River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-11-30

How stray electric current caused
some odd doings in front of Newark
church.
Fenced off by neat iron railing from
the most crowded portion of Market
street. says the New York Herald, stands
the Central Methodist Church of New
ark, n j. Next door is the furniture
store of James Van Horn. Between the
railing and furniture store the observer
would not be likely TO perceive any par
ticular connection, but on Saturday even
ing there was a decided connection
which, although not visible to the mater
ial eye, made itself manifest in the most
startling and unmistakable manner. Mr..
Van Horn is an enterprising man. Ergo,
he had an electric light hung over the
door of his store. The wires conveying
electricity to the lamp hung down the
the side of the building and ran through
several iron rings behind the signboard.
These rings are fastened to an iron beam
which rests on iron posts and the latter
Joins the fence in front of the quiet look
ing Methodist Church. 1t appears that
the covering of the wires BY some means
was worn off at the iron rings through
which they pass and the electric fluid
passes into the iron beams and thence 10
the fence. A few minutes after the cur
rent was turned on Saturday evening
this innocent looking fence was convert
ed into first class galvanic battery.
Then an old gentleman came along He
was venerable looking man and one of
Newark's most reputable citizens. For
a moment he stopped in front of the sa-
cred edifice and leaned against the invit-
ing railing. The next instant he uttered
a wild whoop and danced around the
pavement while his hat rolled into the
gutter.
Its disgraceful for an old man like
that to be drunk" said a passer by.
And in front of church, too, =" added
another.
'I'll go and get a policeman" said a
butchers boy in white apron, as a
crowd began to collect. The boy started
off and the old man tried to explain.
Several men seized the railing to test the
truth of his statement, and they, too,
commenced to jump and cavort around
the pavement, while the air became sug-
gestive of sulphur. Just then the police
man arrived.
"Ah, what's this?'' he exclaimed. "a
fight? And in apublic street." Who COM
menced this?"
1t vos the old gent, " said the butchers
boy.
i
gentleman, Indignantly.
-. You've been drinking, SIR" said the
guardian of the peace sternly, Why
don't you keep sober? You ought to be
at home in the bosom of your family in
stead of gallvantin' around the streets as
drunk as a tom cat.
at this point a number of men whose
character could not be doubted interfered
and youched for the truth of the aged
party's statement. The policeman gin
gerry touched the fence with his club,
and that self-same moment the club went
whirling around at the end of his electri-
fed arm, while the crowd scattered on all
sides to avoid contact with it.
''Eurekal"
An operator of the Mutual Union Tele-
graph company, attracted by the crowd,
came forward and proved in few words
that the cause of all the tumult was the
electricity which had been grounded in
TIE fence: The crowd of at least 200
persons patiently waited and enjoyed
the fun as each new arrival touched the
charmed railing and then quoted scrip
cure in fragments There was a loud
laugh by each member of the church
choir passed through the gate and then
executed pas suel ON the sward inside.
fhe current of electricity was turned off
at 10 o'clock, and thus much profanity
was saved from the pious city of New
ark, The wires will be fixed day.
The grounding of the same wire with
i wire of the Mutual Union Telegraph
company few moments before caused
a telegraph instrument in the Office of
tue company TO partially melt and set
Dire to a keyboard,