The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1883-03-01
IFrom Our Special CORRESPONDENT

NEW YORK, Feb. III, 1883.
Newspaper men everywhere and
the public generally will be- glad to
learn that as fast rs one telegraph
company becomes u monopoly and
gobbles up the Others, another COM
pany comes into existence, and, like
the worm, crawls out from the
SHADES OF oBsCURITY
with the sweet sunlight of heaven to
afford the early and older bird a
- morning meal But this time we
n have assurances that the worm is of
an entirely new species, possessing
powers that will make him a formula
BILE competitor with the old concerns
from the very start, and traits of
character that make him positively
disinclined to be swallowed by any
body or anything. Well, new tele-
graph company has been formed, and
with the positive statement that it
possesses plenty of money and a
new patent that will revolutioniZe
telegraphy. IL is claimed that
this new process of transmitting dis
patches is as much ahead of the old
system rs the locomotive of to-day is
ahead of the old go-carts and stages
of the past. The vice president of the
new company, Mr.. G.. d. Roberts, has
just made public the principal advant.
ages of the new system, which. 10 use
his language, are ''cheap and uniform
rates, absolute certainty of tr;uusmis-
sion without interference from at
mospheric conditions, ability To trans
NIT any volume of business. long
messages and press news simnita-
neously TO all points without inter
rupting commercial business The
wires TO be used are u compound of
: steel and copper that will last one
hundred years. or ten times as long as
the present wires, aud that cannot be
affected by storms Or weather. This
new process il called the LeggS
system, and hy tests already
that 1000 words can be sent over each
wire per minute in oppositedirections.
To do this with iron wires equipped
with the ordinary Morse instruments
at least thirty wires would be requir-
ed. Mr.. Roberts says further, that 10y
this system whole newspaper page
can be transmitted at once, an exact
copy of the sheet being reproduced in
stantly at the other end of the line,
the transmitting being mechanical
and automatic, thus dispensing with
the service of many operators, with
out error and perfect protection
against forgery. The company assert
that they will haze a-iine in working
-Qrdef between e!,is city, Cleveland and
Chicago wivhin ten weeks, and that
lines will be rapidly extended to other
and more distant points. Mr.. Roberts
enthusiastically claims that their wires
can be- used for electric lights,
Atlantic cables, railroad signals,
telephones, tire and police business
and all the manifold uses of commu-
nication, and that it will put the
present system, owned and operated
by the Western Union company, ever
iastlngly on the top shelf of bank
ruptcy.
"vERILY, THE WORLD MOVES,
or at least il Is highly probable that
there will be some moving by tele-
graph done as soon rs the new COM
pany get ready for business. If whole
pages of large papers tan he sent over
the wires ut n single click by this
wonderful system at its very insipi-
ency, perhaps improvements may
soon be made that will enable the
company to just ~ easily transmit an
editor. live and kicking. across the
continent hy-wirc. Then editors could
go after their own information, fill
up, and return the same night in time
to spread out their contents before
their readers the next morning.
ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.
While on the subject of electricity
may as well tell the readers some
thing about Edison and his electric
railway. Edison. like the balance of
Us, was once boy, and during that
interesting period of his life. he was
engaged in mercantile pursuits, that
Is. he sold newspapers on trains in
this state and Michigan; but his tai
emit didn't run very fast in that direc-
ton, and he was not content with
peddling literature, and so he put in
much time on the trains in expert
menting with chemicals. The fancy
grew on him, and soon he had one
corner of n car loaded with old bottles
and things. The conductor took ex-
cepti0ns TO this, for the reason, Fer
haps. that young Edison had not in
yited him To take something,
and after submitting TO the slight
AIAA lAAO 4AbtCA lOi tn nllOr lllNlItu
the lad to vacate, and he did so, tax
ing his bottles and chemicals with
him, and pursuing his chosen line in
life, with some Interruptions, to this
day. In appearance Mr.. Edison is of
medium size, plain and unassuming.
At mis- works in this city he may be
seen here, there and everywhere, coat
off and sleeves up, giving instructions
and directions to the men engaged,
With that modesty that seldom char
acterizes man, but always with a
clearness that shows his perfect
knowledge of intricate and compli-
GATED machinery. There seems to be
no limit to his inventive genius, and
he has a fortune sunk in over one
hundred patents or more of his own
that he cannot get time to bring into
use. but which promise, il he
lives to perfect them, to be of
great PRACTICAL use. He is now
giving his attention to propelling
trains by electricity, and he has, to
his own satisfaction at least, demon
strated that ere long electricity will
take the place of steam rs motive
power on railroads and for manufac-
turing purposes. A few miles from
this city he has railroad two and q
half miles in length, over which he
runs trains successfully by electricity.
The weight of the engine is but three
Mons, but It runs at the rate OF twenty
ine miles an hour, with one passenger
" containing forty passengers. He
Also runs freight train at the rate
Of three miles an hour, which carries
thirty tons, and he Is building forty
i've horse power engine that viii be
able to pull eighteen sloaded coal cars.
It will be no surprise to the public if
Mr.. Edison pulls whole train of cars
from New York to Philadelphia by
electricity within ten years. He set
out few years ago to run opposition
70 the sun, moon and stars in furnish
ing this globe with light, and it must
be admitted that he has made consid-
cradle progress in this direction, and
just where he will stop even the
weather prophets dare not risk their
regulations TO predict. TRAMP.
Our C0nvicts.
Tho Austin County Times.l
A |0uf four hnnIroI al, x.,ot, -.