Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-02-05

Some timid heart, which only longs Z sjlf
To live and die uhseeDI ftt ,t
The Future or ELECTRICITY,
Marvelous as have been the applications
Of electricity during recent years as mos--
sage bsafet, light giyo5 health restorer,
and otherwise, liz IrSquires no prophetic
vision other than that which knowledge
gives to, foreseega1s extension Of the uses
Of electricity in the immediate future inf
nitoly beyond ytiing that the multitl,ae
now anticipate. Ghe' truth is, men have
but barely begun to suspect the capacity Of
electricity to serve their kind. However
numerous tho means devised for Harvesting
the subtle power or great tue social changes
brought about by its employnent, as in the
telegraph and the telephone, the vast field
for the application Of electricity to human
affairs has hardly been entered upon.
The best proof Of this truth is. seen in
in the varied lines of electric Investigation
and invention developed du.ing the years
just past, each with Infinite. possibilities
aud oil marked BY surprising discoveries
and practical affiliations at almost every
step IN advance. These lines Of research
point every way; and it is bard to name
direction Of thought or sphoro Of praoti-
cal effort toward which, or into which
electrical Investigation is not working or
holding out promises Of great reward to
suoh as will enter boldly, intelligeEtly, aud
persoyeriugly upon the quest. Men Of
middle age have witnessed the more re-
markable of the stages Of social revolution
which tho utilization Of steam has brought
about during tho past fifty years. Ten
years ago it did not seem possible that any
power could ever again enable men to repeat
tho giant strides Of progress which steam
in our factories aud oa highways Of com
meroe, by sea and by laud, had m,dc pos.
siblo., To-day oyon greater and more rapid
revolutions aie impending f'on, the utiliza-
ton Of electricity, and mon now living will
probably SEQ tham brought about.
A few weeks ago We hud OCCASION to
apeak Of the great changes in social and
business affairs already effeo.od, aud tho
greater, ia immediate prospect, through the
developusnt Of tho telephonio exchanges.
In every important town suoh exchanges
ore 10 proocss Of development, bringing
into vocal communication not only tho sop
arate ,mombors of widely extended oonImu-
mites.
Since then novel and important improve.
mcnt in special field Of telephorio uso
has been reported from London. Our
readers aro familiar with tho principle OF
Mr.. Edison's olectromotograp or loud
speaking telephone. BY employing his
small, electric motpr to turn the chalk CYL
indcr the telephone is m.ao automatic.
Instruments Of this sort base boen placed
in, and large numbur moro orc in prep
aration for, the London Times newspaper
oilice; add the reporter of tho paper, say in
Parliament, Instead Of reading their short
hand notes to copyists, and transm ting the
longhand copy to the priutcr' as heretofore,
now read thcm directly to tho telephone,
thus saving the tmo of copying and carry
ing tho report. In the printing Office tho
composior sits at a rypesetliDg machine,
aud, as tbs report is delivered to him by
tho automdtio telephone, he sets tho type Us
ono would play tune upon piano. Hav
ing no copy to decipher. his whole attention
is given to the scttog of the type; and
another grelt saving Of time is effected.
The Indications arc that by tho use of auto
graphic and automatic telcgraphy Gin con-
junction perhaps with s.euographio type
writers) reports of public meetings will
soon DO almost instantly transmitted through
long distances and at fraoticn Of expense
which such work now involves. BY the
same process drawings as we'll os writings
will be transmissidle quickly aud cconom-
ieally Such Inventions open up liucs of
progress too far reaching for the boldest
imagination to follow
BY substantial dynamo machines for
batteries in developing tho currents used in
telegraphing, not only is great economy ef,
footed in the working of wires, but tho
larger part of the valuable space now oocu-
pied by the batteries is wholly saved. In
the central building Of the Western Union
Telegraph Company in this city twelve tons
Of machinery tuke sho place Of seventy, Two
tons Of battery celIs
The magnitude of the interests affected by
au invention like this will be appreciated
when We call to mind tho fact that the
Western Union Companp alone requires
something near 100000 miles Of wiro for
its connection in this country. The tele-
graph lines Of all Europe will aggregate
something like half million Of miles. 1t
must not be FORGOTTEN that for overy mile
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