Lineman’s Death – Laurence B

The thing that strikes me most about Mr.Edison’s letter is that he neglects to explain how his DC system would be more efficient. Edison only writes about the dangers of AC. I have heard of fires and faulty wiring at many of Edison’s DC stations, and Mr.Westinghouse pointed out that most electrical engineers themselves prefer alternating current because direct current lacks efficiency and is unsafe. Another issue that needs to be brought into the argument is that electricity has killed people, but so have many other things. As Westinghouse pointed out, in the year of 1888, 64 people died in New York because of streetcar accidents, 55 died because of omnibus and wagon accidents, 23 died by illuminating gas, and only 5 by electricity. The death by electrocution incidents seem to be quite low when compared to other services. I think that Mr.Edison needs to either rethink his position, or simply give up. He is beginning to make a fool of himself.                         -Sir Herbert Gatsby

• Almost every page of Edison’s letter has contradictory information. I will use information from pages 629 632 633 & 634 of Edison’s paper.
• Westinghouse is much more informative in his letter.

Western Union Lineman – Stephen Iero

Dear Editor of New York paper,

The burning of a lineman was a travesty but was only one death.  The death of John Feeks will make changes to the AC system.  The AC system uses very high voltages and this intense voltage has to be dealt with very carefully.  We will try to change the system so this will never happen again.  In every modern technology there will be deaths, but the deaths from AC power don’t match the number of deaths from use of cars.  If any power system should be shut down it should be DC because there were more accidents in Edison’s power plants than mine.

I morn with his family but i don’t think AC power should be shut down or limited to 300 volts.  We are just reaching the pinnacle of a modern system.  If AC is done away with than the world will drastically change.  Every AC system currently in use will have the change to the weaker DC system.  The use of DC system is not practical for everyone considering the limited area the power can be distributed.

From,

George Washinghouse

Western Union Lineman – Andrew G

05 October 1889

Editor of North American Review,

Electrocution is a very real threat in the new world of electricity.  AC power has higher voltages and therefore can cause a greater risk of shock or death.   This risk is very real, but can be avoided if caution is used around power lines and other AC devices.  John Feek’s death is very tragic, we will do our best to avoid any more incidents such as this.  One might wonder, “Why would I want something that could kill a man inside my house?”.  The electricity inside households and businesses is not as powerful as outside power lines, it is still dangerous but the power is stepped down.  With this added risk comes many benefits of a better system.  AC systems eliminate the need for multiple “Central Stations” by transmitting electricity much further then possible with any DC system.  The need for DC to take up a building for their Central Station every mile or so is extremely inefficient, while an AC power plant could be housed outside the city and bring electricity in over wires.  There are a large number of Edison employees that have been looking into AC systems and thinking of using a similar system to improve.

Sincerely,

George Westinghouse

New York Letter Post: Matthew Harrison

Editor of New York Letter,

In the war of whom owns the electrical power of the United States it is very easily decided on which system would be safer for the public, or does it. Edison saw the horrific killing of John E. H. Freeks and the execution of Kemmler as a way to show the public how dangerous Alternating current actually is. Although Edison was trying to prove a point that Alternating current is harmful if touched or used to kill someone, he was under minded by most people in his company. Part of his company was moving toward the idea of alternating current because of the great advantages it had over direct current. Alternating current was able to be sent over long distances while direct current would only reach a mile or so. Because of this great advantage, his company would slowly turn their back on his idea and go with alternative current. Edison knew of this and would try to pursue the public into thinking that alternating current is worse. Although Edison was able to show that alternating current is bad at high voltages by killing animals and using the deaths of Kemmler and Feek as proof of why its bad, Westinghouse still had the upper hand. Westinghouse stated that accidents do happen, and that with more modern technology accidents such as what happened to Feek will happen. Also Westinghouse was able to show that some of Edison’s company was separating from his ideas. Westinghouse was also able to show that with-in time, improvements will be made on how electric current is used and set up around the United States. When it really comes down to electric current and which one is worse, they both can kill someone, they both can have accidents, and they both can be harmful to any living object.   The public will want something that will transmit energy at a lower cost and is more efficient whether it kills people or not, from a business aspect, alternating current is more energy efficient and has more potential then direct.

Lineman Death – David G

To who it may concern,

I believe that the damage cause to John Feek’s by the AC power lines, that he was unfortunate enough to come into contact with, is reason for review on the entire AC system. This is not the first time that the AC power system has caused death in humans. I am proposing a complete rework of the system to make it safer to all.

As stated above, the AC system, needs to be revised and replaced. I believe that the Alternating current wires need to be buried underground, where they can be out of the way, like my DC wires. Since my wires are underground, they pose very little, if any, threat to the people of your fair city. Forcing the electric companies to bury their wires underground, would cut back on the number of deaths caused by the system. I understand that the city is a busy place, and digging up the streets would be harmful to the economy of the city. The Edison Electric company has already placed all of our wires under ground. Allow us to continue supplying power to the city, as our wires, do not cause harm to innocent citizens.

Thank you,

Thomas. A. Edison

I take edison’s approach onto this case. I believe that this was good grounds for Edison to attach the  Westinghouse company and the AC system. The fact that westinghouse’s system could cause something like this above ground, is right, because of the damage it did to John Feek’s. I do not believe that this is grounds for saying that the AC system was an entirely wrong approach to how the world received it’s electricity. Edison should of attacked how the AC system was applied, not the system itself. If he had of said that it needed to be buried under ground instead of just hung in the street’s, he would of maintained a lot of his credibility. This would of also harmed the AC industry, as the Edison company already had all of it’s wires buried underground. The AC companies might of lost out to the Edison company, because the cities would have not let the AC companies dig up the cities, when the DC power lines are already buried underneath the city. I believe that if Edison had of taken this approach, and used the Lineman’s death as prove to back up his statement, he would of won, and beaten out the AC industry.

Edison and Westinghouse and the Electrocution of the Lineman–Michael B.

Dear Important Newspaper Person,

I told you that AC was dangerous, but no one would listen.  No, you all had to see the danger for yourselves.  You could not just take my word for it.  I am Thomas Edison, I know what I am talking about.

Now that you all have seen the danger, you have to agree that AC is far too dangerous to use.  Everyone should convert over to my DC system, which is far safer.

The case of John Feaks proves the danger of AC electricity, and proves how little Westinghouse cares about the safety of those that use his product.

From,

Thomas Edison.

 

Notes

Edison’s Letter:

all of the “experts” have contradicted each other, making it hard for the public to draw its own concluesions

Edison’s article is rather condescending, and seems to state that he will tell his conclusions with out telling how he got to them, because the public is too stupid to understand it

Westinghouse Letter:

Lineman’s Death – Rafael R.

05 October 1889

Editor of North American Review,

I’m sorry to hear about the tragedy of the Western Union lineman but how can we decide to outlaw the use of AC current just because one person’s live was taken. There have been more deaths in car accidents than there have been by electric current, but we continue to use horse-drawn cars because we can make improvements to make them safer. Had there not been a web of tangled wires, the lineman would’ve been safe to do his job. We should take this as a lesson learned to improve the conditions of wires and poles to make them neater. Even Edison’s workers are asking for alternating current, because it makes electricity much more efficient and economic. Lets work together to make alternating current as common as the horse-drawn car.

sincerely,

George Westinghouse

Details to incorporate:

“were it  a question of prohibiting the use not merely of electricity, but of all other things dangerous to life, we would no longer have fires to warm us or light to enable us to see, and, in fact,  would be deprived of most the necessaries and comforts of existence” – Westinghouse

source: page 653 on westinghouse article

Westinghouse explaination of the underground THICK copper wires and the problems page 656

bottom of 656 -  safety issues in the Edison Company electric systems

Edison Electrocution – Jonathan A

I think that Edison’s actions during this time were extremely unethical. All those dogs that were killed did not prove whether it was painless or not. Edison stated that he was an expert electrician, which he was, but how would he know how much electricity it would take to kill a human without pain and instantly? He would have to experiment with humans or animals. I also think that Edison’s views on this topic were obviously biased because he had his direct current company. Technically, both forms of electricity could kill a man, but one was stronger and could therefore do it with less volts. This time period where the war of the currents occurred seemed to go against every code of ethics that I have seen for engineers. Safety for the public was on every code of ethics I saw, yet Edison was trying to do the complete opposite.

16 B Edison Capital Punishment ~ Desire’ Bounds

I believe that Edison is indeed an expert in electricity in the time period, but I believe it was misrepresented in this case. I think Edison gave a phony testimony to prove his point that AC was much too deadly for people to use. In his case he claimed that AC would kill you instantly. He tried to scare the people away from AC with his testimony. I believe this was very unethical of Edison. He used his influence in the wrong way. He knew that people would believe his every word so he gave a biased testimony and people would believe him. When kemmler was sentenced to death, they strapped him to the electric chair and turned on the AC current. They shut it off only to find that he wasn’t dead and that he was still alive, and they had to turn it on again. This caused some kemmler some serious suffering. If Edison hadn’t given such a fake testimony just to discredit AC, this man would never have had to suffer in this way. I believe that this was very wrong of Edison to use his influence in this way.

16b Edison and Electrocution Michael B

I believe that Edison’s position on electrocution is unethical, because he changes his views rather quickly, when he realizes the advantages.  When he was first asked about the use of electricity in execution, Edison responded in a unmistakeable no.  He stated that he was both against the death penalty and he was against the use of electricity in execution.  It is seemingly only after he realizes that he could use this to discredit AC, that he changes his position on capital punishment, and suggests that somewhere around 1000 volts of AC from a Westinghouse generator would be enough to kill a person.