The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-07-01
The Greatest Motor Yet.


poor TO pay the extra fee charged for tut
ton in philosophy and chemistry, but he
sat in the big room in which Prof. Rollo
instructed class in the sciences, and when
the hour came for the daily recitation,
young Webster listened attentiyely and
gathered such information as he could.
One day he heard the professor tell the
class that all substances when heated
would expand. and when cooled would con-
tract, and that the changes of temperature
notably affected the volume of air. Young
Webster was at that time apprentice to
tinsmith and learning his trade. lie
scarcely accepted the professors theory,
and when he returned home that night he
went into the shop and made small air
tin box from scraps of tin and then exposed
it to heat. The box burst as the heat be-
came extreme. He repeated the expert
ment two or three times, and then con-
structed more elaborate apparatus, still
retaining the alright box as the basis Of
the experiment. In one end Of the box
was inserted smooth-sliding but closely
packed cylinder, which rose and fell as the
air In the large box was heated and chilled.
After he had experimental until the little
cylinder would raise weight of several
pounds, he became convinced OF the power
that could be developer, and from that
time busted himself in work which be-
came hobby. His mind was of an inven-
tive, ingenious turn, and his plans, which
he at first discussed before maturing them,
seemed visionary and wild to his method
cal companion. Webster, though, tinkered
on models through the day, and read the
few books he could reach at night.
While he was still boy, Prof. Morse,
who then had his hobby of telegraphing on
his mind, visited Binghampton to interest
the people in his theories. For two or
three nights he spoke to small houses in
the public hall, and finally to attract the
people he announced that he would, by
electricity, explode torpedo under on old
canalboat in the basin of the canal. The
device succeeded, land that night Morse ad
dressed multitude. In arranging the
mechanical details for the explosion, Morse
employed young Webster to assist him,
and recognizing the bend of the boys
mind. he talked with him encouragingly,
infusing SOME of his own heroic energy into
his listner. The boy cherished the ex-
ample and words of Morse, and though
sticking to his trade TO earn his livelihood
and to procure money for fresh models, he
carried always the resolution TO discover a
motor to supersede steam.
His means were very limited, and his
disbursements steady and hard to bear
Sometimes he had q shop of his own and
sometimes he worked for an employer.
He turned aside from his course occasion
ally and made other inventions of q simple
character, but the money they brought
him, he used for only single purpose
With it he built boilers and engines, and
as one failed no commenced again, In
1870he designed power which he thought
was that which he had been looking for.
Cold air compressed into q receptacle and
and then expanded by heat was the basis
on which he worked butt was an intricate
piece of mechanism, requiring an air
pump and artificial cold as we'll as artifi-
cial heat The power was immense, land in
June 1870, Mr.. Webster exhibited at ia
Fulton street model attached to nina
ture locomotive, which attained speed Of
fifty miles an hour. 1t attracted some at
tention, but there were faults in it which
could not be remedied, and the expense OF
running an engine of practicable size would
have been overwhelming At this Mr.
Webster's partner, on whom he had re.
lied for money, deserted him, and the en-
terprise came to a stand still Withou
means for pushing his experiments, anC
discouraged by his partners bad faith, hi
at first sought aid from other sources, anC
failing in that, he, after many dark days
broke up his machine and cast it into tn,
East river. He resolved to throw asid
his hobby, and to devote himself to tn,
support and future of his family: but a
means came to him his old thoughts ros
again to overpower him, and he found him
self still seeking for motor. At differen
times, on various theories, he filed caveat
in the patent Office, but his application
were couched in obscure language through
his suspicious of his fellow workers, whicI
his experience had given him.
The sketch of his past life was given t
the reporter by Mr.. Webter, yesterday, a
he stood by the side of new engine and
new motor-the result of thirty years
study and thought. His face was of
perscvering, thoughtful man. His fore
head was broad, and his head large an,
round. The little engine, which was o.
the table by him, was not much more tina
a toy-two little copper boilers, abou
eight inches high, and connected by tw
tubes, one a short one, joining their bases
and the other longer one, running diagon
ally from the top one to the base of tn
other of these boilers, one is the worke
and the other the feeder.
II have thought of many a plan in N
sleepless nights" said Mr.. Webster, IAN,
have finally chosen one which is the coun
terpart of model which / looked at man
a year before seeing the example--that is
the human body. There is the heart an
there ia the body" said he, placing hi
right hand on one boiler and the left o
the other; land the tubes which connec
them play the parts which the veins an
arteries of man do for his body. 1t
the divine plan, and the most economical
one"
THE reporter looked at the machine, bu
it stood still and told no stories, and the
he asked Mr.. Webster what it could do
Dol exclaimed he, II can run it, no
this little one alone, but one of any size
for any length of time, without pound Q
coal, stick of wood, or drop of water
l can and have run a fYe-horse engine a
day and all night. continuous strech Q
twenty-four hours, at cost of less tina
fifty Gently"
"Haye you had such an engine in thi
city,
street, Brooklyn. last Apr, and amen
others who saw it there was Peter Cooper
He watched it for long time, noted il
power, its light structure, and its simple
ity, and then turned to me and said ID
you know. Mr.. Webster, what can you
with thisp Why sir you can navigate tn
air. You can have an upright screw pro
peller to raise the travelling car into tn