sidewalk curb, or as a novel form of
moonlight, raised in groups at the top of lofty towers often a hundred
and fifty feet high. Some of these lights were already in use for large
indoor spaces, although the size of the unit, the deadly pressure of
the current, and the sputtering sparks from the carbons made them
highly objectionable for such purposes. A number of parent arc-lighting
companies were in existence, and a great many local companies had
been called into being under franchises for commercial business and to
execute regular city contracts for street lighting. In this manner a
good deal of capital and the energies of many prominent men in politics
and business had been rallied distinctively to the support of arc
lighting. Under the inventive leadership of such brilliant men as Brush,
Thomson, Weston, and Van Depoele--there were scores of others--the
industry had made considerable progress and the art had been firmly
established. Here lurked, however, very vigorous elements of opposition,
for Edison predicted from the start the superiority of the small
electric unit of light, and devoted himself exclusively to its
perfection and introduction. It can be readily seen that this situation
made it all the more difficult for the Edison system to secure the large
sums of money needed for its exploitation, and to obtain new franchises
or city ordinances as a public utility. Thus in a curious manner the
modern art of electric lighting was in a very true sense divided against
itself, with intense rivalries and jealousies which were none the less
real because they were but temporary and occurred in a field where
ultimate union of forces was inevitable. For a long period the arc
was dominant and supreme in the lighting branch of the electrical
industries, in all respects, whether as to investment, employees,
income, and profits, or in respect to the manufacturing side. When
the great National Electric Light Association was formed in 1885, its
organizers were the captains of arc lighting, and not a single Edison
company or licensee could be found in its ranks, or dared to solicit
membership. The Edison companies, soon numbering about three hundred,
formed their own association--still maintained as a separate and useful
body--and the lines were tensely drawn in a way that made it none too
easy for the Edison service to advance, or for an impartial man
to remain friendly with both sides. But the growing popularity of
incandesce