Glass insulators have made improvements

IINSULATION.

ALTHOUGH much has been said and written regarding recent electrical progress, yet there has been so little practical improvement in the insulation of lines, that a period of rainy weather still wears upon the toiling operator especially on way wires, just as it did in early days. In one respect he may have gained an advantage: the waning of personal interest in the business, having schooled him to gaze with equanimity upon a message which has hung upon his hook for hours, provided the delay cannot be traced to his own neglect. The lack of progress in the improvement of insulation may, to a certain extent, be due to the prevailing tendency toward economy in construction, but if the loss incurred by leakage, and retardation in the transmission of business could be ascertained with any degree of exactness, no doubt true economy would be found to lay in the direction of more perfect insulation even at a greater cost of construction. There have been some recent improvements in the form of glass insulators which, judging from the tests already made, will eventually work a much needed reform in insulation, and it is to be hoped for the sake of the stockholders, employees and the public, that neither cents nor sentiment will be permitted to stand in the way.