The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1878-04-18
WAsnINGToN, April 5, 1878.

4S4 ~ USS4Ss
WASHINGTON, April 5, 1878.
A few days ago l read an inter
esting little book, written by an
eminent journalist, entitled "The
World on Wheels" 1 propose to
go step further, and show you
that the world moves on wings. A
few steps from my temporary abid
ing place in Washington is build
ing (corner of Fourteenth street and
Pennsylvania avenue) where the
news of the world is first concen
trated, and then scattered over the
continent and to the four quarters
of the globe Railroads almost
abolish space, but the telegraph an
initiates time. Come with me, and
let US have a pleasant half-hour's
chat with my friend, Mr.. Gobright,
of the Associated Press.
WONDERS OF THE TELEGRAPH.
Approaching the building we see
nearly a hundred wires entering
through it's walls, and these extend
East, West, North and South, and
are connected with a thousand other
wires that ramify every State, Ter
ritory, and almost every county in
this vast Republic. Then, con-
nected with ocean cables, they reach
every important point in the civil
lied world The telegraph out
strips the sun in its course, and
sends tidings that reach the West
hours before the events have trans
pired (by local time) in the East.
In the telegraph Office at st. Louis
you may, at l o'clock p. m, listen
to Senator's speech that is not de
livered much before 2, Washington
time. A remarkable event, such as
the death of the Pope, might be
telegraphed from Rome Thursday
morning at l o'clock and reach San
Francisco in time for Wednesdays
evening paper. The editor would |
naturally say that Pho Mono will die
tomorrow morning. This oegets a
kind of solecism or paradox which
gramnarians and hypereritics must
settle to suit themselves. But it
beats Master Puck with his forty
minutes girdling the earth.
CHAINED LIGHTNING.
We often hear talk of chain light
ming, but modern science has actual
ly chained the fiery monster, and
the same frightful spectre of the
elements that careers upon the
brow of the midnight storm, amuses
itself with splitting old oaks into
kindling wood, burning houses and
striking people dead or frightening
them into feather beds, has become
the most docile slave that ever wore
the chains of bondage. We have
transformed the fiery-fend into an
errand boy, to fetch and carry mes
sages across continents or around
the world. We harness HIM to
small machines and set him to turn
ing wheels, running printing press
es, churning butter, blacking boots,
securing knives and making him
self generally useful. He helps
"Old Probs" to make almanacs,
talks through the telephone and
writes by the electrograph.
NERVES OF THE LIVING WORLD.
But the grand function of this
wonderful agent is that by which
it acts as the nervous system of the
living world. When boy cuts his
finger nerve carries the news of
the little disaster directly to the
nerve center in the brain, and word |
is Immediately telegraphed back |
suggesting sticking plaster to re
pair the damage and allay the pain.
If the telegraph flashes across the
ocean the news that war is inevita
BILE, a single day carries the tidings
to all parts of America, and the
grain markets are excited and the
factories are all alive to supply food,
clothing and war munitions to the |
belligerents,
VISIT 10 TIE TELEGRAPH OFFICE,
But my pen has strayed from the
purpose of introducing you to one |
of the worlds nerve centers, or a |
great telegraph office. BY the
courtesy of our friend, the Super
intendent, we visit the operating |
room where fifty or sixty instru-
ments are at work, producing such |
a perfect wilderness of little sounds |
that confusion is worse confounded |
and one feels like running away
from this electrical bedlam. The |
persistent and moDotoDous "click, |
click, click" of all the instruments
is worse than a summer nights con-
cert of a thousand crickets and |
katydids with a pond full OF little |
frogs thrown in.
Amongst the special wonders of |
this room note two. The operator, |
while having ten thousand ''elicks"
impressed upon the tympanum OF
his ear, must actually hear nothing |
but the sound of his own instru |
ment. An old time cloud school,
might have been good kind of APP |
premiership for such work as this.
"Mr. Superintendent, how long
does it take to transmit message |
across the Atlantic, including the
time lost at the relay stationsY
about a half hour. 1t is now |
ten o'clock. and the instrument you'll
hear clicking away In yonder cor
ner is giving the London and Paris |
market reports at $40 this p. m. by |
their time. The difference ia time |
between London and Washington
is five hours. eight minutes; or this
message has been thirty eight min
stes ON the way from London TO
this office"
Perhaps the most remarkable OF
all the phenomena connected with /
telegraphing is the quadruple sys-
tenn, by which tour operators at the
two ends OF single wire can send |
four messages over it at the same
instant. As / am not attempting "a
regular essay on the science or art
Of telegraphy you viii excuse me
for not attempting TO explain this
process. Let US content ourselves
with the reflection that there are
more things in heaven and earth
than our philosophy has dreamed
OF.