Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 626 Daguerre's Banner! (Second update, please vote!)
London, Whitehall, Cabinet meeting room, a dozen or so people sitting around a long table.

Outside the window, the sky was gray and overcast. The gaslights illuminated the room brightly, but the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Prime Minister Robert Gascoigne-Cecil, the third Marquess of Salisbury, sat in the head seat with several documents in front of him.

The top document is titled "Recent Capital Flows and Industrial Trends in France".

His face was very grim: "Gentlemen, we are facing a problem, a big problem!"

He picked up the document and waved it around: "In the past three months, the activity of French capital in the international lending market has dropped by 30%, a full 30%!"

The Ottoman Empire wanted to take out new loans, but the French said they had no money; Russia wanted to build railways, but the French said they had no money; Romania wanted to issue bonds, but the French still said they had no money!

He put down the documents and looked at everyone present: "But does France really have no money? No. The money has all flowed into their country!"

Finance Minister Charles Townsend continued, "Our intelligence indicates that in the past three months, French capital investment in the country has nearly doubled year-on-year."

They built railways, power plants, light bulb factories, wire factories… The Rothschild family alone invested at least fifteen million francs, at least!

War Secretary Henri Eliot frowned: "What's the problem? It's their business if the French want to vote for their own country."

Charles Townsend shook his head: "The problem is, they weren't like this before. The French used to love being creditors all over Europe."

They lent to the Ottomans, to Russia, to Italy, to Romania… high interest rates, low risk, a sure-fire way to make money, and it's been like that for over a decade.

Their sudden shift towards the domestic market indicates they see greater profits and a larger market, which we haven't. This means we've fallen behind.

Ireland Secretary George Ferguson-Wake couldn't help but ask, "Backward? What are we backward about? How could the British Empire be backward?"

"Electricity! The French are working on electricity! Electric lights, wires, generators, alternating current... They built a power plant on the outskirts of Paris."

This power plant can supply electricity to villas 25 kilometers away. A full 25 kilometers! Technically, that far surpasses our capabilities!

Ferguson Wake paused for a moment: "Electricity? Is that stuff even useful? It's just for turning on a light."

Trade Minister William-Heidi Coltmann coughed: "Electricity can replace the steam engine in the future. If the French get ahead of us in this..."

Colonial Secretary Edward Stanhope spoke up: "I don't know much about these technical matters. But I do know one thing—our British Empire has everything!"

We have India, Canada, Australia, Africa… No matter how advanced the French’s electricity is, as long as our colonies are still willing to buy British goods, that’s all that matters!”

He glanced at the crowd and said, "As long as we can still sell textile machines to India, steam engines to Australia, and locomotives to South Africa, the French will have to catch up for at least fifty years!"

Commerce Secretary John Bright shook his head: "Your Excellency, fifty years is too long. Once you fall behind in technology, it's very difficult to catch up."

Stanhope scoffed: "What's so difficult about it? If the French can do it, why can't we?"
We have the world's smartest engineers, the most abundant capital, and the most complete industrial system!
We want to get into the power industry, we can do it anytime, and it will definitely be more advanced and sell better than the French's!

"Then why didn't you do it?"

Stanhope was speechless. His family had enormous interests in the colonies, and they didn't want to bear the huge financial burden of technological upgrades.

Prime Minister Salisbury waved his hand, interrupting their argument: "Alright, stop arguing. This is not the time to argue about who is right and who is wrong."

The problem is simple: the French are developing electricity, and if we don't, we'll fall behind. If we do, how should we do it?

Townsend said, "Technically, we now have two options. One is Edison's direct current system. The other is the alternating current system that the French are working on."

And that Frenchman was named Lionel Sorel…

Salisbury frowned; these days, British politicians almost always have that constipated look on their faces when they hear that name.

A while ago, due to the "Murder on the Orient Express" incident, the British media had just "executed" the entire cabinet and parliament, and it was only after a long time that things calmed down.

If we were to introduce the "alternating current" technology, which was pioneered by Sorel and is also French—who knows how exorbitant the patent fees would be!

Given the complex relationship of competition and cooperation between France and Britain across various sectors, the intricate web of interests involved may be more complicated than one can imagine.

This is not without precedent.

In 1839, after the Frenchman Louis Daguerre invented the "daguerreotype" process, the French government bought the patent and announced that it would be made freely available to the world.

France hoped to portray photography as a "gift of French civilization" to expand the country's cultural influence, but Britain was conspicuously excluded from this effort.

Britain already had a strict private patent system at the time, and Louis Daguerre had applied for a patent in Britain before the French government acquired the patents.

Furthermore, he did not relinquish his patent rights in the UK. Therefore, photographers worldwide can use the "daguerreotype" technique for free, except for British photographers who need to pay patent fees.

Of course, Britain was not without its own photographic technology; chemist William Henry Fox Talbot also invented the "paper negative photography method" in 1839.

This is a completely different technological approach, with its own merits compared to the "daguerreotype".

The problem was that William Talbot was even more aggressive in protecting his patents than the Frenchman Daguerre, even filing lawsuits against photographers for a long time, and in the end, no photographer was willing to use his technology.

So while photography was becoming widespread in France in the 1840s, taking a photograph was still a luxury in Britain.

Today, the "Daguerreotype" still flies over London, and the British cabinet certainly doesn't want to repeat the same mistakes in the area of ​​electricity.

War Secretary Eliot immediately said, "Then let's use direct current! Edison was an American, but wasn't he eager to popularize electric lights in Britain? We can support him!"
Let him build the world's largest power plant in London! That way, we won't have to depend on the French, and we can still provide electricity to the entire British population!

Stanhope nodded repeatedly: "Great idea! Edison is famous and his technology is mature. Besides, he's American, not French. It's safer to use his technology."

Bright disagreed: "But direct current can't travel very far. A power plant can only supply power to a radius of one mile. London is so big, how many power plants would we need?"

Townsend disagreed: "Then build more! One in Paddington, one in Westminster, one in London Bridge... build several in each borough!"

"How high would that cost?"

"It's a bit too high, but it's still better than being controlled by the French."

Ferguson-Wake asked a crucial question: "Where will the money come from? Private capital, or government funding?"

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Salisbury looked at Townsend: "What's the Treasury's opinion?"

Townsend thought for a moment: "Private capital should be the main source, but the government can offer some preferential policies. For example, tax cuts, franchises, or free land."

If private capital is insufficient, the government can invest a portion, but not too much; it can issue bonds. However, this would be difficult to explain to Parliament, as Ireland has already spent too much money.

Salisbury nodded, then looked at the others: "What are your opinions?"

Stanhope raised his hand in agreement: "I support it. Let the British use British electricity, not French electricity."

Elliott nodded firmly: “I support it too. The army needs electricity—the barracks and the port need it. We can’t leave this to the French.”

Bright hesitated: "I support it in principle, but there's a problem—is Edison's direct current actually working? Is it stable?"

What if we invest a lot of money, only to find it's not as good as AC? Switching back to AC would cost a lot more money.

Townsend waved his hand: "Don't worry about that. Edison was one of the world's top inventors. His system has been used in the United States for many years and is very stable."

Last year, didn't he build a power station at the Holborn overpass to supply electricity to over two hundred apartment buildings in the area? It's been running for so long without any major problems.

Salisbury was silent for a moment, then made a decision: "It's settled then. London will choose Edison's direct current system."

The Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Finance established a special committee to negotiate with Edison and determine the location, size, and investment method of the power plant.

He looked at the crowd and said, "We will build the world's largest, most advanced, and most powerful power plant. Let the French see what a true industrial powerhouse is!"

He paused, then concluded with unwavering confidence: "Britain will once again defeat France in the 'electricity industry,' just as we did in the steam age."

The empire's tomorrow will surely be even more glorious!

After the meeting adjourned, the ministers left one after another.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townsend walked last, pausing deliberately at the doorway and looking back at the empty conference room.

Outside the window, the sky in London had turned gray-black, and the houses across the street were almost invisible.

He recalled Salisbury's words: "The empire's tomorrow will surely be even more glorious."

He hopes this statement is true, but will history really repeat itself?
All he knew was that from this moment on, a war without gunpowder had begun, with the French using alternating current on one side and the British using direct current on the other.

The victor will hold the key to ushering in the next era.

In the winter of 1883, the fog in London grew thicker and thicker.

(Second update. I'm leaving for home this afternoon and need to pack my luggage. I'll see if I can write another chapter on the high-speed train. Please vote with your monthly tickets!)
(End of this chapter)