, 1881-11-20
SAFETY SECURED

For Both Passenger and Freight E1e-
vutora-TIle Uses mud Abuses Of These
Conveyauces.
The constantly recurring and trlghtful nc
cldents upon freight and passenger elevators
call for something more than. passing
notice or mere record OF the killed and
wounded. The passenger elevator is re-
oardeu as one Ut the greatest mechanical
conyenlences and lnxuries OF our progressive
are. There Is no doubt uf its ability To lessen
or overcome the Inevitable law Ut gravity
and transport us from Lie bottom to Tie TOD
Of the highest buildings, making the upper
stories as accessible It's the lower ones: anu
TO most persons far more pleasant and deslr,
able. But one Thing is needed to make all
these benefits substantial Ieailt}-LnAb Is,
safety.
in New York City carries with 1t terror
that makes every person shnd4er ~; Mho a Is
the only disaster Of the kind, and II we could
be reasonably convinced that Others OF Ike
character coald not reasonably occur, the
community would feel degree OF security
that it does not now enjoy.
The elevator accidents recorded IN the
past followed SO close upon one another, anu
some Of them were of such horrifying char
acter. that we are led to inquire it there can
he M escape from such disasters.
There are hundreds perhaps OF safety de.
vices. commencing with the 0lu-fashloneu
ratchet and dog, or nawl, OF which there are
numerous kinds. These are what are KNOWN
and are but little used among 1lEst-class ele-
yator builders, for, the reason that unless
the pawl acts Instantly when the car COM
mences. to fall, they are OF no service, oul
rather Ill element of danger, as, II the PAWS
Should catch while the car is IL rapid de-
scent the sudden concussion of'lron strlk-
ing upon iron would inevitably tear every
thing into pieces. This is the record Ut the
&.dog and ratchet"
signed to stop the car suddenly. tsuch as
| calus, eccentrics, ETC., all Of which are de-
signed to act suddenly, hence it the car at
tains high rate OF speed tue conclusion
| must necessarily be almost. If not quite, -
| treat as if the car had struck upon solid
| Foundation These devices can scarcely be
considered as an Improvement over tne o1o
| :. dog and ratchet" Elevator 1nanutactur-
| ers have apparently forgotten that there IS IS
| such 4 law or principle is friction, which, If
properly applied with accunulatl'e 1orce'
| would efectually hold and stop any descend
| iug body. providing you have anything 10
hold OH to, anu if this principle can be effect
;rrv anulieI to the guide-ways Of an ele-
vator with 4 graduated force, we see no
mechanical reason why {: falling car cannot
be slowed up and stopped with AZ aS 'nneh ease
and certainty as tn the s+on NeStfgno1se ,rs " Gus
But to do this, the act of the car falling
nust produce the power to apply tile
friction. for you cannot depend upon human
watchfu!ness to await the coming OF tile accl-
dent +o ~ .rood
| will be forced to a standstl! BY the lazy OF
orayity. if YOU cease to apply the plopelllng
! bower, but all elevator upon IFS track, Or
ruidc-way, unlike the train OF cars, mus
| have power applied to counteract the law OF
| rrayity or it will increase its speed vi with
| fearful velocity to the end Of the route. Ihls
nrrlans may Seem such selfeyidcnt Illus
1ratioll as to be void OF application nltt we
give it for the purpose f';i OF a1tfGie ,nncetion @
OF reliable friction force to tue colltfoillns
! Of the elevator car. All parts OF the li1the
apparatus. as we'll as the wire cables Al
tacl1ed. pilleys shafts, etc. oeion&1he srro; 10 an
aud wear. III all machines propelled troln !,a
| drum, or cylinder, the wire cables are bent
four times III opposit directions a. q
each trip the Ear make makes or,,,1a OF II I
the bending process goes OIL in proportion to
| the multiplication, and a CORRESPONDING
| strain and deterioration result to every
| WEARING norton of the whole apparatus. u
is almost a wonder that more acclue!.s; - y :,
mt occur under this continuous reversing
| md hrnJi,lg process. But when we realize
| the fact that elevators are OF recent prouuc,,
tim we can readily see that time mas not naa
sufficient opportunity to destroy tte the ,ua. us
chine. Yet the time will co NE when renew. :''.
!!nf ois nf every aboring portion of the machine
made or disaster %il snre a6rtop 19lo" 81
+b, rnr;n,ts safety devices. and none u item
So far have gained the pupG; eontldenes INC hssn
,iarrd before the public for Its approval o1
fisannroyal, and ffoul what We have VII, u [:
hf bs2s pGpubF bssR Seaadt %a aps 1sos
nuu'e.oIiIl; 1ln .','il;c the .sair cushion" has
the n'est pu91iei pssrtaiply p proved safety app!i
merely; ;t in tna naas ans1ianee 6St va: n
lAet. ~ 49, ~ rho Chatnher of Commerce, a1ld
eSied nsse p1Si Wi, Il great It was tsiec
the Pacific Hote5 ,:f sems zctsstG sMe Sfaf tes
aeo: go -. sn hr llrnnping the elevator sl1
wa5 S{a7ies @aof to the bottom the least IN
"a s s5Et e7 wS fs'fSf ss q ?s;
aent .at T., ie; r nnt me Of whom was injured
S%mero1s SS%S M 1 applications have been mads dt,1s
Gd he ooT oTnsfs sss1 and ocea