rapidly, char the insulation, and result in
damage to the individual coil, and possibly
involve other coils if not promptly detected
and replaced.

When a short circuit affects voltages higher
than 20 volts an arc generally occurs, fusing
the copper and sometimes melting out the ar-
mature-iron itself.

It was once the privilege of the writer to
inspect and rebuild a 500-kilovvatt, engine-
type alternator that was allowed to run on
a short-circuited bus bar for a whole hour
under full steam. Not a foot of wire was
left in the armature. Every coil melted,
warped out of shape, and was torn out of the
machine by the revolving element. This giant
"pin-wheel" was a gorgeous spectacle while
it lasted. Steam was finally shut off. But
the drunken engineer who had abandoned the
plant never reported for further duty.

During that period of negligence the arma-
ture-iron was not burned or appreciably dam-
aged. The single field bobbin (Stanley-type)
was warped and sprung by the heat of the
blazing armature. The machine was re-

paired, and after about thirty days was again
in use and as good as ever.

Armature troubles are somewhat affected
by the type of winding; the manner of con-
necting coils, whether "delta" or "star"; and
also by the potentials existing between adja-
cent coils. The operator should know his
apparatus in every detail ; know the voltage
a coil and a coil turn ; know the high poten-
tial points; be able to trace out each phase
group of coils. Such knowledge will tend to
guard against trouble and prevent failures.

Another class of dynamo troubles are those
due to the failure of the insulation of the field
coils. The intensity of the electric current
is not great, ranging only from 60 to 1 20
volts; so the liability to puncture is slight.
But, because of the weight and speed of the
field coils themselves, heavy mechanical
strains are imposed on the insulation and
cause it to fail. Consider a possible case.
In an eighteen-pole machine, suppose a short
circuit occurs that will affect six coils. A
part of the current will be diverted from these
coils, and they will thus be weakened as
magnets. Each magnet or pole may have
exerted a mechanical stress of 1 ,000 pounds
on the armature iron. If the six magnets are
weakened only ten per cent, this would re-
duce their mechanical pull by 600 pounds,
and the rotor would be out of mechanical
balance to that amount. At a speed of 400
revolutions a minute this would possibly
wreck the machine before it could be shut
down. An accident of this nature is posi-
tively the most dangerous thing that can hap-
pen to the revolving field-coil-type of gene-
rators.

In the Stanley, inductor-type generator
this danger is eliminated, as all the magnetic

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

poles are equally affected by any change in
the field winding. Field circuits should be
as carefully watched and tested as the arma-
ture windings. In synchronous motors or in
generators that may "fall out of step" there
is a possibility in the field windings of an in-
duced voltage many times the normal operat-
ing voltage, even rising to 3,000 or 4,000
volts in large machines. Later failure of in-
sulation may result from such troubles.

Another annoying class of troubles is due
to improperly clamped armature laminations.
Two similarly charged free poles tend to repel
each other. As the sheet-steel armature
metal is magnetized by the field magnets it
has a tendency to expand. This is due to
the repulsion. Any loose laminations are put
mto violent vibration. Crystalization results.
The armature pole, or "tooth," is broken off
and drawn into the field. Damage of this
nature is chargeable to poor design and in-
ferior workmanship.

There is one destructive agent in all power

houses and electric stations that is the cause
of endless trouble and of rapid deterioration
— Dirt. It chokes up the ventilating ducts
in the armature-iron, spreads a heat-insulating
film over the machine windings, collects free
oil or moisture, and gradually rots out the
insulation of the machine. Trouble from dirt
is most aggravated where constant duty is
imposed and where the surrounding atmos-
phere is dust-laden.

(To be continued.)

Palmer D. Russell, a switchboard operator
at Martin Station, and Miss Martha De
Voni were married at San Rafael March
22d. They will reside in San Francisco.

F. V. T. Lee, former assistant general
manager of the company, will have departed
for Europe the end of April, accompanied
by his family, for a two-years' residence
abroad.

A San Francisco Crew of Linemen that Bush to the Scene of Trouble in Fire-engine Style

Left to right (on wagon) — .1. Ewald (driver). -J. Gannon, George Ellings, R. Corbett (helper).

George Parker.
Left to right (on ground) — D. Cameron (foreman). W. Schaetter, if. Calvin, Gus Fletcher,

A. Matthews.

47S

Ed Case, an employee of the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company at Sausalito, a deer-
hunter and motor-boat enthusiast, has gone
east for a six-months' visit with relatives.

George Scarfe, manager of the company's
Nevada-County water district and superin-
tendent of the Nevada power house and its
power lines in Nevada and Sierra Counties,
has had his electrical jurisdiction extended to
include the company's Deer Creek power
house and its Alta power house, along with
their power lines and substations in Placer
Countv.

Paul R. Shipley, superintendent of elec-
trical work for the company's street-car sys-
tem in Sacramento, has just completed a big
job at Bakersfield, using the company's rail-
bonding car down there to weld together with
a copper wire bond rails of the Bakersfield
Power Transit and Light Company and rails
of the Santa Fe railroad, doing all the work
under an electric heat of 5,000 degrees.

Paul M. Downing, engineer in charge of
the maintainence and operation of the com-
pany's eleven hydro-electric plants, its hun-
dred substations, and its hundreds of miles of
power lines, is to read the leading paper be-
fore the convention of the American Institute
of Electrical Engineers to be held in San
Francisco the 5th, 6th, and 7th of May.
This meeting will make a specialty of trans-
mission problems and will be called a trans-
mission congress. Downing's subject is "The
Developed High-Tension Network of a Gen-
eral Power System." The institute has
6,000 members, and the secretary of the
California section and its 263 members is
S. J. Lisberger, another of the ocmpany's
engineers.

John J. McManus, an assistant to George
C. Holberton, general manager of the San
Francisco Gas and Electric Company, is a
member of the state legislature, representing
the Thirty-seventh Assembly District.

W. J. McLean, former chief accountant,
and L. P. Pryor, a former accountant of the
company, went out into the Santa Cruz
mountains the middle of April and took the
limit of fifty trout each out of Big Creek,
and, to prove it, presented some beauties to
their old friends in the San Francisco office.

Clem A. Copeland, who came into the
company late in March as an electrical en-
gineer in the department of hydro-electric
operation and maintenance, has had an in-
teresting engineering career. He graduated
from Stanford University fourteen years ago.
His first year out of college he was electrical
engineer for the great Copper Queen Mining
Company at Bisbee, Arizona, then employing
more than 1 ,000 men ; the next year and a
half he was in electrical work at Los Angeles
for the Los Angeles Railway and the Edison
Electric Company; the next two years and a
half he was acting professor of electrical en-
gineering at Stanford University, following
the retirement of the late Professor F. A. C.
Perrine; the next four years he was superin-
tendent of distribution in Los Angeles of what
is now called the Southern California Edison
Company, which produces 45,000 electrical
horsepower from mountain-water and city-
steam plants ; for the next four years he was
in independent electrical and mechanical en-
gineering, with headquarters in Los Angeles;
and the past year he was doing electrical en-
gineering work for the Pacific Electric Rail-
way Company, with its 600 miles of trolley
lines radiating from Los Angeles.

479

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

F. B. Anderson
Henry E. Bothin
John a. Britton
W. H. Crocker
E. J. De Sabla, Jr.

DIRECTORS

F. G. Drum

John S. Drum

D. H. FooTE

a. f. hockenbeamer

John Martin

OFFICERS

Louis Monteagle
Cyrus Pierce
Leon Sloss
Joseph S. Tobin
George K. Weeks

F. G. Drum President

John A. Britton VicePres. and Gen. Mgr.

A. F. Hockenbeamer Jd Vice-Pies. Treas. and Comp.

D. H. FooTE .Secretary

Charles L. Barrett Asst. .Secretary

W. R. ECKART Consulting Engineer

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

W. H. Kline General Agent

R. J. Cantrell Property Agent

George C. Robb Supt. of Supplies

J. H. Hunt Purchasing Agent

E. B. Henley Manager Land Dept.

J. P. CoGHLAN Manager Claims Dept.

Archie Rice Manager Publicity Dept.

8. V. Walton Manager Commercial Dept.

F. E. Cronise Manager New-Business Dept.

H. Bostwick

J. C. Love Auditor

W. B. Bosley Attorney

George C. Holberton Engineer

S. J. Lisberger Engineer

H. C. Vensano Civil Engineer

E. C. Jones Engr. Gas Dept.

C. F. Adams Engr. of Electric Construction

P. M. Downing Engr. O. A M. Hyd.-Elec. Sect.

F. H. Varney Engr. O. & M. Steam & Gas Eng. Sect.

Secretary to President

DISTRICT MANAGERS

Berkeley F. A. Leach. Jr.

Chico H. B. Heryford

Colusa W. M. Henderson

Fresno E. W. Florence

Grass Valley John Werry

Marin W. H. Fo.ster

Marys\-ille J. E. Poingdestrk

Napa O. E. Clark

Nevada City John Werry

Oakland F. A. Leach, Jr.

Petaluma H. Weber

Redwood City L. U. Newbert

Sacramento C. W. McKillip

San Jose J. D. Kuster

Santa Rosa Thomas D. Petch

Valle.10 A. J. Stephens

Woodland W. E. Osborn

MANAGERS OF WATER DISTRICTS

Nevada George Scarfe

Placer County H. M. Cooper

Standard W. E. Eskew

Stockton J. W. Hall

SUPERINTENDENTS OF POWER DIVISIONS

Colgate I. B. Adams

Dk Sabla D. M. Young

Electra W. E. Eskew

Marysville C. E. Young

Nevada City George Scarfe

.'^ToCKTON

North Tower C. D. Clark

Oakland William Hughes

Sacramento J. O. Toeey

San Jose J. O. Hansen

South Tower A. H. Burnett

E. ('. MONAHAN

SUPERINTENDENTS OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

..J. H. Papk Oakland C.J.Wilson Sacramento..

Oakland C. J. Wilson

San Jose A. C. Ramsteh

SUPERINTENDENTS OF GAS WORKS

Martin Station .Iohn Mitchell Sacramento Edward S. Jonf_s

Oakland A. C. Beck San Francisco Dennis J. Lucey

San Jose K. II. Hargbeaves

SUPERINTENDENTS OF GAS DISTRIBUTION

Oakland George Kirk San Francisco W. R. Morgan

■480

Vol. I

Contents for May

No. 12

WHERE SAN FRANCISCO'S GAS IS MADE .
DISTRIBUTING GAS IN SAN FRANCISCO
THE GROWTH OF THE PLACER WATER SYSTEM
SOME NEW USERS OF ELECTRICITY .
THE MAKING OF LAKE ARTHUR .

WHITE HANDS WON

THE NEAREST LIGHT TO DAYLIGHT .
GOLD MINING BY ELECTRIC DREDGING
MAPPING GAS-MAIN ROUTES ....

SOUNDS (Verse)

MEN OF THE COMPANY— DAVID H. FOOTE .
ELECTRIC-METER TEST METHODS

EDITORIAL

THE MOSQUITO THAT CAUSES M.\LARIA .
THE COST OF RUNNING AN AUTOMOBILE .
DIRECTORY OF COMPANY'S OFFICI.^LS
COMMUNITIES SUPPLIED BY 11 IIS COMPANY

Frontispiece
W. R. Morgan . 483

W. R. Arthur . 488

Stanley V. Walton 494

Jim Martin . 495

498
498
499
502
503
504
507
509
510
513
514
Opposite 514

T. A. Fogalsang
Austin J. Rix
Leigh R. Quigiey

A.R. .

Otto A. Knopp

Archie Rice .

Yearly Subscription $1.50

Single Copies each 15 cents

Pacific Gas and Electric
Magazine

VOL. I

MAY, 1910

Distributing Gas In San Francisco

By W. R. MORGAN, Superintendent of Gas Distribution.

The distributing system of

San Francisco's gas service is
the result of nearly sixty years'
growth. It represents the efforts
of eight companies that flour-
ished during periods of varying

W. R. Morsan , ,

length.
Here they are:

1852 — San Francisco Gas Company.

1862 — The Citizens Gas Company.

1870 — The City Gas Company.

1871 — The Metropolitan Gas Company.

1872 — The Central Gas Company.

1883 — The Pacific Gas Improvement Co.

1898 — The Equitable Gas Company.

1901 — The Independent Gas and Power Co.

The seven later companies were absorbed
by the original San Francisco Gas Company,
now known as the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Company, which has inherited from
them some three hundred miles of street mains.
Each system has contributed its advantages
and defects; its services, valves, drips, and
leaks. A complete plan of the mains would
be practically a street map of the city. Nearly
every house is reached by the services, and
every gas street-lamp is supplied from the
mains.

In localities where gas consumption is
greatest two mains are used, one in each side
of the street. This double arrangement af-
fords advantages that can not be secured
when only a single main is available. It per-
mits shorter service pipes, greater storage

capacity, a lighter drag at peak hours, and
insurance of uninterrupted service, as either
main will suffice temporarily should a stop-
page or serious break occur in the other.

Regarded as a field for gas distribution
San Francisco is approximately square, with
boundary lines conforming closely to the car-
dinal points of the compass. The area to be
supplied is six miles square or thirty-six square
miles. Elevations range as high as four
hundred and fifty feet above sea level, and the
nature of the soil varies from alluvial deposits
and sand to a fairly hard granite.

Gas is supplied from Potrero Station, lo-
cated on the bay shore at about the middle
of the easterly boundary. From this station
the two principal trunk lines (twenty-four-inch
and thirty-inch) extend westerly and north-
erly a distance of four and a half miles to
North Beach Station on the northerly boun-
dary line of the city.

The Richmond district has presented a
serious problem. Until 1 906 it was a sparsely
settled area provided with but two-inch and
four-inch mains. It is three miles from North
Beach Station and six miles from Potrero
Station. Dead ends were the rule, and serv-
ices were small, mostly one-inch.

Shortly after the fire the population of the
Richmond district was increased fully four
fold by an influx of people who had been
burned out. Every vacant house was filled.

483

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

and many new houses and stores were quickly
built.

The combination of small mains, long dis-
tance, and sudden increase of consumption
developed a deplorable "no gas" condition.
A four-inch, auxiliary, high-pressure line from
North Beach Station furnished the principal
supply, although with a fourteen- by sixteen-

both before and after improvements were
made in Richmond and also at the extreme
southerly end of a main extending along the
ocean beach.

The Sunset district is supplied by means
of a low-pressure system, which is boosted at
peak hours by high-pressure from a two-inch
main extended from the high-pressure line in

Showing the h)W and irregular pressure in the
Ocean Beach district in 1908, before the improve-
ments were made.

Sliowing fairly uniform pressure in the Ocean
Beach district in 1909, after the improvements in
street mains.

by twelve-inch compressor it was difficult to the Richmond district. This main also ex-
keep a pressure at the station of twenty pounds tends southerly to the newly built settlement
to the square inch. of Parkside, which is the only exclusively

In 1909 the situation was relieved by the high-pressure district in San Francisco; about

extension of a twelve-inch, low-pressure main seventy-five houses are supplied by means of

for a distance of two miles through Point half-inch services. No. I Equitable governors,

Lobos Avenue, the principal thoroughfare, and ordinary five-light meters. The Parkside

with direct connection to a twenty-inch feeding installation gives less trouble, and the district

line. All laterals were connected, thousands is the source of fewer complaints than any

of feet of two-inch main replaced with four- other of equal area in the city,

and six-inch, and many dead ends eliminated. Service pipes to houses in San Francisco

A new sixteen- by seventeen- by twenty- vary in diameter from one-inch up. Nothing

inch compressor was installed. And now dur- less than one-and-one-quarter-inch pipe has

ing peak hours a pressure of thirty pounds is been installed during the past ten years, al-

maintained at North Beach Station. Two though thousands of smaller services, relics

Chapman-Fulton district governors are located of former times, are still in use.

at suitable points and set to keep a pressure of Present practice favors generosity in regard

not less than five inches in the distributing to sizes. The constantly increasing use of gas

system. appliances demands one-and-one-half-inch and

The service now is very satisfactory, and two-inch pipe in houses which formerly could
complaints have dropped to normal. Some be supplied by means of one-inch and one-
accompanying charts show pressure conditions and-one-quarter-inch.

484

Distributing Gas in San Francisco

An accompanying chart shows the effect
recorded when there was a water-heater using
gas, in addition to the customary burners for
illumination.

It has been found advisable in many such
cases to install separate service pipes to supply
heaters which require a rapid flow of gas.
When lights and heaters are supplied from a
single service, the irregular demands of the
heaters cause quick variations of pressure and
flickering lights unless the service pipe be ex-
travagantly large.

During the last few years particular atten-
tion has been devoted to the matter of meter
locations. It is required that in every new
building a suitable place shall be provided for
gas meters in the part of the building near the
street and not higher than the ground floor,
where light and ventilation are good, where
the meters may be reached easily by statement-

a longer period it is liable to become inaccu-
rate and leaky or to break down altogether.
After six years' use the leather diaphrams are
generally dry and hard, the oil having evap-
orated, and the meter becomes "slow" (not
registering enough) or possibly fails to register
at all.

To simplify the regular changing of meters
they are painted a different color each year.
1 hose set during the year 1 904 were painted
green; in 1905, blue; 1906, red; 1907, yel-
low; 1908, dark lead; and 1909, cream
color. This year all green meters are being
taken to the shop for a general overhauling.

The subject of complaints is the liveliest
storm centre in all the affairs between a gas
company and the general public. This is a
remarkable condition in view of the fact that
the desires of the complainant and the inter-
ests of the company are identical.

•SliDwing pressure in the Richmond district in 1909,
after the improvement in street iiiiiiiis.

takers, where they are accessible in case of However far apart the principals may be

fire, and whither the service pipe can be run regarding rates or whatever differences of

without elbows, bends, or traps. opinion may exist between them concerning

About two hundred old service pipes are the veracity of a meter or the equity of a

now being overhauled each month, and larger bill, they surely meet on common ground when

pipe installed, bends and drips removed, and it comes to the complaint question,

meters reset in accordance with the conditions Nine times out of ten the consumer wants

just mentioned. more gas and ten times out of ten the company

Under average conditions the life of a is eager to accommodate him. The only diffi-

meter is six years. If kept in commission for culty hinges upon the ability of the company

485

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

to furnish a satisfactory supply quickly
enough.

A consumer with a complaint is generally
saturated with the idea that he is not getting a
proper return for his money. He fails to con-
sider that for a small monthly payment he

This tells a domestic story. It shows the sudden
lessening in existing gas pressure every time an in-
stantaneous water-heater was used. The black
patches show the e.xact periods when some one was
getting hot water. This disturbance of pressure was
due to the installation of a water-heater on a small
service pipe intended originally only to supply a few
lights.

enjoys the use of an investment running into
millions of dollars, of a plant that is the result
of study and experiments extending over a
period of more than one hundred years, of an
organization that is almost military in its disci-
pline and efficiency, the whole end and aim of
which is to give him continuous service.

It is impossible for the company to prevent
occasional stoppages. The number of com-
plaints at the most is very small compared
with the number of services, seldom amounting
to one per cent, a day.

At the particular instant a "no gas" wail
reaches the office probably not a single pump
man is available. It is not practical to keep
men lined up waiting for complaints ; still they
offer the best possible opportunity to make
either a friend or an enemy. At such times
delay means dissatisfaction to the consumer,
with a big by-product of prejudice against the
company.

In order to get quick action in these cases,
it has been arranged that a few of the "trouble
men" shall telephone to the office for orders
while on their rounds, the calls bemg timed
so that one is received about every hour.
Thus it is possible to have a complaint investi-
gated and the cause removed within thirty
minutes after the message has been received
at the company's office.

Ninety per cent, of complaints are on ac-
count of poor pressure, caused by napthaline
in the service pipes or the meter connections.
A little gasoline blown through the service
with a force pump is sufficient ordinarily to
clear the pipe. Particularly stubborn cases
require that the service pipe shall be over-
hauled and thoroughly cleared by mechanical
means. Some months ago a six-inch service
pipe supplying a San Francisco cannery be-
came badly choked, and it was cleared by
disconnecting at the main and blowing the

This shows diminishing pressure due to the forma-
tion of napthalene in the pipe. Starting at about
10:20 p. m. it grew gradually less, till three days
and a half later, the gas was choked off altogether
about 5 a. m.

pipe out with steam by means of a hose con-
nected to the boiler.

Climatic conditions in San Francisco are
particularly favorable for the rapid formation
of napthaline in service pipes and meters that
are exposed to the air. From May until
October the forenoons are usually warm and
clear, followed by a cool sea breeze and banks

486

Distributing Gas in San Francisco

of fog in the afternoon. The change of tem-
perature is sufficient to affect exposed services
and start an avalanch of complaints of poor
pressure.

An accompanying chart presents a graphic
illustration of the formation of napthahne in a
service pipe. Between 6 and 10 a. m. the
pressure was reduced three inches; conditions
became steadily worse until gas was practic-
ally shut off forty-eight hours later. Instances
have occurred in which only ten hours elapsed
between the commencement of such trouble
and the final stoppage.

In the congested district of San Francisco
street conditions below the surface are some-
what discouraging. From curb to curb to a
depth of from six to ten feet the space is filled
with iron, brick, and concrete structures. The
street railroad right-of-way covers eighteen
feet. Into the remaining space are packed
telephone, telegraph, electric light and power
conduits, with manholes up to ten feet square ;
gas and water mains and services, with valves
and drips ; sewers and manholes, catch-basins,
and laterals; an occasional steam line; and
numerous abandoned pits formerly used in
connection with cable railways.

At some crossings the city is building water
cisterns thirty-four feet in diameter, and the
gas company has been politely advised by the
city engineer to remove its mains from the
cistern areas.

If by any possible chance a cross is found
with an outlet plugged some foreign company
hastens to fit a reinforced concrete manhole
neatly and snugly up against the plug. There
is at least one consolation derived by the gas
company in such a case. It is sure the plug
will not blow out.

During the last half century fewer changes
have been made in the distributing system than
in any other part of a gas company's plant.

The construction of the works, the material
used, and the methods of manufacture have
all undergone radical changes; even office
methods have been revolutionized. Although

gas is made from a new material (fuel-oil),

by a new process, and consumed in burners
embodying newly discovered principles, the
means used for delivery have remained prac-
tically the same for a period of fifty years.

Plans have been prepared for the installa-
tion of a sixteen-inch high-pressure main from
Potrero Station to North Beach Station, de-
signed to carry gas under a pressure of forty
pounds to the square inch.

Five district governors are to be located at
points from which the Mission, Sunset, Rich-
mond, Western Addition, and business dis-
tricts can each be furnished with a supply far
in excess of present demands, and this without
adding to or materially altering the existing
low-pressure system.

The plan is to change the catenary curve
of a long chain to practically a horizontal line
by means of equidistant supports between the
abutments. When this has been accomplished
"peaks" will lose their terrors, and the in-
crease of gas consumption in San Francisco
will be anticipated for fully fifty years to
come.

A Vanderbilt University professor has dis-
covered a new gas, — it takes millions of
pounds of ordinary air to make a pint of it, —
and this gas, strangely affected by electricity,
is the property that produces the heretofore
mysterious Aurora Borealis, or northern
lights.

It arrived at the San Francisco office, read-
ing just like this:

Gas Company. We received your notice
stating which we are not aware.

We had a deposit of $5.00 in your office
where we paid our bill of $4.40 where I
can show my resile we give you notice to
come up read the meeter and that was all
and we never burned any gas after that be-
cause we left the City as the meetei was
read which we paid you $4.40 again which
we have the resite for and don't want to be
bathered any more. Respectfully yours,
I. Neuman.

The Growth of the Placer Water System

Vast Hillside Orchards Resulting from Hydro-Developments and
Mountain Power Plants

By W. R. ARTHUR, Assistant Manager Placer County Water District.

Can you imagine a freight
train of fifteen or seventeen
refrigerator cars loaded full of
fresh California fruit? Can you
picture to yourself the thousands
of boxes of luscious things packed

Dlid

that

long procession :•

Can you see it finally spread out on exhibi-
tion— acres of opened boxes of sun-kissed
spheres of delicious juiciness, — peaches,
grapes, oranges?

Let that first train go. It 's on its way
across the continent to the distant eastern mar-
kets. Tomorrow there '11 be another like it,
and the next day another, and so on for many
days, all through the fruit-picking season.
Can you see them dotted clear across the
map of the United States, hurrying east?

Where did they start from?

The eastern boundary-line of California is
abruptly bent near the middle, forming an
angle somewhere out in the clear waters of
lofty Lake Tahoe. Along about there where
the state has a kink in its bank the first trans-
continental railroad bears heavily down with
its ceaseless traffic that hurries both ways over
glistening rails from ocean to ocean.

Follow that railroad over the Sierras and
see things as you come down the western
slopes. Here, on each side of the track, note
these evergreen ridges; over there those
hidden defiles, carrying the snow-water from
the lofty summits. All this domain beneath
a hazy bluish atmosphere above a vast ex-
panse of pines belongs to the story. Along
down there observe those balder slopes
patched with orderly rows of fruit trees. All
this country from Auburn down to Loomis

and beyond is the district that produces that
fruit. The timbered ridges and rolling ever-
green vistas up behind are a part of the
scheme. Through that vast solitude of pri-
meval forest wind the ditches and canals that
tap rivers up in the mountains and draw
upon many lakes to bring down an abundance
of the purest water to irrigate some fifteen
thousand acres of these foothill orchards.
Look; they seem tilted so they '11 get all the
western sun.

Do you get the location? Now let 's come
to the water system that in the past fifteen
years has grown and developed as the
orchards have spread from a few hundred
acres to thousands, with other thousands m
ultimate prospect.

From boyhood I have lived in that country,
and I have seen that great water system de-
velop from the original ditches built by the
early gold miners in 1 850, '5 1 , and '52.

The miners had the Bear River ditch
and Auburn Water and Mining Company's
fifty-mile canal, which started from Bear
River, just below the mouth of Greenhorn
Creek, ran to Auburn and on to a point near
Newcastle, with several smaller distributing
channels taking water thence for mining pur-
poses and to all the mining camps within range
of a gravity flow.

In those early mining days they also had
the Gold Hill ditch, which tapped Bear
River a little below the mouth of Wooley
Creek and carried water down to Ohio Ranch
and Sailor Ravine, and then branched off
with water for Doty's Flat, Doty's Ravine,
Gold Hill, Virginia, Fox's Flat, Denton's
Ravine, Gray's Diggings, Markham's Ravine,

488

The Growth of the Placer Water System

New Town, Dry Creek, Whiskey Diggings,
Camp Far West, and other historic mining
camps of the old times.

Gold Hill was the place where Philip D.
Armour was a pioneer. He made a good
deal of money at mining there and with mer-
chandise. After he returned to the middle
western states he founded the great Armour
packing industry, and his name survives as a
world-wide commercial asset.

In those old days gold was found among
the grass roots in nearly all the small ravines
of the western section of Placer County. It
was a placer-miner's country, and that 's why
convenient water courses were created to help
wash the gold, and why the county was so
significantly named.

Even among the 3,500 employees of the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company com-
paratively few men yet comprehend the

ramifications and incidental developments re-
sulting from the harnessmg of rivers high in
the mountains, with the creation of electric
power, the encouraged growth of communi-
ties and industries down the long lines of
electric distribution or along the onflowing
canals, the waters of which, after being made
to shoot their energy from great heights
against impulse wheels, are led quietly on to
be domestic and horticultural benefits of
immense magnitude. Each hydro-electric
power plant means a mountain water system,
each water system means a resulting irrigating
system further down, and both of them mean
increased commercial advantages for the dis-
tricts they traverse.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company
owns eleven hydro-electric power plants, all
inter-connected by power-lines so that they
may cooperate to insure a service which one

LOCATION OF STORAGE LAKES AND UPPER CANALS OF SOUTH YUBA SYSTEM

LAKE. ACRES.

Blue Lake 63

Bear Valley (reservoir) 60

Culbertson Lake 67

Feeley Lakes 67

Fuller Lake 67.5

Lake Fordyce 510

Lake Spaulding 215.5

Lake Sterling 104

Lake Valley Lakes 260

Lake Van Norden 390

Lindsey Lakes 49.3

Meadow Lake 249

FIGURES FROM THE MAP

capacity capacity

(cubic feet). lake. acres, (cubic feet).

49,000,000 Rock Lakes 23.9 10.300,000

14,000,000 Rucker Lake 63 22,600,000

30,000.000 White Rock Lake 90 180,000.000

37.000,000

40,000,000 Totals 2,279.2 2,257,900,000

875,000,000

254,900,000 DITCH FLOW EACH SECOND
71,800,000

230,000,000 cubic miner's

230,000,000 canal. feet. inches.

1 3,300.000 Main South Yuba 200 8,000

200,000,000 Boardman 75 3,000

489

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Building the core of the dam for Lake Arthur

plant alone might not always be able to main-
tain uninterruptedly. And with these eleven
mountain power plants and three big city
steam-driven plants it already supplies electric
energy to one hundred and fifty-eight Cali-
fornia communities and to three-score of com-
mercial mdustries. It furnishes electricity in
twenty-five counties to two-thirds of the popu-
lation of the state of California. And with
its eighteen gas plants it supplies gas to thirty-
seven cities. With its three water systems it
supplies water to seventeen communities and
irrigation to the thousands of acres of orchards
in that hillside country already mentioned.
To mamtam its canals and miles of power
flumes it owns and operates two mountain
lumber camps to produce its own great supply
of repair lumber. It employs gangs of patrol-
men who prevent and fight forest fires, be-
cause there are hundreds of miles of pole-
lines and about 650 miles of aqueducts to be
protected and nearly forty mountain lakes
and artificial reservoirs to be guarded against
the blight of denuded hillsides and blackened

drainage areas. It is a great system of con-
servation, preservation, and development of
latent power to be turned over for the benefit
of mankind singly and in masses in the mines,
m the agricultural valleys, and in the great
cities, even as far as two +iundred miles from
its mountain power plants, which in the aggre-
gate have a generating capacity of 66,980
kilowatts, or about 89,760 horsepower.

But let us get back to that Placer water
system, which is part of the great enterprise.
The ownership of those earliest mining ditches
changed from time to time. I can remember
when the system supplying that whole western
part of Placer County was owned by George
W. Reamer. He and his family knew me
from my school days. Mrs. Reamer was my
Sunday-school teacher; her daughter and two
sons were my playmates until, in I 868, I was
old enough to go to work to support myself.

Reamer sold, April 19th, 1875, his sys-
tem of ditches, including the Bear River
ditch and the Auburn Water and Mining
Company's canal, to Frederick Birdsall, who

490

The Growth of the Placer Water System

also acquired the Gold Hill ditch system and
the American River Water and Mining
Company's ditch, which tapped the American
River about a mile and a half southeastward
of Auburn.

Birdsall sold his American River ditch
property separately in March of 1887 to C.
W. Clark and others of Sacramento.

In the course of years the paying placer
diggings had been pretty well cleaned up,
but much water was being used for operating
hydraulic mines, where placering was done
on a mammoth scale, producing torrents of
outflowing muddy water. Birdsall's water
system kept up a fairly good flow all sum-
mer through the aid of storage-reservoir sup-
plies turned into Bear River from some of
the hydraulic mines in the vicinity of Dutch
Flat, Little York, You Bet, and Red Dog.

Over in neighboring Nevada County the
South Yuba Water Company was operating
a similar water system of mining canals.
Both systems were doing business by supply-

ing water for domestic purposes and to gradu-
ally developing orchards.

But when Judge Sawyer's famous decision
put a stop to hydraulic mining because of the
great deposits of mud produced in the lower
river channels, Birdsall found his system
suddenly deprived of that summer help from
the flow of storage waters that the hydraulic
miners had been turning into Bear River.
So he had to buy water from the South Yuba
system to carry his customers through July,
August, September, and October when the
natural flow in Bear River was very low.

Both the South Yuba and Birdsall's water
systems were deprived of their hydraulic cus-
tomers, and Birdsall saw little profit in buy-
ing water from the other system to keep his
customers supplied. So (May 26th, 1890)
Birdsall sold out his system to the South
Yuba Water Company. And in 189! the
South Yuba Company began a general de-
velopment of the combined irrigating systems.

Even back in the years when placer mining

Lake Theodore, showing dam
491

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

Lake Alta in Placer County, near Towle

was waning some of the miners had begun to
turn their attention to planting fruit trees and
patches of vegetables and berries. They
found a ready and profitable market in the
nearby mining camps. It became evident
that with water most of that upland country
would grow fruit and vegetables to perfec-
tion. Gradually the land-owners started
clearing off the brush and planting orchards.
It was this natural development of horticul-
ture that conveniently came to prolong the
life of the old mining ditch.

When the South Yuba company took hold
of the combined systems and in 1 89 1 began
further developments it made a new ditch
from Gold Run to Clipper Gap, following
the ridge between Bear River and the north
fork of the American River, and made a
branch canal from Clipper Gap to the Wilson
place just above Newcastle.

The ditches tap the rivers, but to keep up
the ditch-flow during the dry season, when
the orchards want the water, there are numer-
ous storage lakes, some natural, others man-
made, and they are supplied either from

natural catchment and small streams or from
the ditches themselves when river water is
plentiful. Then when the river-flow subsides,
or when a canal breaks, or a flume collapses,
any one or several of the lakes can suddenly
be drawn upon to maintain the normal flow.

On the Auburn ditch there is Lake Theo-
dore, and on the Fiddler Green ditch there
is Lake Arthur (named for your humble ser-
vant). Further down, for the smaller ditches,
there is a reserve reservoir in Clover Valley
for the Antelope ditch, one at Cook's Ridge
for the Caperton ditch, and one in Orr Creek
for the Gold Hill ditch. Then there is the
Mammoth reservoir east of Loomis to regulate
the ditch-flow to Roseville and the westerly
lands; and there is the Muldoon reservoir at
the end of the Greeley ditch ; and the Ban-
vard reservoir at the end of the Banvard
ditch.

High above all these reserve supplies, way
up in the mountains, in the canons and be-
tween the ridges along the south and middle
forks of the Yuba River, the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company has twenty-three larger

492

The Growth of the Placer Water System

lakes and reservoirs, having a combined stor- of water into a ditch that extends twenty-one

age equivalent to 48,700 acre-feet, or a body miles to convey the water from Valley Lake

of water more than a mile square and fifty to Lake Alta and then on to Dutch Flat, with

feet deep, supplied from a high mountain several laterals to old mining camps.

Pipe-line and elevated flume near Gold Bun

catchment area equal to a territory sixteen
miles long and ten miles wide.

The Towle system is a later addition to
the great South Yuba combination. It con-

During the past two years important de-
velopments have been made. A tunnel six
hundred and forty-five feet long was bored
through a ridge at the outskirts of the city of

A bit of tbe South Yuba canal

sists of several hundred acres of land in Lake
Valley, where there is a storage capacity
capable of producing for twenty-four hours a
steady flow of about 1 1 0,000 miner's inches

Auburn to make a short-cut saving 3,200
feet of ditch distance through a region where
the nature of the soil caused great quantities
of water to be lost by percolation. Ihe leak-

493

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

age produced too much moisture for the land
below that got the free soaking. A new rock
and concrete dam was constructed in Bear
River to divert water into the Gold Hill
ditch, and about two miles and a half of new
ditches and flumes were extended from this
dam. Lake Arthur was built on the old
Bear River ditch. A new rock and concrete
dam was constructed in Bear River, near
Colfax, to divert water into the old Bear
River-Auburn ditch. A thirty-inch pipe-line
crossing Blue Cut was replaced with a new
one thirty-six inches in diameter; and the
twenty-four-inch Applegate pipe-line was re-
placed with a new one having a diameter of
thirty inches. A twenty-two-inch pipe-line
has been placed alongside of the thirty-inch
Baker pipe-line. And a water system has
been installed for the town of Colfax.

The company has about two hundred and
sixty-five miles of ditches, pipe-lines, and
flumes to deliver its water to the fruit dis-
tricts of Placer County, whence all those
refrigerator carloads of fruit go east. And

thirty men are kept constantly patrolling these
particular irrigation lines, every man with a
ten-mile beat to cover each day.

So much has the whole water service been
improved in the last few years that nowdays
very little complaint is ever heard from the
orchardists whose fruit, pre-cooled in plants
operated by the company's electricity, goes
into those long trains that load at the towns
of Loomis, Penryn, Newcastle, and Auburn,
all of which get electric light and power and
water from the company's service.

The orcha'-d-irrigating period is from May
I st to October I st, and a flow of one miner's
inch of water (one-fortieth of a cubic foot
a second) will irrigate from five to ten
acres of land, the average being about seven
acres. But when the orchard acreage runs
up into the thousands it takes a whole lot of
water and careful planning to keep it coming
steadily through hundreds of miles of aque-
ducts winding through forests, along ridges,
and gradually down the foothill slopes.

Some New Users of Electricity

The Columbia Steel Company of Portland
is to establish a large branch plant near
Antioch in Contra Costa County, to be com-
pleted this summer, to take electric energy
from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
and eventually to use about 1 ,000 electrical
horsepower.

The Spring Construction Company that
used daily to bombard Berkeley with the noise
of its big quarry blasting on the hillside north-
eastward of the university campus, having
been compelled to desist from the heavy
cannonading, has opened a new quarry on
Cerrito Creek, north of Berkeley, to make
macadam. Again it will use electric energy
supplied by the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.

The Ben Franklin, one of the famous
mines of the Grass Valley district on the
mother lode, has installed electric service and
quit the steadily thinning ranks of California
quartz mines operated by water-power or
steam.

All the Southern Pacific Company's pas-
senger stations from Burlingame to San Jose
are now lighted by electricity supplied by the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

How the use of electric automobiles is in-
creasing is exemplified in the fact that the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has been
engaged to supply one concern having restor-
ing stations at San Francisco, Mayfield, San
Jose, Oakland, and Berkeley.

Stanley V. Walton,
Manager Commercial Department.

The Making of Lake Arthur

By JIM MARTIN, Superintendent of Construction.

On the western slope of the

Sierras, up in Placer County,
California, a location was selected
1 ,500 feet above sea-level for an
artificial lake that should serve
as a reserve reservoir for the

.lllii Mriiliii

great South Yuba Water System.

The lake was created to have a water sur-
face area of eight acres and an average depth
of twenty-five feet. This was accomplished
by the clearing of ground and the construc-
tion of a great dam forty-five feet high and
three hundred feet long and the spending of
about $40,000 upon the work. The pur-
pose of this article is to explain how it was
done.

Lake Arthur was named for W. R.
Arthur, assistant manager of the Placer
water district and, for the past fifteen years.

an employee of the South Yuba Water Com-
pany. The lake is three-fourths of a mile
southwestward of the railroad town of Clipper
Gap, just below which the body of water is
visible from passing trains. The county road
from Auburn to Colfax skirts the west side of
the lake.

The construction of the dam alone took just
five days less than two months in 1909, —
from May 28th till July 23d. There were
some days when as many as one hundred and
nineteen men and seventy-six horses were at
work ; and at different times there were used
on the job three plows, twelve four-horse
fresno-.scrapers, six two-horse fresno-scrapers,
fourteen wheel-scrapers, ten dump-wagons,
one roller, one road grader, one harrow, and
two road wagons for chores. Such was the
force needed to complete a work of that mag-

Lake Arthur, looking toward the dam. County Road is at right,
495

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

nitude. The dam itself required the hauhng
into position of 28,972 cubic yards of loose
earth to form a final compact embankment
of approximately 2 1 ,000 cubic yards of
material.

A mountain canal winds from Bear River
for miles gradually down the slopes, supplying
water for domestic purposes to various com-
munities, and all the way from Clipper Gap

Lake Arthur Dam in the Making

along down to the town of Lincoln irrigating
large tracts of fruit land. For forty miles
that canal meanders through the forest and
along the ridges before it gets down to Clipper
Gap, and in coming that far and traversing
the additional miles to Auburn and Colfax
and Lincoln much water is lost by evapora-
tion during the summer season, the very time
when a goodly flow is particularly needed.

That this canal flow might be reinforced
by a reserve supply of water, maintained at
full head despite any climatic handicaps or
mountain mishaps — such was the reason for
the creation of Lake Arthur, right on the
route of the canal, where the lake could con-
veniently be drawn upon whenever extra
water might be needed. Lake Arthur has a
capacity of six million cubic feet of water.

The work camp was established March
15th, and it was abandoned August 10th,
and about September 1 st the lake was first
filled to its capacity with water from the
canal. But before the water was turned in
all trees and brush within the reservoir site

were cut off close to the ground and all
rubbish and perishable matter were removed.
During the work period, in addition to the
construction of the actual dam, much other
labor had to be performed. A private road
was constructed 1 ,300 feet in length, and
2,400 feet, or nearly half a mile, of road was
built for the county.

The first work preparatory to the actual
construction of the dam was the removal of
the surface soil and all loose and porous
materials. In doing this, great care was
taken so that the dam might rest on a firm
bedrock foundation. All bottom irregularities
were cut into V-shape channels, the better to
retain the firmly tamped-in materials. One
large pot-hole was developed near the dam
centre, but it was filled in with solid rock,
given a drain-pipe outlet, and covered with a
twelve-inch layer of concrete well connected
all round the rim of the hole to the solid bed-
rock.

The outlet pipe for taking water from the
lake is thirty inches in diameter, and it has a
gate at the down-stream end. This pipe is
encased in concrete. The up-stream and
down-stream ends of the pipe rest on solid
bedrock, and the centre, where the bedrock is
low, is supported on masofiry blocks. In
placing the concrete great care was taken to
have it soft and well worked round this pipe.
The dam has a gradual slope on two sides
like the roof of a house; it is eight feet thick
at the top and down at the bottom it has a
thickness of one hundred and sixty-eight feet.
The entire inner face of the dam is protected
by a close paving or covering of rock rip-rap
work. The rocks were laid by hand, so the
surface is uniform and comparatively smooth.
A spillway is cut round one end of the dam
clear through the solid rock formation, leaving
a twelve-foot wall of native rock between the
spillway and the end of the dam. This spill-
way is twenty-five feet wide, and the bottom
of it is four feet lower than the inner edge of
the crest of the dam. From the crest of the

496

The Making of Lake Arthur

dam on the up-stream face a painted gauge-
board slopes down to the bottom, and upon it
are plainly marked the figures indicating the
depth wherever the surface of the water
reaches.

After the location for the base of the dam
had been scraped down to bedrock and a
rough groove made as a sort of cradle for the
outlet pipe and its surrounding coat of cement
then several short cement walls were made
crosswise of the length of the pipe. The
ends of these walls were roughly dovetailed
into the bedrock, which was left rough or
blasted rough to make a better anchorage for
the cement. The board forms were removed
from these cross walls while the cement was
still soft, so that the cement surfaces could be
roughened. Then earth was puddled and
tamped solidly down next to the cement walls.
All this was done as an extra precaution to
prevent the formation of seepage channels
developing along the route of the outlet pipe.

The main part of the dam was then gradu-
ally constructed of earth dumped on in rows
which were leveled down to ten-inch layers.
The earth was secured from sidehill pits along
the banks of the proposed lake area, always
at a height above the actual developing sur-
face of the dam, so that the delivery could be
made by a down-hill haul. As the earth was
scooped out of the sidehills it was dumped
from scrapers onto temporary wooden shelves
so placed that the dump wagons could drive
under them and receive loads through an open-
ing in the floor of the shelf. As the dam
grew in height the earth was taken from higher
up the banks, and the shelves were also moved
up. always keeping the earth-loading stage
high enough to permit a down-grade haul to
the dam. Thus thousands of cubic yards of
earth were hauled down and dumped on the
growing dam. First the earth was distributed
in a ten-inch layer clear across the dam from
bank to bank but only half the width of the
dam ; then the other half-width was given a
similar layer. Later in the course of the con-

struction the plan was changed to spreading a
layer the full width of the dam but only half
the length from bank to bank, and then
spreading the other half.

While the work was going on repeated
samples were taken of the character of the
earth to be used, and these samples were
tested in original and in dried condition to
determine the character of the substance and
its weight. As the dam grew in height test
pits were dug down through the mass itself
so that it might be seen whether or not the
layers were forming strata or were amalgamat-
ing into a uniformly solid substance without
the evidence of possible future fissures or
crevices through which water might force its
way and develop a break. Every test showed
results satisfactory to the hydraulic engineer,
James H. Wise.

As the dam was bemg made its top surface
was kept hollowed out trough-shape from bank
to bank so that it was lower along the medial
line than along the up-stream edge and the
down-stream edge. This hollowed-out form
was maintained by keeping the difference be-
tween the middle depression and the outer
edges one-eighth of the height remaining to be
built to the ultimate top of the dam. That is,
when the dam had twenty-four feet yet un-

Note the treatment of the pot-hole, the little con-
crete cross walls along the outlet pipe, and the rock
surfacing on the up-stream slope.

built the depression would be three feet deep;
eight feet to rise, and the depression would be
only one foot deep.

There was a water tank on the hillside
thirty feet above the final crest of the dam,
and from that water tank ran a two-and-a-
half-inch pipe which was suspended on up-
rights from bank to bank midway of the

497

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

growing dam and kept high enough above it
to permit the wagons to pass under, from
this pipe-line was obtained the water for
regularly sprinkling the layers of earth. Near
the outlet pipe the earth was firmly tamped
down by hand, but everywhere else the tamp-
ing was done by a large horse-drawn revolving
cylinder bristling with tampers.

While half a layer was receiving its dump-
loads of earth the other half was being rolled.

As the earth was rolled and tamped any
brushy matter or woody stuff was cast aside;
smaller stones were rolled to the up-stream
edge of the dam to be used for the rip-rap
surfacing there; and larger rocks were rolled
to the down-stream corners of the dam to be
used in making a finishing wall in the angle
to prevent future guttering out by storm waters
guUeying down at the outer ends of the dam.
These rock surfacings gave the dam a neater
and better finished appearance and added to
its strength.

When the dam was completed a row of
posts was set all along the crest from bank to
bank, and additional posts were set in the
solid bank at each end of the dam. Then
the tops of all these posts were sawed to an
exact common level. This was done so that
at any time in the future it could be seen at a
glance how much the dam as a whole or how
much and where any part of it had settled,
despite all the careful tamping and wetting
and constant care in its making.

White Hands Won

The men who have to dirty their hands in
the gas business and those that do not have
to tested their comparative prowess in the
national game. The Gas Workers' Union
has gone against the neatly uniformed San
Francisco Gas and Electric team. It all
happened Sunday, May 8th, on the St.
Ignatius College grounds in San Francisco.
The score was 2 to 1 , with the office-boys on
the smiling end. About two hundred spec-
tators watched the fast match, and what thev

paid will go half toward buying uniforms for
the gas workers and half as a donation toward
the new Gas Elco Club. Feeney played a
remarkable game at short. Mensing made a
slashing single to right in the last half of the
ninth inning when the score was 1 -1 and three
men on bases, and clinched the game for "the
pen-pushers," as the "huskies" styled the
clean-hand crowd. The teams will meet
again later in the season, as they are evidently
very evenly matched, and the "huskies" want
satisfaction.

The Nearest Light to Daylight

Sunlight is really a uniform blending of
the seven primary colors. This is shown by
passing a ray of sunlight through a glass
prism. No one color predominates. Deli-
cately tinted fabrics when seen in daylight
show all their real tints and shades.

Electric light, apparently of a brilliant
whiteness, really verges much toward the
violet, while gas-light tends toward the other
end of the spectrum, with its reds and yellows.

An Englishman, Herbert E. Ives, has re-
cently made an elaborate presentation of the
relative whiteness of the different kinds of
illuminants compared with ordinary daylight.
In other words, he has reduced to a percent-
age basis the degree of daylight whiteness in
different lights. The result proves which
lights come the nearest to showing colors in
their true tones without neutralizing some of
the shades. His analysis shows that gas-light
produced with a Welsbach mantle comes the
nearest of all the artificial lights to a repro-
duction of the conditions of ordinary daylight,
which, merely as a standard, he calls I 00.

LIGHT. WHITENESS.

Mercury arc 00.0

Glow lamp (4.85 waits the candle) 19.3

Glow lamp (3.75 walls the candle) 21 .2

Glow lamp metallized (3.1 watts the candle).. 24.6

Tantalum lamp (2.6 watts the candle) 26.3

1 ungsten lamp (1.56 watts the candle) 33.2

Acetylene 42.0

Welsbach mantle (Y4 per cent, cerium) 50.5

Average daylight 100.0

498

Gold Mining by Electric Dredging

A Great California Industry Taking Power from Mountains and

Gold from Rivers

By T. E. FOGALSANG, Electrical Superintendent, Station A, San Francisco.

Nothing better illustrates the
modern concentration of energy,
man's desire to crowd all he can
into his allotted span of life, than
the gold dredgers now used along
various streams in the northern
part of California.
The Forty-niners toiled by the thousands,
shovehng gravel, scooping water with a
dipper, working a crude rocker, doing every-
thing by hand and in a primitive way, while
washing the gravel and earth to get the ulti-
mate results of nuggets, flakes, or fine grains
of gold, the superior weight of which always
lodged it safely at the bottom of the
receptacle. But today one big floating machine
run by electricity and operated by a crew of
half a dozen men does the work of a thousand
laborers, and does it better, because the
dredge gouges deep below the water level and

brings up in its huge chain-connected series of
scoops everything down into the very bedrock
itself and lands it in the great boat for wash-
ing and gold-recovery on a big scale.

The Feather River near Oroville, the
American River above Sacramento, the Yuba
River above Marysville, and Butte Creek
above Chico all have their gold dredgers
quietly nosing deep in midchannel or penetrat-
ing to some distance inland overhauling the
alluvial soil and piling up dumpings of cobbles
to mark for all future time where man's greed
for gold changed productive land into sterile
areas of bleaching round stones from which
every vestige of soil has been dissolved and
washed away in a scientifically thorough mod-
ern method of placer mining.

A gold dredger is really a big flat-boat
equipped with machinery for operating two
sets of endless chains, one carrying the digging

A typical gold dredger at work; the digging end at the right
499

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

7j£

buckets and the other the great belt for spilling
the cobbles far astern. It also has centrifugal
pumps for pouring torrents of water over the
dumpings of rock and earth that contain the
hidden particles of the precious metal.

One large dredger cost $125,000 to build
and equip. Some cost $90,000. But all
imply investment of capital beyond the means

Gold dredger working in a river channel

of any ordinary individual. It takes com-
panies to go into this kind of mining, and
when they do they get options on large tracts
of dredgable land or buy it outright, often
paying hundreds of dollars an acre.

If the ground worked over is fairly good it
is not uncommon for a dredger to take out
$30,000 a month. And for monthly ex-
penses, well, here are some data from an
actual thirty-day run of a dredger in the Oro-
ville district: labor — one dredge master at
$150, three wenchmen (at $103 each)
$310, three oilers (at $75 each) $225, two
shoremen (at $60 each) $120; electric
power — $ 1 ,000 ; supplies — $2 I 0 ; interest on
investment, depreciation in equipment, and
costs of repairs — $1,800: total — $3,815.
That indicates something of the profit, when
the digging brings $30,000 in gold.

Placer mining is the easiest and most primi-
tive form of gold hunting. It consists in dis-
solving away the surface earth, picking out
the stones, and letting the gold settle during
the process. It is the kind of mining that
appeals to the poor man. It takes neither

elaborate equipment nor personal ingenuity.
Anybody can do it. Hundreds of scattered
individuals are still at it in California. And
at one place up on the Yuba River there is a
white man, whose Indian mate is quite blind,
but the man, with an eye to the almighty
dollar, regularly leads his sightless squaw out
to the rocker and she faithfully jiggles it and
pours on the water while he puts in an occa-
sional shovelful of gravel.

Oroville, as the name suggests, was a gold-
miners' town. There in the stirring times of
'49 and the early fifties an array of red-
shirted men burrowed along the edges of the
Feather River. Then came thousands of
Chinese coolies to tackle the diggings because
what was left was too expensive work at the
prevailing prices of commodities for a white
man to get back a profit. The coolies, living
on next to nothing in rice and tea, took out
thousands and tens of thousands of dollars
that went back to the Flowery Kingdom.
Then the Chinese quit, but not till after a
pestilence had killed off hundreds of them
and not till they had washed off and picked
over all the best cobble area down to the
water level.

In the course of half a century silt and
turbid streams at high-water periods made a
rich soil over some of those old placer cobble
heaps, and willows had begun to grow here
and there.

Then the gold dredger was perfected. Fhe
Oroville district was the pioneer in the dredg-
ing business. Huge flat-boats were built on
dry land, then surrounded with an earth em-
bankment, and a ditch constructed to run
river water into the small basin and float the
boat, with its digging machinery. With
water to float it and a supply to furnish wash-
ings for the dredged-up material a boat slowly
plowed its way along through acres adjacent
to the river and piled up in its wake winrows
of cobbles.

Other boats started right along the river
itself. Power was brought to them from

Gold Mining by Electric Dredging

electric lines. It was nice, clean mining; no
delving in the dirt, no stifling labor down in
the bowels of the earth blasting out gold-
streaked quartz veins.

Every day the owner could heat the gold
amalgam and separate the attracting quick-
silver and see how much real gold he had got.
The climate was fine, the surroundings health-
ful and delightful. Stately oaks and syca-
mores and trailing wild grape vines made
picnic bowers along the river bank, and
orange and olive groves were nearby.

The mining near Oroville became so good
that all the old Chinese territory was worked
over, the old Chinese cemetery was purchased,
moved, and mined. Even fine orange groves
were sacrificed to the yellower riches hidden
below the roots of the trees. Money — yes;
but what a devastation of good land that
through all time would support future genera-
tions.

There are other dredger districts in Cali-
fornia, some further north, in Shasta and
Siskiyou Counties, and in other parts of the
state. Gold dredgers are being used with
great success in Alaska, where the digging
season is limited because of the frozen soil.
But the four districts originally mentioned are
of special interest for the readers of this maga-
zine because the electric energy they use is
largely supplied by the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company from its great hydro-
electric plants located higher up on the streams
that are being mined.

On the American River, along below
Folsom, hundreds of acres are great, piled-up.

corrugated ridges of cobbles glaring in the
sun, solid masses uniformly spread out far and
wide and more than a dozen feet higher than
was the original surface of the earth. A
monster rock-crushing plant is located there
patiently devouring that limitless pile, smash-
ing the cobbles up to bits. And trains of
railroad cars come and load and bear it away
to make roadted ballast or street and highway
macadam. After many years this process
may remove the desolate heaps of stones and
restore that part of the American River to
what nature first designed in making Cahfor-
nia beautiful.

The gold dredger is only a primitive miner
on a giant scale. Where the Forty-niner
used a shovel the dredger uses either a huge
double scoop or a large number of single
scoops that travel along one after another and
gouge deep down and get a mass of dripping
stuff from the depths. Where the manual
miner of early days in California used a
rocker the dredger has a great revolving
"grizzly", and where the miner poured on
water from a dipper the dredger uses cen-
trifugal pumps to pour torrents of water upon
the rapidly succeeding dumpings from the
scooping buckets. Where the old miner had
little riffles or wooden cleats down along a
sloping trough to catch the gold particles the
dredger has quicksilver in riffles to amalga-
mate with every settling particle of gold and
hold it fast. And where the miner of old
used to furnish all the energy by mighty effort
of hand and arm the dredger does it all with
the silent power of the subtle electric current

Plant of the Natoma Rock-crushing Company, near Folsom. where the tailings from gold dredgers are
made Into ballast for railroads and streets

501

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

coming in through a protected wire to operate
the scoops, to work the pumps, to carry off
the taihngs, and to light the whole place, be-
cause the dredger works along day and night.

Electric motors on the larger dredgers rep-
resent as much as four hundred and fifty
horsepower; on the smaller ones one hundred
and sixty. A dredger has aboard from five
to seven three-phase motors, which are run-
ning all the time, except during repairs to the
machinery.

Electric energy is delivered to the dredger
district at 4,000 volts, and then it is reduced
by a transformer to a potential of four
hundred and forty volts for use on the boat.
In the pilot-house, to be handy for the wench
operator, there is a switchboard, with a switch

and fuse blocks for each motor and also for
the lightmg circuits. Two of the motors are
variable speed with controllers. The others
are provided with auto-starters.

Double rubber-covered wire is used
throughout the installation, except at the
grids, and there asbestos-covered wire is used.
The rubber-covered wire is supported by
single-wire porcelain cleats. The outside
lighting is done by means of incandescent
clusters with reflectors.

In a district where there are several such
boats one electrician can easily look out for
six dredgers. His work concerns all the elec-
trical repairs and the changing of the pole-line
and the feed cable each time a boat has
reached the limit of its dredgable area.

Mapping Gas-Main Routes

By AUSTIN J. RIX, Assistant, Gas Engineering Department.

A complete record of a gas

company's distribution system is
a very valuable asset. It should
be kept up to date and reduced
to a system. In smaller companies
or in the districts of large cor-
porations difficulty often arises in
keeping these records, as no one man is em-
ployed for that particular purpose. In many
instances such records are left to the distribu-
tion foreman or the service man, and some-
times to one of the office force.

Maps and block-books are generally used,
but it has been found that maps are not very
practical. Size is often an objection. Wall
space is not always available, and constant ex-
posure causes maps to fade and become
illegible. A well designed block-book of large

proportions, say thirty-six by forty-two inches,
and drawn to a fifty- or one-hundred-foot
scale, is the best form and the most valuable.

In plotting down mains use ink of various
colors, letting black represent cast-iron pipe
and red wrought-iron. Where casing or tub-
ing is to be shown, use red, and show the line
broken, as a dash and two dots. This will
apply in all cases where a low-pressure system
is used.

Where high- and medium-pressure mains,
say eighty pounds and I 00 pounds the square
inch, are to be shown, use green ink to repre-
sent the high-pressure, and blue to show the
medium, making the lines solid when wrought-
iron is used and broken lines for tubing or cas-
ing. The mains should be stamped as to their
size, \vith small rubber figures in proper colors.

Sounds

If a twelve-inch cast-iron main extends for
three blocks on the north side of the street it
should be shown on the north side, and drawn
in black, and the number 1 2 on each end.
It is not best to show too many numbers.
Depth of pipe and distance from property Ime
can be readily shown by small figures and
arrows.

As to services, different conventions may be
used. The simplest and most effective is to
draw a service from the main to the property
line or just beyond, according to length, plac-
ing the number of the service tag at the end.
By so doing it will make it easy to obtain a
ready reference at any time. Service tags
should give the consumer's name, street num-
ber, size of service, length, and exact location
from property lines.

The location of drips is a great source of
trouble. Their records can not be too com-
plete. They should be numbered consecu-
tively, and a list filed in the front of the block-
book with their exact location from property
lines or from some well-defined landmark.
Trees and public-service poles are very indefi-
nite, as they are subject to removal most any
time. In addition to this record the drips
should be indicated on the main by the use of
a small black circle. Then, in case of trouble,
a glance at the chart will locate many difficul-
ties. Manholes, stopcocks, and regulators
should also be designated by some convention,
such as various colored circles or large dots.

In addition to the forementioned chart
record it is well to have hanging handy in the
office a small map with the mains plotted in.
This map could use the same system of marks,
and in one corner a small key, or index,
would explain the meanings.

As block-books do not afford much space
for any quantity of data, it is advisable to
have in addition a separate record of the large
mains and feeders. These books should be
very much smaller, on the style of field or
transit books. But in them should be carried
out a more elaborate scheme, noting all fittings

and their exact location and depth, taking
account of all water, sewer, and gas pipes,
conduits, and other services crossing over the
main. All these things should be drawn to
scale, and various discriminating colors should
be used.

Last but not least, whenever a new main is
discovered, as often happens, careful note
should be made of it, and its size, depth, dis-
tance from the curb-line, and general condition
should be inscribed on the map record to keep
it up to date.

Sounds

I have heard the mounlaln-Hon

In ihe distance scream and cry on

As a challenge lo all lurking In ihe wild and brushy

land.
And the sly coyote's calling
In the night has been appalling
As he signaled to the scattered pack to come and

take a hand.

I have heard the sad turtle dove

A-moaning to his mate of love

As he sat content beside her on a high commanding

limb.
And oft I ve heard the passing breeze
Whispering softly through the trees
That stand as stately sentinels along the forest rim.

I have also heard some humans swear

And seen them disarrange their hair

While trying hard to demonstrate their right to make

complaint.
And I have wondered which was worse
The lion s roar, or irate curse
Of the gas-consumer whose ire will brook no more

restraint.

Yet some voices are sweeter
Than the breath of a meter !
Such flavor of garlic and cheese,
Diffused by a cough and a sneeze!
Whatever their language — it s strong.
But always the gas-man is wrong!

Leigh R. Quigley,
Book-keeping Department.

W. C. J. Finely, formerly superintendent
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
Sacramento division, has returned to work in
the department of electrical construction,
where his field of operations will be consider-
ably larger.

503

DAVID HOWARD FOOTE

Who Came West to Avoid Hay-fever, and Succeeded

RIGHT at the start it may not sound well
to say he was driven out of the east.
But he was, and it happened to be hay-fever
that made him move.

Showed lack of nerve by that feverish re-
treat toward the land of the setting sun? Sh!
In Philadelphia he once took a job that had
unnerved the man before him, and then he
continued at the work five years. And later,
out in the mountains of Colorado, he took
another job that had become too exciting for
his immediate predecessor, who quit after five
armed bandits held up the place. Hay-fever
is not a nerve disease.

But to start at the beginning. His father
was Dr. George Champlin Foote, a native of
Utica, New York, whose mother was of the
Champlin family from which Lake Champlain
got its name. First the father was an Epis-
copal minister, but he switched from the
spiritual to the physical ministry, and up to
the time of his death was a physician in Phila-
delphia. His wife was Anna Mary Murray
of the Philadelphia and Quaker branch of
the Murray family that at one time owned the
Murray Hill tract in the centre of New York
city.

Such were the family and religious settings
for a great event that preceded the breaking
out of the Civil War. The 27th of February
of 1861 a child was born in Philadelphia.
He entered the Foote family, which, with his
advent, was changed from a pair to three
Footes, and little David made the yard. Tra-
dition does not say that he started in as yard-
master, even in his own backyard. But why
raise a question? His parents raised a Foote.

Of course there were other babies in Phila-
delphia, even in those days, and people in that
city of brotherly love were also giving an
occasional tired thought to the war. So David
grew up without entering a lion's den or
getting any newspaper publicity; he attended
a private school until he was ten. Then the
family went over to Moorestown, New Jersey,
with the boy and entered him in Githens
Academy, where he remained till he was
fifteen.

Then came the centennial exposition at
Philadelphia, and David celebrated the event
by starting to work. His grandfather Murray
had long been a public-weigher, an office
which still obtains in Philadelphia, and David
started under his grandfather's instruction,
weighing great sales of goods transferred from
producer to manufacturer and attesting the
accuracy of the scale recora. After one
year's apprenticeship he was made a public-
weigher. At the great warehouses he worked
with two assisting gangs of negroes, putting
the stuff on or taking it off one or the other
of a pair of great scales. He went on in this
way making a weigh of but not making away
with goods till he was nineteen.

Then he entered the employ of the Frog-
moor Cotton Mills of Philadelphia as ac-
countant and time-keeper in a mill where
about two hundred men, women, and girls
were employed in spinning cotton yarns for
cloth and soft-twisted yarns for stockings.
The mill had its own dye-vats for coloring
the sock yarns, which shows that even in those
days there was something more than Quaker
gray in the city of yawns. Till he was

504

Men of the Company

twenty-one David Foote spent his days in the
three-story brick mill while the women and
girls spun yarns.

But one tires of yarns, and David accepted
a position as head bookkeeper for Lawrence
Johnson and Company of Philadelphia, im-
porters and exporters, and put in two years
there. The concern did a business of about a
million dollars a month. It imported sugar
from Cuba, crude rubber from Brazil, sulphur
from Italy, and ex-
ported to Brazil agri-
cultural implements
and to Cuba and
Germany barrel
staves and heads
from its own mills
out in Wisconsin.
And there was a
good deal of book-
keeping for a young
man, with very little
time then for yarns
or yawns.

So he came to the
age of twenty-three,
and every summer
had hay-fever! Some
told him to go west
for a change, if he
had enough change
for the move. Just

then the Philadelphia Mining and Smelting
Company asked him to take charge of its
offices out at Ketchum, Idaho, as manager
and cashier. He accepted with (hay) feverish
alacrity. He spent about a year at the smelter
in Ketchum, and as no hay or any other vege-
tation will grow within miles of a smelter he
had no hay-fever. The smelter had a four-
cupola furnace, and employed about a
hundred men working in three shifts. It
bought ore from the mines and shipped the
bullion to Salt Lake. The mines petered out,
the smelter ceased to fume, Foote pieced out
his stay by working in the recorder's office.

David Howard Foote

and then acted on the hint of an Indian who
grunted, "Ketchum train."

He arrived in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin,
at that time a town of 1 0,000 people and the
site of the largest lumber mill in the world.
He was twenty-four, and the first thing he did
was to become Chippewa's assistant postmas-
ter. Thus he spent a year. Then the Lum-
bermen's National Bank was started, and he
was made cashier. He handled the lumber-
men's money two
years. Canada was
near, but the cashier
remainedonthe
American side.

Along came an
offer from Philadel-
phia to return and be
assistant treasurer of
the Union Trust
Company, a million-
dollar concern. He
went, and was assist-
ant treasurer for four
years. The bank was
selling between four
and five million dol-
lars' worth of Kansas
and Nebraska farm
lands on which mort-
gages had been fore-
closed. The farm-
ers were discouraged, and the new buyers fell
heir to bad seasons. The discouragements
and trials of the bank's investing clients so
worried the bank's treasurer that he resigned,
broken in health and a good deal of a nervous
wreck. Foote was then made secretary and
treasurer, and he held the job for five years
more, making many trips to Kansas and
Nebraska to temper the trials of those who
were struggling with cultivation and climate.
The west had got on Foote again harder
than the hay-fever that was again charging
him compound interest. He picked out Den-
ver as a nice high place where the living would

505

Pacific Gas aund Electric Magazine

perhaps be too high for hay-fever. He was
thirty-six when he moved, but the real Denver
did n't somehow foot up as it had to Foote
a thousand miles away. \\ hile he was still
peeking at Pike's Peak and the top of the
continent a band of five typical western des-
peradoes rode mto the mountain town of
Meeker and held up its bank in broad day-
hght. The townsmen rushed to cover, but
quickly came out and covered the bandits
with rifles. The shooting was good, for the
coroner found five bandits lying in wait for
him — all dead. The bank cashier felt a bit
nervous after that experience and sent in his
resignation, intimating that he longed to be a
meeker man though not a Meeker citizen.
A Denver bank suggested the Meeker job to
Foote, and he went over and did a year's
time being bank cashier in that fearless com-
munity,- of half a thousand people supplying a
rich cattle country within a radius of a
hundred miles.

Then a former Philadelphia friend down
in Tucson, Arizona, wrote him to come. So
he went and took a position as cashier of a
foundry that made a specialty of mining
machinery", hea\'\' hardware, galvanized tanks,
and the installing of cyanide plants. One
year in Arizona was enough.

At thirty-nine he finally started for Cali-
fornia, which is waiting nearly an ordinarj'
Ufetime to get into God's country! He ar-
rived in San Francisco with a letter from a
Tucson bank to E. R. Lilienthal of the
Anglo-Californian Bank, who introduced him
to Jim Taylor, now traveling auditor for the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Tay-
lor introduced him to Robert Oxnard, and
Oxnard made him assistant manager, office
manager, and buyer for the great beet-sugar
factory' at Oxnard in Ventura Count>', em-
ploying hundreds of men during the beet
"campaign", consuming 2,000 barrels of
fuel-oil a day, keeping five hundred wagons
hauling beets, and having a daily capacity of
two thousand tons of beets convertable into

more than two hundred tons of white

sugar.

A j'ear later he returned to San Francisco.
The California Gas and Electric Corporation
was then being organized, and through the
acquaintanceship of R. M. Hotaling and
C. W. Conlisk he entered the service of the
corporation as its first cashier and assistant
secretary. He promptly installed the meth-
ods and system of accounts still in use by the
company. In 1 906 the concern grew by addi-
tions and became styled the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company. In July of 1907 Foote
was elected secretary of the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company with the implied duties of
cashier, and he still holds the position.

Soft snap? Nothing to do but see that a
stenographer gets a correct record of the
directors' meetings? Not exactly. The
Pacific Gas and Electric Company is an
amalgamation of about forty different com-
panies of central Cahfornia, and while many
have completely lost their original identity the
entity of others is still preserved in separate
official records of stock and finances and ap-
portionments. This applies to such companies
as the San Francisco Gas and Electric, Bay
Counties Power, Yuba Electric Power,
Nevada County Electric Power, Valley
Counties Power, Standard Electric of Cali-
fornia, United Gas and Electric, Oakland
Gas Light and Heat, Berkeley Electric
Lighting, Sacramento Electric Gas and
Railway, Central California Electric, Cali-
fornia Central Gas and Electric, Blue Lakes
Water, Stockton Water, South Yuba Water,
and Central Cahforiiia Electric. The secre-
tary, with a force of seven men, keeps the
records of all these companies (e.xcept the
San Francisco), pays out all the payroll
checks and drafts for thousands of employees,
receives and receipts for all the money col-
lections of the general company and the sub-
ordinate concerns, attends the directors' meet-
ings and keeps the records, and then attests
every contract authorized by the directors.

506

Electric Meter-Test Methods

and there are several thousand contracts a
year. He also keeps a record of all the
stocks and bonds and their transfer to differ-
ent owners, and as cashier virtually has charge
of all the funds of the company, subject to
the calls of the treasurer. And unless D. H.
Foote had had exceptional banking and finan-
cial experience and a genial temperament the
secretary's job might make him think very

wistfully of Oxnard and its beet-sugar factory,
or Tucson and its foundry, or Meeker and its
bank bandits, or Keetchum and its smelter,
or Chippewa Falls and its postoffice, or even
of the effete east with its banking, its import-
ing, its yarn-spinning, and its weighing — all
flavored fitfully with hay-fever. But no, he
fills the position smilingly in San Francisco
and sleeps in Alameda. a. r.

Electric Meter-Test Methods

By OTTO A. KNOPP, Meter-Testing Department, Oakland.

Two principle methods are

commonly used for testing watt-
hour meters. In the oldest
method, still the most reliable
and accurate, the correctness of
the meter is determined in this

Ottii A Knnpp

manner: A certain watt-load on
the meter is measured for alternating current
with an indicating wattmeter; for direct cur-
rent, with volt and ammeter. By means of
a stop-watch the meter being tested is timed,
and the watt-load on the meter is calculated
by the formula

Watts =

K/.Re

3.600

1 ime in secoi

nds

From the calculated meter watts and the
standard watts, as measured by the indicating
instruments, the error of the meter is deter-
mined as to its percentage fast or slow.

By the other common method of testing
the meter in doubt is simply compared with
an accurate meter of the same type. This
test meter is portable, so that it can be carried
to different places. It is called a master
meter, or rotating standard. This method of
meter-testing reduces the work of calculation
and eliminates the use of the stop-watch.

Therefore for commercial work it has sup-
planted the method previously mentioned.

The author was one of the first to advo-
cate this simpler second method, but he early
recognized its disadvantages.

When using this simpler method, testing
with the rotating standard, a factor of un-
certainty exists because, if anything should be
wrong with the standard meter, it is im-
possible to notice any retarding effect in its
speed. Therefore, if a serious difference be
discovered between the rotating standard and
the doubtful meter the question arises. Which
meter is really wrong. The rotating standard,
being packed round all day, undoubtedly has
many chances to get out of order. Another
disadvantage in this method of testing is the
necessity of carrying along some device for
loading the meter, as there is not always an
opportunity to load the meter with the con-
sumer's load. This loading device, added
to the standard meter itself, makes up a weight
too great to be handled by one man.

In an effort to find some method of testing
which has none of the uncertainties here men-
tioned and could be applied by one man, the
writer used the principle embodied in a test
method employed in the test rooms of manu-

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

facturing companies, where large numbers of
new meters have to be tested.

The principle of this method consists in
applying a predetermined load to each of a
large number of meters of the same type and
size. A clock gives signals at certain inter-
vals, during which the meters, if correct, are
supposed to have made a certain number of
revolutions. If more revolutions are made,
or less, by any meter, then that meter is either
slowed down or speeded up until it is correct.

But this method is not applicable to the
ordinary testing work of electric-lighting com-

Electric Meter Testers; Arc-Lamp Repairers, and
Shopmen of the Oakland District
Top row (left to right — C. J. Loose, George Wag-
ner, B. A. Rathjen, J. O. Conger; middle row — E. P.
Mann, A. Eliason, W. G. Schmidt, O. A. Knopp,
O. A. Schumann, C. F. Fellmer, W. B. Lisher; bot-
fiim row — O. A. Moitzker, U. S. Maybee.

panics. It is only a stationary method, use-
ful in testing a large number of meters of the
same type and size at one time and one place.
By modifying and adapting this method
to the needs of the electric-lighting companies,
a very convenient, accurate, and quick testing
method has been developed in Oakland. This
modified method is used for outside and inside
testing on both alternating and direct current
meters. A predetermined measured load is
applied to the meter that is to be tested. This
load is made of such a magnitude as to cause
the meter, if correct, to complete a certain
number of revolutions in a given time. This
time interval is chosen as the one-hundredth
part of an hour, and is indicated by a special
stop-watch. This stop-watch has a hand
that completes one revolution in one-

hundredth of an hour, and the face of the
watch is divided up into one hundred parts.
Therefore, when the meter is timed with the
chosen load and it takes more or less than one-
hundredth of an hour while registering the
standard load, the watch will show at a
glance the exact percentage of fast or slow,
as the dial is divided into one hundred equal
segments. If the meter is right the load
should run it through one complete revolution
in one-hundredth of an hour.

If the watch completes 1.04 revolution
instead of 1 .00 the correction factor of the
meter in test is 1.04. That is, for every
dollar of that man's electric bill he should
have been charged $1.04. In other words,
the meter is approximately 4 per cent. slow.
If the watch completes .96 revolution, in-
stead of 1 .00, the correction factor of the
meter in test is ,96. That is, for every dollar
that consumer was charged he should have
been charged only $.96. In other words his
meter is approximately 4 per cent. fast.

The simple rule for applying this test
method is: A load ( I OOxK) in watts, ap-
plied to the meter will cause a correct meter
(with a calibrating or disc constant K) to
complete one revolution in one revolution of
the watch, which is one-hundredth of an
hour. Because ( 1 00 x K) watts x I / 1 00
hour=K watt-hours. But K watt-hours is
what one revolution of the disc represents.
If we apply four, five, or ten times the load,
we get four, five, or ten revolutions in the
same time interval of one-hundredth of an
hour.

In order to apply these different loads
accurately and steadily over a period of one-
hundredth of an hour, different appliances
have been developed to meet the require-
ments of the electric-lighting companies for
testing the alternating-current and the direct-
current meter on the consumer's premises.
Also, for shop-testing of alternating-current
and direct-current meters. But a description
of these appliances is another story.

508

/"/TK

Editorial

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PUBLISHED IN THK INTEREST OF AI.I. THE EMPLOYEES
OF THE PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

JOHN A. KRITTON EDITOR

ARCHIE RICE Editor

A. F. HOCKENBEAMER - - - Business Manager

Issued the middle of each month

Year's subscription Sl.Sfi

Single copy ■''0

Matter for publication or business communications

should be addressed

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

445 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Vol. I

MAY, 1910

No. 12

The
Strength

EDITORIAL

Of all the kinds of wild animals
that lived upon this earth tens
of thousands of years ago, pos-
sibly only the rhinocerous has
survived down through the ages.
Other mammoth forms have disappeared.
They have been replaced by new creatures
that have evolved to present types.

The rhinocerous is full of fight. Huge,
able to see but dimly with its little pig eyes,
it relies upon its keen sense of smell. When
it scents a strange animal it charges, intent
on killing. That is the spirit that animated
the world's first creatures.

Evolution has ever been toward less fight-
ing when there is not adequate cause. But
even yet among animals in their wild state
life is constant warfare, fear, attack ; the
stronger and fiercer preying upon the smaller
and less defensible. Those not equipped to
fight survive only because of their constant
alertness or superior speed.

As the necessity to fight for life is removed
animals become tamer, gentler. The horse,
the cow, the dog are evolved types of meaner
creatures. But they have been made man's
friend and helper, because man through gen-
erations has found it to his advantage to pro-
tect these creatures from their one-time natural
foes.

Some animals still display that primal
fierceness. The little wild-cat is untamable,
snarling, a caged fury. The mighty lion and
the creeping tiger can be subdued by a

trainer's course of great physical cruelty and
pain, but the instinct to kill is always there
smouldering, dangerous.

Man in the beginning was a crude fightmg
animal. He had to fight or be killed.
Animals threatened him; so did other men.
Gradually as weaker or smaller tribes were
killed off and neighborhood animals extermi-
nated more peaceful conditions came, more
friendly relations man with man. And having
less fighting to do, man turned his time to
better things.

That ancient fight spirit is not all gone.
The rattlesnake strike, the wild-cat fury, is
with us yet in some individuals. The man
who is "mad in a minute" if some one inad-
vertantly jostle him in a crowded car or tread
upon his toe has some of that world-old in-
stinct surviving strong in his cosmos.

Forbearance is a mark of human develop-
ment, of brain strength come to replace brute
fury. To be strong and yet not fly to anger
and the infliction of bodily injury — that is a
measure of intelligent fortitude. Not to strike,
when it were easier to do so, often requires
a superior kind of courage. It implies quiet
reason as distinguished from wrathful, quick
revenge. That was the Christ spirit, and
that was the spirit of Abraham Lincoln during
the constant anxieties of the Civil War.

When a request was made in the January
number for cooperation among the employees
in helping to restore the magazine's depleted
collection of reserve back numbers, several
persons shrugged their shoulders. Who
would heed? It was useless even to ask!
Was it? The response was both cordial and
prompt. Every month's supply but June
and October had been exhausted. Those
who could spare copies sent them in till the
reserve stood thus: June, 32; July, 14;
August, 12; September, 28; October, 169;
November, 40; December, 22; January, 49.
To each of those whose kindly thoughtfulness
made this possible, thanks are here expressed.

.509

The Mosquito That Causes Malaria

By ARCHIE RICE, Manager Publicity Deparlment.

Malaria comes only from the
bite of a mosquito. There are
many kinds of mosquitoes in the
world, but so far science has
been able to discover but two
species that produce disease in
human beings,
kind of mosquito is absolutely and

solely responsible for yellow-fever. The other
dangerous kind is the one that inoculates you
with malaria, gives you the recurring chills
and fever that make you languid and in time
considerably enervated and constitutionally
\veakened after annually repeated attacks.

From long habit, with thousands of other
people, you may have believed that malaria
is in the climate, or in the water you drink.
Old settlers will always tell you that. And
old settlers are tenacious in what they know ;
" 'cause nobody can 't tell them nothin' ."

This little article is not written for argu-
ment. It is not printed to display scientific
research or to work off technical terms that
you can 't understand. It is put in here for
whatever help it may be to this magazine's
readers and their associates, many of whom
live in or go into parts of California where
results show that there are mosquitoes of the
malaria-giving kind. Nearly every section
of the habitable globe has some of these
malaria mosquitoes.

What you should know is how to tell the
dangerous kind. Just as you should know
how to tell the deadly rattle-snake from the
harmless gopher-snake. So some pictures of
mosquito wings are here presented, on a
greatly enlarged scale, to make identification
easy.

Remember this: The malaria mosquito is
the only kind of a mosquito that has spots on
its wings. They look like spots, but under

the magnifying glass they are really close
little groups of tiny branches on the vein-like
markings of the wings. Squint your eyes as
you look at the enlarged spotted wings here
illustrated and you '11 get the effect that you
will recognize when you catch a real malaria
mosquito.

In the Sacramento valley I know country
doctors who have long told their patients to
boil the drinking water and thus avoid
malaria. And there was a wise well-borer
in Red Bluff who advised going down to a
depth of more than one hundred and fifty
feet "to get below the malaria water."

The state of New Jersey has been so both-
ered by mosquitoes that its seaside resorts
were threatened with financial extinction. A
few years ago its legislature appropriated
$10,000 to investigate mosquitoes, and ex-
perts were put to work. I sent to the secre-
tary of state and got that New Jersey report,
a closely printed volume of nearly 500 pages.
Then I had several long talk* with Dr.
Rupert Blue, the government's special author-
ity on the suppression of epidemics. He is
the man that waged the campaign that
stamped yellow-fever out of New Orleans.
Now every little street urchin in New Orleans
knows at sight the yellow- fever mosquito, and
helps exterminate it. It was Dr. Blue who
tackled the job of ridding San Francicco of
bubonic plague by exterminating the rats, be-
cause rats are subject to bubonic plague, and
those rats that get it die, and then their fleas
hop on to another rat or a human being and
inoculate with the plague germ. But bubonic
plague is not nearly so deadly' as some other
diseases if known and properly treated.
Many children's diseases are passed along by
flies and by ordinary fleas from child to cat
or dog and to another child. Most of the

510

The Mosquito That Causes Malaria

diseases formerly called contagious are now
called communicable, because familiar insects
pass them along.

It is very interesting, but you may not care
for it. So we will get back to mosquitoes.

All kinds of mosquitoes breed wherever
and only where there are small puddles.

Just an ordinary mosquito magnified many times

ditches, or receptacles holding water that is
left undisturbed by wind or current or unfre-
quented by fish for at least ten days. They
can hatch out by the million in an old bucket.
They do not breed in shrubbery or lawns, and
the castor bean bush does not keep mosquitoes
away.

Mosquitoes begin arriving in May. But
there are no definite mosquito rules, because
there are so many varieties, with different
habits. As a general thing the mosquito lives
from several weeks to six months, and the
malaria kind hides through the winter in
cellars or such places, acting very dopey. The
female mosquito squats on a still bit of water
and lays between fifty and seventy-five eggs,
sometimes singly, but usually all clinging
together in a sort of little raft. The eggs are
tiny, elliptical, black-looking things. In two
days they hatch downward and become tiny
wrigglers that spend the next week or ten days
head down and tail up, the tip just protruding

above the surface of the water, as the nose is
in one fork of the tail. If the water be
riffled by wind or disturbed the poor little
things can 't breathe, and they die. If crude
petroleum gets on to the surface of the water
it forms a layer that cuts off the wriggler's
chance for air. But barring these accidents
you can raise mosquitoes without any care or
expense. The wriggler turns within ten days
into a tiny sort of pollywog, mostly head, and
lives a marine life anywhere from one day to
three days. Then it floats on the surface
and hatches up out of its transparent shell.
The shell opens to form a dear little boat!
In a minute the occupant awakes, stretches
into legs and wings, gets them dry, and, be-
fore you know it, flies away a full-fledged
mosquito ready for business.

Now consider this, and feel flattered: It
is only the lady mosquito that ever bites you.
The male mosquito has a bill too dull for any
skin-game, and his life is short. Poor fellow!

Before a lady mosquito is five minutes old
she is ready for a flirtation with any man.
Some kinds sing to you first. The yellow-
fever lady sings and sings a long while in
your room before she comes quietly and bites

ShowiHg the tell-tale spotted wings by which you can
always recognize the malaria mosquito — two of
the three varieties

you on the neck. Then there are some kinds
that lure you with no music, but they get there
just the same.

The reason the mosquito bite hurts is this:
When the lady taps your epedermis to test
for real blue blood in your veins she always
finds it too rich for her. So she injects a tiny
drop of acrid, poisonous fluid to thin the blood

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

so she can draw it up through her dainty little
test-tube. If you let her alone she will draw
out most of the stinging matter with the blood
sample, but if you slap her on the wrist or
frighten her away she will leave it there just
to rebuke your rudeness to a perfect lady.

Then it will smart. But do n't scratch it.
Rub on some ammonia, or the juice of an
onion, if you happen to have one in your
purse. Experts say these two remedies are
the best for that irritating effect. No ordinary
lady mosquito will make you ill. She has a
bitter tongue, yes; but consider her sex.

If you happen to notice that the lady mos-
quito who is favoring you with her attentions
has those tell-tale spots, slap her quick, and
then take a very small quantity of quinine
twice a day for the next three days; but not
the regular country doctor's dose that makes
your ears ring and your eyes water.

No yellow-fever mosquito can give you
yellow-fever unless she has acquired it by
first biting some yellow-fever patient. And
no spotted-wing mosquito (there are three
variations, each with its own particular num-
ber of spots) can give you malaria unless she
has first bitten some person that got the recipe
from some other mosquito lady.

In mosquito society the ladies with the
spotted reputation are called Anopholes to
distinguish them from all the other kinds of
mosquitoes. But when mosquitoes bite you
you may go right on calling them by the same
old names.

If you would attract the attention of lady
mosquitoes wear dark-colored clothes. They
prefer to settle on a black coat, just as fleas
jump delightedly at sight of a skirt that is
white.

If you keep fine-mesh screens in your win-
dows and doors, that will help a lot. The
spotted-wing mosquitoes insist upon coming
into a house, and they bite harder than nearly
any other kind. But if there is no tiny pool
of standing water within a hundred yards of
your dwelling you will have to go out and call

on one of the spotted ladies in the evening,
because they never wander further than that
from their original pools.

Mosquitoes usually hunt blood only in the
evening. Doctors who know say it is no risk
at all to go into a yellow-fever district or to
visit yellow-fever patients, provided you enter
the town and depart before nightfall. And
why are negroes usually immune from yellow-
fever? Well, the lady mosquito does not
care for perfume.

Charles N. Chittenden, electrician in charge
of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
sub-station at St. Helena, and Miss Jessie
Rice of St. Helena were married in San
Francisco April 1 4th.

Arthur S. Cummings, when he resigned
last month to go east, was presented by his
fellow employees in the Santa Rosa division
with a handsome suit-case and given to under-
stand that he would be missed.

In the territory embraced by Arizona,
California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, British Columbia, and the Hawaiian
Islands all the water-driven and steam-
driven electrical installations combined are
now regularly producing 920,936 kilowatts,
or 1 , 1 5 I , I 74 electrical horsepower, and
there are plans under way for the develop-
ment of 382,600 additional horsepower. In
this same western area the annual production
of gas is 15,075,985,907 cubic feet, of
which 13,799,985,970 cubic feet is made
from fuel-oil and 1,236,000,000 from coal,
while 40,000,000 cubic feet is obtained as
natural gas from wells. The combined gas
and electric and electric car business of the
area mentioned represents a capitalization of
$731,507,452, of which more than $504,-
700,000 has actually been paid in. The
electric railways in this area operate 5,694
cars on a total of 3,463 miles of track. The
longest transmission line is 35 1 .95 miles.

Cost of Running an Automobile

HERE is some automobile experience
based on absolute figures. This infor-
mation comes from one of the district manag-
ers of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
It gives a very good idea of what it really
costs to have a machine.

This is an exact record of where the
money went in keeping up a twenty-horse-
power machine for a period of exactly one
year following its purchase new.

Number of miles traveled 12,543

Tire expense $300.12

Gasoline 135.75

Oil 35.05

Repairs and sundry ex-
pense 326.66

Total cost for year. .$797.58

Average expense a mile 6.35 cents

Monthly average- 1,045 miles for $66.47
Daily average . .— 34^3 miles for $ 2.20

These figures merely cover operation costs.
They do not include interest loss on the money
invested in the machine or the proportion of
that cost to be charged as depreciation in its
value, the lifetime of an automobile being
anywhere from one to a dozen years, accord-
ing to the care with which it is handled and
kept in condition. Nor do these figures in-
clude the wages of a chauffeur at anywhere
from $75 to $125 a month, the assumption
being that a man runs his own machine.

Now as to lifetime and depreciation. A
conservative general estimate is this: A
machine lasts an average of five years. Dur-
ing those five years it depreciates the first year
say 1 0 per cent, of its cost, the second year
10 per cent., the third year 20 per cent., the
fourth year 20 per cent., and the fifth year
40 per cent. Among big business concerns
it is the practice to charge automobile depre-
ciation off at the rate of 30 per cent, a year,
allowing the average lifetime of usefulness and
up-to-dateness as a little more than three
years.

Taking the average cost of a twenty-horse-
power automobile as $1 ,800, then the interest

charged the first year, at 6 per cent., would be
$108, and the depreciation, at 10 per cent.,
$180, or a loss of $288 the first year. The
second year the loss charge would be the
same — $288 ; the third year it would be
$468; the fourth year the same, or $468;
and the fifth and last year, $828.

Without a chauffeur, and assuming the
same average mileage as this machine made
in its first year as a new machine, the real
total costs would be something like this: first
year about $90 a month; second year about
$90 a month; third year about $105 a
month ; fourth year about $ 1 05 a month ;
and fifth and last year about $1 35 a month.
Then the machine would be used up. But
during the later years the repair cost would
probably increase proportionately and add an
indeterminate amount, ranging possibly from
$5 to $25 a month. These figures suppose
the automobile good for a total of a little
more than 60,000 miles, which is going some,
or about 1 ,000 miles a month at an average
of about $100.50 a month or about 10 cents
a mile. Much depends on the roads, on the
man, and on the care the machine gets.

From Will T. Jones, Electra:

Every body likes the magazine. I think it is im-
proving all the time.

From a letter by Ray D. Lillibridge, 1 00

Broadway, New York, to F. V. T. Lee:

I beg to take occasion to congratulate whoever is
responsible for the origin and make-up of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Magazine upon its extremely artistic
and otherwise attractive appearance.

Each month's issue of this magazine, on the
regular run of 3,500 copies for the employees,
costs approximately $320, made up of the
following items: paper $120, typesetting $90,
printing $45, halftones $45, binding $20.
Each copy actually costs, exclusive of deliv-
ery and editing, nine cents to produce.

513

Pacific Gas and Electric Magazine

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

F. B. Anderson
Henry E. Bothin
John A. Britton
W. H. Crocker
E. J. De Sabla, Jr.

DIRECTORS

F. G. Drum
John S. Drum

D. H. FOOTE

A. F. Hookenbkamer

John Martin

OFFICERS

Louis Monteagi.e
Cyrus Pierce
Leon Sloss
Joseph S. Tobin
George K. Weeks

T. G. Drum President

John A. Britton VicePres. and Gen. Mgr.

A. F. Hockenbeamer 'Jd Vice- Pres., Treas. and Comp.

D. H. Foote .Secretary

Charles L. Barrett Asst. Secretary

W. R, EcKARi.. Consulting Engineer

HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

W. H. Kline General Agent

R. J. Cantrell Property Agent

George C. Robb Supt. of Supplies

J. H. Hunt Purchasing Agent

E. B. Henley Manager Land Dept.

J. P. CoGHLAN Manager Claims Dept.

Archie Rice Manager Publicity Dept.

8. V. Walton Manager Commercial Dept.

F. E. Cronise Manager New-Business Dept.

H. BOSTWICK

J. C. Love Auditor

W. B. Bosley Attorney

George C. Holberton Engineer

S. J. Lisberger Engineer

H. C. Vensano Civil Engineer

E. C. Jones Engr. Gas Dept.

C. F. Adams Engr. of Electric Construction

P. M. Downing Engr. O. & M. Hyd.-Elec. Sect.

F. H. Varney Engr. O. A M. Steam it Gas Eng. Sect.

...Secretary to President

DISTRICT MANAGERS

Berkeley' F. A. Leach, Je.

Chico H. B. Heryford

Colusa W. M. Henderson

Fresno E. W. Florence

Grass Valley John Werry

Mabin W. H. Foster

Maby'SVILLE J. E. Poingdestre

Napa 0. E. Clark

Nevada City John Wekrv

Oakland F. A. Leach, Jr.

Petaluma H. Weber

Redwood City L. H. Newbert

Sacramento C. W. McKillip

San Jose J. D. Kuster

Santa Rosa Thomas D. Petch

Vai.lejo A. J. Stephens

Woodland W. E. Osbobn

MANAGERS OF WATER DISTRICTS •

Nevada George Scarfe Standard W. E. Eskew

Placer County H. M. Cooper Stockton J. W. Hall

SUPERINTENDENTS OF POWER DIVISIONS

Colgate I. B. Adams

Db Sabla D. M. Young

Electra W. E. Eskew

Marysville C. E. Young

North Tower C. D. Clark

Oakland William Hughes

Sacramento J. O. Tobey

San Jose J. O. Hansen

Nevada City George Scarfe South Tower A. H. Burnett

Stockton E. C. Monah.^n

SUPERINTENDENTS OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

Berkeley J. H. Pai'E Oakland C. J. Wilson Sacrame.vto C. R. Gill

San Jose A. C. Ramsted

SUPERINTENDENTS OF GAS WORKS

Martin Station John Mitchell Sacramento Edward S. Jones

Oaklakd A. C. Beck San Francisco Dennis J. Lccey

San Jose .T- R. H. Hargreaves

SUPERINTENDENTS OF GAS DISTRIBUTION

Oakland George Kirk San Francisco

514

.W. R. Morgan

WrM

■P

^tM4

^ - ft-

^^V$w^

FX\

.'IT t ^

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Pacific Gas and Electric magazine"

See other formats