will, the far vision, the sure grasp of affairs, which marked Mr. Field and which enabled him to make the most of his surpassing opportunity. But these are inborn, inherited, personal characteristics, which may not be imitated. As an example to the coming generation of business men, his career must chiefly serve to emphasize those traits of common honesty, of old-fashioned caution and prudence, of strict but equal dealing between man and man, which the frenzied financiers of the present generation have almost forgotten. His great wealth was solid, based not on speculation or any form of glorified gold-brick industry. He always delivered the goods. He was a merchantnot a gambler. One of his last acts was to sign the contract for the erection of a new granite building which will make his retail store. in every way the greatest in the world. The most important lesson of his life was that the largest and most impressive success may be-and indeed must bebased upon fair dealing between man and man. World's Largest Central Station Massive Turbo-Generators Installed in a Great Chicago Lighting and Power Plant T By M. R. GREENE HE Fisk Street Station of the Commonwealth Electric Company, of Chicago, a portion of which has recently been completed, has been designed for an ultimate. capacity of 176,000 kilowatts. When completed this will be the largest electric light and power station in the world. The City of Chicago, which is about twenty-six miles long and eight miles wide, is furnished current for light and power by two companies-the Chicago Edison Company, and the Commonwealth Electric Company. The Commonwealth Electric Company, which supplies current over a large area in the outside districts of the city, also supplies the Chicago Edison Company with considerable current, the plants of the two companies being interconnected. The Fisk Street Station of the Commonwealth Electric Company is a steam turbine plant, a general view of the four turbines now installed being shown herewith (see cut, page 60). The first three of these turbines to be installed have a capacity of 7,500 kilowatts each; and the fourth one, which is that furthest in the background in the illustration, has a capacity of 9,000 kilowatts. Four more units of 12,000 kilowatts' capacity have recently been ordered; and the three older machines will eventually be remodeled to bring the capacity up to 9,000 kilowatts each. The coal-storage and handling facilities of this station are very complete, as will be seen from the illustrations. The coal cars are carried directly into the building by means of steam locomotives; and the location of the property between the Burlington and the Chicago & Alton roads provides two sources of supply for coal. The coal is carried by conveyors to the bunkers over the boiler room, from which it is fed by chutes into the automatic stokers. The boiler room, which is also shown in one of the illus trations, is built with two facing rows of boilers on either side of a wide passageway, and each battery of boilers is proIvided with automatic stokers so that no manual handling of the coal is required. The coal is fed to the stokers by the opening of a valve, which allows it to fall through long pipes hanging in front of each boiler, as shown in the illustration. Although the coal burned is screenings of Illinois coal, and of low grade, the firing conditions are so closely regulated that the smoke from the large furnaces of this plant is hardly noticeable. The boiler pressure carried in this plant is 180 pounds per square inch, and the steam is superheated 150 degrees. The turbo-generators are alternatingcurrent machines generating current at 9,000 volts, 25 cycles. This high-tension current is passed through oil-insulated switches, which are located in a separate switchhouse, to bus bars situated in fireproof compartments; and the current from the tension buses is next passed through transformers, by means of which it is reduced to suitable working pressures. A large storage battery is installed, a view of which is given in one of the accompanying cuts. This has the effect of equalizing the load on the generators. throughout the day. When the load is light, the current is supplied to the batteries; and in the early morning and at night, when the lighting out is heavy, the batteries in turn supply current to the line, and relieve the generators to this. extent. Owing to the location of the plant in a district where there are no restaurants within easy reach, the Company has provided an electrical kitchen and restaurant in the switchhouse, where substantial meals are served to employees. The kitchen is operated entirely by means of electrical apparatus, such as stoves, broilers, toasters, etc.; and adjacent to Which Branch of Engineering Shall I Take Up?" No. IV. Electrical Engineering - An Interview with Edward B. Ellicott, Chief Electrician of the Chicago Sanitary District By JOHN L. RAY Within recent years engineers have specialized along many different lines. The result has been the development of as many practically distinct branches of the profession. Doubtless there are young men, who, having decided that engineering shall be their life work, are hesitating as to which branch they shall take up-Civil, Mining, Mechanical, Hydraulic, Chemical, or any one of a dozen other divisions. The series of articles under the above head-of which this is the fourthis intended to help them come to a wise and discriminating decision. The articles will be based on interviews with eminent engineers, each of whom will set forth the advantages and drawbacks of his own particular specialty. In the present instance, Mr. Edward B. Ellicott, Chief Electrician of the Chicago Sanitary District, and a man of wide practical experience, outlines the future possibilities for the young engineer in one branch of the greatest of all fields-that of Electrical Engineering-namely, in connection with the wonderful developments in water-power generation of the electric current and its transmission for purposes of light, heat, and power, and of means of communication. T HE division of engineering which is outrunning the imagination of the layman is that of Electrical Engineering. He can comprehend the "prose" of other engineering products even if he cannot master the details; but the "poetry" of the electrical engineer not only outruns his comprehension but defies his imagination. Electrical engineers confess that the development taxes their own capacity. They themselves cannot follow step by step the progress which is being made. The impossible of yesterday is the obsolete of to-morrow. In considering the subject, two apparent divisions present themselves and demand separate attention-the development of electrical engineering in transportation problems, and its development in furnishing light, heat, and power, and means of communication. Edward B. Ellicott, Chief Electrician of the Chicago Sanitary District, which is developing the second largest long-distance power station in this country, discusses the latter phase in an interview which takes up only the most salient features and touches on them without attempt to go into great detail. EDWARD B. ELLICOTT. "Of all features of electrical engineering," he said, "that which relates to the long-distance transmission of power is absorbing the attention of the greatest electrical engineers, and in it electrical engineering is making its greatest progress. At present they are touching only the surface of the possibilities. The development will continue until all the natural sources of power which can be distributed over adjoining areas have been utilized to their utmost. "Electrical development challenges prophecy. Fifteen years ago a man who predicted that it would be possible to deliver to Chicago, at the city limits, 31,000 horse-power of electrical energy developed by water power, would have been regarded as a foolish dreamer. Yet next November there will be ready for the municipalities in the Sanitary District 15,000 horse-power, and, after completion of the plant, the full amount above mentioned-more than the city of Chicago and the other municipalities can possibly take. "The Sanitary District will offer Chicago all the energy which can be used by the city, barring the possibility that the municipality will engage in the street |