Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-04-25
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Tie Wosla on Pings Roaders of The
Telegraph Chainsd Lt;yhsaing ----.
Nerves Of the Iiuiag Rorld-- Nsit To-
The 7elegraph 00'ce t.ghtnsng Jor
Nerves and Iron for. Muscle.
WASHINGTON, April 5.---A few days
ago ] read an interesting little book, writ
ten by an eminent journalist, entitled aTho
World on Wheels propose to 20 O
step further, and show you that the world
moves on wings. A fow steps from my
temporary abiding place 10 Washington is
building Ioornor Of 14th street aud
Pennsylvania Avenue where the news of
tho world is first concentrated, aud then
scattered over the continent, and to tho
four quarters Of the globe. Railroads
almost abolish space, but the telegraph
annihilates timo. Como with me, and lot
us have a pleasant half hours chat with my
frieud, mr. Gobright, of the Associated
Press.
WONDERS OF TIE TELEaRApn.
Approaching the building we see nearly
hundred wires entering through its walls,
and these extended East, West, North and
"
other wires that ramify every State, torri--
tory, and almost every county in this vast
Republic. Then connected with ocean
cables they reach every important point in
the civilized world. The telegraph out
strips tho sun in its course and sends tidings
that reach West hours before the events
have transpired (by local time) in the
East. In tho telegraph office at st. Louis
you may, at ono O'clock p. NJ, liston to a
Senator'S speech that is not delivered much
before two, Washington time. A re-
markablo event-suoh as the death of the
Pope-might be telographed from Rome
Thursday morning at l O'Clock and reach
San Fransisoo in time for Wednesdays
oyening paper. The editor would naturally
say that Pic Mono will die tomorrow morn
ing. This bogets kind Of solioism or
parodox, which grammarians and hypor-
critics must settle to suit themselves. But
it beat Master Puck with his forty minutes
girdling the earth.
CHAINED LIGHTNING.
We often hear of chain lightning, but
modern science hos actually chained the
fiory monster, and tho some frightful spectre
Of tho element that careers upon the brow
OF the midnight storm, amuses itself with
splitting old oaks into kindling wood, burn.
houses and striking people dead or fright
ening them into feather beds, has become
tho most dooile slave that ever wore the
chain Of bondage. We have transformed
the fiery fiend into an errand boy, to fetoh
and carry messages across continents or
around the world. Wo harness him to
small machines and set him to turning
wheels, running printing presses, ohurning
butter, bIaoking boots, securing knives
and making himself generally useful. He
hoIps Cid Probs to mako almanaos, talks
through the telephone and writes by cleo.
'trograph.
NERVES OF THE LIVING WORLD.
But the grand function of this wonder
ful agent is that by which it acts as ner.
yous system of the living world. When a
boy cuts his finger norve carries the nows
of the little disaster directly to tho neryo
contre Of the brain, and tho word is i'm
mediately telegraphed back suggesting
sticking plaster to repair the damage and
aliay the pain. If the telegraph flashes
across the ocean the news that war is inevi.
table, single day carries the tidings to oil
parts of America, and tho grain markets
ate excited and the faotories are all alive to
SUPPLY food, clothing and war munition to
the beligeronts.
VISIT TO THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE.
But my pon has strayed from the
purpose Of introducing you to ono Of. the
worlds nerve centres, or q great telegraph
office. BY the courtesy Of our friend, the
we visit the operating room,
whore fifty or sixty instruments are at work
producing suoh perfect wilderness of
little sounds, that confusion is worse oon-
founded, and one feels like turning away
from this electrical bedlam. The persistent
and monotonous "oliok, oliok, click" of all
tho instruments is worse than summer
nights concert of thousand crickets and
katydids With pond full of little frogs
thrown in.
Amongst the special wonders Of this
room we note two, tho operator, while
having ten thousand "clioks" impressed
upon the tympanium Of his ear, must
actually hear nothing but the sound of his
own instrument An old time cloud
school" might have been good kind of
for suoh work as this.
"Mr. Superintendent, how long docs it
tako to transmit message across the
Atlantic, including the time lost at the relay
stations2"
about half an hour. It is now 10
O'Clock and tho instrument you hear oliok-
ing away in yon cornor is giving the London
and Paris market reports at230 this P. M.
by their time. The difference in time
between I.ohdon und Washington is fivo
hours and eight minutes; so this message
has been thisty-oight minutes on the way
from London to this Office" Perhaps the |
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