have not exhibited, the electric-light fitter has not seized
upon the spirit of the age —which is the rule of science
over more conventional aestheticism. Two exhibits at
the Crystal Palace, however, the author considers, espe-
cially deserve inspection. The one is a Tudor ribbed
ceiling erected by Messrs. Allen & Mannooch, who have
applied glow-lamps to the moulded intersecting pend-
ants in such a
way
that the feeling of the artist is main-
tained by day, and is rather intensified, and not marred,
by the artificial illuminant at night. The other is a bold
attempt of Messrs. Rashleigh, Phipps & Dawson to de-
sign in ironwork the whole of the fittings of a dining-
room, so that they shall, in combination, convey an idea.
The artist (Mr. Reynolds) has attempted to symbolize
the solar
system, the center over the table representing
the sun, and the brackets on the walls the planets. A
survey of the Royal Academy pictures, the author
thinks, affords instructive study. There are many inte-
riors, but few into which artificial light has been intro-
duced. Having described several pictures in which ar-
tificial light has been introduced with more or less suc-
cessful results, Mr. Preece, in conclusion, considers that
science is advancing with giant strides. Science has
subdued nature so as to bring it within the compass of
the human intellect, and art must follow the knowedge
thus acquired. These two being the chief instruments
of modern civilization, the architect and engineer must
work hand in hand.”
FUTURE ELECTRICAL ADVANCEMENT.
r PRUE science, bound by no fetters, its theories tenable
1 only so long as they are useful in connecting facts, its
progress limited only by the life of the race on the earth,
and its field unbounded, is not only vastly enlarging the
mental horizon, but it is, at the same time, conferring
incalculable practical benefits. Did this statement need
emphasis, it is found in the growth of no particular
branch of science more than in electricity. With the
vast accumulation of new facts, electricity has come to be
understood as intimately related in its nature and ac-
tions to that necessary something which has been called
the universal ether, filling all
space
and permeating the
most solid objects. By the electrical vibrations of this
medium, the stars not only declare their
very presence,
but transmit to us indications of their directions and
rates of motion, their
temperatures, and even the kind of
matter which composes them. The beam of light is an
electrical phenomenon, it is an electrical oscillation or
vibration of such extraordinary hundreds of
trillions per second, as to become unreasonable in
thought. It is conveyed in the ether at the rate of nearly
two hundred thousandmiles per second. So also are other
electrical actions. The fact that electrical action is so
intimately related to the phenomena of heat, chemical
energy and crystallization leads us to think that future
discoveries can but tend toward further harmonies of
these great forces.
Electrical attraction and repulsion, magnetism, light
and radiant heat are now known to be dependent in
some way on the properties of the ether of
space. Gravi-
tational force must be similarly dependent. Cohesion
and chemical
are,
without doubt, manifestations
depending on the same medium. The future scientific
investigator will find his field of work gradually expand-
ing. The growth of electricity as a branch of science
must be at least commensurate with that of the broader
science of physics. As a swift messenger, as a conveyer
of intelligence, electricity has in the telegraph been
familiarly known for about half a century. So far as
appears from the present outlook, future telegraphic
progress promises no great revolutions. Methods and
means will, no doubt, become more and more refined
and
greater speeds be attained. The more general in-
troduction of multiplex systems will increase the capac-
ity of the lines and decrease the cost. More attention
will be given to permanence
of lines and to securing im-
munity from extended interruptions due to storms. It
may be remarked here, however, that electricians are not
without some hope that signaling or telegraphing for
moderate distances without wires, and even through
dense fog may
be an accomplished fact soon. Had we
the means of obtaining electric oscillations of several
millions per second, or waves similar to light waves,
but
of vastly lower rate of vibration, it might be possible by
suitable reflectors to cause them to be carried a mile or
so through a fog, and to recognize their presence by in-
struments constructed for the purpose. Many of the
difficulties and dangers which now beset the navigator
would, at least, be lessened, if not removed. Signaling
or telegraphing without wires is no new proposal, and
there have been many such proposals which are extrava-
gant and impracticable. The fact
is, however, the
essential means are not yet forthcoming.
In telephonic transmission the
past few years have
permitted us to witness extensions from communication
over restricted areas and moderate distances to hundreds
of miles between cities, an achievement which must
count as one of the wonders of the
century. Can
we,
how-
ever, anticipate such an extension of the power of the
telephone, that
may at some time use an ocean cable as
the line over which speech is to be conveyed? To an-
swer this question in the negative would be to set a
limit to the capacity of the human intellect to make
future advances; nevertheless, there are reasons which
are
cogent enough tending to point to the impracticability
of telephonic transmission through cables of
great length.
In such cases a retardation and an obliteration of the
delicate pulses of current which characterize electrical
speech serve to prevent the reception of speech at the far
end of the line. By enormously increasing the
power
of the waves or impulses, the difficulty would be, in a
measure overcome,
but to do this introduces other grave
difficulties, the solution of which is not easy
to foresee.
—
Prof. Elihu Thompson ,
in the New England Magazine
for July.
Penalty Clause in Building Contract.—A
person
named Kemper and one named Candon entered into a
written contract whereby Candon agreed to build a wall,
etc., or else at his election, to remove a certain house
three feet, and
put it in as good condition as it was
before; and in such contracts the
parties further
stipulated as follows : “It is mutually agreed between
said parties that a failure on the
part of said Candon to
perform these obligations shall entitle
• said Kemper to
recover from him the sum of five hundred dollars as
liquidated and ascertained damages for the breach of
this contract.” Candon elected not to build the
wall,
etc., and afterwards failed to remove the house. The
cost of removing the
house, and putting it in as good
condition as it was before, would not have exceeded
$lOO. When the parties made the contract, and
stipu-
lated for damages in case of breach, fixing the amount
at $5OO, they could not have had in contemplation actual
compensatory damages; and therefore the sum of $5OO
mentioned in such contract as liquidated and ascertained
damages must be treated as a penalty, and not as liqui-
dated damages, and therefore it cannot be and
only actual damages can be recovered.
Candon v. Kemper, Supreme Court of Kansas, 27 Pac
Rep. 829 (200 C).
240 THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECT.
EN