ELECTRIC LIGHTING SYSTEM

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 14, 11 July 1911, Page 4

ELECTRIC LIGHTING SYSTEM

AND THE I'ICTUUE SHOWS. The deputy-Mayor, who Li also chairman of tlie Electric Lighting Committee referred at last night's borough Council meeting to the following paragraph in our report of Saturday night's Rgval Pictures entertainment, and asked Mr. Black, the electrical engineer, to giv« his explanation:

"Although the pictures shown on Saturday night were excellent, they havo not reached that state of perfection which the firm desires. This ha* been on account of the insufficient lighting power provided by the borough; and now Messrs. Crust and Gjedsted have decided to instal a generating plant of their own, and already have the plant on hand."

Mr. Black said that there had been no difficulty as to the quantity of current available, for they had always had a margin except in Coronation' week. But this picture firm had moved their lantern farther back in the hall, givinjr such a long throw that a large amount of current was needed. This was rather awkward to handle, and the staff at the theatre was not used to handling alternating current, and certainly had never used such a heavy one. They were getting used to it though, and improved at each show during the week. It was not in any way a shortage of current that was the trouble. On Saturday night he had sent one of the Council's electricians along—a man who had had to do with all the picture entertainments in the theatre, who knew how to get the most out of the light, and knew all the tricks of handling the alternating current. The result was a big improvement in the pictures shown. Mr. Black concluded by saying that he had not intended' to say anything about it. "But," chimed in the deputy-Mayor, "they put the other sid« a bit too strongly, so we had to put our side. They were a bit rough on the department, eh!"