Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1864-04-07

3NA~ 8UoOO ~ AO0VtBOSs
o. the 9th Of October, 1851, We pub.
ishea an ilustration Of the eolarged
pipe, for the transmissions Of letters ond
psrcelA which .Oas then being laid
1ows for sxperinent, in London. This
tube il Of cast iron, nat at the bottom,
and arched above, in the form Of rail-
road tunnel. 1t lis feet Q inches vide
and 2 feet Q inches high, and is furnish.
ed with q pair Of low rails, on which .
light wrought iron car runs through il.
The car is propelled by the pressure Of
the atmosphere the air being exbanst-
ed from before it by powerful fan at
the further end Of the tube. A pres
cure OF from to ounces to the iuch
is obtained, and this gives . speed of
about thirty miles ~ hour. This tube
WAS laid down from one Of the railway
stations to the po4t Offices distance OF
sbout third OF . mile-for the trsns-
mission OF the mail bags, and has been
constantly employed in this service for
more than . year.
By the last number Of the London
Engineer, We see that the success OF this
experiment has been 20 complete - to
cause . vigorous effort to be made to sp-
ply it TO the CONVEYANCE Of passenger.
The Engineer saystbat applications have
been ma ielto Parliament by two COM
psnies ready to invest their money, for
passengers between different parts ofthe
city, and that engineers are ready to risk
their regulations on the success of the
undertaking. The Engineer also re-
marks AZ follows:
at mail truck can be, a. it 10, whis-
kcd At the rate Of thirty miles an bsor,
through a feet pneumatic tube, it needs
no great amount Of proof 10 show that
it could be made to run equally we'll
though a tube twice the diameter, or
four times the ssctinosl area. Nov the
mail trunks Of the Pneumatic Despatch
Company have been working regularly
and satisfactorily through their tubes for
many months, and although this system
OF communication is unseed by the mul-
tituds 1t is ~ much an established TACT
a. railways Themselves. Many persons,
too have made the Journey in these trucks
through the tubes, and it is clear enough
that the result would be the same were
the trucks filed with mail bags or with
human beings. There has been no in
terruption OF the postal traffic in the pen.
uma'ic tubes, no collisions, explosions or
accidents occasioned by running off the
line. The air is being constantly chan.
ged, and, as those who have gone through
the tubes at the highest speeds well know
the interior is pure and sweet. Yet there
is an underlined dread Of the pneumatic
system, arising simply from the ignorance
of thoes who Anow nothing Of its work
Ing. A country correspondent Of wholly
out OF the question to expect passengers
to commit themselves 10 carriages 10 a
pneumatic tube On the contrary, pas
sengers will 20, even from the motive of
idle curiosity, wherever they are assured
OF safety and comfort, and it is demon
strable that both may be secured in a
higher degree in a pneumatic tube then
upon any railway in exislnnce."
We published an estimate, some time
since, that passengers might he conveyed
by this method at speed of miles per
minute, or 24o mics ~ hour apd ,he
per minute. Most persons naturally
shrink at fist though from the idea OF
being blown through tube, and, there
fore, the scheme is generally regarded as
impractlcable but it seem TO be moving
forward With steady steps towads its &C
complishment.-Sci,tU american.