Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-04-19
Throng, b. nnxIiaI.1.

OF all the utopian schemes ever submitted
TO the consideration of an indulgent senate, per
haps the most audaciOus is that composed in a
bill introduced on the 2Sth OF Mach by Mr..
| Wilson, "to authorize the construction of a
| pneumatic tube road between the cities of New
York and New Orleans" The corporation in
| this magnificent scheme are as follows; Albert
| Brisbane, Thomas j. Durant, William Mullins,
James C. Slavery, John f. briggs, James Nj.
Ashley, Calvin Cone II. NJ. Barnard and John
b. Alley. The capital stock is moderately fixed
at ''one million shares Of 500 each, or $780,
100000 in all and, lest this should not prove
pneumatcally adequate to the wants OF the com
pany, they are authorized "at any time, by a
tWo-hirds vote or approval of the stockholders,
to increase the stoc ad libitum, or to issue any
amount Of bonds at seven per cent, convertible
into stock at pleasure.
Apart from the glory attending such a stu
pendous undertaking. the above named gentle
men hlyei on previous occasions rendered
themselves conspicuous by being Unidentified in
pursuits which, if not so brilliant in conception
as the present one, were quite as chimerical. At
i former period Of his life Mr.. Albert Brisbane
turned his inventive faculty to pneumatic sci
ence, and ultimately evolved plan for pIopel-
ling letters and small parcels with almost light
ming velocity through hollow spheres. 1t must
not be imagined, however, that the aforesaid
named gentleman was the discOYerer of the sci
ence OF elastic fluids, for the idea is quite hun
dred years Old, and was first started by a
| Frenchman named Papin. Mr.. Brisbane OBJ
tanned patent for his scheme in 1869 None of
| the various notifications Of the invention
| hitherto applied have been extended beyond the
| limits of a single city, nor have they been found
so important, by the combination Of quick
| transit with economy of working, as to lead to
any general adoption of them. The principle
on which they are operated is very simple, and
| depends upon the action OF air-preSSuIe to drive
| a solid piston (Which in most cases is the car
mir r7sfa. Il
| tube.
In 1861 the first pneumatic dispatch was car
ried into effect in London by the postal authOri-
ties, who established tube from the chief office
| to EuStOn square terminus, distance of about
| two miles. The system met with the apprOba-
| ton of the authorities, and is still in use. Sim
| liar cOntrivanceS have been in working III Paris
| and Berlin In the light of these facts the
reader may form some faint conception Of the
| boldness of the grand scheme of National
| Pneumatic Tube Company" to build tube
| road, Sin combination with hollow Spheres all
the way from New York TO New Orleans, or over
| two thousand miles, while the largest tube road
now existing is less than two miles. The next
| thing notable about the scheme is that ouethird
| of the cOrporators arc eX-lnembers Of congress
and well known and conspicuous figures in that
| ifth estate known in Washington politics as the
lobby. James NJ Ashley, John F. briggs, and
| John B. Alley were all in congress together five
| or six years ago.
The magnifcence of the project is unbounded,
| for il not only included national pneumatic
| road, in combination with hollow Spheres with
hundred millions Of dollars as a minimum, but
also telegraph line and all the appurtenances
for making the same This elastic and accom-
modatng charter is TO be given to the corpora
ton by congress as gratuity-without even the
stale and perfunctory provision usual in such
charters, that the government shall have the
right of priority in transmitting dispatches and
| letters on payment of the customary tariff.
Regarding this pneumatic undertaking the
| Cincinnati Commercial says: When we see the
rotund form OF Ashley shot through Irrational
pneumatic tube" with the velocity of a cata-
| pult, Gin combination with hollow spheres" all
the way from New York to New Orleans, and
coming out at the other end in lamhoyant
style, with unimpaired appetite aud curS, we
shall be ready to chronicle The fact for tue ben.
eft of posterity.