ton here may rest--
Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood:"

so in these names some forgotten physicist or mute engineer may be
buried. At any rate, we cannot do without names. The ohm, the ampere, the
volt, are merely words that express ideas that we all understand; and so
does the watt, and so will the 1,000 watts when you come to think over the
matter as much as some of us have done.

At this Conference several other subjects were brought up which attracted
a good deal of attention. Professor Rowland brought forward a paper on the
theory of dynamos that certainly startled a good many of us; and it led to
a discussion that is admirably reported in our scientific papers. I think
that the discussion evolved by Professor Rowland's paper on the theory of
dynamos deserves the study of every electrician; it brought very strongly
into prominence one or two English gentlemen who were present. Professor
Fitzgerald, of Dublin, spoke with a considerable amount of power, and
showed a mastery of the subject that was pleasant not only to his friends,
but must have been gratifying to the Americans who heard him. On this
particular subject of dynamos it was truly wonderful how the doctors
disagreed. Two could not be found who held the same views on the theory
and construction of the dynamo, and that shows that we still have a great
deal to learn about the dynamo, and that the true principle of
construction of it has yet to be brought out.

It is a very curious thing, and I thought about it at the time, that when
you consider the dynamos in use, you see how very little has been done to
perfect the direct working dynamo in England. Although the principle of
the dynamo originated with Faraday, yet all the early machines, Pacinotti,
Gramme. Hefner von Alteneck, Shuckert, Brush, Edison, and several others
who have improved the direct action machine, have not been found in
England. But when we deal with alternate-current machines, then we find
the Wilde, Ferranti, and various others; so that the tendency in England
has been very much to improve and work upon the alternate-current
machines. In other countries it is exactly the reverse; in fact, in
America I never saw one single alternate-current machine. When Professor
Forbes wanted an alternate-current machine to illustrate a lecture that he
gave, it was with the greatest difficulty that one could be found, and, in
fact, it was put together specially for him.

The other subjec